Month: August 2026

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Sociology

Harvard. Principles of Sociology. Course description, enrollment, final exams. Carver, 1912-1913

Mary Boyle O'Reilly. Not Carver's type of sociology.

I confess to being rather tired of re-using portraits of Professor Thomas Nixon Carver so I decided to look for another face of sociology for this post. The portrait above is one of the Boston social reformer and later journalist, Mary Boyle O’Reilly, identified as a “writer, lecturer on sociology” by the Library of Congress prints and photographs division. For my money, she led a more interesting life than Carver…but I digress…

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About the course teaching assistant, Lucius Moody Bristol (Harvard PhD 1913).

Carver lists sixteen items in his chapter on sociology in A guide to reading in social ethics and allied subjects (1910), by Francis G. Peabody et al.

In 1905 Carver published a book of 35 readings: Sociology and Social Progress: A Handbook for Students of Sociology.

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Previously taught
courses in sociology

Links to earlier course material for principles of sociology at Harvard, 1892-93 through 1911-12.

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Economics 8
Course Description
1912-13

[Economics] 8 (formerly 3). Principles of Sociology. — Theories of Social Progress. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 10. Professor Carver, assisted by Mr. ——.

An analytical study of social life and of the factors and forces which hold society together and give it an orderly development. The leading social institutions will also be studied with a view to finding out their relation to social well-being and progress.

The reading will be selected from various writers who have treated the problems of human progress and social adjustment.

Course 8 is open only to students who have passed in Economics 1.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912–13, pp.62-63.

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Economics 8
Course Enrollment
1912-13

Economics 8. Principles of Sociology. Professor Carver.

Total 147: 10 Graduates, 41 Seniors, 74 Juniors, 18 Sophomores, 4 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College, 1912-13, p. 57.

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ECONOMICS 8
Mid-year Examination
1912-13

  1. Describe the four leading forms of adaptation.
  2. What is the relation of economic scarcity to the problems of adaptation?
  3. Have modern developments of biological theory tended to increase or to decrease the importance of selection as a factor in race improvement? Explain.
  4. Discuss warfare as a means of selection.
  5. Discuss charity as a factor in selection.
  6. What is the distinction between economic competition and the primordial struggle for existence? Where does the latter show itself in human affairs?
  7. What is meant by the statement that morality and religion are as truly weapons for waging the struggle for existence as are teeth and claws, horns and hoofs?
  8. Discuss the economic test of fitness for survival (a) as to its validity, (b) as to its practicability.
  9. Compare the views of Buckle and Kidd as to the importance of religion as a factor in social progress.
  10. How, according to Fiske, does the prolongation of infancy affect the character and stability of the family?
  11. How do variation and selection show themselves as factors in the improvement of morals? Is there any parallelism between the processes of moral and biological evolution?
  12. “The mores are always right.” What is meant by the word ” right” in this quotation?

Source: Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 9, bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1912-13.

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ECONOMICS 8
Year-end Examination
1912-13

  1. What, in your opinion, is the ultimate test of progress? Give your reasons.
  2. Compare the views of Buckle and Peschel as to the influence of geographical surroundings on religion.
  3. What is the relation between the institution of the family and the institution of property?
  4. What place has the genius in social progress? Give your own opinion and state the views on this question of authors whom you have read.
  5. Outline the leading forms of waste labor and of waste land, giving briefly the reasons why each form of waste exists at the present time.
  6. Compare the views of Mill and Ross as to the limits of social control.
  7. What, according to Ross, is the relation of resentment to social order?
  8. What are the reasons for the existence of the ballot? How far would these reasons justify the extension of the ballot?

Source: Harvard University Examinations. Papers set for final examinations in history, history of science, government, economics, philosophy, social ethics, education, fine arts, music in Harvard College (June 1913), pp. 47-48.

Image Source: Mary Boyle O’Reilly, writer, lecturer on sociology (1913). From the Harris & Ewing photograph collection  at the ibrary of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

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Sociology exams from earlier years.

1892-93 (taught by E. Cummings)
1893-94 (taught by E. Cummings)
1894-95 (taught by E. Cummings)
1895-96 (taught by E. Cummings)
1896-97 (taught by E. Cummings)
1897-98 (taught by E. Cummings)
1898-99 (taught by E. Cummings)
1899-1900 (taught by E. Cummings)
1901-02 (taught by T. N. Carver)
1902-03 (taught by T. N. Carver and W. Z. Ripley)
1903-04 (taught by T. N. Carver)
1904-05 (taught by T. N. Carver and J. A. Field) Includes the reading list for the course and additional biographical information.
1905-06 (taught by T. N. Carver)
1906-07 (taught by J. A. Field)
1907-08 (taught by T. N. Carver)
1908-09 (taught by T. N. Carver and C. W. Thompson)
1909-10 (taught by T. N. Carver and J. S. Davis)
1910-11 (taught by T. N. Carver and L. M. Bristol)
1911-12 (taught by T. N. Carver and L. M. Bristol)

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Public Finance

Harvard. Public finance. Description, enrollment and final exams. Bullock, 1912-1913

"The Free American Citizen." Republic Tariff Taxes Make his "Freedom" a Mockery.

 

The two half-courses in public finance were merged into a two semester sequence at Harvard in 1912-13. Still at the helm, Charles Jesse Bullock.

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Public Finance pre-1912/13

Links to earlier course material for Public Finance from Harvard, 1883-84 through 1911-12.

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ECONOMICS 5
Course Description
1912-13

[Economics] 5 (formerly 7a and 7b). Public Finance, including the Theory and Methods of Taxation. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Professor Bullock.

This course covers the entire field of public finance, but emphasizes the subject of taxation. After a brief survey of the history of finance, attention is given to public expenditures, commercial revenues, administrative revenues, and taxation, with consideration both of theory and of the practice of various countries. Public credit is then studied, and financial legislation and administration are briefly treated.

Systematic reading is prescribed, and most of the exercises are conducted by the method of informal discussion. Candidates for distinction will be given an opportunity to write theses.

Graduate students are advised to elect Economics 31.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912–13, p. 61.

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ECONOMICS 5
Course Enrollment
1912-13

Economics 5. Professor Bullock. Public Finance, including the Theory and Methods of Taxation.

Total 25: 6 Seniors, 14 Juniors, 4 Sophomores, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College, 1912-13, p. 57.

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ECONOMICS 5
Mid-year Examination
1912-13

  1. In two countries the total public expenditure is, respectively, $18 and $16 per capita. In the former the local expenditure is one-third of the total, in the latter it is one half. The composition of the revenues, national and local, is assumed to be practically the same in the two countries. What conclusions do these data justify concerning the comparative pressure exerted by public expenditures in the two countries, and what further data would be necessary for a complete estimate of such pressure?
  2. What methods can you suggest for reducing public expenditures in any or all of their branches?
  3. Compare the views of Smith, Rau, and Bastable concerning revenue from domains.
  4. Discuss the proposition that income is the normal source of taxation.
  5. Discuss fully the proportion [sic] that public expenditure is unproductive.
  6. Discuss fully the incidence of customs duties.
  7. Discuss fully the incidence of a general tax on interest.
  8. To what extent is the weight of national or local taxation in the United States likely to be reduced by revenue from other sources.

Source: Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 9, bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1912-13.

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ECONOMICS 5
Year-end Examination
1912-13

  1. Explain and discuss critically the methods employed in the taxation of land in Germany, France, Great Britain, Australia, and the United States.
  2. Compare the general property tax with the general income tax, considering both the theory and the practical operation of these taxes.
  3. Compare the French, Prussian, and British systems of direct taxation.
  4. Compare the British system of indirect taxation with those of France and the United States.
  5. Discuss the taxation of mortgages in the United States.
  6. What changes in the taxation of personal property have recently occurred in the United States?
  7. Compare the British, Prussian, and Italian income taxes.
  8. Outline what you consider a satisfactory theory of the just apportionment of public charges.

