Category: Courses

For the academic year 1897-1898 we are blessed with ample records for the economics courses offered (and bracketed) at Harvard. Detailed course descriptions, enrollment figures, semester-end exams are available and have been transcribed below for almost every course.

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ECONOMICS.
GENERAL STATEMENT.

Course 1 is introductory to the other courses. It is intended to give a general survey of the subject for those who take but one course in Economics, and also to prepare for the further study of the subject in advanced courses. It is usually taken with most profit by undergraduates in the second or third year of their college career. It may be taken with advantage in the second year by those who are attracted to political and social subjects. A knowledge of general history (such as is given in Course 1 in History) is a useful preparation.

The advanced courses divide themselves into two groups. The first group contains Courses 2, 3, 13, 14, 15, which are concerned chiefly with economic and social theory. Courses 2 and 15 follow the development of economic theory from its beginnings to the present time, with critical examination of the conclusions reached by economists of the past and the present. Course 13, on scope and method in economic investigation, continues the same subjects; it is taken to best advantage after either 2 or 15. Course 3 considers the wider aspects of economic and social study, and reviews the progress of sociological inquiry. Course 14 takes up the history and literature of socialistic and communistic proposals, and leads to a discussion of the foundations of existing institutions.

The second group contains the remaining courses, which are of a more descriptive and historical character. In all of them, however, attention is given to principles as well as to facts, and some acquaintance with the outlines of economic theory is called for.

Before taking any of the advanced courses, students are strongly advised to consult with the instructors. Courses 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 may not be taken without the previous consent of the instructors. It is advised that Course 1 be taken in all cases as a preparation for the advanced courses; and such students only as have passed satisfactorily in Course 1 will be admitted to Courses 2, 3, 4, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. But Courses 5, 7, and 9, may also be taken by Juniors and Seniors of good rank who are taking Course 1 at the same time; Course 6 is open to students who have taken or are taking cither History 13 or Economies 1; and Courses 10 and 11 are open to students who have passed satisfactorily either in History 1 or in Economics 1.

The Seminary in Economics is intended primarily for Graduate Students; but Seniors in Harvard College, who have had adequate training in the subject, may be admitted to it.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98,  pp. 30-31.

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Outlines of Economics
Economics 1

I. Outlines of Economics. —Principles of Political Economy.— Lectures on Social Questions and Monetary Legislation. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Professor  [Frank William] Taussig, Asst. Professor Edward Cummings, Dr. John Cummings, assisted by Messrs. [Charles Sumner] Griffin, [Edward Henry] Warren, and ——.

Course 1 gives a general introduction to economic study, and a general view of Economics sufficient for those who have not further time to give to the subject. It begins with a consideration of the principles of production, distribution, exchange, money, and international trade, which is continued through the first half-year. In the second half-year, some of the applications of economic principles and some wider aspects of economic study are taken up. Social questions and the relations of labor and capital, the theory and practice of banking, and the recent currency legislation of the United States, will be successively treated in outline.

Course 1 will be conducted mainly by lectures. A course of reading will be laid down, and weekly written exercises will test the work of students in following systematically and continuously the lectures and the prescribed reading. Large parts of Mill’s Principles of Political Economy will be read, as well as parts of other general books; while detailed references will be given for the reading on the application and illustration of economic principles.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98,  p. 31.

Economics 1: Enrollment

[Economics] 1. Professor [Frank William] Taussig, Asst. Professor [Edward] Cummings, Dr. [John] Cummings, and Messrs. [Charles Sumner] Griffin, [Charles Whitney] Mixter and [Edward Henry] Warren. — Outlines of Economics. — Principles of Political Economy.— Social Questions, and Financial Legislation.  3 hours.

Total 381: 32 Seniors, 99 Juniors, 199 Sophomores, 14 Freshmen, 37 Others.

Source:   Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1897-98, p. 77.

1897-98
Economics 1.
[Mid-year Examination]

1. Is a shop building, situated on a busy city street, capital? is the land on which it stands capital? Is a dwelling on a fashionable city street capital? the land on which it stands?
2. Does the rent of a piece of land determine its price, and if so, how? or does its price determine the rent, and if so, how?
3. Do you believe that differences in wages in different occupations would cease if, by gratuitous education and support, access to each occupation were made equally easy for all?
4. Mention a case in which the income received by a person doing no manual labor is to be regarded as wages; one in which it is to be regarded as profits; one in which it is to be regarded as interest; and one in which the classification would be regarded as doubtful.
5. Explain what is meant by the effective desire of accumulation; and consider whether, in a country like England, the minimum return on capital fixed by it has been reached.
6. “The quantity demanded [of any commodity] is not a fixed quantity, even at the same time and place; it varies according to the value; if the thing is cheap, there is usually a demand for more of it than when it is dear. The demand, therefore, depends partly on the value. But it was laid down before that value depends on the demand. From this contradiction, how shall we extricate ourselves? How solve the paradox, of two things, each depending on the other?”
   What answer did Mill give to the question thus put by him?
7. Does the proposition that value is determined by cost of production hold true of gold?
8. Is it advantageous to a country to substitute paper money completely for specie?
9. Trace the consequences of an issue of inconvertible paper, greater in amount than the specie previously in circulation, on prices, on the foreign exchanges, and on the relations of debtor and creditor.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1897-98.

1897-98.
Economics 1.
[Final Examination]

Arrange your answers strictly in the order of the questions.

1. In what sense does Mill use the terms “value” and “price”? Professor Hadley? What do you conceive to be meant by the “socialistic theory” of value?
2. “Many people regard the luxury of the rich as being on the whole a means of preventing harm to the poor. They regard free expenditure of the capitalists’ money as a gain to laborers, and its saving as a loss.” Is this view sound?
3. What services are rendered to society by commercial speculation? by industrial speculation?
4. Patent-laws, protection by customs duties, private ownership of land, — wherein analogous, in Professor Hadley’s view? in your own view?
5. Does Mill regard the rent of land as an “unearned increment”? Does Professor Hadley? On what grounds do they reach their conclusions?
6. “By far the most important form of consumers’ coöperation is exemplified in government management of industrial enterprises.” Why, or why not, is government management to be regarded as a form of consumers’ coöperation? What other forms of such coöperation have had wide development?
7. The peculiarities of labor considered as a commodity; and the grounds on which it is concluded that “the members of trade unions are in a condition entirely like that of the sellers of other commodities.”
8. Consider how, according to Mill, successive issues of paper-money will affect the supply of specie in a country; and explain how far this theoretical conclusion was or was not verified by the mode in which the silver currency (dollars and certificates) issued under the act of 1878 affected the supply of gold in the United States.
9. On what ground does Mill object to the issue of inconvertible paper? On what ground does Professor Dunbar object to the legal tender paper now issued by the United States? Wherein are the objections similar, wherein different?
10. “If we try to make things for which we have only moderate advantages, and in so doing divert labor and capital from those where we have extraordinary ones, we do not, in general, make money; we lose more than we gain.” — HADLEY. Point out wherein this statement is akin to the analysis of international trade by Mill, and explain precisely what is here meant by making or losing money.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Examination Papers 1898-99, Bound Volume, pp. 40-41.

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Mediaeval Economic History of Europe
Economics 10
[Omitted in 1897-98.]

[*10. The Mediaeval Economic History of Europe. Tu., Th., (and at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 12. Professor [William James] Ashley.]

The object of this course is to give a general view of the economic development of society during the Middle Ages. It will deal, among others, with the following topics: — the manorial system in its relation to mediaeval agriculture and serfdom ; the merchant gilds and the beginnings of town life and of trade ; the craft gild and the gild-system of industry, compared with earlier and later forms; the commercial supremacy of the Hanseatic and Italian merchants ; the trade routes of the Middle Ages and of the sixteenth century ; the merchant adventurers and the great trading companies ; the agrarian changes of the fifteenth nd sixteenth centuries and the break-up of the mediaeval organization of social classes ; the appearance of new manufactures and of the domestic industry.

Special attention will be devoted to England, but that country will be treated as illustrating the broader features of the economic evolution of the whole of western Europe; and attention will be called to the chief peculiarities of the economic history of France, Germany, and Italy.

Students will be introduced in this course to the use of the original sources, and they will need to be able to translate easy Latin.

