Edward S. Mason (1899–1992)

Edward S. Mason (1899–1992) was a leading figure in Harvard’s Economics Department from 1923 until 1969, serving also as a US government official and an international civil servant throughout his career. After a brief synthesis of Mason’s life before joining Harvard, this chapter discusses his doctoral dissertation on dumping and early studies of nineteenth-century French anarchists and socialists, culminating in a 1930 book on the 1871 Paris Commune. We then examine Mason’s two major subjects of study, namely the modern corporation and industrial organisation, and the problems of developing economies. The chapter shows how he contributed to those fields as a scholar, as a civil servant and as an institution builder. Though Mason’s research interests and discursive style set him apart from cutting-edge mathematised economics research, his writings remain important examples of an analytical method that blended attention to historical processes and political sensitivity.