John R. Hicks was a trailblazing and influential neo-Keynesian economist whose works remain highly relevant to the field of economics even today. Hicks is remembered primarily for his contributions to microeconomic and macroeconomic price, utility and welfare theory, the IS-LM model, and the Hicks compensation test.

A member of the British Academy since 1938, Hicks was born in British India in 1904 and remained in the country until 1925 when he completed his studies and received a BA from Cambridge. After completing his PhD in 1933 at the University of Cambridge, Hicks went on to serve as a professor at the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, London School of Economics, University of Chicago, and Yale University. During his career, Hicks was editor or served on the editorial board of numerous journals, including the Journal of Economic Literature, Journal of Economic Theory, and Review of Economic Studies.

Hicks' most influential accomplishments are undoubtedly in the fields of welfare economics, general equilibrium, macroeconomics and microeconomics. His publication Value and Capital (a text on microeconomics) in 1939, set him on the path to greats works. In 1937, Hicks developed the compensation principle also known as the Hicks compensation test; an innovation in welfare economics that employs the idea of compensating price effects to measure changes in social welfare. In 1939, Hicks developed the IS-LM model, a macroeconomic framework that describes the relationship between interest rates, asset prices and GDP.

In 1972, Hicks was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the fields of welfare economics, general equilibrium and macroeconomics. In the same year, he was appointed to the Order of Merit, an award reserved for a select few in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the British Empire.

John R. Hicks had an extraordinary career and is remembered as one of the most influential and innovative thinkers in his field. Not only has his work advanced the fields of economics and welfare, but his contributions have been remembered, celebrated, and developed upon for years to come. Hicks died in 1989 at the age of 85, leaving a lasting impact on the field of economics.