It is desirable that they should already possess some general acquaintance with mediaeval history, and those who are deficient in this respect will be expected to read one or two supplementary books, to be suggested by the instructor. The course is conveniently taken after, before, or in conjunction with History 9; and it will be of especial use to those who intend to study the law of Real Property.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, pp. 31-32.

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Modern Economic History of Europe and America
(from 1500)
Economics 11

11. The Modern Economic History of Europe and America (from 1500). Tu., Th., (and at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 12. Professor [William James] Ashley.

This course, — which will usually alternate with Course 10 in successive years, — while intended to form a sequel to Course 10, will nevertheless be independent, and may usefully be taken by those who have not followed the history of the earlier period. The main thread of connection will be found in the history of trade; but the outlines of the history of agriculture and industry will also be set forth, and the forms of social organization dependent upon them. England, as the first home of the “great industry,” will demand a large share of attention; but the parallel or divergent economic history of the United States, and of the great countries of western Europe, will be considered side by side with it.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, p. 32.

 Economics 11: Enrollment
1897-98

[Economics] 11. Professor Ashley— The Modern Economic History of Europe and America (from 1500). 2 or 3 hours.

Total 16: 9 Graduates, 5 Seniors, 1 Junior, 1 Sophomore.

Source:   Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1897-98, p. 77.

1897-98.
Economics 11.
[Mid-year Examination]

N.B.—Not more than eight questions should be attempted.

1. “Locutus sum de breviori via ad loca aromatum per maritimam navigationem quam sit ea quam facitis per Guineam.” Translate and comment upon this.
2. Give some account of the Fairs of Champagne.
3. What light does Jones’ account of agricultural conditions in Europe in his own time cast upon the agrarian history of England in the 15th and 16th centuries? Be as definite as possible in your answer.
4. What do you suppose happened to the “craft-gilds” of England during the reign of Edward VI?
5. Discuss the purpose and effect of the statute 5 Eliz. c. 4, in the matter of the Assessment of Wages.
6. What were the essential characteristics of the “Domestic System” of Industry?
7. Give some account of the industrial legislation of France in the 16th century.
8. “The policy of Europe occasions a very important inequality in the whole of the advantages and disadvantages of the different employments of labour and stock.” What had the writer of this passage in mind?
9. Give some account of any four of the following: Albuquerque, Veramuyden, Jacob Fugger, John Hales, Jacques Cartier, Bartholomew Diaz, Barthelemy Laffemas.
10. Give a critical account of any really important work, not prescribed, of which you have read any considerable portion in connection with this course.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1897-98.

1897-98.
Economics 11.
[Year-end Examination]

N.B.- Not more than eight questions should be attempted.

1. “Publicae mendicationis licentiam posse civium legibus cohiberi ad liquidum ostendit ille absolutus Theologus, loannes Major.” Translate; and shew the significance of the position thus maintained.
2. Illustrate from the history of Hamburg the change in the position of the Hanseatic League during the 16th century.
3. Distinguish between the various races of immigrants into England since 1500, and state shortly the several respects in which the trade and industry of England were influenced by each.
4. “Perhaps the wisest of all the commercial regulations of England.” Give a brief account of the enactment of which Adam Smith thus speaks; distinguish between the various aspects in which it may be regarded; and give your own opinion as to the justice of Adam Smith’s observation.
5. Explain the position of “les Six Corps” at Paris. Does London furnish any analogous institutions?
6. “Hitherto,” i.e. up to 1750, “industry had been chiefly carried on in England by numbers of smaller capitalists who were also manual workmen.” Criticise this as a bit of exposition.
7. The position of Arthur Young in economic history.
8. The commercial policy of the younger Pitt.
9. Mention, with the briefest possible comment, some of the more important features in which the agricultural, industrial and commercial life of the England of to-day differs from that of the England of 1750.
10. What were the principal defects in the administration of the English Poor Laws prior to 1834, and how was it sought to remedy them?
11. Explain the need for the English Factory Acts, and give some account of their history.
12. Give a critical estimate of any really important book, not prescribed, of which you have read any considerable proportion in connection with this course during the second half-year.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Examination Papers 1898-99, Bound Volume, pp. 50-51.

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The Economic History of the United States
Economics 6

6. The Economic History of the United States. Tu., Th., at 2.30, and a third hour at the pleasure of the instructors. Mr. [Guy Stevens] Callender.

Course 6 gives a general survey of the economic history of the United States from the formation of the Union to the present time, and considers also the mode in which economic principles are illustrated by the experience so surveyed. A review is made of the financial history of the United States, including Hamilton’s financial system, the second Bank of the United States and the banking systems of the period preceding the Civil War, coinage history, the finances of the Civil War, and the banking and currency history of the period since the Civil War. The history of manufacturing industries is taken up in connection with the course of international trade and of tariff legislation, the successive tariffs being followed and their economic effects considered. The land policy of the United States is examined partly in its relation to the growth of population and the inflow of immigrants, and partly in its relation to the history of transportation, including the movement for internal improvements, the beginnings of the railway system, the land grants and subsidies, and the successive bursts of activity in railway building. Comparison will be made from time to time with the contemporary economic history of European countries.

Written work will be required of all students, and a course of reading will be prescribed, and tested by examination. The course is taken advantageously with or after History 13. While an acquaintance with economic principles is not indispensable, students are strongly advised to take the course after having taken Economics 1, or, if this be not easy to arrange, at the same time with that course.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, pp. 32-33.

Economics 6: Enrollment

[Economics] 6. Dr. Callender. — The Economic History of the United States. 3 hours.

Total 94: 4 Graduates, 38 Seniors, 41 Juniors, 8 Sophomores, 1 Sophomore, 2 Others.

Source:   Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1897-98, p. 78.

1897-98.
Economics 6.
[Mid-year Examination]

[Omit one question from each group]

I.

1. “The effect of England’s policy was, through a restriction of the market, to render the production of those staple commodities (i.e. of agriculture, and the fisheries) less profitable. Thus New England, and later the middle colonies, not being allowed to exchange their normal products for England’s manufactures, were forced to begin manufacturing for themselves.”—
   “Briefly describe the measures designed to prevent the rise of manufactures in the colonies; and state whether in your opinion the growth of manufactures in the northern colonies was stopped chiefly by this legislation or by other causes.
2. The American colonies during the Revolution were in much the same economic position as the South during the Rebellion. The chief resource of the latter was the value of its cotton crop to the world; that of the former was the supposed value of their trade to the nations of Europe. Describe the various ways in which the Revolutionary statesmen made use of this resource.
3. Judging from the opinions of statesmen as well as from acts of legislation what would you say were the leading objects of American Commercial policy from 1783 to 1789?
4. State briefly the exact circumstances which permitted the growth of American commerce during the years from 1793 to 1806. How did this temporary commercial prosperity affect the subsequent growth of manufactures?

II.

5. Compare the conditions which gave rise to manufactures in the northern colonies before 1760 with those which prevailed during the years immediately following 1783 and 1815; and indicate what conclusions you would draw from such a comparison, as to the necessity or expediency of protective legislation to secure the development of manufactures in a new country.
6. Discuss the effect of the duties on Cotton and Iron during the period from 1816 to 1833.
7. Compare the treatment of wages in Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures with that which appeared in the debate on the Tariff Act of 1846. How do you explain the change?
8. Mention several industries which were created or greatly promoted by inventions between 1840 and 1860.

III.

9. Henry Clay declared in 1832 that the seven years preceding 1824 “exhibited a scene of the most widespread dismay and desolation,” while the seven years following 1824 exhibited the “greatest prosperity which this people, bare enjoyed since the establishment of the present constitution.” How do you explain this change?
10. In what ways have the people of the United States made use of the Federal and State governments to provide transportation facilities? How do you explain this tendency to State interference in industrial affairs at so early a date in America?
11. Describe the abuses in Railroad management which the Interstate Commerce Act was intended to correct.
12. Explain why competition proves less effective in regulating freight rates than in regulating the price of most commodities.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1897-98.

1897-98.
Economics 6.
[Year-end Examination]

Answer at least eight questions.

