PIGOU, ARTHUR CECIL

born Nov. 18, 1877, Ryde, Isle of Wight, Eng. died March 7, 1959, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire one of the most eminent British economists of the 20th century, noted for his studies in welfare economics. Educated at King's College, Cambridge, Pigou succeeded Alfred Marshall in the chair of political economy at Cambridge in 1908. It was primarily through his efforts that Marshall's ideas were disseminated and provided the leading theoretical basis for what subsequently became known as the Cambridge school of economics. Pigou's most significant and influential work was The Economics of Welfare (1920), in which he sought to explore the effects of economic activity upon the total welfare of society and its various groups and classes. Pigou applied his powers of economic analysis to a number of other problems, including tariff policy, unemployment, and public finance. He also served on the Royal Commission on Income Tax (191920) and on two committees on the currency (191819; 192425).