Source: Harvard University Examinations. Papers set for final examinations in history, history of science, government, economics, philosophy, social ethics, education, fine arts, music in Harvard College (June 1913), p. 44.

Image Source: J. Norman Lynd’s “The Free American Citizen” on the cover of Puck, v. 72, no. 1856 (1912 September 25). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.

Illustration shows an American citizen sitting at a table, eating a meal; every item on the table and almost every item in the dining room and kitchen in the background, has a tag on it indicating at what percent that item has been taxed, for instance, the tag on the salt and pepper shakers states “Tax 33 per cent”, the tag on a potato or the fork he is using to eat it with states “Tax 40 per cent”, the tag on the table cloth states “Tax 45 per cent”, the tag on a teapot on the stove in the kitchen states “Tax 45 per cent”, and an insert shows a tombstone with a tag that states “Tax 50 per cent”.

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Earlier public finance exams
at Harvard

1883-84. Political Economy 7. Comparison of the financial systems of France, England, Germany, and the U.S. Taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1884-85. Political Economy 7. Comparison of the Financial Systems of France, England, Germany, and the U.S. [Omitted 1884-85].

1884-85. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1885-86. Political Economy 8. Financial history of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1886-87. Political Economy 7. Public finance and banking taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1886-87. Political Economy 8. Financial history of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar [Exams not (yet) found]

1887-88. Political Economy 7. Taxation, public debts, and banking taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1887-88. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1888-89. Political Economy 7. Taxation, public debts, and banking taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1888-89. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1889-90. Political Economy 7. Public Finance and Banking. Omitted.

1889-90. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Adolph Caspar Miller

1890-91. Political Economy 7. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1890-91. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by William Morse Cole.

1891-92. Political Economy 71. Theory and methods of taxation  taught by Charles F. Dunbar [Mid-year examination not found]

1891-92. Political Economy 8. History of fnancial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1892-93. Economics 71. Theory and methods of txation taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1892-93. Economics 72. Financial administration and public Debts taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1893-94. Economics 8. History of financial legislation of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1894-95. Economics 7. Theory and methods of taxation (first semester) and financial administration and public debts (second semester) taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1895-96. Economics 7. Financial administration and public Debts taught by John Cummings.

1895-96. Economics 8. History of financial legislation of the U.S. taught by J. A. Hill.

1896-97. Economics 16. Topics in the financial legislation of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1897-98. Economics 71. Theory and Methods of Taxation taught by Frank William Taussig, Readings, Exams.

1898-99. Economics 16. Topics in the financial legislation of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1899-1900. Economics 7a. Financial administration and public Debts taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1899-1900. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation taught by Frank William Taussig.

1900-01. Economics 7a and 7b. Not offered.

1901-02. Economics 7a and 7b. Financial administration; taxation [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1902-03. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation with reference to local taxation [undergraduate] taught by Edward Dana Durand, Readings, Exam and Durand biography.

1902-03. Economics 16. Financial history of the United States taught by Prof Henry Brayton Gardner of Brown University.

1903-04. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation taught by Frank William Taussig.

1903-04. Economics 16.  Financial history of the United States taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 7a. Introduction to public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 16. Financial history of the United States taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1905-06 Economics 7.  Public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1905-06 Economics 16. Public finance [advanced] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1906-07 Economics 16. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1907-08 Economics 16. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1908-09 Economics 7. Public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1908-09 Economics 16. Public finance [advanced course] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1909-10 Economics 7. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Phillips Huse [biographical information included]

1909-10 Economics 16. American taxation [advanced course] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock and Charles Phillips Huse.

1910-11 Economics 7 2hf. Public finance considered with special reference to the theory and methods of taxation. taught by Charles Phillips Huse, assisted by Wilfred] Eldred and Roscoe Russell Hess.

1910-11 Economics 16 Public finance (advanced course) taught by Charles Jesse Bullock.

1910-11 Economics 17 2hf.  Municipal finance taught by Charles Phillips Huse.

1911-12 Economics 7a 1hf. Introduction to Public Finance taught by Charles Jesse Bullock.

1911-12 Economics 7b 2hf. The Theory and Methods of Taxation taught by Charles Jesse Bullock.

1911-12 Economics 16. Public finance (advanced course) taught by Charles Jesse Bullock.

 

Categories
Chicago Exam Questions Theory

Chicago. Economic Theory Prelim. Parts I and II. Summer 1953

 

 

Links to previously posted Chicago prelim exams.

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Economic Theory, Part I

Written examination for the Ph. D. and A.M. Degrees,
Summer Quarter 1953

Answer all questions.  Time: 4 hours.

Question 1.

Each year large sums of public funds are spent to find and make known improvements in agricultural technology.  Most rationalizations for this practice picture it as “helping the farmer.”  To what extent and under what conditions can promotion of technical improvements –

(a) increase rent of land used for agriculture?
(b) increase net incomes of farmers who are tenants?
(c) increase gross receipts of farmers as a class?

Question 2.
    1. “If the purchase tax on new cars should be reduced in the coming budget, there will be a sharp drop in all second-hand prices to bring them into line with the reduced list prices of the new cars.”(Economist, March 21, 1953, p. 821.)  Discuss, including an analysis of the channels, if any, whereby the reduction in purchase tax (in our terminology, excise tax) would affect the prices of used cars.
    2. A monopolist is initially producing 1000 units of output which he sells for $30 per unit.Assume that conditions remain unchanged except for the government actions listed below.  What can you tell about the effects of each action on output, price paid by consumers, and the return (after tax) to the monopolist?  Consider the actions as separate alternatives, no two are in effect together.  If some answers depend on special assumptions make these explicit.
      1. A tax of $10 per unit is imposed on the first 500 units produced.
      2. A tax of $10 per unit is imposed on the first 1200 units produced.
      3. A subsidy of $10 per unit is granted on all units produced in excess of 500.
      4. A subsidy of $10 per unit is granted on all units produced in excess of 1000.
      5. The price is arbitrarily set at $28.  The government guarantees sale of the monopolist’s entire output.
Question 3.

The present value of a collection of assets equals the sum of discounted gross returns that the owner expects it to yield.  Explain the determination of the discount rate: how is it related to the owner’s tastes and opportunities and to the tastes and opportunities of other people?

Question 4.

Consider a firm using several factors of production and making several products.  “There is no reason why an equal proportional increase in all factors should not enable all products to be increased in the same proportion as the factors have been increased.”  But in this case “it is not possible for the price of one factor (or product) to change, there being no change in the prices of all other factors and products, without upsetting equilibrium altogether.  If the price of a product rises, output will become infinite; if the price of a factor rises, it will become zero…  Our analysis threatens to break down altogether.”  (Hicks).  Is this conclusion correct?  If so, show a) how it follows from the premises; b) how it can be reconciled with observed facts.  (Note: You may start with the case of one factor and one product.)

Question 5.

“The operatives are perfectly right in thinking that if all worked on Sunday, seven days’ work would have to be given for six days’ wages; but so long as the great mass of employments are suspended, the small number who for the enjoyment of others must still work, obtain a proportional increase of earnings; and they are not obliged to follow those occupations if they prefer leisure to emolument.”  (J. S. Mill, in “On Liberty.”)

      1. How would Mill have justified his conclusions in terms of the economic doctrines of his time? Indicate briefly the intellectual history of the relevant doctrines.
      2. Analyze his conclusions in light of current economic theory.
Question 6.

In economic theory, the indifference maps and opportunity (transformation) functions are stated to have certain properties. Which are these properties and how can they be inferred from factual evidence?