1. Give your reasons for agreeing to, or dissenting from, the following proposition: Until the wars of the French Revolution temporarily suspended the colonial policy of Continental Europe, the United States was in a more unfavorable economic position than they had been in prior to the Revolution
2. Why was the adoption of a liberal tariff policy by the U.S. in 1846 more justifiable than in 1816?
3. “The provisions of the constitution were universally considered as affording a complete security against the danger of paper money. The introduction of the banking system met with a strenuous opposition on various grounds; but it was not apprehended that bank notes, convertible at will into specie, and which no person could be legally compelled to take in payment, would degenerate into pure paper money, no longer paid at sight in specie… It was the catastrophe of 1814 which first disclosed not only the insecurity of the American banking system, as it then existed, but also that when a paper currency, driving away, and suspending the use of gold and silver, has insinuated itself through every channel of circulation, and become the only medium of exchange, every individual finds himself, in fact compelled to receive such currency, even when depreciated more than twenty per cent. in the same manner as if it had been a legal tender.” — GALLATIN.
   Prior to the adoption of the national banking system in 1863, how did the federal government attempt to prevent the evil here described. and with what success?
4. How far do the conditions, which render competition ineffective as a regulator of transportation charges, prevail in any of the industries in which Trusts have been formed? — or to ask the same thing in another way, how far is it possible to justify Trusts on the same grounds as Railroad Pools?
5. What reasons would you assign for the change in the relative value of gold and silver which occurred after 1873?
6. What difficulty did the Treasury department encounter in administering the silver act of 1878, and what means were used to overcome it?
7. Compare the effect of the protective duties on wool and woollens since 1867 with the effect of those on silk and steel during the same time.
8. “In the division of employments which has taken place in America, the far preferable share, truly, has fallen to the Northern States…The states, therefore, which forbid slavery, having reaped the economical benefits of slavery, without incurring the chief of its moral evils, seem to be even more indebted to it than the slave states.” — WAKEFIELD.
   How would you explain this statement?
9. According to Mr. Cairnes, what constituted the economic basis of Negro slavery in the Southern States and enabled it to successfully resist the competition of free white labor? Do you consider this economic basis of slavery to have been permanent?
10. Describe the most important change in Southern agrarian conditions which has resulted from emancipation.
11. What influences can you mention that have contributed to the fall in the prices of the staple products of Northern agriculture during the last ten years?
12. Why has this fall in the price of agricultural products caused greater hardship to the farmers than the corresponding fall in the price of manufactured products has caused among manufacturers?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Examination Papers 1898-99, Bound Volume, pp. 45-47.

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History and Literature of Economics to the Close of the 18th Century
Economics 15

*15. The History and Literature of Economics to the Close of the Eighteenth Century. Mon., Wed., (and at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 12.     Professor[William James] Ashley.

The course of economic speculation will here be followed, in its relation alike to the general movement of contemporary thought and to contemporary social conditions. The lectures will consider the economic theories of Plato and Aristotle; the economic ideas underlying Roman law; the mediaeval church and the canonist doctrine; mercantilism in its diverse forms; “political arithmetic;” the origin of the belief in natural rights and its influence on economic thought; the physiocratic doctrine; the work and influence of Adam Smith; the doctrine of population as presented by Malthus; Say and the Erench school; and the beginnings of academic instruction in economics.

The lectures will be interrupted from time to time for the examination of selected portions of particular authors; and careful study will be given to portions of Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Politics (in translation) to Mun’s England’s Treasure, Locke’s Considerations of the Consequences of the Lowering of Interest, certain Essays of Hume, Turgot’s Réflexions, and specified chapters of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, and Malthus’ Essay. Students taking the course are expected to procure the texts of the chief authors considered, and to consult the following critical works:

Ingram, History of Political Economy; Cossa, Introduction to the Study of Political Economy; Cannan, History of the Theories of Production and Distribution; Bonar, Philosophy and Political Economy; Böhm-Bawerk, Capital and Interest; Taussig, Wages and Capital.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, pp. 33-34.

Economics 15: Enrollment
1897-98

[Economics] 15. Professor Ashley. — The History and Literature of Economics to the Middle of the Nineteenth Century. 2 or 3 hours.

Total 6: 3 Graduates, 1 Senior, 2 Sophomores.

Source:   Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1897-98, p. 77.

1897-98.
Economics 15.
[Mid-year Examination]

N.B.—Not more than eight questions should be attempted.

1. Compare the Republic of Plato with the Politics of Aristotle, as to purpose and temper.
2. Expound Aristotle’s teaching with regard to Slavery.
3. “He is supposed to have given a striking proof of his wisdom, but his device for getting money is of universal application.” Comment, and explain the context.
4. What parts of Aristotle’s criticism of Communism seem to you pertinent to modern Socialism. Explain what particular kind of Socialism you have in mind.
5. Set forth, and criticise, Maine’s account of the influence in modern times of the conception of a Law of Nature.
6. Were the early Christians communists?
7. How did “Inter-est [sic],” in its original meaning, differ from “Usury.”
8. The position in economic literature of Nicholas Oresme.
9. What principles, if any, of the canonist teaching seem to you to have any bearing on modern economic problems.
10. What were “the particular ways and means to encrease our exportations and diminish our importations,” according to Mun?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1897-98.

1897-98.
Economics 15.
[Year-end Examination]

1. Criticise the current conception of “Mercantilism” in the light of your own study of the later English mercantilist writers.
2. The place of Locke in English economic thought.
3. “Tout ce qu’il y a de vrai dans ce volume estimable, mais pénible à lire, en deux gros volumes in-4°, se trouve dans les Réflexions de Turgot; tout ce qu’Adam Smith y a ajouté manque d’exactitude et même de fondement.”
   Translate, and then criticise this remark of Du Pont’s.
4. Trace the various elements which went to make up the idea of Nature in Adam Smith’s mind, and then explain Smith’s application of it to any particular subject.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Examination Papers 1898-99, Bound Volume, p. 53.

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Economic Theory
in the 19th Century
Economics 2

*2. Economic Theory in the Nineteenth Century. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 2.30. Professor [Frank William] Taussig.

Course 2 is designed to acquaint the student with the history of economic thought during the nineteenth century, and to give him at the same time training in the critical consideration of economic principles. The exercises are accordingly conducted mainly by the discussion of selected passages from the important writers; and in this discussion students are expected to take an active part. Lectures are given at intervals, tracing the general movement of economic thought and describing its literature. Special attention will be given to the theory of distribution.

The course opens with an examination of Ricardo’s doctrines, selections from Ricardo’s writings being read and discussed. These will then be compared with the appropriate chapters in Mill’s Principles of Political Economy, and further with passages in Cairnes’ Leading Principles. The theory of wages, and the related theory of business profits, will then be followed in the writings of F. A. Walker, Sidgwick, and Marshall, and a general survey made of the present stage of economic theory in England and the United States. The development on the continent of Europe will be traced chiefly in lectures; but toward the close of the year a critical examination will be made of the doctrines of the modern Austrian school.

Course 2 is taken with advantage in the next year after Course 1; but Course 15 may also be taken with advantage after Course 1, and then followed by Course 2, or taken contemporaneously with it.

Source:  Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, p. 34.

 Economics 2: Enrollment
1897-98

[Economics] 2. Professor Taussig. — Economic Theory in the Nineteenth Century. 3 hours.

Total 32: 9 Graduates, 9 Seniors, 11 Juniors, 3 Sophomores.

Source:   Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1897-98, p. 77.

1897-98.
Economics 2.
[Mid-year. 1898.]

[Arrange your answers in the order of the questions. One question may be omitted.]

