Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/316362 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
CHOPE Working Paper No. 2025-05
Publisher: 
Duke University, Center for the History of Political Economy (CHOPE), Durham, NC
Abstract: 
This article examines the career of American economist Robert Dorfman (1916-2002), marked by pioneering work on linear programming in the 1950s, interdisciplinary research on water management in the 1960s, and contributions to environmental economics in the 1970s. It identifies his main contributions and highlights the connections between his various research themes. While Dorfman stands out for his didactic abilities and commitment to interdisciplinary, the article also underscores similarities between his career and those of other economists he had relations with, notably Kenneth Arrow. This suggests that the successive interest in linear programming in the 1950s and environmental economics in the 1970s extends beyond Dorfman alone.
Subjects: 
Robert Dorfman
linear programming
cost-benefit analysis
water management
environmental economics
Harvard Water Program
JEL: 
B30
D61
Q25
Q50
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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