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Richard A. Musgrave Papers

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Held at: Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers [Contact Us]

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Musgrave, Richard A. (Richard Abel), 1910-2007

Richard Abel Musgrave (1910-2007) was a leading 20th-century economist whose work transformed the field of public finance. He was considered a candidate for the Nobel Prize. Musgrave's seminal work, The Theory of Public Finance(1959), theorized the economic role of government in partnership with the private sector in democratic societies. Musgrave conceptualized the public sector budget as having three branches concerned with the allocation of resources, the distribution of income, and stabilization of the economy. Musgrave also introduced the new concept of "merit wants." His work further revolutionized public finance by applying microeconomic analysis, Keynesian macroeconomics and consideration of equity to theories of taxation. Renowned for its accessible style, the book is still considered a major theoretical work in the field of public finance. The Musgraves' co-authored 1973 work Public Finance in Theory and Practicealso remains an important textbook. Musgrave served as an advisor on tax reform to a number of governments, including postwar Germany, Colombia, Bolivia, Puerto Rico, Indonesia, South Korea, and Taiwan. In addition, he served as editor of the Quarterly Journal of Economics and was founder and President of the International Seminar in Public Economics. He was a Fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Science, and was a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association and the National Tax Association as well as Honorary President of the International Institute of Public Finance. He was awarded the Frank E. Seidman Award in Political Economy in 1981.

Consists of the professional files of Richard A. Musgrave. The material documents Musgrave's career as an economist and professor, and includes publications and presentations, drafts, discussion papers, conference materials, reports, editorial and teaching materials, email correspondence and written correspondence, and awards received.

Gift of Peggy B. Musgrave in October 2008 [ML.2008.026]. Additional accessions came in 2009 and 2012 [ML.2009.018 and ML.2012.006]

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

This collection was processed by Regine Heberlein on July 29, 2010. Materials were re-housed in archival boxes and a series-level description was created at this time. Materials from the March 2012 accession were added to the collection and the finding aid was updated by Maureen Callahan on April 16,2013. Materials from the March 2012 accession were moved into archival folders at this time.

No information about appraisal is available is available for this collection.

Publisher
Public Policy Papers
Finding Aid Date
2007
Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, any copyright vested in the donor has passed to The Trustees of Princeton University and researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of donor-created materials within the collection. For materials in the collection not created by the donor, or where the material is not an original, the copyright is likely not held by the University. In these instances, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have a question about who owns the copyright for an item, you may request clarification by contacting us through the Ask Us! form.

Collection Inventory

Scope and Contents

Materials document Musgrave's career as an economist and professor, and include writings, speeches, syllabi for Harvard courses, discussion papers, conference materials, email correspondence and written correspondence

Arrangement

The order in which these materials were sent to Princeton has been maintained.

Physical Description

7 boxes

Publications By Authors Other Than Musgrave, 1961-1996. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Publications By and About Musgrave, 1941-1991. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

(Includes cover of 1984 Allied Social Science Associations Program designed by M.)

Physical Description

1 box

Publications Regarding Finance By Authors Other Than Musgrave, 1874-1980. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Wagner, 1893. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Correspondence, 1978-2007. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Publications By and About Joseph A. Schumpeter, 1949-1992. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Industrial Service Medal, Republic of Korea, 1972. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Misc. Drafts, undated. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Course Readings for Economics for the Lawyer (Harvard Law School 1968), 1960-1986. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Honors and Awards, 1980-2001. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

(Includes photographs.)

Physical Description

1 box

Correspondence regarding Professional Activities and Awards, 1981-2005. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

(Includes letters written by and addressed to Peggy M.)

Physical Description

1 box

Obituaries, 2007. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Book Reviews, 1999-2001. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Diamond, Peter, 2004. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Cartoons from Columbia regarding Musgrave, undated. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Opinions, 1978-2006. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

(Includes an autobiographical article written for his stepdaughter, Pam.)

Physical Description

1 box

National Tax Journal -Hansen, invited paper, 1988. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Munich, 2001. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Michigan, 1999. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

(Includes correspondence regarding the Richard Musgrave Prize of the National Tax Journal.)

Physical Description

1 box

Reprints, 1968-1988. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Personal-Keep, 1979-1993. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Correspondence, 1979-1993. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Misc. Correspondence, 1983-1992. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Evaluations, 1978-1990. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Professional, 1979-1994. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Op-Ed Pieces, 1989. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Speeches and Professional Papers, 1963-1992. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Awards, 1991-2001. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Afro, 2000. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Requests, 1979-1999. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Correspondence, 1978-1999. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Own Work, 1966. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Correspondence, 1978-1991. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Riew, John, 1992-1999. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Correspondence, 1979-1985. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Japan Trip, 1980. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Tax Reform Planning-A Discussion Paper, 1967. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Jerusalem, 1980. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

OAS-Organization of American States, 1972. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Korea, 1967. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Publisher, 1987. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Correspondence, 1970-2002. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Correspondence with Willi Hüfner, 1999-2001. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Obituaries and Death Notices, 2007-2008. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Publications Regarding Public Goods By Authors Other Than Musgrave, 1957-1996. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Letters, 2003-2005. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Data, 2003-2004. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Musgrave's Report-Indonesia, 1974. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Publications, 1942-1992. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

(Includes drafts and page proofs.)

Physical Description

1 box

Publications By Authors Other Than Musgrave, 1994-1996. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Books, dates not examined. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

(Includes: Musgrave, Richard A. and Malcolm Gillis (ed.). Fiscal Reform for Columbia. Final Report and Staff Papers of the Colombian Commission on Tax Reform. Cambridge: The Law School of Harvard University, 1971. Musgrave, Richard A. Reprints. Private Binding. )

Physical Description

1 box

Johnson "Brain Trust,", 1963-1964. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

"Ileolanthe: An Almost Entirely Unoriginal Comic Opera in One (That's Enough) Act,", undated. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Correspondence with Ben Friedman, 2000. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Copies of German Newspapers, 1906. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

(Includes obituary of Karl Abel (paternal grandfather) and photostat of the 1910 December 14 (Musgrave's birthday) issue of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung )

Physical Description

1 box

Recent Papers, 1996-2002. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

The International Seminar in Public Economics, 1997-1999. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Taiwan, 1968. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

University of California, Santa Cruz, 1989. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Ver Eecke, Wilfried, 2003. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Kaplow, Louis, 2002-2003. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Brookings, 2003-2004. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Munich-Center for Economic Studies, 2002-2004. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Liberty Fund, Inc, 1996. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Portugal, 1989. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Photos, 1962. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Colombia, 1970-1988. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

(Includes correspondence relating to M.'s visit to Argentina.)

Physical Description

1 box

Fiscal Policy Seminar (Brookings Institution), 1975-1988. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Bank Conference, 1990. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

The International Seminar in Public Economics, 1974. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Puerto Rico Report, undated. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Correspondence (alpha), 1979-2006`, dates not examined. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Biographical, 1985-2007. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

(Includes handwritten genealogy of the Abel-Prüfer family)

Physical Description

1 box

Misc. Publications and Professional Activities, 1989-2008. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Publications Regarding Social Philosophy By Authors Other Than Musgrave, 1907-1981. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

(For Economics 2080 Economy and Society)

Physical Description

1 box

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Interview, 2006. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Press, 1989. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Biographical, 1990-2008. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

90th Birthday, 2000. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Writings and Speeches, 1986-2000. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Bibliography etc, 1990. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

(Includes biographical material.)

Physical Description

1 box

Homburg, Germany, dates not examined. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

(Includes material regarding presentations given at various universities in Germany and Switzeland, 1993-1995)

Physical Description

1 box

Belgium, 1976-1977. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Portugal, 1968. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

(Contains news clippings.)

Physical Description

1 box

Portugal, 1978. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

(Includes material regarding a visit in Spain)

Physical Description

1 box

Speeches, 1980. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Reviews, 1974. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Reports, 1967-1968. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Scope and Contents

The material in this accession includes email and other correspondence as well as select articles. Also includes an autographed photograph of Adlai Stevenson.

Arrangement

The order in which these materials were sent to Princeton has been maintained.

Physical Description

1 box

Miscellaneous Correspondence and Articles, 1992-2004. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Scope and Contents

The material in this accession includes memoranda and conference papers (all unpublished) by Richard Musgrave.

Arrangement

The order in which these materials were sent to Princeton has been maintained.

Physical Description

1 box

"Tax Reduction after the War", 1944 May 30. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

"Economic Issues of Postwar Tax Reform" Summary of Comments, 1944 June 2. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

"Three Plans for Postwar Taxation: A comparison of the C.E.D., Twin Cities and Ruml-Sonne Tax Proposals ", 1944 October 4. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

"Postwar Fiscal Policy", undated. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

"Alternative Budget Policies for Full Employment", 1945 March 13. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

"Measuring the Impact of the Personal Income Tax on Savings", 1944 November 8. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Print, Suggest