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Economic Theory, Part II

Written examination for the Ph.D. and A.M. Degrees,
Summer Quarter 1953

Answer all questions.  Time: 3 hours.

Question 1.

The income velocity of circulation appears to have been falling rather steadily in the United States over the past 100 years to about one-third its initial value.  What factors might in your view explain this secular decline?

Question 2.

Assuming continuing technological progress, suppose that the practice of negotiating for real rather than money wage rates spreads over all industries of the country.  What effect would this have upon price level, employment and the distribution of income, under various assumptions about monetary policy?

Question 3.

What are the principal “automatic stabilizers” of prices and business activity now operative?  In your view, what additional step is most needed to improve the prospect that automatic stabilization will work reasonably well? Explain.

Question 4.

Does it have any practical significance whether the maximum difference or the maximum ratio between the amount of currency in circulation and the Central Bank reserve (in metal or foreign exchange) is fixed?  Give historical examples of both kinds of rules.

Source: Hoover Institution Archives. Milton Friedman Papers, Box 76, Folder “76.10”.

Image Source:  Social Science Research Building (Lecture Hall 1). University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf2-07482, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

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Preliminary and Field Exams from the economics graduate program of the University of Chicago

Note: The chronological ordering of quarters at the University of Chicago during a calendar year goes Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn. For this reason the following is arranged chronologically.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Industrial Organization

Harvard. Economics of Corporations. Description, enrollment, final exam. Ripley, 1912-1913

An angry Uncle Sam holding up a lantern labeled “Congressional Legislation” to illuminate a rotund man wearing a crown labeled “Trusts” and a robe decorated with dollar signs, there is a ring with many keys hanging from a cord around his waist, and he is sitting on a stack of books that are labeled “Day Book, Ledger, Entry Book, Stock Book, [and] Cash Book”, he has his right hand on an open book. All the books are locked with padlocks.

 

Earlier Harvard courses
on Corporations

Links to earlier course material for Economics of Corporations taught at Harvard, 1902-1903 through 1911-12.

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ECONOMICS 4b
Course Description
1912-13

4b 2hf. (formerly 9b 2hf.). Economics of Corporations. Half-course (second half-year). Tu., Th., Sat., at 11. Professor Ripley, assisted by ——.

This course will treat of the fiscal and industrial organization of capital, especially in the corporate form. The principal topic considered will be industrial combination and the so-called trust problem. This will be broadly discussed, with comparative study of conditions in the United States and Europe. The development of corporate enterprise, promotion, and financing, accounting, liability of directors and underwriters, will be described, not in their legal but in their economic aspects; and the effects of industrial combination upon efficiency, profits, wages, prices, the development of export trade, and international competition will be considered in turn.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912–13, p. 61.

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ECONOMICS 4b
Course Enrollment
1912-13

Economics 4b 2hf. Professor Ripley, assisted by Mr. Crosgrave. Economics of Corporations.

Total 130: 6 Graduates, 20 Seniors, 86 Juniors, 15 Sophomores, 3 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College, 1912-13, p. 57.

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ECONOMICS 4b
Year-end Examination
1912-13

  1. Why was the dissolution of the “Tobacco Trust” more difficult than that of the Standard Oil Company? Explain fully.
  2. Indicate certain differences in the eye of the law between monopolization and restraint of trade.
  3. Herewith are two balance sheets of companies A and B respectively. Comment upon them, contrasting one with the other. Which apparently denotes the greater financial stability?

Co. A

Assets

Liabilities
Plant

$3,500,000

 Preferred Stock

$5,000,000
Merchandise

1,800,000

 Common Stock

15,000,000
Bills Receivable

700,000

 Accounts Payable

600,000
Cash

1,400,000

Good-will and Patents

13,200,000

$20,600,000

$20,600,000
 

Co. B

Assets

Liabilities
Factories

$15,000,000

 Capital Stock

$65,000,000
Securities owned

18,000,000

 Debentures

15,000,000
Merchandise

20,000,000

 Surplus

3,000,001
Accounts Receivable

30,000,000
Franchises and Good-will

1

$83,000,001

$83,000,001
  1. Name, with briefest possible description in each case, and in order of seriousness, at least five distinct forms of unfair competition in trade.
  2. Do all the foregoing forms of unfair competition affect the general public as well as direct competitors? Does this factor apparently influence the attitude of the courts?
  3. What was the essence of the U. S. Steel Bond Conversion plan? What became of it?
  4. Contrast administrative and judicial forms of controlling monopoly, pointing out the merits of each.
  5. Outline the plan of reorganization of the National Cordage Company. Was it typical of industrial reorganizations in general?
  6. What are the three leading objections to the so-called “holding company “?
  7. Outline what most appeals to you as a feasible plan for dealing with the existing trust problem. State concisely in definite propositions covering all points at issue.

Source: Harvard University Examinations. Papers set for final examinations in history, history of science, government, economics, philosophy, social ethics, education, fine arts, music in Harvard College (June 1913), pp. 43-44.

Image Source: “The kind of anti-trust legislation that is needed” by  J.S. Pughe. From Puck, 1902 February 5.

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Other Corporations/Industrial Organization Related Posts
for William Z. Ripley

Problems of Labor and Industrial Organization, 1902-1903.

Economics of Corporations, 1903-1904.

Economics of Corporations, 1904-05 (with Vanderveer Custis)

Economics of Corporations, 1906-07 (with Stuart Daggett)

Economics of Corporations, 1907-08 (with Stuart Daggett)

Economics of Corporations, 1908-09 (with Edmund Thornton Miller)

Economics of Corporations, 1909-10 (with Goepper and Whipple)

Economics of Corporations 1911-12 (with Arthur Stone Dewing)

Economics of Corporations, 1914-1915.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Labor

Harvard. Trade unionism and allied problems. Course description, enrollment, final exam. Ripley, 1912-1913

The tournament of today: a set-to between labor and monopoly

With a decade’s worth of experience teaching his labor course, William Zebina Ripley established his problems of labor as a staple applied offering in the Harvard economics department going into the second decade of the twentieth century.

Links to previous Harvard labor exams 1892-93 to 1911-12.

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Labor Bibliographies
Prepared by Ripley

Short Bibliography of Trade Unionism, 1910.

Short Bibliography of Strikes and Boycotts, 1910.

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Meet the Teaching Assistant:

Lloyd M. Crosgrave

BIRTH. 21 Apr 1887. Jamestown, Chautauqua County, New York, USA

DEATH. 19 Jun 1961 (aged 74). Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana, USA

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

LLOYD CROSGRAVE,
EX-UNIVERSITY PROF, DIES HERE

Lloyd M. Crosgrave, 74, 2320 S. Walnut St., died at home at 11:30 a.m. Monday after an extended illness. Crosgrave was born in Jamestown, N.Y., and moved to Muncie when he was five years old.

He attended Purdue University, received his bachelor’s degree at Indiana University and his master’s in economics at Harvard. He taught economics at Harvard, IU, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Pittsburgh.

He retired from teaching several years ago due to failing health. Since then he has owned and operated a greenhouse at his home where he grew house plants, specializing in the growing of African violets.

Crosgrave was a member of the Senior Citizens of Muncie.

He is survived by a sister, Miss Pearl G. Crosgrave, who resided at the same address.

Muncie Evening Press. Mon, Jun 19, 1961, p. 8

Source: Find-A-Grave webpage for Lloyd W. [sic] Crosgrave.

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ECONOMICS 6a
Course Description
1912-13

[Economics] 6a lhf. (formerly 9a lhf.). Trade Unionism and Allied Problems. Half-course (first half-year). Tu., Th., Sat., at 10. Professor Ripley, assisted by Mr. ——.