1. According to Ricardo, what is the effect, if any, of a rise in the price of food on wages? on profits? on the prices of commodities?
2. “Ricardo expresses himself as if the quantity of labor which it costs to produce a commodity and bring it to the market, were the only thing on which its value depended. But since the cost of production to the capitalist is not labor but wages, and since wages may be greater or less, the quantity of labor being the same; it would seem that the value of the product cannot be determined solely by the quantity of labor, but by the quantity together with the remuneration; and that values must depend on wages.” — Mill.
   What do you conceive Ricardo would have said to this?
3. “We have therefore remarked that the difficulty of passing from one class of employments to a class greatly superior, has hitherto caused the wages of all those classes of laborers who are separated from one another by any very marked barrier, to depend more than might be supposed upon the increase of population of each class, considered separately; and that the inequalities in the remuneration of labor are much greater than could exist if the competition of the laboring people generally could be brought practically to bear on each particular employment. It follows from this that wages in each particular employment do not rise or fall simultaneously, but are, for short and sometimes even for long periods, nearly independent of each other. All such disparities evidently alter the relative costs of production of different commodities, and will therefore be completely represented in the natural or average value.” — Mill.
   What has Cairnes added to this?
4. “He [Mr. Longe] puts the case of a capitalist who, by taking advantage of the necessities of his workmen, effects a reduction in their wages; and asks how is this sum, thus withdrawn, to be restored to the fund? . . . The answer to the case put by Mr. Longe is easy on his own principles; and I am disposed to flatter myself that the reader who has gone with me in the foregoing discussion will not have much difficulty in replying to it on mine.” — Cairnes.
   Give the reply.
5. “Fixity or definiteness is the very essence of the supposed wages-fund. No one denies that some amount or other must within a given period be disbursed in the form of wages. The only question is whether that amount be determinate or indeterminate.” — Thornton.
   What is Cairnes’s answer to the question put in this passage?
6. What would you expect the relation of imports to exports to be in a country whose inhabitants had for a long time been borrowing, and were still borrowing, from the inhabitants of other countries?
7. Are general high wages an obstacle to a country’s exporting?
8. “Granted a certain store of provisions, of tools, and of materials for production, sufficient, say, for 1000 laborers, those who hold the wage-fund theory assert that the same rate of wages (meaning thereby the actual amount of necessaries, comforts, and luxuries received by the laborer) would prevail whether these laborers be Englishmen or East Indians. . . . On the contrary, it is not true that the present economical quality of the laborers, as a whole, is an element in ascertaining the aggregate amount that can now be paid in wages; that as wages are paid out of the product, and as the product will be greater or smaller by reason of the workman’s sobriety, industry, and intelligence, or his want of these qualities, so wages may and should be higher or lower accordingly?”
   Give your opinion.
9. What do you conceive to be the “no profits class of employers” in President Walker’s theory of distribution?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1897-98.

1897-98.
Economics 2.
[Final Examination]

The answer to one question may be omitted.

1. The analysis of capital in its relation to labor and wages at the hands of Ricardo and of Böhm-Bawerk, — wherein the same? wherein different?
2. The contributions of permanent worth for economic theory by Cairnes? by F.A. Walker? [Consider one.]
3. The position of Carey and Bastiat in the development of economic theory.
4. “If the efficiency of labor could be suddenly doubled, whilst the capital of the country remained stationary, there would be a great and immediate rise in real wages. The supplies of capital already in existence would be distributed among the laborers more rapidly than would otherwise be the case, and the increased efficiency of labor would soon make good the diminished supplies. The fact is that an increase in the efficiency of labor would bring about an increase in the supply of capital.” — Marshall. Why? or why not?
5. “The capital of the employer is by no means the real source of the wages even of the workmen employed by him. It is only the intermediate reservoir from which wages are paid out, until the purchasers of the commodities produced by that labor make good the advance and thereby encourage the undertaker to purchase additional labor.” W. Roscher.
   What do you say to this?
6. “If the rate of profit falls, the laborer gets more nearly the whole amount of the product. But if the rate of wages falls, we have a corresponding fall in prices and little change in the relative shares of labor and capital.” Hadley.
   Why, or why not, in either case?
7. “In the present condition of industry, most sales are made by men who are producers or merchants by profession, and who hold an amount of commodities entirely beyond any needs of their own. Consequently, for them the subjective use-value of their own wares is, for the most part, very nearly nil; and the figure which they put on their own valuation almost sinks to zero.” Explain the bearing of this remark on the theory of value as developed by Böhm-Bawerk.
8. What, according to Böhm-Bawerk, is the explanation of interest derived from “durable consumption goods”? And what is your own view?
9. How far do you conceive that there is a “productivity” of capital, serving to explain the existence of interest, and the rate?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Examination Papers 1898-99, Bound Volume, pp. 41-42.

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Scope and Method in Economic Theory and Investigation
Economics 13²

*13² hf. Scope and Method in Economic Theory and Investigation. Half-course (second half-year). Mon., Wed., Fri., at 11. Professor [William James] Ashley.

Course 13 will examine the methods by which the important writers, from Adam Smith to the present time, have approached economic questions, and the range which they have given their inquiries; and will consider the advantage of different methods, and the expediency of a wider or narrower scope of investigation. Mill’s essay on the Definition of Political Economy; Cairnes’ Logical Method of Political Economy; Keynes’ Scope and Method of Political Economy; certain sections of Wagner’s Grundlegung and Schmoller’s essay on Volkswirthschaft will be carefully examined. The conscious consideration of method by the later writers of the classic school and by their successors in England; the rise of the historical school and its influence; the mode in which contemporary writers approach the subject, — will he successively followed.

Course 13 is open to students who take or have taken Course 2 or Course 15. A fair reading knowledge of German as well as of French will be expected of students, and the opportunity will be taken to assist them to acquire facility in reading scientific German. Subjects will be assigned for investigation and report, and the results of such investigations will be presented for discussion.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, pp. 34-35.

Economics 13²: Enrollment
1897-98

[Economics] 13². Professor Ashley. — Scope and Method in Economic Theory and Investigation. 3 hours.

Total 5: 3 Graduates, 1Senior, 1 Sophomore.

Source:   Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1897-98, p. 77.

1897-98.
Economics 13².
[Year-end Examination]

1. “Ganz unabhängig von der deutschen historischen National-Ökonomie haben Sociologen wie A. Comte ähnliche, freilich auch zu weit gehende Bedenken gegen Deduction und Abstraction der britischen Oekonomik erhoben.”
   Translate this; and then (1) state Comte’s position with regard to economic method, (2) criticise it.
2. “Die besondere Leistung des wissenschaftlichen Socialismus ist der Nachweis des beherrschenden Einflusses der Privateigenthums ordnung, speciell des Privateigenthums‚ an den sachlichen Productionsmitteln’, auf die Gestaltung der Production und der Vertheilung des Productionsertrag, zumal bei Wegfall aller Beschränkungen der Verfügungsbefugnisse des Privateigenthümers im System der freien Concurrenz…Durch den Socialismus ist aber auch das andere grosse Hauptproblem, dasjenige der Freiheit und ihrer Rechtsordnung, in ein neues Stadium getreten. Hier begeht der Socialismus nun jedoch trotz seiner scharfen Kritik der wirthschaftlichen Freiheit im System der ökonomischen Individualismus und Liberalismus principiell denselben Fehler, wie letzterer: auch er fasst die Freiheit als Axiom, statt als Problem auf, ein schwerstes Problem gerade jeder socialistischen Rechts- und Wirtschaftsordnung.”
   (1) Translate, (2) explain, and (3) comment on this.
3. Discuss the questions raised by the application to Economies of the distinction between a Science and an Art.
4. What did J. S. Mill mean by the Historical Method? Consider (1) the source of the idea, (2) its characterization by Mill, and (3) the bearing of his utterances with regard to it upon the question of economic method.
5. Examine either (1) the Malthusian doctrine of Population or (2) the Ricardian doctrine of Rent as a specimen of an economic “law.”

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Examination Papers 1898-99, Bound Volume, pp. 52-53.

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Principles of Sociology
Economics 3

*3. The Principles of Sociology. Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 1.30. Asst. Professor Edward Cummings.

Course 3 begins with a general survey of the structure and development of society; showing the changing elements of which a progressive society is composed, the forces which manifest themselves at different stages in the transition from primitive conditions to complex phases of civilized life, and the structural outlines upon which successive phases of social, political, and industrial organization proceed. Following this, is an examination of the historical aspects which this evolution has actually assumed: Primitive man, elementary forms of association, the various forms of family organization, and the contributions which family, clan and tribe have made to the constitution of more comprehensive ethnical and political groups ; the functions of the State, the circumstances which determine types of political association, the corresponding expansion of social consciousness, and the relative importance of military, economic, and ethical ideas at successive stages of civilization. Special attention is given to the attempts to formulate physical and psychological laws of social growth; to the relative importance of natural and of artificial selection in social development; the law of social survival; the dangers which threaten civilization; and the bearing of such general consideration upon the practical problems of vice, crime, poverty, pauperism, and upon mooted methods of social reform.

The student is thus acquainted with the main schools of sociological thought, and opportunity is given for a critical comparison of earlier phases of sociological theory with more recent contributions in Europe and the United States. Regular and systematic reading is essential. Topics are assigned for special investigation in connection with practical or theoretical aspects of the course.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, p. 35.

 Economics 3: Enrollment
1897-98

[Economics] 3 Asst. Professor E. Cummings. — The Principles of Sociology. — Development of the Modern State, and of its Social Functions. 2 or 3 hours.

