THE MIDDLE YEARS OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR RESEARCH IN INCOME AND WEALTH, 1962–87

The first conference of the IARIW was held at Cambridge University in 1949. At that time economists and statisticians were concerned with the problems of European economic recovery. Nancy Ruggles and I were employed by the Economic Cooperation Administration to develop national income accounting as the framework for analysing European economic recovery. We had written a little booklet, National Income Accounting and its Relation to Economic Policy, and in addition we had visited Central Statistical Offices of a number of the European countries included in the Marshall Plan. Such visits had convinced us that a centre was needed to train statisticians in Central Statistical Offices in the compilation of national accounts. In this connection we had come to Cambridge to persuade Richard Stone to set up a National Accounts Research Unit (NARU) with the financial support of the Economic Cooperation Administration. Stone did set up such a group and it was in place at the time of the first meeting of the IARIW. During 1949, Odd Aukrust of Norway, Jan Marczewski of France, and Kurt Hansen of Denmark were in residence at NARU in Cambridge and so attended the IARIW meeting. THE IARIW MOVE TO YALE IN 1961 In 1960 with the advent of the Kennedy administration, Nancy and I were employed as consultants to the Alliance for Progress and the Agency for International Development. At Yale, Lloyd Reynolds established the Yale Economic Growth Center. This Center was financed by the Ford Foundation and the Agency for International Development, and it had as its objective the study of economic growth in the developing countries. In order to accomplish this, approximately 25 graduate students in economics who were willing to write their dissertations on the economic development of specific under-developed countries were recruited to spend two or three years working abroad. It became apparent that a common framework of economic data should be utilized for the country studies. Hence, Nancy and I renewed our contact with the IARIW. At the same time the Yale Economic Growth Center was being organized, the funding for the IARIW was running out. The Nuffield and Rockefeller Foundations were reluctant to provide further grants. It seemed quite appropriate that in view of the interest of the Yale Economic Growth Center in national accounting for developing countries, that it should contribute to the support of the