Kenneth J. Arrow

Interview

Interview, August 2008

Interview with the 1972 Economics Laureate, Kenneth J. Arrow, 27 August, 2008. The interviewer is Adam Smith, Editor-in-Chief of Nobelprize.org.

Kenneth Arrow discusses his early education and the appeal of probability theory, his efforts during World War II to improve flight routes by calculating wind patterns (20:26), how the Impossibility Theorem was born (36:15), and why his theories on health “changed the whole texture of how people thought about the problem” (43:15). He also outlines the economics of climate change (51:00) and speculates on the biggest challenges facing economics today (53:25).

To cite this section
MLA style: Kenneth J. Arrow – Interview. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Wed. 13 Nov 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1972/arrow/interview/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Nobel Prizes and laureates

Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.

See them all presented here.

Illustration

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.