Total 59: 4 Graduates, 30 Seniors, 13 Juniors, 6 Sophomores, 6 Others.

Source:   Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1897-98, p. 77.

1897-98.
Economics 3.
[Mid-year examination]

[Answer the questions in the order in which they stand. Give one hour to each group.]

I.

Discuss the merits and defects of the following conceptions of society:

A) Society as an organism.
B) Society as a physio-psychic organism.
C) Society as an organization.
D) Society as an “organisme contractuel.”

What in your opinion are the essential differences between an ant hill and a human society?

II.

Give a critical summary and comparison of the views of Spencer, Giddings, Ritchie in regard to (a) the origin, (b) the development and forms, and (c) the functions of political organization.
Contrast the ancient, medieval and modern views of the relations of the State to Society and to the Individual.

III.

Discuss the views of Spencer, Westermarck, Giddings and others on the causes and the effects of the successive phases of family organization.
What claims has the family to be regarded as the “social unit”?
Discuss the significance of existing tendencies.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1897-98.

1897-98.
Economics 3.
[Final Examination]

I.

The nature, the causes, and the criteria of progress, according to (a) Spencer, (b) Kidd, (c) La Pouge, (d) Haycraft, (e) Giddings, (f) Tarde? State and illustrate by historical examples your own views in regard to the “curve of progress.”

II.

“The special feature of the final adjustment secured by our occidental civilizations, contrary to what has been seen on the earth before them, will therefore have been the subordination of the social to the individual. This singularly daring enterprise is the true novelty of modern times. It is well worth living to second it or to participate in it.”— TARDE.
“There seems no avoiding the conclusion that these conspiring causes must presently bring about that lapse of self-ownership into ownership by the community, which is partially implied by collectivism and completely by communism.” — SPENCER.
Discuss carefully the merits of these opinions, and the evidence on which they rest.

III.

What do you conceive to be some of the dangerous tendencies of our civilization? And what are the remedies?

IV.

State the subject of your final report and the reading you have done in connection with it.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Examination Papers 1898-99, Bound Volume, p. 42.

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Socialism and Communism
Economics 14

*14. Socialism and Communism. — History and Literature. Tu., Th., and at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 9. Asst. Professor Edward Cummings.

Course 14 is primarily an historical and critical study of socialism and communism. It traces the history and significance of schemes for social reconstruction from the earliest times to the present day. It discusses the historical evidences of primitive communism, the forms assumed by private ownership at different stages of civilization, the bearing of these considerations upon the claims of modern socialism, and the outcome of experimental communities in which socialism and communism have actually been tried. Special attention, however, is devoted to the recent history of socialism, — the precursors and the followers of Marx and Lassalle, the economic and political programmes of socialistic parties in Germany, France, and other countries.

The primary object is in every case to trace the relation of historical evolution to these programmes; to discover how far they have modified history or found expression in the policy of parties or statesmen; how far they must be regarded simply as protests against existing phases of social evolution; and how far they may be said to embody a sane philosophy of social and political organization.

The criticism and analysis of these schemes gives opportunity for discussing from different points of view the ethical and historical value of social and political institutions, the relation of the State to the individual, the political and economic bearing of current socialistic theories.

The work is especially adapted to students who have had some introductory training in Ethics as well as in Economics. A systematic course of reading covers the authors discussed; and special topics for investigation may be assigned in connection with this reading.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, pp. 35-36.

Economics 14: Enrollment

[Economics] 14. Asst. Professor E. Cummings. — Communism and Socialism. — History and Literature. 2 or 3 hours.

Total 12: 3 Graduates, 5 Seniors, 2 Juniors, 2 Sophomores.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1897-98, p. 78.

1897-98.
Economics 14.
[Mid-year Examination]

Outline briefly the characteristics of socialistic theory and practice in ancient, medieval and modern times, — devoting about an hour to each epoch, and showing —

(a) so far as possible the continuity of such speculations; the characteristic resemblances and differences;
(b) the influence of peculiar historical conditions;
(c) the corresponding changes in economic theory and practice.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1897-98.

No Year-end Examination for 1898 found.

_______________________

Labor Question
in Europe and the U.S.
Economics 9.

9. The Labor Question in Europe and the United States. — The Social and Economic Condition of Workingmen. Tu., Th., Sat., at 10. Asst. Professor Edward Cummings and Dr. John Cummings.

Course 9 is a comparative study of the condition and environments of workingmen in the United States and European countries. It is chiefly concerned with problems growing out of the relations of labor and capital. There is careful study of the voluntarily organizations of labor, — trade unions, friendly societies, and the various forms of cooperation; of profit-sharing, sliding scales, and joint standing committees for the settlement of disputes; of factory legislation, employers’ liability, the legal status of laborers and labor organizations, state courts of arbitration, and compulsory government insurance against the exigencies of sickness, accident, and old age. All these expedients, together with the phenomena of international migration, the questions of a shorter working day and convict labor, are discussed in the light of experience and of economic theory, with a view to determining the merits, defects, and possibilities of existing movements.

The descriptive and theoretical aspects of the course are supplemented by statistical evidence in regard to wages, prices, standards of living, and the social condition of labor in different countries.

Topics will be assigned for special investigation, and students will be expected to participate in the discussion of selections from authors recommended for a systematic course of reading.

The course is open not only for students who have taken Course 1, but to Juniors and Seniors of good rank who are taking Course 1.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, pp. 36-37.

Economics 9: Enrollment

[Economics] 9. Asst. Professor E. Cummings and Dr. J. Cummings. — The Labor Question in Europe and the United States. — The Social and Economic Condition of Workingmen. 3 hours.

Total 108: 1 Graduate, 39 Seniors, 51 Juniors, 12 Sophomores, 5 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1897-98, p. 78.

No Mid-year Examination found.

1897-98.
Economics 9.
[Year-End Examination]

I.
WORKINGMEN’S INSURANCE.

“After a preliminary examination of the various kinds of working-men’s insurance, and the chief methods by which its provision can be accomplished, we have considered the history and present condition of the problem in each of the great countries of Europe and in the United States. It now remains to pass in review the whole field, to contrast, in a measure, the various policies that have been pursued, and to indicate some of the ways in which this rich experience can be of assistance in any attempt that may be made in this country to further similar movements.”
Devote one hour (a) to analyzing the present condition in each country; (b) to indicating the ways in which this rich experience can be of assistance.

II.

a) Give the name, the size, the characteristics of the important labor organizations in the United States.

b) Compare the development and present condition of labor organizations in the United States, with the movement in England.

c) How do you account for the differences in success attending trade union and coöperative enterprises in the two countries?

III.

a) What agencies, public and private, are available for settling disputes between employers and employed in the United States?

b) To what important legal questions have these disputes given rise? What has been the attitude of the judiciary and what are the merits of the present controversy in regard to injunctions?

c) What has been the general character and value of labor legislation during the last decade?

IV.

Indicate approximately the husband’s earnings, the family income and the standard of living among laborers in coal, iron, steel, textile or other industries,

1) in the United States.
2) in European countries.
3) Compare the native with the foreign-born American in these respects.
4) What conclusions do you draw from the evidence?

V.

What is the subject of your special report? State briefly (a) the method of your research, (b) the conclusions reached.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Examination Papers 1898-99, Bound Volume, pp. 49-50.

_______________________

Statistics
Economics 4

*4. Statistics. — Applications to Social and Economic Problems. — Studies in Movements of Population. — Theory and Method. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 11. Dr. John Cummings.

This course deals with statistical methods used in the observation and analysis of social conditions, with the purpose of showing the relation of statistical studies to Economics and Sociology, and the scope of statistical inductions. It undertakes an examination of the views entertained by various writers regarding the theory and use of statistics, and an historical and descriptive examination of the practical methods of carrying out statistical investigations. The application of statistical methods is illustrated by studies in political, fiscal, and vital statistics, in the increase and migration of population, the growth of cities, the care of criminals and paupers, the accumulation of capital, and the production and distribution of wealth.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, p. 37.

Economics 4: Enrollment
1897-98

[Economics] 4. Dr. J. Cummings. — Statistics. — Applications to Economic and Social Questions. — Studies in the Movement of Population. — Theory and Method. 3 hours.

Total 18: 7 Seniors, 7 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1897-1898, p. 78.

1897-98.
Economics 4.
[Mid-year Examination]

[Divide your time equally between A. and B.]

