Inventory of the Mark Perlman Papers, 1952-2001
[top]Descriptive Summary
TitleMark Perlman Papers,
1952-2002
Creator
Perlman, Mark,
1923-
Extent
62.7 Linear
Feet
38,450 Items
Repository
38,450 Items
Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript,
and Special Collections Library
Language
English.
[top]
Administrative Information
Access RestrictionsCollection is open.
However, patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Use Restrictions
The copyright interests in the Mark Perlman
Papers have not been transferred to Duke University. For
further information, see the section on copyright in the
Regulations and Procedures of the Rare Book, Manuscript,
and Special Collections Library.
Provenance
The papers of Mark Perlman were donated to Duke
University in several installments from 1992 to 2002.
Processing Information
Processed by: Melissa Delbridge, Lisa Stark,
Joann Kleinneuir, Keary Warner
Completed June 26, 1996
Last Updated November 15, 2002
Encoded by Stephen Douglas Miller and Cat
Saleeby
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
[top]
Biographical Note
| 1923 | Born in Madison, Wisconsin |
| 1947 | BA and MA, University of Wisconsin |
| 1950 | Ph.D., Columbia University |
| 1951-1952 | Assistant Professor, University of Hawaii |
| 1952-1955 | Assistant Professor, Cornell University |
| 1953-1955 | Editorial Board, Industrial and Labor Relations Review |
| 1955-1964 | Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Visiting Professor, Johns Hopkins University |
| 1969-1981 | Founder and editor of the Journal of Economic Literature |
| 1976-1977 | Visiting Fellow, Claire College, Cambridge |
| 1981-1982 | Fellow, Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton University |
| 1982 | Professor, Oesterreichische Laenderbank, Schumpeter University, Vienna |
In his dissertation, Judges in Industry, Mark Perlman applied his interest in the development of American industrial government (and particularly in approaches to collective decision-making in industry) to the Australian Arbitration Court. This study concerned the role of employer and union organization as well as the cost and price structure of particular industries in getting the losing party to accept its awards. It was used in 1954 in the Boilermakers Case as the basis for finding the 50-year-old arbitration system unconstitutional. His next book, Labor Union Theories in America: Background and Development, and other early work dealt with the history, practices and theories of American labor unionism.
While at Johns Hopkins, Perlman became interested in the economics of public health with an emphasis on preventive health care. In 1963 he began his collaboration with Edgar M. Hoover on Spatial, Regional, and Population Economics: Essays in Honor of Edgar M. Hoover, a work concerned with demographic economics, and particularly with the lag in the profession's consciousness between the demographic empirical changes and the modification of theoretical models.
In 1969, Perlman founded the Journal of Economic Literature. He remained its managing editor for 12 years, commissioning subfield survey articles and developing a classification system for articles in economics.
[top]Collection Overview
The papers of university professor and economist
Mark Perlman span the dates 1952-1994, with most of the
papers being dated between 1967 and 1989. The papers
consist chiefly of professional correspondence to and from
Perlman, indexes to these letters and a small number of
subject files, but include none of his personal papers. The
collection documents Perlman's career as an economist and
author at Cornell, Johns Hopkins, and the University of
Pittsburgh and reflects his interest in work arbitration,
trade unions, and the economics of public health. Among
correspondents are many noted economists, including Moses
Abramovitz, Martin Shubik, and Martin Bronfenbrenner. While
many of the letters are personal in nature, others contain
considerable information about Perlman's work, particularly
in the years around the publication of his works
Judges in Industry: A Study
of Labor Arbitration in Australia(1954) and
Spatial, Regional, and
Population Economics: Essays in Honor of Edgar M.
Hoover (1972). Additional correspondence
relates to the publication of the
Journal of Economic
Literature.
The correspondence during Perlman's early years at
Cornell includes letters in which Perlman and his friends
and colleagues discuss their work, their students, and
academic life. These early letters also contain travel
arrangements for a trip to Australia in connection with his
book
Judges in Industry
and information regarding Perlman's research for the
book.
During Perlman's years at Johns Hopkins
(1955-1964), much of the correspondence between him and his
colleagues concerned Perlman's writings on work arbitration
and trade unions. It was during this period that Perlman's
interest was drawn to the economics of public health, and
his correspondence reflects this through dialogue with
other economists and statisticians as well as through
inquiries regarding his research and replies from
organizations providing requested information.
Correspondence also includes letters concerning academic
administrative matters, such as recommendations for
students and fellow faculty members.
The
Journal of Economic
Literature correspondence consists of
correspondence relating to the publication of the journal,
of which Perlman was the founder and editor from 1968
through 1981. The early letters contain information about
the formation of the journal. While many letters concern
subscription matters, others contain discussion of
particular articles, and some have manuscripts
attached.
