SCIENTIFIC BIOGRAPHY OF A GREAT ECONOMIST

Reviewed by Denis Benchimol Minev, 2006-02-12

Franco Modigliani is definitely among the handful of top economists of the 20th century. This book is his autobiography in which he not only describes the events that shaped his very interesting life, but also describes in detail the fundametals of the theories that eventually led him to receive the Nobel prize.

He is well known for two ideas, the lifetime cycle of savings and the Modigliani-Miller finance theorem. Both are described in depth in the book in a simple enough way that someone with only a basic knowledge of economics will be able to understand. He also makes good arguments for the Keynesian economics camp, versus the classical economics of the Chicago school. Either of his two ideas would likely be enough for the Nobel.

His is a inspiring tale of an escapee from fascist Italy who accomplishes much in his new land, the US. Modigliani is torn between his homeland, Italy, and his adopted land, the US. He has maintained close ties with Italy, devoting much of the book to describe his involvement in Italian economics and a bit of politics. He also focuses on his love for America and the lasting impressions of his welcome in the country had in his life, research, and philosophy.

To any economist, Modigliani should be a well known household name; his autobiography is a precious document that ought to remind economists what economics is all about, namely making the world a better place.

Interesting view into a prominent economist's career

Reviewed by M. Zobian, 2003-12-16

For anyone who'd like to know what the professional life of an acclaimed economist is like, this is a great book. But two things will surprise you. First, Modigliani had an extremely poor grasp of the importance of free markets. Much of his railings against Italy's over-regulated economy were, you quickly gleam from the book, based on his opinion that it wasn't being over-regulated properly. (!!!) Secondly, he apparently never bothered to have someone edit the book. Typos, grammer mistakes and missing graphs abound, to the point where you wonder how in the world the book got published.

I wouldn't recommend the book unless you are specifically looking for works on Modigliani's economics, or are generally curious about the career of a Nobel economist.