Victor Norman: A pioneer of trade theory

Victor Norman: A pioneer of trade theory

Victor Norman, a prominent Norwegian economist and leading figure in international economics passed away last year.

His ground breaking early work in the 1970s which integrated new and old trade theories was first presented with great acclaim at Warwick University’s department of economics - one of the most successful economics departments founded in the 1960s.

Although this early work never reached publication it had a huge influence on the American economist Paul Krugman who won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2008 for his work on “new trade theory” and economic geography.

During his visits to Warwick in the 1970s Victor met Avinash Dixit a professor in the department before moving to the US. This collaboration would last many years and resulted in the publication of their highly influential book “Theory of International Trade” in 1980 which still remains on graduate reading lists today.

Avinash Dixit received an honorary doctorate from the University of Warwick in 2007. He was Professor of Economics at Warwick from 1974 prior to going to Princeton University in 1981.

Commenting on his relationship with Victor Norman, Avinash said:

“Victor Norman’s first visit to Warwick was during the summer of 1976. I introduced him to English life by taking him to a full hot summer day of a cricket test match at Lord’s. I am happy to say that despite that ordeal, he remained a good friend and willing to collaborate on research. We discussed many ideas over games of bar billiards in the Warwick faculty club, resulting in a paper on advertising and welfare (Bell Journal 1978), the book on international trade, and a few related papers.

“During his struggle with the cancer that took him, we were working on a new paper offering a simple unified framework to help us understand why many policies pertaining to such seemingly diverse phenomena such as immigration, drug use, and social media fail to have desired effects.

“The economics profession has lost a star who spanned the whole spectrum from formal theory to practical policy - he even served a stint in the Norwegian cabinet - and one who took such delight in all his work and interactions. His smile and chuckles will stay in our memories.”

Dennis Novy, Professor of Economics and CAGE Impact Director said:

“There is no doubt that Warwick economics provided a crucial springboard for Victor Norman to advance and launch his pioneering ideas on international trade. He was arguable the first researcher to develop ‘new trade theory’ and the landmark Dixit-Norman book is still significant 45 years later.”

Read more:

• CEPR: Victor Norman in memory
• Richard Baldwin, Professor of International Economics: Did Victor Norman do the New Trade Theory first?
• Professor Mark Harrison comment on Avinash Dixit’s honorary doctorate
• Professor Andrew Oswald interviews Avinash Dixit on the event of his receiving an honorary doctorate from Warwick University