This course will deal mainly with the economic and social relations of employer and employed. Among the topics included will be: the history of unionism; the policies of trade unions respecting wages, machinery, output, etc.; collective bargaining; strikes; employers’ liability and workmen’s compensation; efficiency management; unemployment.

Each student will make at least one report upon a labor union or an important strike, from the original documents. Two lectures a week, with one recitation, will be the usual practice.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912–13, p. 62.

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ECONOMICS 6a
Course Enrollment
1912-13

Economics 6a lhf. Professor Ripley, assisted by Mr. Crosgrave. Trade-Unionism and Allied Problems.

Total 72: 3 Graduates, 44 Seniors, 19 Juniors, 4 Sophomores, 2 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College, 1912-13, p. 57.

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ECONOMICS 6a
Mid-year Examination
1912-13

Answer the first five briefly

  1. What is sabotage?
  2. What is the “extended” closed shop?
  3. What is the principal practical difficulty in the “general strike”?
  4. Is it met by the adoption of any positive policy in France by the “syndicates”?
  5. In the syndicalist programme what is to be the unit in the reorganized state?
  6. Contrast collective bargaining under sanction of the law with its adoption by private arrangement; (a) from the point of view of advantage to the employer; (b) from that of the workman.
  7. What are the four main features of the New Zealand legislation. (Each in a sentence.)
  8. What is the principal demonstrated weakness in the above legislation?
  9. What are three disabilities of the individual workmen in negotiating a wage contract?
  10. Wages for women in domestic service and in manufactures seem out of line with one another. What main difference helps to explain this?
  11. What is the present condition of affairs respecting the closed shop in the United States? Outline the course of events for two decades.
  12. How does the law of conspiracy enter into the decision by courts in labor disputes? How has Great Britain settled it?

Source: Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 9, bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1912-13.  Also in: Harvard University Examinations. Papers set for final examinations in history, history of science, government, economics, philosophy, social ethics, education, fine arts, music in Harvard College (June 1913), p. 45.

Image Source: “The tournament of today — a set-to between labor and monopoly” by Friedrich Graetz. Centerfold illustration in Puck, v. 13, no. 334, (1883 August 1). Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

A jousting tournament between an oversized knight riding horse-shaped armor labeled “Monopoly” over a locomotive, with a long plume labeled “Arrogance”, and carrying a shield labeled “Corruption of the Legislature” and a lance labeled “Subsidized Press”, and a barefoot man labeled “Labor” riding an emaciated horse labeled “Poverty”, and carrying a sledgehammer labeled “Strike”. On the left is seating “Reserved for Capitalists” where Cyrus W. Field, William H. Vanderbilt, John Roach, Jay Gould, and Russell Sage are sitting. On the right, behind the labor section, are telegraph lines flying monopoly banners that are labeled “Wall St., W.U.T. Co., [and] N.Y.C. RR”.

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Previous Labor Courses at Harvard

1892-93. The Social and Economic Condition of Workingmen in the U.S. and in Other Countries (E. Cummings)
1893-94. The Social and Economic Condition of Workingmen in the U.S. and in Other Countries (E. Cummings)
1894-95. The Social and Economic Condition of Workingmen in the U.S. and in Other Countries (E. Cummings)
1895-96. The Social and Economic Condition of Workingmen in the U.S. and in Other Countries (E. Cummings)
1896-97. The Labor Question in Europe and the U.S. (J. and E. Cummings)
1897-98. The Labor Question in Europe and the U.S. (J. and E. Cummings)
1898-99. The Labor Question in Europe and the U.S. (E. Cummings)
1899-1900. The Labor Question in Europe and the U.S. (Omitted)
1900-01. The Labor Question in Europe and the U.S. (W.F. Willoughby)
1901-02. The Labor Question in Europe and the U.S. (E.D. Durand)
1902-03. Problems of Labor (W.Z. Ripley)
1903-04. Problems of Labor (W.Z. Ripley)
1904-05. Problems of Labor (W.Z. Ripley)
1905-06. Problems of Labor (W.Z. Ripley)
1906-07. Problems of Labor (W.Z. Ripley)
1907-08. Problems of Labor (W.Z. Ripley)
1908-09. Problems of Labor (W.Z. Ripley)
1909-10. Problems of Labor (W.Z. Ripley)
1910-11. Problems of Labor (W.Z. Ripley)
1911-12. Problems of Labor (W.Z. Ripley)

Categories
Exam Questions Swarthmore Theory Undergraduate

Swarthmore. Honors Examination in Economic Theory. Coppock, 1947

Joseph David Coppock was an external examiner for the honors economic theory examination at Swarthmore. The economics department called on their alumnus (A.B., 1933 with a Columbia University Ph.D., 1940) at least three times in the 1940s. His January 1947 examination questions are transcribed for this post.

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Swarthmore Senior exams posted previously (with external examiner names)

Senior Comprehensive Examination (1931)

Broadus Mitchell (1934)

Lloyd Metzler (1943 to 1945)

Paul Samuelson (1943)

Richard Musgrave (1946)

Wolfgang Stolper (Seminar, ca. 1944)

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[Handwritten note: “Examiner: Coppock”]

Swarthmore College​
Honors Examination​
Economic Theory

January 29, 1947.

Answer 5 questions, including No. 1

  1.  —
    1. Using your own arithmetic assumptions, derive an individual buyer’s demand curve from a set of (consumer) indifference curves. Show both schedule and graph.
    2. Using your own arithmetic assumptions, derive an individual producer’s variable cost curve from a traditional “diminishing physical returns curve.” Show both schedule and graph.
  2. —
    1. How, under classical distribution theory, would an increase in national product be distributed among the customary claimants? Explain.
    2. To what extent does your answer in (a) apply to present-day circumstances in the U. S.?
  3. Write an explanatory and critical essay on the relation of the interest rate to the level of investment in the national economy (a) under any conditions you may wish to assume and (b) under present-day conditions in the U. S.
  4. Suppose you were David Ricardo and received from the review editor of an economic journal a copy of Chamberlin’s Theory of Monopolistic Competition with a request to review it. Write a review, comparing Chamberlin’s book with your own Principles of Political Economy and Taxation.
  5. The First Annual Report of the Council of Economic Advisers states:

“It would be very simple indeed if we could rely on fiscal policy as a panacea (for unemployment). Broadly speaking, the shortcoming of this single-track doctrine….is that it does not face the complexity of our economic system.”
Develop the point.

  1. —
    1. What is economic progress?
    2. What are the conditions of it?
    3. What does a change in population have to do with it?
  2. —
    1. Point out some key differences between general equilibrium and particular [sic] equilibrium theory.
    2. How do these differences affect the application of economic theory to the real economic world?

Source: Duke University. David M. Rubinstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Economists’ Papers Archives. Wolfgang F. Stolper Papers, Box 22, Folder 1.

Image Source: Swarthmore College yearbook, Halcyon 1940, p. 11.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Transportation

Harvard. Transportation Economics. Course description, enrollment, final exam. Ripley, 1912-1913

 

Links to earlier course material for Economics of Transportation from Harvard, 1887-88 through 1911-12.

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About the Teaching Assistant

Lloyd Morgan Crosgrave [PUT in LINK TO 1912-13 PRINCIPLES PAGE #Crosgrave]

General Examination in Economics, Wednesday, May 7, 1913.
General Subjects: 1. Economic Theory and its History. 2. Economic History since 1750. 3. Statistics. 4. Public Finance and Railroads. 5. Labor Problems, including Social Reforms. 6. History of American Institutions since 1789.
Committee: Professors Taussig (chairman), Ripley, Bullock, Fite, and Dr. Copeland.

Academic History: Indiana University, 1905-09; Harvard Graduate School, 1910-13. A.B., Indiana, 1909; A.M., Harvard, 1911. Teacher of History, Decatur High School, Ill., 1909-10; Instructor in Economics, Harvard, 1912-13.
Special Subject: Labor Problems.
Thesis Subject: “The American Glass Industry.” (With Professor Taussig.)

