Adolfo Figueroa Arévalo
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Adolfo Figueroa Arévalo | |
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| Born | 14 April 1941 Carhuaz, Ancash, Peru |
| Died | 25 November 2022 |
| Nationality | Peruvian |
| Institutions | National University of San Marcos; Pontifical Catholic University of Peru |
| Alma mater | National University of San Marcos; Vanderbilt University |
| Doctoral advisor | Werner Baer |
| Influences | Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, Karl Popper |
Adolfo Figueroa Arévalo (14 April 1941 – 25 November 2022)[1] was a Peruvian economist, researcher, and professor recognised for his contributions to development economics and the study of inequality in Peru and Latin America.
Biography
Figueroa was born in Carhuaz, Ancash, Peru. In 1965, he obtained a bachelor's degree in economics from the National University of San Marcos, and in 1966 received the professional title of Licenciado in economics. In the same year, he began teaching at San Marcos and participated in the first seminar for economics professors organised by the Central Reserve Bank of Peru, where he met economists and intellectuals including Richard Webb, Michael Kuczynski, and the Mexican historian Leopoldo Solís.[2] Figueroa later pursued graduate studies at Vanderbilt University, obtaining a Master of Science in Economic Development in 1966 and a Ph.D. in Economics in 1972. His studies were supported by a scholarship from the Ford Foundation, under the condition that he would return to Peru after completing his academic training. At Vanderbilt, his doctoral research was supervised by Werner Baer, while the work of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen became an important intellectual influence on his later scholarship. His doctoral dissertation, Income distribution, employment, and development: The case of Peru, was listed in The American Economic Review annual survey of doctoral dissertations in political economy.[3][4]
In addition to his work on inequality and development economics, Figueroa contributed to the epistemology and methodology of economics. Figueroa is described as one of the few economists in Peru to devote sustained attention to the epistemology of economic science, and as one of the few Latin American economists to develop theoretical approaches aimed at explaining the realities of Latin American societies, particularly Peruvian society.[5]
Theoretical contributions
Figueroa developed a unified theory of capitalism that explains both developed and underdeveloped economies through a taxonomy of three society types: Epsilon (developed, homogeneous), Omega (overpopulated, homogeneous), and Sigma (overpopulated, heterogeneous). The theory predicts that unemployment, underemployment, and ethnic income gaps are persistent structural features, not transitional anomalies.[6]
Figueroa argued that education does not reduce income inequality but perpetuates it, and that no endogenous mechanism—neither public policy, international investment, nor education—can close the gap between First and Third World societies.
Publications
- La distribución del ingreso en el Perú (with Richard Webb), 1976
- Rules for Scientific Research in Economics: The Alpha-Beta Method, 2016
- Economics of the Anthropocene Age, 2017
- The Quality of Society: Essays on the Unified Theory of Capitalism, 2019
- The Quality of Society, Volume II: Essays on the Unified Theory of Capitalism, 2021
- The Quality of Society, Volume III: Essays on the Unified Theory of Capitalism, 2023
References
- ↑ "En memoria de Adolfo Figueroa Arévalo". Facultad de Ciencias Sociales - Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (in español). 30 November 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
- ↑ Jiménez, Félix, ed. (2010). Teoría económica y desarrollo social: Exclusión, desigualdad y democracia. Homenaje a Adolfo Figueroa (in español). Fondo Editorial de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. p. 358. ISBN 978-9972-42-922-4.
- ↑ "Sixty-Ninth List of Doctoral Dissertations in Political Economy in American Universities and Colleges". The American Economic Review. American Economic Association. 62 (5): 1029–1071. 1972. JSTOR 1815232.
- ↑ Jiménez, Félix, ed. (2010). Teoría económica y desarrollo social: Exclusión, desigualdad y democracia. Homenaje a Adolfo Figueroa (in español). Fondo Editorial de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. pp. 358–359. ISBN 978-9972-42-922-4.
- ↑ Cisneros García, Juan (August 2014). Apuntes sobre la Metodología Alfa Beta: Las Proposiciones Alfa. Serie Apuntes de Clase ΩΒΓ (in español). Lima: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas.
- ↑ Jiménez, Félix (2008). "Comentario a Nuestro mundo social de Adolfo Figueroa". Economía (in español). Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. XXXI (62): 149–156.
External links
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