______________________________
Every year from 1927/28 through 1931/32, Edward Chamberlin taught a semester-long course on the economics of transportation. He took over the course that had been previously taught by Professor William Zebina Ripley, who continued teaching the next semester course in the sequence on the economics of corporations. In the following year these two courses morphed into the full-year course “Monopolistic Industries and their Regulation” co-taught by Chamberlin and Edward S. Mason.
The final examination questions for 1932 have been transcribed for this course.
______________________________
Course Enrollment
[Economics] 4a 1hf. Asst. Professor Chamberlin.—Economics of Transportation.
Total: 149. 5 Graduates, 46 Seniors, 85 Juniors, 7 Sophomores, 6 Other.
Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College and Reports of Departments, 1931-1932. p. 71.
______________________________
ECONOMICS 4a
1931-32
| Lectures: | Section Meetings: |
| Oct. 1-17 inclusive
Nov. 3-19 inclusive Dec. 8-15 inclusive |
Oct. 19-27 inclusive. Nov. 20-Dec. 1 incl. Dec. 16-22 inclusive |
|
Assignments |
|
| Before Oct. 20 |
Chapter |
|
Historical Sketch |
|
| Taussig—Principles of Economics |
62, 63 |
| Ripley—Railroads, Rates and Regulation |
1 |
| Ripley—Railroad Problems |
1,2 |
|
Rates |
|
| Jones—Principles of Railroad Transportation |
4-9 inclusive |
| Jones and Vanderblue—Railroads, Cases & Selections |
VIII |
|
Traffic Geography |
|
| Jones and Vanderblue—Railroads, Cases & Selections |
II |
| Daggett—Principles of Inland Transportation |
8-14 inclusive |
|
Finance |
|
| Jones |
2, 16, 18 |
| Jones and Vanderblue |
XX, Section 1 |
|
Hour Examination October 29 |
|
| Before Nov. 21 | |
|
History of Regulation to 1917 |
|
| Ripley—Railroads, Rates and Regulation |
13-17 inclusive |
| Jones |
14 |
| Sharfman—American Railroad Problem |
pp. 51-64 |
|
Federal Operation During the War |
|
| Sharfman |
3, 4, 5 |
|
Nationalization |
|
| Sharfman |
6 |
|
The Act of 1920 |
|
| Sharfman |
pp. 347-357 |
| Sharfman |
11 |
|
Valuation |
|
| Jones |
15 |
| Jones and Vanderblue |
IV |
|
Motor Truck Transport |
|
| Daggett |
6, 34 |
| Peterson—“Motor Carrier Regulation and Its Economic Basis”—Quarterly Journal of Economics—Aug. 1929 | |
|
Inland Water Transport |
|
| Daggett |
2, 33 |
|
Hour Examination December 3 |
|
| Before Dec. 17 | |
|
Consolidation |
|
| Jones |
17 |
| Daggett |
22, 23, 24 |
| Jones and Vanderblue |
XXIV Sections 1 and 2 |
| Foreign Experience | |
| Daggett |
30, 31 |
Reading Period
Read one of the following:
- Rates
Vanderblue and Burgess—Railroads, Rates, Service, Management. Chs. 5-12 inclusive.
Clark—Economics of Overhead Costs. Chs. 13, 14
- Valuation
Glaeser—Outlines of Public Utility Economics. Chs. 14, 19, 21.
I.C.C. Finance Docket #3908 (O’Fallon Case)
Sup. Ct. Opinion #131, 132. October, 1928.
- Waterways
Moulton—St. Lawrence Navigation and Power Project. pp. 1-240
Journal of Political Economy—Feb. 1930, pp. 86-107; June 1930, pp. 345-353
Moulton—Waterways vs. Railways. Chs. 2, 3, 20.
Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 2, Folder “Economics, 1931-1932”.
Image Source: Edward Chamberlin, Harvard Class Album 1932.