The 2015 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Angus Deaton for his deep analytical work regarding consumption, welfare, and poverty. Born in Edinburgh in 1945, this British-American scholar has spent decades examining how individual purchasing decisions dictate aggregate economic outcomes, fundamentally altering the way researchers approach microeconomics, development economics, and social inequality.
Academic Foundations and Early Research
Deaton attended Hawick High School and Fettes College before moving to the University of Cambridge. At Fitzwilliam College, he earned his doctorate in 1975, completing a thesis on consumer demand models under the supervision of Richard Stone. His early professional path included work at the University of Bristol, where he served as Professor of Econometrics starting in 1976. During this period, he produced the Almost Ideal Demand System, a 1980 publication in The American Economic Review that became a standard tool for welfare analysis by offering a flexible way to estimate demand equations.
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In 1983, Deaton joined Princeton University, eventually holding the title of Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs. His research expanded to address global wellbeing and health disparities. His contributions earned him the inaugural Frisch Medal in 1978 and the 2011 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award. By 2016, he transitioned to the status of Senior Scholar and professor emeritus at Princeton, while maintaining a joint appointment as Presidential Professor of Economics at the University of Southern California.
Investigating Morbidity and Mortality
Collaborating with Anne Case, Deaton investigated health trends among middle-aged white non-Hispanic Americans. Their 2015 study identified rising mortality rates attributed to drug use, suicide, and alcohol poisoning, which they characterized as deaths of despair. Their follow-up research in 2017 suggested that worsening labor market opportunities for less-educated segments of this demographic contributed to cumulative health disadvantages. Deaton has since advocated for economists to increase their engagement with the insights of philosophers, historians, and sociologists.
Fast facts
- Born: 1945, Edinburgh
- Education: University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam College
- Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences: 2015
- Citizenship: United Kingdom and United States
- Known for: Almost Ideal Demand System
- Academic appointments: Princeton University, University of Bristol, University of Southern California
- Frisch Medal recipient: 1978
Questions readers ask
What is the Almost Ideal Demand System?
It is a consumer demand model developed by Deaton and John Muellbauer that allows for the estimation of how consumption choices respond to price and income changes.
What does Deaton mean by deaths of despair?
The term refers to mortality trends, specifically among middle-aged white non-Hispanic Americans, resulting from suicide, drug overdoses, and chronic liver diseases.
Achievements
- Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel — 2015
- Affiliated with Princeton University, University of Bristol and University of Southern California
- Educated at Fitzwilliam College and University of Cambridge
- Worked as economist, university teacher and writer
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