Merrill Mason Gaffney (1923-2020) was an accomplished and prolific scholar at the forefront of a tax-policy movement.  This work advocated taxing only land that was based upon the ideas of Henry George, which sparked the Progressive movement in the 19th century, writes David Cay Johnson of the New York Times. Gaffney’s contributions to the field of economics helped shape our understanding of resource rent collection and sharing.

Professor Gaffney earned his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley where he wrote his dissertation, “Land Speculation as an Obstacle to Ideal Allocation of Land.”  After earning his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, Professor Gaffney taught at the University of Oregon; the University of California, Berkeley; North Carolina State University; the University of Missouri; and the University of Wisconsin. In 1976, Professor Gaffney began teaching economics at the University of California, Riverside, where he taught economics for 37 years. He wrote and co-wrote several books, book chapters, and articles as well as lectured and presented extensively.

Professor Gaffney was for many years a valued board member of the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation that benefited greatly from his many contributions.

The Robert Schalkenbach Foundation is honored to partner with the Danica Foundation and Mason and Letitia Gaffney Trust to create the first and only comprehensive digital and physical collections of Gaffney’s works and make them available, free of charge, in perpetuity.

This collection consists of research, writings, working papers and notes, presentations, teaching materials, correspondence and items of a personal nature.

You can search Professor Gaffney’s works using the Engle Georgist Library online catalog. Searches can be conducted by keyword (highly recommended), title, subject tag, etc.  Please check back often as we continue to add works to this digital collection. If you have any questions, please contact our librarian at [email protected].