Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • James Tobin: An American economist who lived from 1918 to 2002. He was a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1981 for his analysis of financial markets and their relations to expenditure decisions, employment, production, and prices.

Usage Examples

• Proper noun:
  • The Tobin tax, proposed by James Tobin, is a suggested tax on currency transactions.
  • James Tobin's work on portfolio selection theory is a cornerstone of financial economics.

Advanced Usage

• "Tobin's q": A financial ratio, developed by James Tobin, comparing the market value of a company to the replacement cost of its assets.

  • Analysts use Tobin's q to assess whether a firm is overvalued or undervalued.

• "Tobin tax": A proposed tax on spot currency conversions, intended to penalize short-term financial speculation.

  • Advocates argue a Tobin tax could reduce volatility in foreign exchange markets.

Variants and Related Words

• Tobinesque (adj): Characteristic of or relating to the economic theories of James Tobin.
  • The policy proposal had a distinctly Tobinesque focus on market efficiency and stabilization.

Synonyms

• Economist: A specialist in economics.
• Nobel laureate: A person who has been awarded a Nobel Prize.

Related Terms and Concepts

• Portfolio choice theory: A theory associated with James Tobin concerning how investors balance risk and return.
• Liquidity preference: A Keynesian concept on which Tobin expanded in his monetary theory.

Noun

1. United States economist (1918-2002)