A.

[Take two.]

1. In what sense do you understand Quetelet’s assertion that “the budget of crime is an annual taxation paid with more preciseness than any other”?
   Comment upon the “element of fixity in criminal sociology.”
   What are the “three factors of crime”?
   Can you account for the “steadiness of the graver forms of crime”? for the increase or decrease of other crimes?
   Define “penal substitutes.”
   What determines the rate of criminality?
   Comment upon the tables relating to crime in the last federal census, and explain how far they enable one to estimate the amount of crime committed and the increase or decrease in that amount.
2. Comment upon the movement of population in the U. S. as indicated in the census rates of mortality and immigration. Upon the movement of population in France and in other European countries during this century. Can you account for the decline in the rates of mortality which characterize these populations?
   Give an account of the growth of some of the large European cities and of the migratory movements of their populations.
   Give an account for the depopulation of rural districts which has taken place during this century?
3. Give some account of the Descriptive School of Statisticians and of the School of Political Arithmetic.
   Of the organization and work of statistical bureaus in European countries during this century.
   Of the census bureau in the United States.

B.

[Take four.]

1. What are some of the “positive” statistical evidences of vitality in a population? “negative”?
2. Define “index of mortality.”
3. Comment upon the density and distribution of population in the United States.
4. What do you understand by “normal distribution of a population according to sex and age”? Define “movement of population.”
5. Explain the various methods of estimating a population during intercensal years.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1897-98.

1897-98.
Economics 4.
[Final Examination]

A.

I.

“The wealth of a nation is a matter of estimate only. Certain of its elements are susceptible of being approximated more closely than others; but few of them can be given with greater certainty or accuracy than is expressed in the word ‘estimated.’” Why? State the several methods used for determining the wealth of a nation. Give some account of the increase and of the present distribution of wealth in the United States.

II.

What statistical data indicate the movement of real wages during this century? What facts have to be taken into account in determining statistically the condition of wage earners? State the several methods of calculating index numbers of wages and prices, and explain the merits of each method. Explain the use of weighted averages as indexes, and the considerations determining the weights. What has been the movement of wages and prices in the United States since 1860?

III.

Statistical data establishing a hierarchy of European races, the fundamental “laws of anthropo-sociology,” and the selective influences of migratory movements and the growth of cities.

B.

Take six.

1. “I have striven with the help of biology, statistics and political economy to formulate what I consider to be the true law of population.” (Nitti.) What is this law? Is it the true law? Why?
2. Upon what facts rests the assertion that “the fulcrum of the world’s balance of power has shifted from the West to the East, from the Mediterranean to the Pacific”?
3. What factors determine the rate of suicide? Consider the effect upon the rate of suicide of the sex and age distribution of the population, of the social and physical environment, and of heredity.
4. Statistical determination of labor efficiency, and the increase of such efficiency during this century.
5. How far are statistics concerning the number of criminal offenders indicative of the amount of criminality? Statistics of prison populations? Of crimes? What variables enter in to determine the “rate of criminality”? What significance do you attach to such rates?
6. The statistical method.
7. Graphics as means of presenting statistical data.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Examination Papers 1898-99, Bound Volume, pp. 43-44.

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Railways and other Public Works
Economics 5²

5² hf. Railways and other Public Works, under Government and Corporate management. Half-course (second half-year). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 1.30. Mr. [Hugo Richard] Meyer.

In this course it is proposed to review the history and working of different modes of dealing with railway transportation, and to deal summarily with other similar industries, such as the telegraph, street railways, water and gas supply. Consideration will be given to the economic characteristics of these industries, the theory and history of railway rates, the effects of railway service and railway charges on other industries, the causes and consequences of monopoly conditions. The history of legislation in the more important European countries will be followed, as well as the different modes in which they have undertaken the regulation and control of private corporations, or have assumed direct ownership, with or without management and operation. Some attention will be given also to the experience of the British colonies, and more especially of those in Australia. In the United States, there will be consideration of the growth of the great systems, the course of legislation by the federal government, the working of the Interstate Commerce Act, and the modes of regulation, through legislation and through Commissions, at the hands of the several States. So far as time permits, other industries, analogous to railways, will be discussed in a similar manner.

Written work, in the preparation of papers on assigned topics, will be expected of all students in the course.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, pp. 37-38.

Economics 5²: Enrollment
1897-98

[Economics] 5². Mr. Meyer. — Public Works, Railways, Postal and Telegraph Service, and Monopolized Industries, under Corporate and Public Management. Hf. 3 hours. 2d half year.

Total 65: 31 Seniors, 16 Juniors, 8 Sophomores, 10 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1897-1898, p. 78.

1897-1898.
Economics 5².
[Final Examination]

1. “The principle [of railway rates] commonly advocated by the antagonists of the railways, as well as by the would-be reformers, is that of cost of service. Charges should be regulated in accordance with the cost of the particular transaction to the company. This is certainly not the actual method. Is it the correct method?”
   Give your reasons for accepting or rejecting the “cost of service” principle.
2. What were the causes of the so-called granger agitation of 1871-74; of the reappearance of this agitation in 1886-88?
3. What were the principal reasons for the instability of railway pools in the United States?
4. By what means did the Trunk Line Associations which succeeded the Trunk Line Pool seek to limit competition and attain the effects of pooling?
5. Discuss the working of the Interstate Commerce Act under the following headings:—
   The prohibition of undue or unreasonable preference or advantage and the prohibition of pooling.
   The construction by the United States Courts of the clause that the findings of the Commission shall be prima facie evidence in judicial proceedings.
   Legal embarrassments and other obstacles encountered by the Commission in obtaining testimony in penal cases.
   The attitude of the railways to the Act.
6. The history of the application of the long and short haul clause to competitive rates made by railways not subject to competition from railways which are beyond the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission; and to rates on imported commodities. Discuss under the following heading:—
   “The construction put upon the long and short haul clause by the Interstate Commerce Commission; by the United States Supreme Court.
7. Discuss the working of the German legislation prescribing for distances over 100 km a uniform rate per ton per kilometer.
   Should you expect the practice of equal mileage charges to work with more friction or with less in the United States than in Germany?
   Alternative:
   The important points of difference between the management of the Prussian State Railways and the management of the Australian State Railways; between the management of the English Railways and the management of the American Railways.
8. The reasons for the failure of the De Freycinet (1879) railway construction schemes; and the effect upon the French Budget of the “agreements” negotiated in 1883 between the French Government and the Six Companies.
   Alternative:
   The effect upon the Italian Budget of the “conventions” made in 1885 between the Italian Government and the Three Companies. The effect upon the Italian Exchequer of the railway construction carried out under the act of 1879 and the supplementary acts of 1881, 1882, and 1885.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Examination Papers 1898-99, Bound Volume, pp. 44-45.

_______________________

Theory and Methods of Taxation
Economics 7¹

*7¹ hf. The Theory and Methods of Taxation, with special reference to local taxation in the United States. Half-course (first half-year). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 1.30. Professor [Frank William] Taussig.

Course 7¹ undertakes an examination of the theory of taxation, based upon the comparative study of methods as practised in different countries and in different States of the American Union. This examination necessarily includes some discussion of leading questions in revenue legislation, such as the taxation of incomes and personal property, the single tax, progressive taxation, and indirect taxes.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, p. 38.

Economics 7¹: Enrollment

[Economics ] 7¹. Professor Taussig.—The Theory and Methods of Taxation, with special reference to Local Taxation in the United States. 2 or 3 hours. 1^st half year.

Total 42: 5 Graduates, 27 Seniors, 9 Juniors, 1 Sophomore.

Source: Annual Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College 1897-98, (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1899), p. 78.

Economics 7¹.
Readings

Seligman—Essays in Taxation.
Bastable—Public Finance.
Leroy-Beaulieu—Science des Finances, Vol. I.
Say—Dictionnaire des Finances.
Quarterly Journal of Economics, cited as Q. J. E.
Dowell—History of Taxation in England.

PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS: CLASSIFICATION.

Seligman, Ch. IX.
Bastable, Bk. II, Ch. I; Bk. III, Ch. 1

TAXES ON LAND.

{Leroy-Beaulieu. Bk. II, Ch. VI;
Say, article “Foncière (Contribution).” 233-241.}
Bastable, Bk. IV, Ch. I.
Dictionary of Political Economy, article “Land Tax.”

HABITATION TAXES.

