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Summary

Abstract:
Karl Pribram was an emigre economist from Austria and an expert on economic thought and policymaking. The Pribram Papers include diaries, documents, correspondence, manuscripts, notes and Pribram's publications.
Extent:
10 cubic ft.
Language:
German , English .
Preferred citation:

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Karl Pribram Papers, 1877-1973. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Pribram Papers).

Background

Scope and Content:

The Karl Pribram Papers consist of 10 cubic feet of materials, 1877-1973, and include diaries, documents, correspondence, manuscripts, notes and publications of Karl Pribram. The bulk of the collection consists of Pribram's writings, both in manuscript and published form, on labor, housing, unemployment and the history of economic thought. His papers include writings intended for publication as well as memoranda generated by Pribram during his years at the U.S. Social Security Board and the U.S. Tariff Commission.

Biographical / Historical:

Karl Pribram (1877-1973) was an Austrian-born economist who held important positions before and during World War I in the Austrian government, with the International Labour Office in Geneva in the 1920s, and after his emigration to the United States in 1934, with the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Social Security Board and the U.S. Tariff Commission. Dr. Pribram also lectured at the University of Vienna, was Professor of Economics at the University of Frankfurt am Main from 1928 to 1933, and later at American University in Washington, D.C.

Pribram's extensive writings cover topics in labor economics, industrial organization and in the history of economic thought. His works include Unification of Social Insurance (1925), Cartel Problems; An Analysis of Collective Monopolies in Europe with American Application (1935), Social Insurance in Europe and Social Security in the United States (1937), Foreign Trade Policy of Austria (1945), Conflicting Patterns of Thought (1949), and his posthumously published A History of Economic Reasoning (1983). Pribram has been described by Nobel Laureate Friedrich A. Hayek as "without exception the most learned man in the field"

Chronology of Events

Date Event 1877 Born on December 2 in Prague, Czechoslovakia to Otto and Leonore Popper Pribram. 1895 Graduated from the Deutsches Staats-Gymnasium, Prague. 1895-1900 Studied law at the University of Prague. 1900 Received Dr. jur. from the University of Prague. 1900-1902 Practiced law 1902-1907 Studied social sciences, economics at the Universities of Berlin and Vienna. 1907 Habilitation in political economics at the University of Vienna. 1909-1921 Worked as statistician in the Austrian Civil Service (Wirtschaftsstatistik, Statistische Zentralkommission), eventually earning the title of Ministerialrat. 1914 Earned title of Professor, University of Vienna. 1919-1921 Chief of the Legislative Division for Social Policy in the Austrian Ministry for Social Administration. 1921-1928 Head of the Statistical Section of the International Office of Labor, Geneva, Switzerland. 1928-1933 Professor of economics, University of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. 1929 Married Edith Körnei on April 4. 1933 Set sail from Hamburg, Germany on the S. S. Manhattan on December 15. 1924 Receives degrees of Pol.Sc.D. and LL.D. from Halle, June 20 1934 Arrived in New York 1934-1936 Member of the research staff of the Brookings Institute, Washington, D.C. 1936-1942 Served as Senior Economic Expert on the U. S. Social Security Board. 1939-1952 Adjunct Professor of Economics at American University, Washington, D.C. 1942-1951 Served as Senior Economist at the U.S. Tariff Commission. 1973 Died on July 14 in Washington, D.C.
Acquisition information:
All items in this manuscript collection were transferred to the University Libraries, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, by the estate of Edith Pribram, the widow of Karl Pribram, in January 1989.
Processing information:

Initial processing completed by Geoffrey Huth in 1989. Fully processed in 2007 by Sandra Hunt Hawrylchak.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into seven series:

  1. Series 1: Diaries and notebooks, 1945-1971
  2. Series 2: Biographical materials and documents, 1883-1949
  3. Series 3: Correspondence, 1900-1958
  4. Series 4: Correspondence and memoranda related to Pribram's positions, 1933-1947
  5. Series 5: Manuscripts and typescripts; notes, including lecture notes, 1923-1952
  6. Series 6: Publications of Karl Pribram, 1904-1951
  7. Series 7: Publications by others
Physical location:
The materials are located onsite in the department.

Contents


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RESTRICTIONS:

Access to this record group is unrestricted.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

PREFERRED CITATION:

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Karl Pribram Papers, 1877-1973. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Pribram Papers).

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