About James Meade
Lived 1907 – 1995 (aged 88). James Meade was a British economist and university teacher.
James Edward Meade FBA (23 June 1907 – 22 December 1995) was a British economist who made major contributions to the theory of international trade and welfare economics. Along with Richard Kahn, James Meade helped develop the concept of the Keynesian multiplier while participating in the Cambridge circus. In the 1930s, he served as specialist adviser on behalf of the British government at the Economic and Financial Organization of the League of Nations.
Biography Born in Swanage, Meade was brought up in Bath, and educated at Lambrook prep school, Malvern College, and Oriel College, Oxford, where he initially read classics, before switching (in 1928) to the newly-established course in philosophy, politics, and economics. He was elected a Fellow of Hertford College, Oxford in 1930, and was a lecturer in economics at Oxford from 1931 to 1937. During the Second World War, he was recalled to the Economic Section of the Secretariat of the War Cabinet, which he chaired from 1946 to 1947.
In 1976 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bath.
Along with the Swedish economist Bertil Ohlin, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1977 "for their pathbreaking contribution to the theory of international trade and international capital movements".
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Important facts
People in James Meade's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped James Meade's
Frequently asked questions
Who was James Meade?
British economist
When was James Meade born?
James Meade was born on 23 June 1907 in Swanage.
When did James Meade die?
James Meade died on 22 December 1995 in Cambridge.
What was James Meade's occupation?
James Meade was an economist and university teacher.
What nationality was James Meade?
James Meade was British.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). James Meade. https://biography.guide/james-meade/
MLA: "James Meade." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/james-meade/.
Chicago: "James Meade." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/james-meade/.
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