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examinations for the Ph.D. (HUC 7000.70), Folder “Examinations for the Ph.D., 1912-13”.

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ECONOMICS 4a
Course Description
1912-13

4a 1hf. (formerly 5 1hf.). Economics of Transportation. Half-course (first half-year). Tu., Th., Sat., at 11. Professor Ripley, assisted by ——.

A brief outline of the historical development of rail and water transportation in the United States will be followed by a description of the condition of transportation systems at the present time. The four main subdivisions of rates and rate-making, finance, traffic operation, and legislation will be considered in turn. The first deals with the relation of the railroad to shippers, comprehending an analysis of the theory and practice of rate-making. An outline will be given of the nature of railroad securities, the principles of capitalization, and the interpretation of railroad accounts. Railroad operation will deal with the practical problems of the traffic department, such as the collection and interpretation of statistics of operation, pro-rating, the apportionment of cost, depreciation and maintenance, etc. Under legislation, the course of state regulation and control in the United States and Europe will be traced.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912–13, pp. 60-61.

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Monographs/Books on Transportation by W. Z. Ripley

Transportation. Chapter from the Final report of the U.S. Industrial Commission (Vol. XIX) and privately issued by the author for the use of his students and others. Washington, D.C., 1902.

Railway Problems, edited with an introduction by William Z. Ripley (Boston: Ginn & Company, 1907).

Railroads: Rates and Regulation (New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1912).

Railroads: Finance & Organization (New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1915).

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ECONOMICS 4a
Course Enrollment
1912-13

Economics 4a 1hf. Professor Ripley, assisted by Mr. [Lloyd Morgan] Crosgrave. Economics of Transportation.

Total 156: 6 Graduates, 2 G.B., 36 Seniors, 85 Juniors, 24 Sophomores, 3 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College, 1912-13, p. 57.

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ECONOMICS 4a
Mid-year Examination
1912-13

  1. Compare the lease with stock ownership as a means of combination, stating the advantages and disadvantages of each.
  2. Show how recent interpretation of the Federal law may conceivably affect the status of railway traffic agreements.
  3. State very briefly the point raised in the following cases: —

(a) Portland Gateway.
(b) Illinois Central car supply.
(c) Alabama Midland (Troy).
(d) Orange Routing.

  1. Have any of the above points been since corrected by legislation; if so in what manner?
  2. Give reasons for the following differences in net capitalization per mile of line:
Union Pacific

$65,000

 Reading

$170,000
Pennsylvania

$86,000

 Erie

$170,000
  1. What particular circumstance materially affects the success of Government ownership and operation:

(a) In Germany?
(b) In Italy?
(c) In Switzerland?

  1. What is the present attitude of the Federal courts toward the proper basis to be used in the determination of reasonable rates?
  2. How effective practically has been the “Commodity Clause” of the law of 1906?
  3. To whom properly belongs the surplus earnings of a railroad over and above a rate of return requisite to provide an adequate supply of new capital for future development? State your own view, but set forth your reasons fully.

Source: Harvard University Examinations. Papers set for final examinations in history, history of science, government, economics, philosophy, social ethics, education, fine arts, music in Harvard College (June 1913), pp. 42-43.

Image Source: Monopoly game card for the Reading Railroad.

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Earlier exams etc. for Economics 5,
Pol Econ 9
(Economics of Transportation/ Railroads)

1887-88 (James Laurence Laughlin)
1888-89 (John Henry Gray)
1889-90 [Omitted]
1890-91 (Frank William Taussig)
1891-92 (Frank William Taussig)
1892-93 (Frank William Taussig)
1893-94 (Frank William Taussig)
1894-95 (George Ole Virtue)
1895-96 (Frank William Taussig)
1896-97 (Frank William Taussig)
1897-98 (Hugo Richard Meyer)
1898-99 (Hugo Richard Meyer
1899-1900 (Hugo Richard Meyer)
1900-01 (Hugo Richard Meyer)
1901-02 (Ripley with Hugo Richard Meyer)
1903-04 (Ripley alone)
1904-05 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett)
1905-06 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett)
1906-07 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett and Walter Wallace McLaren). Also with the Assignment of Reports.
1907-08 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett)
1908-09 (Ripley with Edmund Thorton Miller)
1909-10 (Ripley with Eliot Jones)
1910-11 (Ripley with Ralph Cahoon Whitnack)
1911-12 (Ripley with Arthur Stone Dewing)

….etc.

1906-07. Ec 17. Railroad Practice (Dr. Stuart Daggett)
1907-08. Ec 17. Railroad Practice (Dr. Stuart Daggett)

Categories
Business Cycles Exam Questions Harvard Money and Banking

Harvard. Money, Banking, Crises. Description, enrollment, final exams. Day, 1912-1913

The Central Bank: Why should Uncle Sam establish one, when Uncle Pierpont is already on the job?

The origin of monetary macroeconomics at Harvard can be traced to the second decade of the twentieth century when money and banking became merged with the topic of commercial crises as taught by Edmund Ezra Day. This post offers rich biographical detail about the two teaching assistants for the course as an added bonus to the course description, enrollment and semester examinations.

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Banking, Foreign Exchange and Crises pre-1912/13

Links to earlier course material for Banking, Foreign Exchange, and Crises from Harvard, 1902-03 through 1911-12.

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Meet the Teaching Assistants

John Christopher Ise (Ph.D., 1914)

JOHN ISE, Mus.B.( Univ. of Kansas) 1908, A.B. (ibid.) 1910, LL.B.( ibid.) 1911, A.B. (Harvard Univ.) 1912. Subject, Economics. Special Field, Economics of Agriculture. Thesis, “The History of the Forestry Policy of the United States.” Assistant Professor of Economics, Iowa State College.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1913-1914, p. 93.

For greater biographical detail, see the post: Economics Ph.D. Alumnus, John Christopher Ise, 1914

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Frederic Ernest Richter (A.M., 1916)

General Examination in Economics, Monday, May 18, 1914.
Committee: Professors Sprague (chairman), Turner, Gay, Day, and Anderson.
Academic History: Harvard College, 1909-13; Harvard Graduate School, 1913—. A.B., 1913. Assistant in Economics, Harvard, 1912—.
General Subjects: 1. Economic Theory and its History. 2. Economic History since 1750. 3. Statistics. 4. Money, Banking and Commercial Crises. 5. Economics of Corporations. 6. History of American Institutions since 1783.
Special Subject: Economics of Corporations.
Thesis Subject: “Underwriting and Marketing Securities in the United States and England.” (With Professor Sprague.)

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examinations for the Ph.D. (HUC 7000.70), Folder “Examinations for the Ph.D., 1913-14”.

Frederick Ernest Richter (1917)

Born at Brooklyn, N.Y., Jan. 25, 1889.
Parents: Charles, Mary Emma (Lockwood) Richter.
School: Boys’ High School and Adelphi Academy, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Years in College: 1909-13.
Degrees: A.B. 1913; A.M. 1916.
Unmarried.
Occupation: Assistant Professor.

Address: (home) 235 Bergen St., Brooklyn, N.Y.; (business) 31 West Lake St., Chicago, Ill.

THE three academic years following graduation I spent at Harvard, doing graduate work in economics; holding in the first two years an assistantship and in the last an instructorship and a tutorship in the department. I was, during this time, and am still, a candidate for a Ph.D. in economics. My doctoral thesis is “The Copper Industry of the United States, 1845-1915.” In connection therewith I was granted a small Sheldon Travelling Fellowship for the summer of 1915, for a trip to the chief copper-mining camps and copper smelteries of the United States. I had planned to stay at Harvard until I had received my doctorate, but in May of last year (1916) I was offered the position I now hold and accepted it. I now hope to come up for my degree in 1918.

