Arrow Lectures

The Arrow Lecture Series on Ethics and Leadership honors the late Nobel Laureate Kenneth Arrow, the Joan Kenney Professor of Economics and Professor of Operations Research, Emeritus.

Professor Arrow made many contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory and collective decision-making. He was also a founding member of the Ethics in Society Undergraduate Honors program. He passed away in 2017. Kenneth Arrow, one of the greatest economists of the 20th century, died in 2017 at the age of 95. He was of the generation of economists whose ideas were formed by the dislocation and turmoil of the Great Depression and World War II, a generation that includes John Nash, Paul Samuelson, Harold Hotelling, and Milton Friedman. Now when so much of economics is straightjacketed by a failure to take account of ethical considerations, Arrow’s work demonstrates that economics is fundamentally a moral science. Whether tackling climate change, international security, healthcare provision, inequality, or racial prejudice, for Ken, economics was first and foremost a means to help improve human well-being. Indeed, his focus on well-being led him to consider the importance of trust and moral codes, as well as government regulations, for market behavior. Homo economicus cannot be out for himself alone. Read more of Debra Satz's tribute.

In 2005, Patrick Byrne endowed the Arrow Lecture Series in Ethics and Leadership. Byrne is the founder and CEO of Overstock.com and he holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Stanford.