Allais, Maurice << ah LEH, moh REES, >> (1911-2010), a French economist, developed theories of economic markets and the efficient use of resources that could be applied to public bodies. For his work, Allais was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics in 1988. Allais’s theories focused on how economic efficiency could be combined with social benefits. The principles he developed were used by state-owned enterprises to increase their efficiency. His work was particularly relevant in the economies of Western Europe after World War II (1939-1945), when public ownership of industry was on the increase. Throughout his career, Allais also pursued interests in history and experimental physics, receiving awards in both France and the United States for his work in physics.
Born on May 31, 1911, in Paris, Allais graduated from the École Polytechnique. He entered public administration and became head of the Nantes Mines and Quarries Service. During and after World War II, he was director of the Bureau of Mines Documentation and Statistics in Paris. Allais was professor of Economic Analysis at the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines. He retired from the civil service in 1980. Allais was made an officer of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest civilian award, and received many awards both in France and abroad, including the Gold Medal of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), an organization that serves as a scientific adviser to the French government. Allais was the first economist to receive this honor. He died on Oct. 9, 2010, in Saint-Cloud, a suburb of Paris.