A small series of Subject Files includes
correspondence with printers who worked with Perlman on the
publication of his monographic works as well as on the
Journal of Economic
Literature; Perlman's teaching material (including
course outlines, syllabi, and tests); a file on seminars
established at the University of Pittsburgh to address
topics of interest to the cultural life and economy of the
city; correspondence with the American Economic Association
in Nashville, Tennessee; and printed material and research
papers submitted to a conference of which Mark Perlman was
on the Program Committee. The conference, entitled
"Human Resources, Employment,
and Development,"
was held in Mexico in 1980.
Addition (acc# 1997-0208)(1500 items, 1.5 linear
feet; dated 1991-1996) contains professional correspondence
for 1995, an alphabetical index for all letters 1991-1996,
and numerical indexes for correspondence during each year
from 1991 to 1996.
Addition (acc# 1999-0188)(1200 items, 3 linear
feet; dated 1996-1997) contains incoming and outgoing
correspondence for 1996 and 1997, arranged in numerical
order as assigned by Perlman. It also includes a
chronological index for 1996-1997 correspondence, and an
alphabetical index for letters dated 1991-1997.
Addition (acc# 2000-0098)(750 items, 1.5 linear
feet; dated 1998) includes professional correspondence from
1998 and a printout of the numerical index for
correspondence of that year. Also includes electronic
numerical indexes for correspondence 1994-1999. Computer
files have been migrated to the Special Collections server.
Addition (acc# 2001-0071)(1000 items, 1.5 linear
feet; dated 1999) is comprised of primarily personal and
professional correspondence from 1999, with frequent
reference to Perlman's writings and lectures and to other
economists and their views. Also included on paper and as 6
electronic documents are correspondence indexes: a
chronological index for 1999 and alphabetical indexes for
the years 1991-1999. All indexes contain summaries of each
letter's contents. The computer files have been migrated to
the Special Collections server. A container list was not
created for this accession.
Addition (acc# 2002-0119)(750 items, 1.2 linear
feet; dated 1991-2001) contains primarily personal and
professional correspondence from 2000-2001. Also includes
on paper and as 6 electronic documents an alphabetical
index of correspondence for 1991-2001 with summaries of
each letter's contents. A container list was not created
for this accession.
[top]
Subject Headings
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
- Perlman, Mark.
- Abramovitz, Moses, 1912- .
- Shubik, Martin.
- Bronfenbrenner, Martin, 1914- .
- Journal of economic literature.
- Economics--Study and teaching (Higher)--United States.
- Economists--United States.
- Economists Correspondence.
- Arbitration, Industrial--Australia.
- Arbitration, Industrial--United States.
- Labor unions.
- Public health--United States--Finance.
- Medical economics--United States.
- Industrial relations--Australia.
- Industrial relations--United States.
- Machine-readable records.
Detailed Description of Collection
Correspondence Series, 1952-1994
Consists of letters to and from
Perlman chiefly concerning
personal matters, academic affairs at the universities at
which he taught; research for his books and articles;
negotiations with publishers; and presentations and
attendence at conferences. Letters occasionally include
articles submitted to
Perlman by other
ecomomists for publication or proofreading. The
correspondence series is arranged according to
Perlman's original filing
systems. Note: Box 35 contains alphabetical indexes to much
of the correspondence.
Cornell: A-Z,
1952-1955
(8
folders)
Johns Hopkins: A-Z,
1955-1957
(4
folders)
Johns Hopkins: A-O,
1957-1958
(4
folders)
Box 2
Johns Hopkins: P-Z,
1958
(1
folder)
Johns Hopkins: A-Z,
1959-1961
(13
folders)
Johns Hopkins: A-M,
1962
(2
folders)
Box 3
Johns Hopkins: N-Z,
1962
(1
folder)
University of Pittsburgh Department
of Economics: A-Z,
1963-1966
(14
folders)
Box 4
International Congress of
Historians: A-Z,
1963-1965
University of Pittsburgh Department
of Economics: A-Z,
1967-1968
(4
folders)
Box 5
University of Pittsburgh Department of Economics:
68-150R - 68-750R and unnumbered,
1967 Dec.-1968 Nov.
(7
folders)
Unnumbered,
1967 Sept.-Dec.
(2
folders)
68-150 - 69-830 and unnumbered,
1968 Jan.-1969 Dec.
(13
folders)
Box 6
70-002 - 72-321 and unnumbered,
1970 Jan.-1972 May
(14
folders)
Box 7
72-322 - 74-279,
1972 Feb.-1974 Apr.
(16
folders)
