Marcel van Meerhaeghe

Marcel Alfons Gilbert van Meerhaeghe
Born	(1921-04-12) 12 April 1921 Wetteren, Belgium
Died	2014-03-22 Ghent, Belgium
Occupation(s)	Economist, academic, writer, columnist
Years active	1947–2009
Known for	Professor of International Economic Relations at the State University of Ghent; author of Economic Theory. A Critic's Companion

Marcel Alfons Gilbert van Meerhaeghe (born 12 April 1921 in Wetteren – died 22 March 2014 in Ghent) was a distinguished Belgian economist, academic, writer, and columnist.

Van Meerhaeghe held the position of Professor of International Economic Relations at the State University of Ghent. His professional journey merged both theoretical frameworks and applied economic analysis, offering significant perspectives on economic developments and policymaking.

1939–1987

Initially inclined towards a military profession, van Meerhaeghe enrolled at the Royal Military Academy in 1939. Following his experience as a prisoner of war during the Second World War, he obtained master's degrees in Economic Sciences as well as Political Science and Sociology from Ghent University in 1944. He earned his doctorate two years later with a dissertation centered on Belgium’s aviation economics.

He commenced his academic teaching career in political economy at the Colonial University of Belgium in Antwerp in 1947 and expanded to colonial economy courses at Ghent University by 1955. In 1957, he was appointed Professor of Economics and International Economics at Ghent University. Prior to this professorship, he provided economic counsel to the Belgian Ministry of Economic Affairs, acted as faculty advisor at the NATO Defence College (1953–54), and served as an advisor to the Minister of Foreign Trade.

His academic reach extended globally through visiting professorships at the Official University of Belgian Kongo and Ruanda-Urundi (1959), Amsterdam (1962), Constantine in Algeria (1975), and a fellowship at Wolfson College, Cambridge (1973).

Between 1961 and 1969, van Meerhaeghe held leadership roles including Vice-President and subsequently President of Belgium’s Prices Commission, which advised the Minister for Economic Affairs. Additionally, he was a member of the Conseil Central de l'Économie from 1962 to 1969, a key institution facilitating Belgium’s socio-economic discussions.

In 1971, he joined the board overseeing the Belgian-Luxembourg Exchange Control, remaining until its termination in 2002 with the Euro’s introduction. From 1972 through 1980, he served on the supervisory board of the Caisse générale d'épargne et de retraite.

Starting in 1975, van Meerhaeghe contributed articles to the Flemish business publication Trends, working alongside Johan Van Overtveldt who later became chief editor. He was also a frequent contributor to De Standaard between 1988 and 1996.

Known for his independent stance, van Meerhaeghe frequently contested conventional views concerning corporate ethics and public policy. He prioritized shareholder interests above other stakeholders when such prioritization was essential to safeguarding company welfare—a viewpoint that generated discussion among scholars of business ethics.

His intellectual approach closely resonates with American public choice theory, advocating for prudent fiscal management and efficient government operations. Van Meerhaeghe supported Taxpayers Associations internationally as platforms enhancing communication between governments and citizens.

Emeritus

Upon retirement from his official duties in Belgium on 1 October 1986, van Meerhaeghe accepted visiting professorships specializing in international economics and European integration at Tilburg University (1987), the London School of Economics (1987–88), University of Torino (1989–92, 1997–98), and La Sapienza University of Rome (1993–95).

During 1987–1988, he acted as Special Adviser to the European Commission, providing guidance to Commissioner Willy De Clercq on matters related to external relations and foreign trade. He also participated in the 'Europe-12 – Research and Action Committee on the EC,' which produced assessments regarding membership in the European Community.

Van Meerhaeghe contributed intellectually to Brussels-based think tanks such as Institut Européen (1979–2002) and the conservative Centre for the New Europe (1993–2009), where he authored The Information Policy of the European Commission (1995). Since 1988, he held Life Membership in the Mont Pèlerin Society.

From 1986 until 2009, he chaired Centrale Kredietverlening (CKV), a modest savings bank’s Board of Directors.

He was among a group of 165 German-speaking economics professors endorsing the 1998 statement «The Euro starts too early».

Legacy

M. van Meerhaeghe produced 22 authored books (in addition to editing 4 collective volumes) and wrote approximately 160 articles.