During the summer of 1914, I carried on a little investigation into the seasonal character of the employment of labor on municipal work in and around Boston. This was done under the auspices of the American Association for Labor Legislation and a committee of the Boston Chamber of Commerce. It resulted in the first of the two articles mentioned below.

I am engaged to be married to Miss Eutha C. Downs of Baltimore, Maryland.

PUBLICATIONS: “Seasonal Fluctuations in Public Works,” in American Labor Legislation Review, June, 1915; “The Amalgamated Copper Company: a Closed Chapter in Corporation Finance,” in Quarterly Journal of Economics, February, 1916.

MEMBER: Harvard Club of Chicago; University Club of Evanston, Illinois; American Economic Association; American Statistical Association.

Source: Harvard College Class of 1913, Secretary’s Second Report,  (June, 1917), p. 262.

Frederick Ernest Richter (1920)

…TAKING up the narrative from 1916, I spent the academic year as Assistant Professor of Money and Banking at Northwestern School of Commerce, Chicago and Evanston, Ill. On June 27, 1917, I was married in Baltimore. In September, 1917, I was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Adjutant General’s Department. I was assigned to duty in Washington, where I remained until February, 1918, when I was ordered overseas. I was abroad until July, 1919, during most of which time I was Statistical Officer at the Air Service Headquarters. Immediately on my return to this country I was discharged [July 9, 1919, as 1st Lieutenant].
On August 13, 1919, I began work with the Guaranty Trust Co. of New York, at their main office, as a member of the editorial staff of the publicity department….

Source: Harvard College Class of 1913, Secretary’s Third Report,  (June, 1920), pp. 311-312.

Frederick Ernest Richter (1928)

Address (home): 81-28th St., Jackson Heights, L.I., N.Y. (business): c/o American Telephone & Telegraph Co., 195 Broadway, New York City.
Occupation: Economic Statistician.
Married: Eutha C. Downs, June 27, 1917.
Child: Eutha Helen, November 6, 1925.

 

Still with the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, in New York, where, as economic statistician, am in charge of the general economic research work and specifically of the studies of external business conditions. Been with the company since September, 1921. This being the case, and my residence being the same as it has been since 1921, and nothing exciting having happened to me, there’s nothing to report except the birth of our daughter, chronicled herewith. Said young lady has been the greatest of joys to her parents.

Necessarily do a great deal of writing of one sort or another, but have produced no books. Various articles on divers economic subjects have appeared over my signature (which means I really wrote ’em !) in the Harvard Business Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the ( Harvard ) Review of Economic Statistics, the Journal of the American Statistical Association, the Annalist, and the Bell Telephone Quarterly.

Source: Harvard College Class of 1913, Fifteenth Anniversary Report,  (1928), pp. 168-169.

Frederick Ernest Richter (d. 7 Feb 1974)

F.E. Richter, economist, dies

Princeton, N.J., (Special)—Frederic Ernest Richter, an economist and former Baltimore resident died at a nursing home near here yesterday after a long illness.

Mr. Richter, who was 85 and lived in Princeton in recent years, had lived at the Broadview Apartments, in Baltimore, from 1961 to 1968.

He had moved to Baltimore, the hometown of his wife, the former Eutha Charlotte, Downs, whom he married in 1917, after his retirement as an economic consultant to the federal Renegotiation Board.

Before his 10-year association with the board in Washington, he had served as an economist with several New York firms.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y. he graduated from Harvard University in 1913. He then taught at Harvard while obtaining a masters degree there.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Gavin Hildick-Smith, of Princeton, and two grandsons.

Source: The Baltimore Sun, 8 February 1974, p. 11.

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ECONOMICS 3
Course Description
1912-13

[Economics] 3 (formerly 8). Money, Banking, and Commercial Crises. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 1.30. Dr. Day, assisted by ——.

This course aims to analyze the principal problems of money and credit. An examination is first made of the more important existing monetary systems. This is followed by a careful review of the more instructive chapters in the monetary history of England, Germany, France, the United States, Austria, British India, Mexico, and the Philippines.

The nature, origin, and early growth of commercial banking are considered. An investigation of present banking practice in England, France, Germany, and Canada is followed by a study of banking history and present banking problems in the United States. In this connection foreign exchange and the money markets of London, Paris, Berlin, and New York are examined.

Finally attention is turned to those problems of money and credit which appear most prominently in connection with economic crises. Though emphasis is thrown upon the financial aspects of the trade cycle, the investigation covers the more fundamental factors causing commercial and industrial fluctuations.

Short papers upon assigned topics will be required of all students.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912–13, p. 60.

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ECONOMICS 3
Course Enrollment
1912-13

[Economics] 3. Money, Banking, and Commercial Crises. Dr. E. E. Day, assisted by Messrs. Ise and F. E. Richter.

Total 119: 3 Graduates, 31 Seniors, 67 Juniors, 16 Sophomores, 1 Freshman, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College, 1912-13, p. 57.

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ECONOMICS 3
Mid-year Examination
1912-13

  1. Assuming the laws of the United States to remain unchanged, how would our monetary stock be affected if the market ratio of gold and silver should become 18 to 1; 15 to 1; 12 to 1?
  2. What monies circulated in the United States in 1810; 1850; 1862; 1887; 1900?
  3. State briefly the arguments for and against international bimetallism. How does the case for national bimetallism differ? What has caused bimetallism to disappear as an important political issue?
  4. In Austria, “after 1870, — the value of paper money with respect to silver steadily rose until in 1878 it reached parity with silver. … In 1879 the free or private coinage of silver was stopped.” Consider whether, after this action, the (1) silver pieces, and (2) the paper notes were commodity, credit, of fiat money? Had Austria not closed the mints to the free coinage of silver, how would the following have been affected in that country: (a) the monetary stock; (b) the monetary standard; (c) the value of money?
  5. Compare the clearing-house certificate with the clearinghouse loan certificate. What advantages result from the issue of the loan certificate? It has been said that, in 1907, by the issue of loan certificates, “all the reserves of all the banks were made available for those banks which were in temporary straits.” Do you agree? Why or why not?
  6. Explain briefly: (a) free-banking principle; (b) asset banking; (c) safety-fund system; (d) bond-secured circulation; (e) branch banking. Indicate, if possible, one advantage and one disadvantage in each. Cite an illustration of each in banking in the United States before 1860.
  7. Compare the joint-stock banks of England, the credit companies of France, and the credit banks of Germany with reference to: (a) their business; (b) the size and composition of their reserves; (c) their relation to their respective central banks.
  8. On November 11, 907, sterling exchange was quoted in New York at the following rates: long bills, 4.79 at ½ ; sight bills, 4.86 at ¼ ; cables, 4.89 at ¼ . Explain the differences in these rates.
    On the same day, gold was engaged by the New York banks for import. How do you account for this?

Source: Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 9, bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1912-13.

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ECONOMICS 3
Year-end Examination
1912-13

  1. What factors favored the monetary rehabilitation of silver in the United States during the 70’s? Which of these factors are still operative? Explain the disappearance of the others.
  2. What banking abuses were most common in the United States early in the nineteenth century? When and how, if at all, have these since been eliminated?
  3. What is the relation between the Bank of England rate and the London market rate of discount when (a) funds are abundant; (b) funds are relatively scarce? In what ways does varying the Bank rate accomplish the protection of the English banking reserves?
  4. What is meant by a free gold market? Are the following such: London; Paris; Berlin; New York? In each case, why or why not?
  5. How will the rate of sterling exchange in New York be affected by: (a) a crop failure in the United States; (b) hoarding of specie in Europe; (c) a slump on the New York Stock Exchange; (d) a banking panic in this country?
  6. “The call-loan market . . . furnishes to the banks of the country under the present organization of banking, their only means of mobilizing their reserves, of liquifying their assets, and of securing flexibility in their lending power.” Explain and criticize. How, if at all, should this feature of our system be changed?
  7. In the equation of exchange given by Professor Fisher, what is the relation of M, M’, V, and T (a) during a period of rising prices; (b) during a period of settled prices?
  8. Describe the crisis of 1873 with reference to: (a) its general antecedents; (b) its more important causes in the United States; (c) its final outbreak in this country; (d) the territorial extent of the reaction; (e) the severity and duration of the subsequent depression.

