Richard M. Goodwin was born in Newcastle, Indiana, on February 24, 1913. He graduated with honors from Harvard University in 1934, defending a thesis titled A Critique of Marxism. From 1934 to 1937, he continued his studies at Oxford University, earning a degree in Political Science, Philosophy, and Economics. It was at Oxford that he deepened his interest in economic dynamics, benefiting from his proximity to Roy Harrod, a close disciple of Keynes. During his time at Oxford, Goodwin also attended the Ruskin Art School, nurturing what would become another lifelong passion: painting.
Awarded a scholarship in 1938, Goodwin returned to Harvard, where he earned a Master’s in Economics and later, in 1941, a Ph.D. in Economics with a dissertation titled Studies in Money. England and Wales, 1919 to 1938. At Harvard, he studied under esteemed scholars such as Wassily Leontief and Joseph Schumpeter, the latter having played a key role in shaping modern theories of economic development and business cycles. After teaching at Harvard for several years, Goodwin moved to the United Kingdom in the early 1950s, joining the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Cambridge. He remained at Cambridge until 1980, first as a Lecturer and later as a Reader.
In 1980, Goodwin was appointed Full Professor of Political Economy at the Faculty of Economic and Banking Sciences at the University of Siena, becoming the first foreign economist in Italy to win a public competition for a professorship. This period proved to be one of the most intellectually rich and productive phases of his career. He revisited and deepened his research themes, placing increasing emphasis on the role of complex dynamic theory in economics. His work was profoundly influenced by Marx, Schumpeter, Keynes, and Harrod, drawing from their ideas to study the dynamic laws of capitalist economic systems. His research focused on developing formal models that could simultaneously explain economic cycles, growth, and the inherent instability of capitalist economies.
Named Professor Emeritus in 1983, Goodwin remained an active participant in academic life even after his formal retirement in 1988. He continued teaching in the Ph.D. program in Economics and took part in department seminars, many of which were held in what is now known as Aula Goodwin, a lecture hall adorned with some of his paintings. His final course on economic dynamics was delivered in the spring of 1995.
A significant portion of Goodwin’s personal archives was donated by him to the Faculty of Economics at the University of Siena during his lifetime, with additional materials acquired after his passing from his last residence in Siena. Beyond economics, Goodwin maintained a lifelong passion for art history and painting. Many of his works are still displayed at the Department of Economics and Statistics, reflecting the depth and diversity of his intellectual and artistic pursuits.