Theory Must Mirror Reality

At the outset of his professional journey in 1947, van Meerhaeghe voiced criticism against economic literature that lacked connection to practical realities. He opposed the excessive reliance on mathematical models and championed an applied economics approach that would serve practitioners effectively. His seminal publication, Economic Theory. A Critic's Companion (1980), contested mainstream economic methodologies and was translated into Japanese. Economist Guy Routh, writing in The Economic Journal (1981), commended it as a succinct overview of economic thought from Plato through Friedman, revealing its shortcomings within just 109 pages. The text addresses fundamental economic themes—consumer and producer behavior, pricing, income distribution, growth, and international trade—while evaluating their practical significance.

Routh emphasized van Meerhaeghe’s acknowledgment of earlier economists such as Mayer (1932) and Triffin (1940), whose critical insights were neglected but might have rendered economics more applicable. He foresaw the book’s lasting importance—a prediction confirmed by its ongoing relevance decades later.

Books

Notable publications include:

• Theorie van de Economische Politiek (Stenfert Kroese, Leiden 1962), an extensive textbook on economic policy featuring contributions from Dutch and Belgian specialists including J.E. Andriessen (editor), J. Tinbergen, Pieter Hennipman, André Devreker, Coen Oort, Pieter de Wolff, and Henk Lambers. Van Meerhaeghe served as editor and authored the chapter on international economic policy. Pieter Hennipman dedicated his Welvaartstheorie en economische politiek (Samsom, 1977) to him.
• Marktvormen, marktgedrag en Marktresultaten in België (Story, Ghent 1963), which examines Belgium’s market structures, behaviors, and outcomes.
• International Economic Institutions (Longmans/Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht; seven editions from 1966 to 1998) provides an in-depth review of global and regional organizations. The final edition discusses rationalization measures and escape clauses.
• Economics: Britain and the EEC (Longmans, London 1969), a collection of symposium papers addressing Britain's bid to join the European Economic Community, featuring economists such as Harry Johnson and John Pinder.
• Price Theory and Price Policy (Longmans, London 1969), comprising six essays reflecting van Meerhaeghe’s tenure as president of the Prices Commission, including critiques of neo-classical price theory alongside analyses of public price policy tools.
• Economics, A Critical Approach (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1971), presenting a skeptical examination of economic theory.
• International Economics (Longman/Prentice Hall Press, London/New York 1972), an applied economics textbook lauded for its lucid theoretical discussions and practical focus, notably its chapter on the international monetary system.
• The Envy Society (De afgunstmaatschappij) (Stenfert Kroese, Leiden 1977), a compilation of columns addressing social and economic topics.
• Economic Theory. A Critic's Companion (H.E. Stenfert Kroese/Antwerp/Martinus Nijhoff/Boston/Lancaster 1980; second edition 1986), with the latter edition published by Springer.
• Museum of grootmacht. De identiteitscrisis van Europa (Lannoo, Tielt 1985), a reflection on Europe’s identity crisis through lectures referencing A.I. Solzhenitsyn.
• Belgium and EC Membership Evaluated (Pinter Publishers/St. Martin's Press, 1992), featuring contributions from fourteen authors including Filip Abraham, Roger Blanpain, Marc Quintyn, Alfred Cahen, Philippe de Schoutheete, Jean-Pierre De Bandt, and Jef Vuchelen.

1959–2002

The instruction of international economics encompassed presenting lectures at a wide array of universities and international forums. These included venues such as Warsaw (1961), Geneva (focusing on science and technology for developing nations), Pretoria (1964; discussing the Cultural Treaty linking South Africa, the Netherlands, and Belgium), Bratislava, Hull, Prague (1969, 1989), Iasi (1971), Alvor, Vienna (U.N.I.D.O.), Berlin, Uppsala, New York, Cracow (1977), Sofia, Naples, Florence, Moscow (1992), Jena, Orel, Valencia, Haigerloch, Göteborg, Porto, Lisbon, and Venice (2001). A number of these presentations were subsequently transformed into published essays, including:

• Die Entwicklung der Wirtschaft im Kongo. Folgerungen für die Theorie des Wirtschaftswachstums (Nürnberger Vorträge – Gegenwartsfragen aus Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, Band 2; Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1965).

• Aktuelle Probleme der belgischen Wirtschaftspolitik (Kieler Vorträge, Heft 43, Institut für Weltwirtschaft an der Universität Kiel 1966).

• Il Mediterraneo e la Comunità Europea, Parallelo 38, Università per Stranieri "Dante Alighieri" Reggio Calabria, supplemento al n. 10, ottobre 1991.