{Leroy-Beaulieu, Bk. II, Ch. VII.
Say, article “Personelle-Mobilière,” 850-857.}
Dowell, Vol. III, 186-192.

INCOME TAXES.

Leroy-Beaulieu, Bk. II, Ch. X.
Bastable, Bk. IV, Ch. IV.
{Dowell, Vol. III, 99-122;
Article “Income Tax in the United Kingdom,” in Dictionary of Political Economy, Vol. II.}
J. A. Hill, The Prussian Income Tax, Q. J. E., January, 1892.
Seligman, Ch. X, iii, iv.

BUSINESS TAXES.

{Say,  article “Patentes,” pp. 743-752;
Leroy-Beaulieu, Bk. II, Ch. VIII.}
J. A. Hill—The Prussian Business Tax, Q. J. E., October, 1893.

SUCCESSION TAXES.

Seligman, Ch. V; Ch. IX, i.
Bastable, Bk. III, Ch. III.

PROGRESSION.

{Leroy-Beaulieu, Bk. II, Ch. II;
Bastable, Bk. III, Ch. III.}
Seligman, Progressive Taxation, pp. 190-200; pp. 39-53 (Switzerland).

DIRECT TAXES BY THE UNITED STATES.

C. F. Dunbar,The Direct Tax of 1861, Q. J. E., July, 1889; Vol. III, pp. 436-446.
J. A. Hill,The Civil War Income Tax, Q. J. E., July, 1894.
C. F. Dunbar, The New Income Tax, Q. J. E., October, 1894.

LOCAL TAXES IN ENGLAND.

Blunden, Local Taxation and Finance, Ch. III, IV, V.

LOCAL TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

Seligman, Ch. II, IV, VI, XI.
Ely, Taxation in American States, part III, Ch. VII.
Plehn, The General Property in California, (Economic Studies, Vol. II, No. 3), Part II, 151-178.
Angell, The Tax Inquisitor System in Ohio, in Yale Review, February, 1897.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003 (HUC 8522.2.1) Box 1, folder “1897-1898”.

1897-98.
Economics 7¹.
[Mid-year Examination]

[Arrange your answers strictly in the order of the questions. Give and answer, however brief, to each question]

1. Consider which of the following combinations, if any, bring about “double taxation”: (1) the impôt sur la propriété batie and the personelle-mobilière, in France; (2) local rates and schedule A of the income tax, in Great Britain; (3) the taxation of mortgaged property and of mortgages, as commonly provided for in American States.
2. It has been said that the taxation of merchants’ stock in trade in Massachusetts, by assessors’ estimate, if effect proceeds in a somewhat similar fashion to that of the French impôt des patentes and of the Prussian business tax. Why? or why not?
3. Are there good reasons for taxing funded incomes at a higher rate than unfunded?
4. It has recently been proposed in Great Britain to impose a general tax on property, based on the income tax returns, and levied at the rate of (say) five per cent. on the income derived from the property; reducing at the same time the income tax to one-half its present rate. Point out what important changes in the British tax system would result; consider what examples in other countries may have suggested the proposal: and give an opinion as to its expediency.
5. What do you conceive to be the “compensatory theory” in regard to progressive taxation?
6. What reasoning pertinent in regard to the principle of progression in taxation is also pertinent in regard to taxes on successions? in regard to the single tax?
7. As between owner and occupier of real estate who is responsible for local rates in England? for local taxes in the United States? Do you believe that the differences have important consequences in the incidence of these taxes?
8. Consider points of resemblance, points of difference, in the modes in which the States of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania tax (1) domestic corporations (2) the securities issued by foreign corporations.
9. What grounds are there in favor, what against, the imposition of income taxes by the several States?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1897-98.

Also: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Examination Papers 1898-99, Bound Volume, pp. 47-48.

Also: Harvard University Archives. Examination papers in economics 1882-1935, Prof. F. W. Taussig. Scrapbook. (HUC 7882), p. 61.

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Financial Administration and Public Debts
Economics 7²

*7² hf. Financial Administration and Public Debts. Half-course (second half-year). Tu., Th., Sat., at 11. Professor [Charles Franklin] Dunbar.

Course 7² is devoted to an examination of the budget systems of leading countries, and their methods of controlling expenditure, the methods of borrowing and of extinguishing debts practised by modern states, the form and obligation of the securities issued, and the general management of public credit.

Topics will be assigned for investigation by the students, and a list of topics, references, and required reading will be used.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, p. 38.

Enrollment data not published for 1897-98.

1897-98.
Economics 7²
[Final Examination]

1. What are the comparative advantages of (a) an Independent Treasury like that of the United States, and (b) the use of a bank or banks by the government, as practised in England or Germany?
2. What changes (if any) of constitution, law or practice would be required, in order to establish a thorough-going budget system in the United States?
3. Compare the French budget procedure with the English, and point out their respective advantages or disadvantages.
4. Suppose a fiscal year to have ended before financial measures for the new year have been agreed upon. How would current expenditure be provided for in the United States? In England? In France? In Germany?
5. What is the practice of those four countries respectively as regards the control of revenue by means of annual grants?
6. Suppose the case of a country having a depreciated paper currency, but expecting the ultimate resumption of specie payments, and compelled to borrow on a large scale. Which method of borrowing upon bonds (principal and interest payable in gold) would be the best,—
   (a), To sell the bonds for par in gold and make the rate of interest high enough to attract buyers;
   (b) To sell the bonds for gold at such discount as might be necessary, their interest being fixed, say, at six per cent;
   (c) To sell the bonds for their nominal par in depreciated paper. Give the reasons for and against each method.
7. State the probable effect on the selling value of bonds when their terms provide for, —
   (a) Annual drawings by lot for payment;
   (b) Reserved right to pay at pleasure after some fixed date;
   (c) Obligation to pay at some fixed date;
   (d) “Limited option” like that of the “five-twenties.”
8. Examine the reasoning involved in the following expression of opinion:—
   “There is one essential difference between the anticipation of interest. payments, and the anticipation of the payment of the principal of a debt by purchases on the market. This latter procedure…requires a larger sum of money to extinguish a given debt than will be required after the debt comes to be redeemable; but no such result follows the anticipation of interest-payments. These are determined by the terms of the contract, and may be calculated with accuracy. The interest does not, like the market value of a debt, fall as the bonds approach the period of their redemption, and it is but the application of sound business rules to use any surplus money on hand in making advanced payments of interest.”
9. Describe the existing arrangements for the reduction of the English debt.
10. State, with reasons, your own conclusion as to the real advantage (if any) derived from the system of terminable annuities.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Examination Papers 1898-99, Bound Volume, pp. 48-49.

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Banking and the History of the leading Banking Systems
Economics 12²

*12¹ hf. Banking and the History of the leading Banking Systems. Half -course (first half-year). Tu., Th., Sat., at 11. Professor [Charles Franklin] Dunbar.]

[Note: originally announced as omitted for 1897-98.]

In Course 12^[1] the modern system of banking by deposit and discount is examined, and its development in various countries is studied. The different systems of note-issue are then reviewed and compared, and the relations of banks to financial crises carefully analyzed. Practical banking does not come within the scope of this course. The study is historical and comparative in its methods, requiring some examination of important legislation in different countries, practice in the interpretation of banking movements, and investigation of the general effects of banking. The course, therefore, naturally leads to an examination of the questions now raised as to bank issues in the United States.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, pp. 38-39.

Economics 12: Enrollment

[Economics ] 12¹. Professor Dunbar.—Banking and the History of the leading Banking Systems. Hf. 3 hours. 1^st half year.

Total 12: 5 Graduates, 4 Seniors, 2 Juniors, 1 Other.

Source: Annual Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College 1897-98, (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1899), p. 78.

1897-98.
Economics 12¹.
[Mid-year Examination]

A.

Give ONE THIRD of your time to these two questions.

1. Suppose that, in the period 1848-70, India had had a banking system as extensively used and as efficient as that of England or the United States, and that in the East prices had depended upon competition as much as they did in the Western nations? How would these altered conditions have affected the drain of silver to India, and the value of the precious metals in America and Europe?
2. What do you say to the general proposition, that England, “being a debtor nation,” can draw gold at pleasure from any part of the world?

B.

