Thomas Mayer
Encyclopedia
Thomas Mayer is emeritus professor of economics at the University of California, Davis
. He previously taught at West Virginia University, Notre Dame University, Michigan State University, and the University of California, Berkeley. He is known for his work in monetary policy
and economic methodology. Mayer received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1953.
, Austria in 1927. He was not a good student, except for subjects that he liked and only barely passed the test to enter gymnasium
. The Anschluss
made it difficult for his father to find work and the family began trying to get out of Austria in 1938. The difficulty was to get a visa to enter another country; leaving Austria was then not a problem. Mayer's parents applied for a visa in March 1938. Because England was accepting refugee children, Mayer was able to get a visa, but had to leave alone in September 1938, without his parents. His father was arrested in November and was released on the condition that he leave Austria within 48 hours, enabling him—but not his wife—to also get a visa to Britain. In November 1941, his mother received a visa to the United States and left on the last boat before Pearl Harbor
, after which transit would have been impossible.
Mayer's father was interned as an "enemy alien
" in England, following the outbreak of war and the issuance of Defence Regulation 18b
and British concern about a fifth column
of Nazi collaborators forming in England. He was released in 1942 and was allowed to work, enabling him to take care of his son. He sent Mayer to Bunce Court School
, then in Shropshire
, where it had been evacuated for the war's duration. The family wasn't reunited until 1944.
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
. He previously taught at West Virginia University, Notre Dame University, Michigan State University, and the University of California, Berkeley. He is known for his work in monetary policy
Monetary policy
Monetary policy is the process by which the monetary authority of a country controls the supply of money, often targeting a rate of interest for the purpose of promoting economic growth and stability. The official goals usually include relatively stable prices and low unemployment...
and economic methodology. Mayer received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1953.
Early life
Mayer was an only child born to middle-class Jewish parents in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria in 1927. He was not a good student, except for subjects that he liked and only barely passed the test to enter gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
. The Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
made it difficult for his father to find work and the family began trying to get out of Austria in 1938. The difficulty was to get a visa to enter another country; leaving Austria was then not a problem. Mayer's parents applied for a visa in March 1938. Because England was accepting refugee children, Mayer was able to get a visa, but had to leave alone in September 1938, without his parents. His father was arrested in November and was released on the condition that he leave Austria within 48 hours, enabling him—but not his wife—to also get a visa to Britain. In November 1941, his mother received a visa to the United States and left on the last boat before Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, after which transit would have been impossible.
Mayer's father was interned as an "enemy alien
Enemy alien
In law, an enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war.-United Kingdom:...
" in England, following the outbreak of war and the issuance of Defence Regulation 18b
Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was the most famous of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during World War II. The complete technical reference name for this rule was: Regulation 18B of the Defence Regulations 1939. It allowed for the internment of...
and British concern about a fifth column
Fifth column
A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group such as a nation from within.-Origin:The term originated with a 1936 radio address by Emilio Mola, a Nationalist General during the 1936–39 Spanish Civil War...
of Nazi collaborators forming in England. He was released in 1942 and was allowed to work, enabling him to take care of his son. He sent Mayer to Bunce Court School
Bunce Court School
The Bunce Court School was an independent, private boarding school in the village of Otterden, in Kent, England. It was founded in 1933 by Anna Essinger, who had previously founded a boarding school, Landschulheim Herrlingen in the south of Germany, but after the Nazi Party seized power in 1933,...
, then in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, where it had been evacuated for the war's duration. The family wasn't reunited until 1944.
Works
- Monetary Policy in the United States, Permanent Income, Wealth and Consumption, Intermediate Macroeconomics
- The Structure of Monetarism
- Money, Banking and the Economy
- Revealing Monetary Policy
- Monetarism and Macroeconomic Policy
- Truth versus Precision in Economics
- Doing Economic Research
- Monetary Policy and the Great Inflation in the United States
External links
- Professor Emeritus Thomas Mayer, faculty page at the UC Davies Department of Economics.