Friday, December 6, 2013

The Washing Machine Repairman

Here's a fun quote.
"As I remember, Bill X fixed my washing machine. My husband, Harry X, brought him home to talk economics after a Cambridge dinner in hall and they walked in on my frustration with the washer. I met a slight-statured, quiet man who modestly asked if he could help. He tried something with a screw-driver which may have worked - or perhaps it didn't work - and went back to talking economics'"

Who were  "Harry" and Bill?


© 2013, David E. Giles

8 comments:

  1. just guessing: harry markowitz and bill sharpe ?

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  2. Replies
    1. Hmm... I think Coase was still in London while Phillips was there.

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  3. Harry Johnson no doubt.

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    Replies
    1. Indeed it was. The quote is from Elizabeth Johnson, "Economist - Washing Machine Fixer", in R. Leeson (ed.), "A. W. H. Phillips: Collected Works in Contemporary Perspective", Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 200, p. 23.

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    2. I don't think the timelines match.

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