Sources: Harvard University Examinations. Papers set for final examinations in history, history of science, government, economics, philosophy, social ethics, education, fine arts, music in Harvard College (June 1913), pp. 41-42.

Image Source: Frank A. Nankivell’s cover drawing “The central bank” for Puck, vol. 67, no. 1718 (2 February 1910). J. Pierpont Morgan clutching to his chest with his right arm large New York City buildings labeled “Billion Dollar Bank Merger”; in the foreground, a young child puts a coin in a “Toy Bank” as Morgan’s left arm reaches around the buildings to grab the toy bank for himself.  United States Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.

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Exams from earlier years

1902/03-1907/08. Commercial Crises and Trade Cycles (A.P. Andrew)
1906/07. Banking and Foreign Exchange (A.P. Andrew)
1907/08. Banking and Foreign Exchange (A.P. Andrew)
1908/09. Commercial Crises and Trade Cycles (Wesley Clair Mitchell)
1908/09. Banking and Foreign Exchange (W.C. Mitchell)
1909/10. Commercial Crises and Trade Cycles [Not offered].
1909/10. Banking and Foreign Exchange (O.M.W. Sprague)
1910/11. Commercial Crises and Cycles of Trade (E.E. Day)
1910/11. Banking and Foreign Exchange (E.E. Day)
1911/12. Money, Banking, and Commercial Crises (E.E. Day)

 

Categories
Economic History Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. 19th century European economic history. Description, enrollment, final exam. Gay, 1912-1913

The Collier by George Walker (1814)

To add a personal touch to this artifact, it is headed with an image of a coal-miner, a “Collier”, the origin of Economics in the Rear-view Mirror‘s curator’s family name. And nothing says European Industrial Revolution quite like coal mines and steam engines.

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Earlier Harvard courses
on European economic history

Links to earlier course material for European Economic History from Harvard, 1883-84 through 1911-12.

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Meet the Teaching Assistant
Melvin Thomas Copeland

MELVIN THOMAS COPELAND, A.B. (Bowdoin Coll.) 1906, A.M. (Harvard Univ.) 1907. Subject, Economics. Special Field, Economic History. Thesis, ” The Organization of the Cotton Manufacturing Industry in the United States.” Frederick Sheldon Fellow, continuing his studies in Europe.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1909-1910, p. 100.

Biography

Melvin Thomas Copeland, 1884 to 1975, earned the BA from Bowdoin in 1906, an MA from Harvard in 1907, and a Ph.D. (Economics) from Harvard in 1910. He served as an Instructor in Economics at Harvard from 1909 to 1910 and at New York University from 1911 to 1912. He was an instructor at HBS from 1912 to 1918 and Professor of Marketing from 1919 to 1953. He was Director of the Bureau of Business Research at HBS from 1916 to 1926 and Director of Business Research from 1942 to 1953. Copeland served as Chair of the Massachusetts Committee on Post-War Readjustment from 1943 to 1946; chaired the Harvard Advertising Award Jury from 1925 to 1931; was a commentator on Harvard Business Reports from 1927 to 1931; and served on the Board of Overseers at Bowdoin College from 1934 to 1947. He was the author of the first casebook used at HBS, Marketing Problems, as well as numerous other publications on manufacturing, merchandising, process, and the role of business executives.

Source: Finding Guide to Melvin Thomas Copeland Papers, 1919-1953. Harvard Business School, Baker Library Special Collections and Archives.

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ECONOMICS 2a1
Course Description
1912-13

[Economics] 2a 1hf. (formerly 6a 1hf.). European Industry and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century. Half-course(first half-year). Th., Sat., at 9. Professor Gay, assisted by Mr. ——.

Course 2a undertakes to present the general outlines of the economic history of western Europe since the Industrial Revolution. Such topics as the following will be discussed: the economic aspects of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic régime, the Stein-Hardenberg reforms, the Zollverein, Cobden and free trade in England, labor legislation and social reform, nationalism and the recrudescence of protectionism, railways and waterways, the effects of transoceanic competition, the rise of industrial Germany.

Since attention will be directed in this course to those phases of the subject which are related to the economic history of the United States, it may be taken usefully before Economics 2b.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912–13, p. 59.

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ECONOMICS 2a1
Course Enrollment
1912-13

[Economics] 2a lhf. (formerly 6a 1hf). Professor Gay, assisted by Dr. M. T. Copeland. European Industry and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century.

Total 99: 16 Graduates, 14 Seniors, 44 Juniors, 17 Sophomores, 3 Freshmen, 5 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College, 1912-13, p. 57.

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ECONOMICS 2a1
Mid-year Final Examination
1912-13

  1. “The effect of Peel’s measures of 1842-1845 was to demonstrate how much the trade and industry of the country might be encouraged by the readjustment of fiscal burdens.” Explain.
    Is a similar readjustment needed in England at the present time? Why or why not?
  2. (a) How was the capital for the construction of railroads prior to 1870 obtained in the different European countries? Why?
    (b) Why was the railroad policy of Prussia modified after 1870? With what results?
  3. Compare the organization of the wool manufacturing industries in England, Germany, and France at the present time, explaining to what the differences are due. How far are these differences typical?
  4. Compare the English and Belgian methods of relieving the recent agricultural depression.
  5. In which industries have Kartells been formed in Germany? Why? Compare with the movement for combination in England.
  6. Explain the statement in regard to English agriculture that “after the middle of the eighteenth century the two revolutions, the industrial and the agricultural, which are indeed only manifestations of the same scientific and commercial spirit, go hand in hand and supplement one another.” Does this statement apply also to Germany? Why or why not?
  7. Discuss briefly —

(a) English “Friendly Societies”
(b) Pitt’s Sinking Fund.
(c) Zollverein.
(d) French shipping subsidies.
(e) Charter and line traffic.

Source: Harvard University Examinations. Papers set for final examinations in history, history of science, government, economics, philosophy, social ethics, education, fine arts, music in Harvard College (June 1913), pp. 39-40.

Image Source:  “The Collier” in George Walker, The Costume of Yorkshire (1814).

