David: to my knowledge there was no direct involvement on the part of  
JM Clark in the establishment of the Clark medal. This may be useful:

Inauguration of the Francis A. Walker and John Bates Clark Awards
The American Economic Review, Vol. 38, No. 2, Papers and Proceedings  
of the Sixtieth Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association  
(May, 1948)




David Mitch <[log in to unmask]> ha scritto:

> In 1949, Kenneth Boulding was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal for best
> economist under the age of 40. He was the second person to get this award,
> after Paul Samuelson in 1947.  Could anyone explain why Boulding would have
> been chosen for this award?   It is not evident to me at least that his
> contributions or potential circa 1949 would have put him in the same league
> as other early Clark winners including Samuelson, Friedman, and Tobin.  In
> posing this query, I intend no disrespect for either Boulding, who I think
> had a quite fascinating and worthwhile career, or the Clark Medal.  I would
> just like to try to understand why Boulding might have been chosen for this
> award in 1949.
>
> By the way, I have looked at Philippe Fontaine's 2010 article on Boulding
> in _Science in Context_. I think it is an excellent article. But it doesn't
> address directly the question of why Boulding might have gotten the Clark
> Medal.
>
> A related query is what were the institutional arrangements for selecting
> the Clark Medal winner in the late 1940s.  Presumably there was a selection
> committee.  Who was on this committee?
> Would John Maurice Clark, JB Clark's son have been involved in the
> selection process?  Was there some pot of money involved in funding this
> award?  If so, where did the money come from?
>
> David Mitch
>
> --
> David Mitch
> Professor of Economics
> Graduate Program Director
> Economic Policy Analysis
> Affiliate Professor, Asian Studies
> University of Maryland, Baltimore County
> email: [log in to unmask]