3. A few years ago an American writer said:—
   “We will be able to resume specie payments when we cease to rank among the debtor nations, when our national debt is owed to our own people, and when our industry is adequate to the supply of the nation’s need of manufactured goods.”
   To what extent should you regard the circumstances of the resumption in 1879 as a verification of the reasoning implied in this statement?
4. In what way did the payment of the French Indemnity, 1871-73, tend to stimulate affairs in England, Austria, and the United States?
5. What economic conditions or events tended to make the year 1890 a turning point, both in domestic and in international finance? Give a clear statement of such as you recall.
6. How do the banking and currency systems of England, France and the United States differ, as regards their ability respectively to resist export movements of gold?
7. What temporary changes in the general level of prices in this country should you expect to see, as the result of a large permanent withdrawal of foreign capital? What ultimate change of prices should you expect?
8. State the general conditions which determine the movement of gold as it issues from the mining countries and is distributes over the world?
9. Cairnes discusses some of the conditions which determine the relative quickness with which countries raise their general scale of prices when a rapid depreciation of gold is in progress. Consider how far the effect upon a given country would be influenced by the fact that its exports were

(a) chiefly manufactured articles;
(b) chiefly articles of food.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1897-98.
Also: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Examination Papers 1898-99, Bound Volume, pp. 51-52.

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International Payments and the Flow of the Precious Metals
Economics 12¹

[Was not offered first nor second term, instead see above]

[* 12¹ hf. International Payments and the Flow of the Precious Metals. Half-course (first half-year). Tu., Th., Sat., at 11. Professor [Charles Franklin] Dunbar and Mr. [Hugo Richard] Meyer.

Course 12¹ is taken up with the discussion of the movements of goods, securities, and money, in the exchanges between nations and in the settlement of international demands. After a preliminary study of the general doctrine of international trade and of the use and significance of bills of exchange, it is proposed to make a close examination of some cases of payments on a great scale, and to trace the adjustments of imports and exports under temporary or abnormal financial conditions. Such examples as the payment of the indemnity by France to Germany after the war of 1870-71, the distribution of gold by the mining countries, and the movements of the foreign trade of the United States since 1879, will be investigated and used for the illustration of the general principles regulating exchanges and the distribution of money between nations.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, pp. 38-39.]

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Selected Topics in the Financial Legislation of the United States
Economics 16²

*16² hf. Selected Topics in the Financial Legislation of the United States. Half-course (second half-year). Tu., Th., at 2.30. Professor [Charles Franklin] Dunbar.

The topics for study in this course for 1897-98 will be: (1) The Legal Tender Issues of the Civil War; (2) Development of the National Banking System. Subjects will be assigned and reports called for, requiring thorough investigation in the debates of Congress and other contemporary sources of information, for the purpose of tracing the history and significance of the legislative acts to be discussed, and a close study of such financial and commercial statistics as may throw light upon the operation of the acts.

Arrangements will be made by which graduate students and candidates for Final Honors in Political Science may take this course in connection with the Seminary in Economics as a full course running through the year.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, p. 39.

Economics 16²: Enrollment

[Economics ] 16². Professor Dunbar.—Selected Topics in the Financial History of the United States. Hf. 2 hours. 1^st half year.

Total 8: 3 Graduates, 3 Seniors, 2 Juniors.

Source: Annual Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College 1897-98, (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1899), p. 78.

1897-98.
Economics 16²
[Year-end Examination]

A.

Give one-half of the time allowed for this examination to the discussion of any two of the questions stated under B.

B.

Answer, with such fulness as the remaining time allows, those of the following questions which you have not selected for discussion under A.

1. Rhodes (History of the United States since 1850, iii., 567) states as “the conclusion which it seems to me a careful consideration of all the facts must bring us to,” that “The Legal Tender act was neither necessary nor economical.”
   Discuss this conclusion.
2. In December, 1868, Senator Morton introduced a bill providing that specie payments should be resumed, by the government July 1, 1871, and by the banks January 1, 1872, greenbacks ceasing to be a legal tender at the latter date; gold to be provided in the Treasury by the accumulation of surpluses and by the sale of bonds, but no greenbacks to be redeemed until the date fixed for resumption by the United States.
   What would have been the probable operation of such a measure?
3. Sherman said in January, 1874,—
   “The plan, which in my judgment presents the easiest and best mode of attaining specie payments, is to choose some bond of the United States which in ordinary times, by current quotations, is known to be worth par in gold in the money markets of the world, where specie is alone the standard of value, and authorize the conversion of notes into it.”
   Discuss the probable working of such a plan, having in view also Mr. Sherman’s strong objection to a contraction of the currency
4. Suppose an Issue department of the Treasury, completely separated from all other business, provided with an ample reserve and strictly limited to the exchange of coin for notes and notes for coin as required by the public; what would you say would then be the nature and the force of the objections, if any, to the permanent maintenance of our legal tender issues?
5. The greenbacks having been regarded originally as the temporary element in our paper currency and the bank notes as the permanent element, what were the one or two great turning points in the development which reversed this relation?
6. If the issue of bank-notes were made equally available for all parts of the country, so far as the requirements of the system are concerned, would the South and South West find themselves more amply provided with paper currency than at present?
7. What in your judgment is the most important function discharged by banks in this country, and what is your estimate of the importance and practicability of national supervision of their discharge of that function?
8. The act just passed by Congress to provide ways and means for the expenditures occasioned by the war, contains the following section:—
   “That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and directed to coin into standard silver dollars as rapidly as the public interests may require, to an amount, however, of not less than one and one-half millions of dollars in each month, all of the silver bullion now in the Treasury purchased in accordance with the provisions of the act approved July 14, 1890, entitled “An act directing the purchase of silver bullion and the issue of Treasury notes thereon, and for other purposes, and said dollars, when so coined, shall be used and applied in the manner and for the purposes named in said act.”
   State carefully the use and application of the dollars thus required by the act of 1890.

Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Examination Papers 1898-99, Bound Volume, pp. 554-55.

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Economics Seminary
Economics 20

20. Seminary in Economics. Mon., at 4.30. Professors [Charles Franklin] Dunbar, [Frank William] Taussig, and [William James] Ashley, and Asst. Professor Edward Cummings.

In the Seminary the instructors receive Graduate Students, and Seniors of high rank and adequate preparation, for training in investigation and discussion. No endeavor is made to limit the work of the Seminary to any one set of subjects. Subjects are assigned to students according to their needs and opportunities, and may be selected from any of the larger fields covered by the courses in which stated instruction is given. They may accordingly be in economic theory, in economic history, in applied economics, in sociology, or in statistics. It will usually be advisible for members of the Seminary to undertake their special investigation in a subject with whose general outlines they are already acquainted; but it may sometimes be advantageous to combine general work in one of the systematic courses with special investigation of a part of the field.

The general meetings of the Seminary are held on the first and third Mondays of each month. The members of the Seminary confer individually, at stated times arranged after consultation, with the instructors under whose special guidance they are conducting their researches.

At the regular meetings, the results of the investigations of members are presented and discussed. The instructors also at times present the results of their own work, and give accounts of the specialized literature of Economics. At intervals, other persons are invited to address the Seminary on subjects of theoretic or practical interest, giving opportunity for contact and discussion with the non-academic world. Among those who thus contributed to the Seminary in 1895-97 were President Francis A. Walker, Dr. Frederick H. Wines, Mr. S. N. D. North, Mr. A. T. Lyman, Mr. E. W. Hooper, and Mr. F. C. Lowell.

In 1896-97 the Seminary had fifteen members, of whom twelve were Graduate Students, two were Seniors in Harvard College, and one was a Law Student. Among the subjects under investigation in that year were: The Woollen Industry in England during the 17th and 18th centuries; Over-production and Over-accumulation in Economic Theory; The Taxation of Sugar in the United States and in Foreign Countries; The National Banking System with regard to its operation in the West and South; The Financial History of the Pennsylvania Railway; The Financial History of the Union Pacific Railway; The History of Immigration into the United States.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1897-98, pp. 39-40.

Economics 20: Enrollment

[Economics ] 20. Professors Dunbar, Taussig and Ashley, and Asst. Professor Edward Cummings.—Investigation of topics assigned after consultation.

Total 12: 11 Graduates, 1Senior.

Source: Annual Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College 1897-98, (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1899), p. 78.

Members of the Harvard Economics Seminary, 1897-1898

https://www.irwincollier.com/harvard-members-of-the-economics-seminary-1897-1898/

Image Source: Harvard Hall (1906). From the Center for the History of Medicine (Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine).