Inventory of the Lionel W. McKenzie Papers, 1942-2004 and undated
Abstract
Lionel McKenzie (1919-2010) was an economist whose main areas of research were general equilbrium theory and turnpike theory. McKenzie began his career as an assistant professor at Duke University from 1948 to 1957 before becoming chairman of the Economics Department at the University of Rochester in 1957, where he taught until his retirement in 1989. McKenzie also served on a number of prominent international economic organizations, where he helped to further the discourse in the discipline.
Collection contains correspondence, writings, research notes, and other written material from throughout McKenzie's career. The papers span the years 1942-2004 and document his work as an economic theorist and educator.
Descriptive Summary
- Repository
- David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
- Creator
- McKenzie, Lionel W.
- Title
- Lionel W. McKenzie Papers, 1942-2004 and undated
- Extent
- 22 Linear Feet, 16,500 Items
- Language of Material
- Material in English
- Location
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Collection Overview
The Lionel W. McKenzie Papers span the years 1942 to 2004, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960 to 1990. Through correspondence, research notes, article drafts, teaching material, lectures, and published materials, the collection provides a broad overview of his professional career. McKenzie's greatest contribution to economics has been through his work in conjunction with Kenneth Arrow and Gerard Debreu on general equilibrium, and his writings on capital theory and turnpike theory, all of which are documented in a variety of forms throughout the collection. Significant correspondents include noted economists Paul Samuelson, Tjalling Koopmans, and Robert Solow. Other aspects of his career are documented, such as his involvement in a number of economic organizations, especially the Econometric Society and the Mathematical Social Sciences Board; his role as organizer of a number of academic conferences, such as the Value and Capital Conference of 1988; and his teaching career at Duke University from 1948 to 1957 and at the University of Rochester from 1957 to 1989. The papers are organized into the following series: Conferences; Correspondence; Course Materials; Organizations; Personal Files; and Research and Writings.
The Conferences Series includes material from conferences McKenzie attended and organized throughout his career and includes copies of programs, articles given, and other related documents. The Correspondence Series, the largest of the collection, contains largely official and routine correspondence, but also includes a sizeable number of letters on intellectual topics. The Research and Writings Series, the second largest, has various drafts and iterations of most of McKenzie's published work as well as some unpublished material. Many of the notes contain complicated mathematical notations documenting the theoretical foundations for his work. A small set of writings by others, chiefly on game theory and convex sets, conclude the series. The Course Materials Series houses syllabi and other materials from the seminars he taught, including many versions of the handwritten text for his general equilibrium seminar, documenting his teaching methods as well as the evolution in his thinking on the subject. In the Organizations Series, extensive documentation can be found of McKenzie's involvement with various economic organizations, including internal discussions on the workings of many of these groups. The smallest group of records, the Personal Files Series, contains curriculum vitae, personal correspondence, and other ephemera.
Administrative Information
Collections are on the move for the renovation of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Contact Rubenstein Library staff before visiting. Read More »
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
However, collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this 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 David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.
Use Restrictions
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Contents of the Collection
Conferences Series, 1957-1992
Chiefly programs, articles, minutes, correspondence, and other materials from academic conferences McKenzie attended or helped organize, both domestically and abroad. Includes some bound volumes, mostly from the 1960s, with every paper given at a particular conference. The largest amount of material comes from the 1988 Value and Capital Conference, which includes correspondence with various contributors as well as paper manuscripts for publication. Some folders include materials from non-conference related activies that occurred while McKenzie attended conferences, chiefly concert programs, maps, receipts, travel plans, and other materials. Folders are organized chronologically by year (and month, when possible).
Folders include correspondence and paper drafts by the person named in the folder title.
Correspondence Series, 1948-2003 and undated
Mainly professional correspondence, including letters of recommendation, comments on manuscripts, advising exchanges, and topics in economics. Much of the correspondence is routine, dealing with article submissions, publication issues, recommendations, and activies relating to the Department of Economics at the University of Rochester; however, there are some intellectual exchanges and article revisions and commentaries in the series. Important topics in economics include optimal growth, turnpike theorem, general equilibrium, and Von Neumann models. Correspondents of note include Kenneth Arrow, Gerard Debreu, David Gale, Tjalling Koopmans, Paul Samuelson, and Robert Solow. There are smaller amounts of topic-specific correspondence in the Research and Writings, Conferences, and Organizations Series.
