Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1932-2007 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
2.52 linear feet (6 document cases)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Theodore W. Schultz (1902–1998) was an influential economist known for his work on human capital and agricultural economics. Born on April 30, 1902, in Arlington, South Dakota, he was the eldest of eight children. Due to labor shortages during World War I, he worked on the family farm instead of attending high school. The agricultural depression of the 1920s motivated him to study the economic factors affecting farmers. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from South Dakota State University in 1926 and went on to the University of Wisconsin, where he completed his master’s and doctoral degrees in 1930.
Schultz began his teaching career in agricultural economics at Iowa State University, later becoming head of the Department of Economic Sociology. During World War II, he and his colleagues produced reports on government policies affecting agriculture. One controversial report recommended substituting margarine for butter, leading to opposition from the Iowa dairy industry and college administration. In 1943, Schultz successfully fought against censorship but resigned in protest along with several colleagues. He then joined the University of Chicago, where he became department chairman and played a key role in establishing Chicago as a center for economic innovation. In 1952, he was named a Charles L. Hutchinson Distinguished Service Professor, a position he held until retiring as emeritus professor in 1972.
Schultz pioneered the concept of human capital, arguing that investment in education and skills enhances economic productivity. He also challenged traditional views on agriculture, emphasizing its role in economic development beyond just food production. In 1979, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, shared with Arthur Lewis, for his groundbreaking research on economic development and human capital. He also received the Francis A. Walker Medal in 1972, a prestigious honor given by the American Economic Association every five years. Schultz authored and edited numerous books and served as an adviser to major foundations, federal agencies, the White House, and the military. He received five honorary doctorates, including one from South Dakota State University.
Schultz married Esther Werth, a fellow South Dakota native and SDSU graduate. They had two daughters, Elaine and Margaret, and one son, T. Paul. Though he formally retired in 1972, he remained active in research until 1990, when a hip fracture left him bedridden. He passed away on February 26, 1998, in Evanston, Illinois, due to complications from pneumonia.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The Theodore W. Schultz Collection documents the extensive contributions of Schultz to economics, particularly in agricultural productivity, human capital, and economic development. The collection spans from 1932 to 1992, with the bulk consisting of Schultz's personal collection of articles, primarily offprints from journals, many bearing his signature. Included are a few articles authored by others that review Schultz's work or contain biographical material. This archive is a valuable resource for understanding Schultz's intellectual impact and the evolution of economic thought in these fields.
The general series includes correspondence (1975-1989) and a small number of collected works. Notably, the correspondence contains a letter from Schultz to Dr. Leon Raney, Dean of Libraries at South Dakota State University, discussing the creation of a bibliography of his works. His publications include books, reports, and reprinted articles on key economic themes such as foreign aid, agricultural development, investment in human capital, and educational policies. Prominent works include Agricultural Productivity in Low-Income Countries(1981), The Economics of Being Poor(1980), and Investing in People(1981).
The Dale Hoover Collection on Theodore Schultz consists of draft articles and conference papers, with some article reprints. Collected by Dale Hoover, a faculty member at North Carolina State University's Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, this material includes highlighted passages, annotations by Hoover, and correspondence from Schultz. Schultz sought Hoover's input on drafts before publication. Additionally, the Schultz Symposium materials (1980-1981) reflect continued discussions on his economic theories. This collection is significant for researchers studying economic policy, agricultural economics, and human capital investment, offering firsthand insights into Schultz's academic and professional influence.
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Telephone: 605-688-5094
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Reproduction of materials from the collection is subject to the following conditions:
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Language of material
English
Script of material
Language and script notes
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Finding aids
Uploaded finding aid
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Bibliography
Agriculture in an Unstable Economy
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1945.
Call number: Books/Upper Level: HD1761.S27
Crisi Economiche nell'Agricoltura Mondiale
Roma: Instituto Nazionale di Economia Agraria, 1967.
Call number: Archives: HD1415.S3316
Distortions of Agricultural Incentives
Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1978.
Call number: Books/Upper Level: HD1405.D57 1978
Economic Crises in World Agriculture
Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1965.
Call number: Books/Upper Level: HD1415.S34e
Economic Growth and Agriculture
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968.
Call number: Books/Upper Level: HD1415.S342 1968
The Economic Organization of Agriculture
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1953.
Call number: Books/Upper Level: HD1411.S35e
The Economic Value of Education
New York: Columbia University Press, 1963.
Call number: Archives: LB41.S35e
The Economics of Being Poor
Oxford, UK; Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1993.
Call number: Books/Upper Level: HC79.P6 S335 1993
The Economics of Research and Agricultural Productivity
[New York]: International Agricultural Development Service, 1979.
Call number: Books/Upper Level: S540.A2 S36
Economics of the Family: Marriage, Children, and Human Capital
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974.
Call number: Archives: HQ728.E3
Food for the World
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1945.
Call number: Books/Upper Level: TX353.S35f
Human Resources
New York: National Bureau of Economic Research, distributed by Columbia University Press, 1972.
Call number: Books/Upper Level: HB501.5.F5 1971
Investing in People: The Economics of Population Quality
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1981.
Call number: Archives: HD4904.7.S37
Investment in Human Capital: The Role of Education and Research
New York: Free Press, 1971.
Call number: Archives: HB501.5.S35i
La Organizacian Economica de la Agricultura
Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Economica, 1965.
Call number: Archives: HD1411.S4318 1965
Lectures in Agricultural Economics
[Washington]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 1977.
Call number: Archives: HD1761.L42 1977
O Capital Humano: Investimentos em Education e Pesquisa
Rio de Janeiro: Zahar Editores, 1973.
Call number: Archives: HB501.5.S32
Production and Welfare of Agriculture
New York: Macmillan, 1949.
Call number: Books/Upper Level: HD1761.S278
Redirecting Farm Policy
New York: Macmillan, 1943.
Call number: Books/Upper Level: HD1761.S28
Restoring Economic Equilibrium: Human Capital in the Modernizing Economy
Oxford, UK; Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1990.
Call number: Books/Upper Level: HD75.S38 1990
Selected Presentations from a Symposium with Theodore W. Schultz, Nobel Laureate in Economics
Brookings, SD: South Dakota State University, 1981.
Call number: Archives: HD1417.S38
Training and Recruiting of Personnel in the Rural Social Studies
Washington, DC: American Council on Education, 1941.
Call number: Books/Upper Level: HT411.S35
Transforming Traditional Agriculture
New Haven: Yale University Press, 1964.
Call number: Books/Upper Level: HD1411.S35t
Vanishing Farm Markets and Our World Trade
Boston: World Peace Foundation, 1935.
Call number: Books/Upper Level: HD1761.S3
Publication note
Related Material
South Dakota State University's Schultz-Werth Award Manuscript: Correspondence (1964-)
South Dakota State University, Schultz-Werth Award Committee
Call number: Archives: LB2383.S61
Schultz-Werth Award Manuscript: List of Papers and Award Winners (1964-)
South Dakota State University
Call number: Archives: LB2383.S612
Schultz-Werth Award Manuscript: Papers (1964-)
South Dakota State University
Call number: Archives: LB2383.S6
Theodore W. Schultz Papers
University of Chicago, Library, Department of Special Collections
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Library, 1997?
Call number: Books/Upper Level: HD1771.5.S38 1997
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Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Schultz, Theodore W. (Theodore William), 1902-1998 (Subject)
- Hoover, Dale, 1923- (Subject)