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OSWALD TOYNBEE FALK: KEYNES’ MODEL ECONOMIST?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2012

Abstract

Oswald ‘Foxy’ Falk was the enigmatic figure who understood, probably more than any other person, how the mind of Maynard Keynes operated. Regrettably, Falk never wrote a memoir on Keynes or even expanded upon his long professional association with him. Equally, there has been relatively little written of Falk in the economics literature. This article attempts, at least, to address that gap. The character and philosophy of Falk are examined through the prism of a lengthy correspondence he had with another businessman who knew Keynes, William Sydney Robinson. Their letters reveal why Keynes fell out with his former business partner but also, more importantly, how, in talking about the great and the good, lesser mortals are inclined to tell the occasional mistruth.

Type
Research Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The History of Economics Society 2012

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References

REFERENCES

W.S. Robinson Papers, University of Melbourne Archives.

D.B. Copland Papers, Ms 3800, National Library of Australia.

J.M. Keynes Papers, King’s College, University of Cambridge.

Davenport, N. 1974. Memoirs of a City Radical. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson.Google Scholar
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Keynes, J. M. 1977. Activities 1920–22 Treaty Revision and Reconstruction. Volume XVII of the Collected Works of John Maynard Keynes. Edited by Moggridge, D.. London: Macmillan, and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, for the Royal Economic Society, London.Google Scholar
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Moggridge, D. E. 1992. Maynard Keynes: An Economist’s Biography. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, W. S. 1967. If I Remember Rightly: The Memoirs of W. S. Robinson 1876–1963. Edited by Blainey, G.. Melbourne: Cheshire.Google Scholar
Skidelsky, R. 1992. John Maynard Keynes: The Economist as Saviour 1920–1937. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Skidelsky, R. 2000. John Maynard Keynes: Fighting for Britain 1937–1946. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Richardson, P. 1988. “Robinson, William Sydney (1878–1963).” In AustralianDictionary of Biography. Volume 11. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, pp. 428433.Google Scholar
Slinn, J. 2004. “Falk, Oswald Toynbee (1879–1972).” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. New York: Oxford University Press Online.Google Scholar
Davenport, N. 1974. Memoirs of a City Radical. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson.Google Scholar
Falk, O.T.F. 1918. “Currency and Gold: Now and After the War.” Economic Journal 28: 4351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrod, R.F. 1951. The Life of John Maynard Keynes. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Kahn, R. 1971. Essays on Employment and Growth. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Keynes, J. M. 1923 A Tract on Monetary Reform, London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Keynes, J. M. 1983. Economic Articles and Correspondence: Investment and Editorial. Volume XII of the Collected Works of John Maynard Keynes. Edited by Moggridge, D.. London: Macmillan, and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, for the Royal Economic Society, London.Google Scholar
Keynes, J. M. 1977. Activities 1920–22 Treaty Revision and Reconstruction. Volume XVII of the Collected Works of John Maynard Keynes. Edited by Moggridge, D.. London: Macmillan, and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, for the Royal Economic Society, London.Google Scholar
Keynes, J. M. 1981, Activities 1929–31: Rethinking Employment and Unemployment Policies. Volume XX of the Collected Works of John Maynard Keynes. Edited by Moggridge, D.. London: Macmillan, and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, for the Royal Economic Society, London.Google Scholar
Moggridge, D. E. 1992. Maynard Keynes: An Economist’s Biography. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, W. S. 1967. If I Remember Rightly: The Memoirs of W. S. Robinson 1876–1963. Edited by Blainey, G.. Melbourne: Cheshire.Google Scholar
Skidelsky, R. 1992. John Maynard Keynes: The Economist as Saviour 1920–1937. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Skidelsky, R. 2000. John Maynard Keynes: Fighting for Britain 1937–1946. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Richardson, P. 1988. “Robinson, William Sydney (1878–1963).” In AustralianDictionary of Biography. Volume 11. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, pp. 428433.Google Scholar
Slinn, J. 2004. “Falk, Oswald Toynbee (1879–1972).” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. New York: Oxford University Press Online.Google Scholar