The series is organized chronologically at the folder level, with original folder titles retained. Within folders, the organization varies from year to year: from 1948 to 1957, items are roughly chronological by date; from 1957 to 1981, items are separated into incoming and outgoing correspondence, organized alphabetically by sender and recipient, respectively; from 1981 to 1994, items are in reverse chronological order by date within folders; from 1994 to 2002, items are in very rough chronological order.
Contains lecture notes, reading lists, class notes, exams, and other materials from throughout McKenzie's teaching career, with an emphasis on his courses at the University of Rochester. The bulk of the material is for his seminar on general equilibrium theory, including multiple versions of his handwritten text for the course. Series organized alphabetically by folder title.
Organizations Series, 1956-1990s
Consists of correspondence, papers, minutes, member lists, fellowship applications, and other written material related to national and international organizations with which McKenzie was involved. The bulk of the material relates to the Econometric Society, of which McKenzie was president in 1977, and the Mathematical Social Sciences Board, which he chaired from 1968 to 1970. Also included are records documenting McKenzie's involvement with American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Economic Association, the International Economic Review, the Journal of International Economics, the National Academy of Science, the National Research Council, the National Science Foundation, and the Social Sciences Council.
The series is organized alphabetically by organization and by folder title, except for the Econometric Society folders which are chronological by year.
Contains curriculum vitae, personal correspondence mostly from the 1990s, graduate school materials, newspaper articles and clippings, and other items of personal and biographical interest. Catalog of McKenzie library held by the Institute of Economic Research in Japan is in English and Japanese. Arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Notes, manuscripts, drafts, proofs, and reprints for many of McKenzie's publications spanning his entire career. Includes his Princeton thesis and manuscripts of a few unpublished articles. Major topics include the turnpike theorem, general equilibrium, and optimal economic growth, with extensive notes and drafts for writings on all three topics. A few folders house correspondence pertaining to specific articles and areas of research, often including comments and critiques of McKenzie's ideas by his peers. Also included are McKenzie's contributions to the 1987 New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, the 1983 Handbook of Mathematical Economics, and the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Additionally, there is a small group of bound material from graduate courses McKenzie took in the 1950s with McKenzie's annotations. Folders arranged alphabetically by title. For published articles, the date refers to the date of publication.
Historical Note
| Date | Event(s) |
|---|---|
| 1919 Jan. 26 | Born in Montezuma, Georgia |
| 1939 | Completed Bachelor of the Arts at Duke University |
| 1939 | Named Rhodes Scholar |
| 1942 | Completed Masters of the Arts at Princeton University |
| 1948 | Completed B. Litt. degree at Oxford University |
| 1948-1957 | Served as Assistant Professor in Economics, Duke University |
| 1956 | Received PhD from Princeton University |
| 1957-1966 | Professor and Chairman of the Department of Economics, University of Rochester |
| 1959 | Published "On the Existence of General Equilibrium for a Competitive Economy" in Econometrica |
| 1967-1989 | Served as Wilson Professor of Economics at University of Rochester |
| 1973-1974 | Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship |
| 1978 | Elected to the National Academy of Sciences |
| 1986 | Published "Optimal Growth, Turnpike Theorem, and Comparative Dynamics" in Handbook of Mathematical Economics |
| 1989 | Retired from University of Rochester |
| 2002 | Published Classical General Equilibrium Theory |
| 2010 Oct. 12 | Died in Rochester, N.Y. |
Subject Headings
- Arrow, Kenneth Joseph, 1921-
- Debreu, Gerard.
- Koopmans, Tjalling Charles, 1910-
- Samuelson, Paul Anthony, 1915-
- Solow, Robert M.
- University of Rochester. Dept. of Economics.
- Duke University. Dept. of Economics.
- Economics -- Teaching.
- Economists -- Correspondence.
- Economists -- United States.
- Equilibrium (Economics).
- Turnpike theory (Economics).
- Econometric Society.
- Mathematical Social Sciences Board.
- Value and Capital Conference.
Related Material
Those interested in Lionel McKenzie and his research may also wish to consult the Kenneth J. Arrow Papers and the Robert M. Solow Papers, also housed at the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Lionel W. McKenzie Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Provenance
The Lionel W. McKenzie Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a gift in 2003.
Processing Information
Processed by Matthew Archer, Paula Jeannet Mangiafico, and Dan Ruccia, 2007
Encoded by Matthew Archer, Paula Jeannet Mangiafico, and Dan Ruccia
Completed June 2007
Accession 2003-0237 is described in this finding aid.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and local Style Guide.
