Black, Duncan 1908 – 1991
Archival location guide — where this economist’s surviving papers are held, their notable correspondents, and key published sources.
Born 1908 · died 1991
Duncan Black, FBA was a Scottish economist who laid the foundations of social choice theory and public choice. In particular he was responsible for unearthing the work of many early political scientists, including Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, and was responsible for the Black electoral system, a Condorcet method whereby, in the absence of a Condorcet winner, the Borda winner is chosen.
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The following description is taken from the catalogue of the collection compiled by the Glasgow University Archive Service: ‘The catalogue is made up mainly of notes made by Black during his career as an economist, including his influential work on voting theory. The earliest material dates from Black's student days at Glasgow University, the bulk of it is the research and lecture notes made as an academic at various British and American Universities, and after his retirement, when he worked extensively on the political theory of the Rev. Charles L Dodgson (Lewis Carroll). The work on Lewis Carroll was a continuation of Black's research into the history of social choice, which formed part of his book The Theory of Committees and Elections, published in 1958. Early drafts of this book form part of the archive, as do the rejection letters which greeted it during the 1940s. Other areas Black worked on include Game Theory, Public Finance and Theory of Value.’ The collection includes professional correspondence for the period 1932-90 and autobiographical material. Reference: GUAS: DC304.
Correspondence with the editors of the Economic Journal, 1947-50
British Library of Political and Economic Science (BLPES)/Royal Economic Society (RES)/6/1/43
Correspondents
The following collections of letters exceeding 5 to each of the persons named can be found in GUAS: DC 304/4.
RONALD H. COASE, 1988-1990
MORTON COHEN, 1963-1970
J. KENNETH EASTHAM, 1956-1982
RAGNAR FRISCH, 1947-51
ARTHUR SELDON, 1966-83
GORDON TULLOCK, 1958-88
Printed material
Formal Contributions to the Theory of Public Choice; the unpublished works of Duncan Black, edited by Gordon L. Brady and Gordon Tullock (Boston, London, 1996)
A Mathematical Approach to Proportional Representation: Duncan Black on Lewis Carroll, edited by Iain McLean, Alistair MacMillan, and Burt L. Monroe (Boston, London, 1996)
New Palgrave,
R. H. Coase, ‘Duncan Black, 1908-1991, Proceedings of the British Academy, 1993, 82, 353-65.