Box 8
74-280 - 75-439,
1973 Dec.-1975 Oct.
(17
folders)
Box 9
75-440 - 76-610 and unnumbered,
1975 Oct.-1977 Jan.
(14
folders)
Box 10
77-007 - 79-064,
1976 Nov.-1979 Mar.
(18
folders)
Box 11
79-065 - 80-545,
1979 Jan.-1980 Dec.
(16
folders)
Box 12
81-001 - 82-077,
1980 Dec.-1982 Feb.
(16
folders)
Box 13
82-079 - 83-240,
1982 Jan.-1983 June
(17
folders)
Box 14
83-241 - 84-500,
1983 Feb.-1984 Mar.
(15
folders)
Box 15
84-501 - 85-224,
1983 May-1985 Apr.
(15
folders)
Box 16
85-225 - 86-511,
1985 Mar.-1986 Nov.
(17
folders)
Box 17
86-512 - 87-680,
1986 Nov.-1987 Dec.
Box 18
88-001 - 89-130,
1988 Jan.-1989 Mar.
(18
folders)
Box 19
89-132 - 90-177,
1989 Mar.-1990 Apr.
(20
folders)
Box 20
90-178 - 91-334,
1990 Apr.-1991 June
(16
folders)
Box 21
91-334 - 92-355,
1991 May-1992 June
(16
folders)
Box 22
92-356 - 93-480,
1992 June-1993 Sept.
(15
folders)
Box 23
Later Correspondence 93-481 -
94-577,
1993 Sept.-1994 Dec.
(19
folders)
Journal of Economic Literature
Journal of Economic
Literature: 68-0000 - 70-0156,
1967 July-1970 Feb.
(14
folders)
Box 25
Journal of Economic
Literature: 70-0156 - 71-0480,
1970 Feb.-1971 June
(15
folders)
Box 26
Journal of Economic
Literature: 71-0481 - 72-0781,
1971 June-1972 Oct.
(16
folders)
Box 27
Journal of Economic
Literature: 72-0782 - 74-0033,
1972 Oct.-1974 Jan.
(17
folders)
Box 28
Journal of Economic
Literature: 74-0025 - 75-0062,
1974 Jan.-1975 Jan.
(15
folders)
Box 29
Journal of Economic
Literature: 75-0063 - 76-0102,
1975 Jan.-1976 Feb.
(19
folders)
Box 30
Journal of Economic
Literature: 76-0103 - 76-1155,
1976 Feb.-1976 Dec.
(22
folders)
Box 31
Journal of Economic
Literature: 76-1156 - 78-0170,
1976 Nov.-1978 Feb.
(22
folders)
Box 32
Journal of Economic
Literature: 78-0171 - 79-0336,
1978 Feb.-1979 Apr.
(19
folders)
Box 33
Journal of Economic
Literature: 79-0336 - 81-016,
1979 Mar.-1981 Mar.
(17
folders)
Subject Files Series, 1970-1980and undated
Printed material and correspondence concerning
publications, courses taught by
Perlman, and a conference
in
Mexico.
Banta,
1970 Oct.-1974 Mar.
(1
folder)
Cambridge University Press,
1976 June-1978 Jan.
(3
folders)
Congress:
Mexico, 1978-1980
(2
folders)
Kingsport
Correspondence,
1973 Nov.-1976 July
(2
folders)
Nashville,
1971-1980
(5
folders)
Old Course Material,
1972-1980
(4
folders)
University Seminars,
1978-1979
(3
folders)
Indexes Series, 1963-1994
Indexes to material in the Correspondence
Series include microfiches, computer printouts, and
photocopied index cards. Indexes are alphabetical by name
of the correspondent, and do not include all
correspondents. There is no index for
1990.
Indexes
Correspondence index (microfiche),
1963-1987
(1
folder)
Correspondence index (photocopies of
index cards),
1967-1981
(7
folders)
Correspondence index (printout),
1987-1989
(2
folders)
Correspondence index (printout),
1991-1993
(1
folder)
Correspondence index (printout),
1991-1994
(2
folders)
Correspondence index (printout),
1994
(1
folder)
Accession #1997-0208, 1991-1996
Correspondence 95-001 -
95-741
(10
folders)
Bound yearly numerical indexes,
1991-1996
(6
volumes)
Bound alphabetical index, all
correspondence 1991-1995
Accession #1999-0188, 1996-1997
Alphabetical Index,
1991-1997
(7
folders)
Chronological Index,
1996-1997
Correspondence (unsorted),
1996-1997
(2
folders)
Correspondence 96-001 -
96-622
(6
notebooks)
Box 2
Correspondence 96-623 -
97-474
(5
notebooks)
Accession #2000-0098, 1998
Correspondence 98-001 -
98-555
(8
notebooks)
Printout of numerical index for
1998