• The 'revolution' in the Belgian banking environment, Repères - Bulletin Économique et Financier II/1995; derived from the Società Italiana di Economia, Demografia e Statistica conference held in Capri in 1994, addressing the premature introduction of the EMU.

• Regional Policy of the European Communities, featured in Institutional aspects of regionalism in a Pan-European context, the Second Belgian-Russian Scientific Seminar (Yekaterinburg, 1996).

Heilbronn Symposium

Van Meerhaeghe stressed the necessity of interpreting economic phenomena through their political, social, psychological, and cultural frameworks while underscoring the value of historical comprehension. Beginning in 1999, he actively engaged with the Annual Heilbronn Symposium in Economics and the Social Sciences. This event revisits principles rooted in the Historical School and German classical economic thought from the 18th and 19th centuries. He observed that numerous modern economic theories essentially recycle concepts originally developed in Germany during that period.

Notable contributions to the symposium include:

• The lost chapter of Schumpeter’s ‘Economic Development’ within Joseph Aloïs Schumpeter. Entrepreneurship, style and vision, where van Meerhaeghe positions Schumpeter as surpassing Keynes due to his broad economic perspective coupled with historical depth.

• Nietzsche and economics alongside Nietzsche and business ethics, which investigate Nietzsche’s relatively minor influence on economic theory despite his philosophical ideas bearing some relevance to economic discourse.

• Bismarck and the social question, an examination of Otto von Bismarck’s social welfare initiatives aimed at maintaining state cohesion and societal harmony while acknowledging that addressing the Social Question required a multi-generational effort.

• The international aspects of Justi’s work, highlighting Johann Heinrich Gottlob von Justi’s liberal approach to foreign trade and demographic policies in contrast to prevailing protectionist tendencies.

• Is Montaigne a Utopian?, challenging the characterization of Montaigne as a utopian thinker and instead presenting him as a progenitor of modern sceptical philosophy.

• Mature Cameralism According to Pfeiffer, clarifying that cameralism represents a variant of mercantilism advocating for trade liberalization and contesting Adam Smith’s criticisms.

• The Austrian and German "Economist" in the interwar period: international aspects, linking Keynes’ economic analyses following World War I with German resistance to the Treaty of Versailles.

• Globalisation: concept, outcome, future – a continental view, evaluating political, social, and economic dynamics such as multiculturalism versus patriotism, capitalism versus state interventionism, and globalization’s undemocratic tendencies. Van Meerhaeghe concludes by emphasizing Russia as a natural European trading partner amid ongoing global transformations.

Selected publications

Van Meerhaeghe authored numerous influential articles, among them:

• The International Monetary Fund Twenty Years On, Economia Internazionale (Genoa), Vol. XXI, No. 1, February 1968, pp. 97–114. This piece critiques inefficiencies in many developing nations, partly attributing these issues to the premature granting of independence by colonial powers without fostering local leadership.
• Culture and Economics, Economia delle Scelte Pubbliche, Vol. IV, 1986–3, pp. 157–163. Investigates cultural policy and government subsidies, highlighting the relatively inelastic demand for cultural goods.
• The awkward difference between philosophy and reality, European Affairs, vol. 3, no. 1 (1989), pp. 18–23. Focuses on challenges in planning and executing programs effectively.
• The EC's significance for Belgium, Repères - Bulletin Économique et Financier, II/1993, pp. 12–17.
• Globalisation and Africa, Africana (Universidade Portucalense), March 1999, Iss. 20, pp. 127–149. Raises concerns regarding financial deregulation and the vulnerability of undercapitalized banks amid expanding capital markets.
• Econometrics: an appraisal, Journal of Economic Studies, Aug. 2000, Vol. 27, Iss. 4/5, pp. 316–325. Contends that economic theory should be shaped by empirical evidence rather than forcing facts to fit preconceived models.
• Capitalism and the 2008 crisis, Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice, Vol. XXVI, 2008–2/3, pp. 155–181. Provides an analysis of the financial crisis emphasizing insufficient regulatory frameworks, drawing from van Meerhaeghe’s expertise in banking and government sectors. Questions the appropriateness of the term "capitalism" when financial institutions rely on public bailouts and criticizes the absence of academic guidance to banks during the turmoil. Recommends that Sterling adopt the euro swiftly amid Brexit-related uncertainties despite the UK's oil and gas production capabilities.