James Meade was a highly influential British economist who made significant contributions to both theoretical economics and economic policy. He was awarded a Nobel Prize for his work on the theory of international economic policy and was one of the first economists to serve in the wartime Economic Section of the Cabinet Offices, becoming Director in 1946. Among his many successes in applying theory to policy are the first official national income accounts, 'Keynesian' employment policies and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. This comprehensive biography of Meade's life and career, based on archival sources, covers both his achievements in theoretical economics and his contributions to the development of British and international economic policy during and after the Second World War. It will be of interest to anyone interested in the history of economics in the twentieth century.

‘James Meade is one of the most important but underrated economists of the mid twentieth century. Susan Howson provides a wonderful introduction to his contributions and scholarly life.’

Douglas Irwin - Dartmouth College

‘With James Meade: The Utopian Economist, Susan Howson has written a wonderful biography of this giant of economics. Based on meticulous archival research and great scholarship, Howson not only shows Meade’s tremendous influence on economic thought and policy-making, but also offers an intimate portrait of Meade and his life, painting so a fine picture of Europe in the twentieth century.’

Ivo Maes - Robert Triffin Chair, Université catholique de Louvain, and Non-resident Fellow, Bruegel

‘Despite being at the centre of the mid-century revolution in economic policy-making, James Meade often referred to himself as a ‘utopian economist’ and an ‘ivory tower economist’. Susan Howson’s new biography of Meade makes clear the nature of his achievement as both an economic theorist and an economic policy adviser. Howson has produced the definitive biography of a great economist and a great human being.’

Bradley Bateman - author of Keynes’s Uncertain Revolution, and the co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Keynes