Myrdal, (Karl) Gunnar

born Dec. 6, 1898, Gustafs, Dalarna, Swed.

died May 17, 1987, Stockholm

Swedish economist and sociologist.

He received his Ph.D. from Stockholm University and taught there from 1933 until 1967. His early work emphasized pure theory, but he later focused on applied economics and social problems. He explored the social and economic problems of African Americans in the U.S. (1938–40) and in 1944 published the classic study An American Dilemma, in which he presented his theory that poverty breeds poverty. In regard to development economics, he argued that rich and poor countries, rather than converging economically, might well diverge, the poor countries becoming poorer as the rich countries enjoyed economies of scale and the poor ones were forced to rely on primary products. In 1974 he shared the Nobel Prize with Friedrich von Hayek. His wife, Alva Myrdal (1902–86), was a sociologist, diplomat, UN administrator, and antiwar activist; she shared the 1982 Nobel Peace Prize with Alfonso García Robles.

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