WARTIME GOVERNMENT

These three static graphs compare how economists at Cambridge interacted with the British government during the two World Wars and in times of peace.

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[ How to Read this Graph ] [ How we use data ] [ The history behind the map ]

• HOW TO READ THIS GRAPH
  These static graphs show how a large cohort of economists gained government work experience during periods of wartime. It was during these periods that many in the economics faculty commuted to London to staff offices in the Ministries of Supply and Production as well as in the Board of Trade. In peacetime, however, it is clear that many of the economists worked and advocated on behalf of international organizations (most notably the League of Nations and the United Nations, depicted in orange). It is also worth noting which economists served in the military, and that there was little overlap between those individuals and those who were advocates of international governmental organizations.

• HOW WE USE DATA
  See the previous graph, "Government."

• THE HISTORY BEHIND THE MAP
  During the two world wars, Britain and the other warring nations mobilized their labor forces and began to assert greater control over their economies. Some economists saw combat. Dennis Robertson served with distinction in the Middle East during World War I, writing long, emotive letters to Keynes from his barracks in Cairo. A.C. Pigou, through his service with the Friends' Ambulance Corps, saw the "mud-stained soldiery" and the "shattered ruins of Ypres Cathedral." Yet economists gained a very different sort of experience as well. As Britain engaged in nationalization, and experimentation in planned order, economists became the technical advisors and administrators of government agencies that affected such control. The wars created loci of interaction between economics and policy, throwing bureaucrats and theorists together under one roof.