Morris Altman
Morris Altman is a Canadian behavioral, institutional, and cooperative economist. He is currently the Dean of the University of Dundee School of Business and Chair Professor of Behavioral and Institutional Economics and Co-operatives. Altman is known internationally for his contributions to ethical economic modeling, cooperative enterprise, labor market fairness, and high-wage economic systems.
Early life and education
Altman was born in Canada to immigrant parents—his mother a seamstress and his father a factory worker. He was the first in his family to attend university, an experience that shaped his lifelong commitment to fairness, economic inclusion, and social justice. He earned a PhD in Economics from McGill University in 1984, with a research background in economic history, ethics, and institutional analysis.
Academic career
Altman currently serves as Dean of the University of Dundee School of Business in Scotland. He has held several leadership roles throughout his career, including:
- Dean and Professor, Newcastle Business School, University of Newcastle, Australia
- Head of Economics and Finance, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
- Head of Economics and Emeritus Professor, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
He has also held visiting academic appointments at:
- University of Cambridge (Elected Visiting Fellow)
- University of Canterbury (Erskine Fellow)
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Halbert Professor)
- Cornell University
- Duke University
- Stanford University
- University of Stirling
Altman served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Socio-Economics for a decade and co-founded the Review of Behavioral Economics.
Research
Altman’s research focuses on the intersection of behavioral economics, cooperative enterprise, institutional theory, and economic justice. He has published over 120 peer-reviewed journal articles and authored or edited 18 academic books. His work is known for challenging traditional neoclassical assumptions by integrating behavioral realism, ethical principles, and institutional structures into economic models.
His research includes:
- The viability of multistakeholder co-operatives
- High-wage economic development models
- Behavioral decision-making under imperfect and asymmetric information
- Survey-based choice experiments and behavioral sports economics (including joint research with his daughter, Hannah Altman)
Selected publications
- Behavioral Economics for Dummies (Wiley, 2012)
- Economic Growth and the High Wage Economy (Routledge, 2016)
- Co-operative and Community-Based Economy (Routledge, 2019)
- Why Not Capitalism? (Routledge, forthcoming 2024)
Awards and recognition
Altman’s contributions have been recognized by several academic honors, including:
- Ludwig Mai Service Award, Association for Social Economics (2016)
- President, Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (2003–2005)
- President, Association for Social Economics (2009)
- Elected Member, International Co-operative Alliance Research Committee
- Listed in Marquis Who’s Who in the World
- Listed in AcademicKeys’ Who’s Who in Social Sciences Higher Education
He co-founded the modern iteration of the Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics in 1992, alongside John Tomer and Shlomo Maital.
Teaching
Altman has taught extensively at undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral levels, with topics including:
- Microeconomics
- Macroeconomics
- Behavioral and Institutional Economics
- Labor Economics
- Gender Pay Inequality
- Economic Development and Economic History
Personal life
Altman has one younger brother, Earney Altman. He frequently collaborates on research with his daughter, economist Dr Hannah Altman. He has been married for over 40 years to his wife Louise Lamontagne.
References
External links
https://www.dundee.ac.uk/people/morris-altman https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/persons/morris-altman https://usaskstudies.coop/profiles/profile-morris-altman.php https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9XiRRzsAAAAJ&hl=en https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=360564 https://ideas.repec.org/e/pal46.html https://app.dundee.ac.uk/news/2019/candidates-beat-international-competition-to-land-deans-roles.php https://icaroap.icaap.coop/icanews/interview-professor-morris-altman-university-dundee-united-kingdom https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/author/morris-altman/ https://www.routledge.com/Handbook-of-Contemporary-Behavioral-Economics-Foundations-and-Developments/Altman/p/book/9781138953208
This article "Morris Altman" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Morris Altman. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
- ↑ "Professor Morris Altman". University of Dundee. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
- ↑ Altman, Morris (2019). Co-operative and Community-Based Economy. Routledge. Search this book on
- ↑ "SABE Past Presidents". Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
