Profile of Professor Arthur Denzau, SPE

I have not had the pleasure of taking any of the classes taught by Professor Denzau yet, and as such, I initially felt somewhat at a disadvantage having to write his profile for this project. So I decided to start by asking a couple of my classmates (Fred Clarke and Yoon Min Kim) about him, and I got the enthusiastic reply, “Art? He’s the coolest guy!”, and I thought well that’s a good start. And from that point on, the more I read about Professor Denzau, the more impressed I became. He is truly an erudite scholar and an inspiring gentleman.

Professor Arthur T. Denzau is a Professor of Economics and the Associate Dean of the School of Politics and Economics at CGU. He first came to CGU as a Visiting Professor in 1993-1994 and subsequently joined as a faculty member in 1994. His biography is a compelling story of hard work, ambition and perseverance, and who better to tell it than he himself.  The following is an extract from his CGU homepage at http://www.cgu.edu/pages/414.asp :

Like many other academicians who always seek to become exposed to new ideas, different viewpoints and different scholarly traditions, Professor Denzau has led a nomadic life. He has taught at a number of Universities in the United States and in Asia, including: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; the University of Arizona; Washington University; Tulane University; NIDA, Kasetsart University, and Chulalongkong University in Bangkok; and Sultan Qaboos University in Oman.

Professor Denzau’s research interests are numerous and include: evolutionary economics, the political economy of trade, public economics, and institutional change. These themes relate to the main purpose that drives his research, which is discovery of the factors that preempt economic growth.

“My research is gradually coming to focus on a question that I heard Nobel laureate Douglass North pose nine years ago: "Why have almost all societies in human history failed to grow economically in per capita terms for more than a generation?" Much of my current work, along with my students here at CGU deals pretty directly with this question: we ask what it is that governments do to hinder or destroy economic growth.” (http://www.cgu.edu/pages/414.asp )

His multi-disciplinary background in Economics, Public Policy, Mathematics, Law, and Electronics has made him knowledgeable in more than one field and has broadened the scope of his expertise. Being a man of many talents, his teaching interests are manifold and diverse in character. They include: Law and Economics, Technological Change, Public Economics, Industrial Organization, Micro-Economic Theory, History of Thought, Economics of Organization, Political Economy of Japan and Econometrics! (Wow)

He has published numerous articles in top academic journals, as well as in edited volumes. He has undertaken numerous studies at such renowned institutions as the Hoover Institution (Stanford University), the Center in Political Economy (Washington University, and the Center for the Study of Public Choice (George Mason University). He has also presented various papers at academic conferences and workshops. It was interesting to note the diversity of topics that he writes about. He meanders between politics and economics and does not limit himself to a particular area of specialization. I was struck by the fact that among his writings, I even found this title: “Thomas Jefferson and the Failure to Convict Justice Samuel P. Chase,” (revised Oct 1990). [For a complete list of his works you may refer to his Curriculum Vita posted at http://www.cgu.edu/pages/416.asp ]

 Professor Denzau’s work departs from the New Institutionalist approach to economics. The focus within New Institutionalism has been the pervasive influence of institutions, including the state, on human behavior through rules, norms, and other frameworks. This approach has been closely associated with Washington University in St. Louis where Douglass North, who won a Nobel Prize in 1993 for his work with New Institutionalism, currently teaches. (www.wikipedia.com) Professor Denzau has remained linked to this institution throughout the years first as student and then as Professor and researcher. He has greatly been influenced by the ideas of Douglass North.