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Links to earlier course material for
European Economic History.
Harvard 1883-84 through 1911-12

1883-84. Economics 4. Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War. [C.F. Dunbar]
1884-85. Economics 4. Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War. [C.F. Dunbar]
1885-86. Economics 4. Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War. [C.F. Dunbar]
1886-87. Economics 4. Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War. [C.F. Dunbar]
1887-88. Economics 4. Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War. [C.F. Dunbar]
1888-89. Economics 4. Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War. [Gray]
1889-90. Economics 4. Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War. [A.C. Miller]
1890-91. Economics 4. Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War. [C.F. Dunbar]
1891-92. Economics 4. Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War. [W.M. Cole]
1892-93. Economics 4. Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War. [W.M. Cole]
1892-93. Economics 10. Economic History of Europe and America, to 1763. [W.J. Ashley]
1893-94. Economics 10. Elements of Economic History from the Middle Ages to Modern Times. [W.J. Ashley]
1893-94. Economics 13. Development of Land Tenures and of Agrarian Conditions in Europe. [W.J. Ashley]
1894-95. Economics 10. Elements of Economic History from the Middle Ages to Modern Times. [W.J. Ashley]
1895-96. Economics 10. Mediaeval Economic History of Europe. [W.J. Ashley]
1896-97. Economics 11. Modern Economic History of Europe and America [W.J. Ashley]
1897-98. Economics 11. Modern Economic History of Europe and America [W.J. Ashley]
1898-99. Economics 8. Western Civilization, mediaeval and modern, in its Economic Aspects [W. Cunningham, Reading List]
1898-99. Economics 11. Industrial Revolution in England. [W. Cunningham]
1899-1900. Economics 11. Modern Economic History of Europe [W.J. Ashley, Reading List]
1900-01. Economics 10. Mediaeval Economic History of Europe. [W.J. Ashley]
1901-02. No course in European economic history offered.
1902-03. Economics 10. Mediaeval Economic History of Europe. [E.F. Gay]
1902-03. Economics 11. Modern Economic History of Europe [E.F. Gay]
1903-04. Economics 10. Mediaeval Economic History of Europe. [not offered]
1903-04. Economics 11. Modern Economic History of Europe [E.F. Gay]
1903-04. Economics 24. General Outlines of Agrarian History [E.F. Gay]
1904-05. Economics 10. Mediaeval Economic History of Europe. [E.F. Gay, only one student enrolled, no printed exam available]
1904-05. Economics 11. Modern Economic History of Europe [E.F. Gay]
1905-06. Economics 10. Mediaeval Economic History of Europe. [E.F. Gay]
1905-06. Economics 11. Modern Economic History of Europe [E.F. Gay]
1906-07. Economics 6a. European Industry and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century. [E.F. Gay]
1906-07. Economics 10. Mediaeval Economic History of Europe. [not offered]
1906-07. Economics 11. Modern Economic History of Europe [E.F. Gay]
1907-08. Economics 6a. European Industry and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century. [E.F. Gay]
1907-08. Economics 10. Mediaeval Economic History of Europe. [not offered]
1907-08. Economics 11. Modern Economic History of Europe. [E.F. Gay]
1908-09. Economics 6a. European Industry and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century. [E.F. Gay with M.T. Copeland]
1908-09. Economics 10. Mediaeval Economic History of Europe. [not offered]
1908-09. Economics 11. Modern Economic History of Europe. [not offered]
1909-10. Economics 6a. European Industry and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century. [E.F. Gay with H. L. Gray]
1909-10. Economics 10. Mediaeval Economic History of Europe [H.L. Gray]
1909-10. Economics 11. Modern Economic History of Europe [E.F. Gay]
1910-11. Economics 6a. European Industry and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century. [E.F. Gay with J. Klein]. Reading list included.
1910-11. Economics 11. Modern Economic History of Europe [E.F. Gay]
1911-12. Economics 6a. European Industry and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century. [E.F. Gay with J. Klein].
1911-12. Economics 11. Advanced Modern European Economic History. [E.F. Gay]

Categories
Chicago Exam Questions Theory

Chicago. Graduate Economic Theory Prelim Questions. Winter, 1953

 

Links to previously posted Chicago prelim exams.

_____________________

ECONOMIC THEORY I
Part I

Written examination for the Ph.D. and A.M. Degrees Winter Quarter, 1953
  1. I. —
    1. a. —
      1. 1.  [5 points] What will be the relation between the demand curve for a product at retail and the demand curve for the same product at the manufacturing level? Which would you expect to be the more elastic at the relevant equilibrium price and why?
      2. 2. [5 points] What, if anything, is implicitly assumed in the wording of the above question about the state of competition at either the retail or manufacturing level?
    2. b.  —
      1. 1.  [5 points] Draw a system of production indifference curves showing the alternative combinations of two factors of production (A and B) required to produce given outputs of X. What properties of the shapes of your curves can be justified in general.
      2. 2. [2 points] Show how to determine the combination of factors that will be used for a given relative price of A and B.
      3. 3. [3 points] Show how to determine the effect of changes in the relative price of A and B on the combination of factors.
  2. II.—
    1. a. [10 points] Consider two industries: X which is competitive, and Y, monopolistic. The supply curve in X is horizontal, the marginal cost curve of the monopolistic firm in Y is also horizontal (constant marginal cost). Demand declines by 25% in both industries in the sense that the quantity demanded at each price declines by 25%. The supply and cost curves are unaffected. What happens to price in X? In Y?
    2. b. [10 points]  “Rubber growers have long complained that American synthetic rubber, produced in government plants, is sold below its true cost, thus subsidising its consumption at the expense of natural rubber. Since the new Administration is expected to dispose of the synthetic plants to private owners, the growers are now hoping that an economic price will soon be charged for the product … The potential range of prices at which private industry might sell synthetic rubber … obviously … would depend to a considerable extent on the terms at which the American Government might transfer the plants. Mr. Heilman (in an article in Natural Rubber News) suggests that if the plants are leased, or sold at depreciated book values, the new operators would be able to sell ‘standard cold synthetic rubber’ at only 22 cents a lb, assuming that annual output did not exceed 600,000 tons. If the factories were to be sold at their full replacement cost, the selling price might be 25-26 cents a lb for output of up to 450,000 tons of cold rubber a year, rising to 28-30 cents a lb for output up to 600,000 tons.

“Whatever disposal arrangements are made, realistic provision against obsolescence, at replacement costs, would in Mr. Heilman’s opinion fix the long-term selling price between 25 and 30 cents … a lb.”
The Economist, January 24, 1953, p. 238 (underlinings added)

Do you agree with the underlined statement? Justify your answer.

  1. [20 points] In Chicago, as in most other large cities, taxicab fares are fixed by the municipality. Suppose, (though this is not the case), that anyone who wants to operate a taxi at these fares is automatically granted a license to do so, subject perhaps to some objective test of ability to drive, so that entry is essentially free. Analyze the equilibrium position corresponding to any given fare. Contrast the characteristics of this equilibrium position when the fare which is set relatively “high” and relatively “low”, in terms of number of cabs, income of cab drivers or owners, and any other relevant characteristics of the equilibrium.
  2. [20 points] Summarize briefly the principal contributions to economic thought of the following; indicating their approximate chronological order:
    1. Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk
    2. Leon Walras
    3. Wesley C. Mitchell
    4. Joan Robinson
    5. Irving Fisher
    6. Thorstein Veblen
    7. Francois Quesnay
    8. Johann von Thünen
    9. Antoine Augustin Cournot
  3. V. [20 points] It is argued by some that a permanent program of subsidies to farmers benefits farmers at the expense of the rest of the community. It is argued by others that it benefits no one, but simply imposes a loss on the community as a whole.
    Does the difference between these two reflect an error in analysis or a difference in empirical assumptions? Explain your answer.
  4. VI. [20 points] Keynes and Knight find it necessary to define the “marginal efficiency of capital” or the “rate of return on investment”, as the rate of return that makes cumulated costs equal to discounted returns. Why do they use this indirect procedure of solving an equation instead of the direct procedure used for labor, say, of calculating the rate at which total product changes per unit change in the amount of labor for given amount of the factors of production?

_____________________

ECONOMIC THEORY, PART II

Written examination for the Ph.D. and A.M. Degrees
Winter Quarter, 1953

Write on questions 1, 2, and 1 other.  Time: 2½ hours.

Do not place your name on your paper.  Give only your number.

  1. How are the following concepts related to each other and what role do they play in explaining the level of prices and of national income?
    1. Velocity of circulation
    2. Average proportion of individuals’ wealth held in cash
    3. Average ratio of individuals’ cash to their income
    4. Liquidity preference
    5. Effect of expected change in prices upon cash balances
    6. Effect of the interest rate upon cash balances
  2. What are the relative merits of a national monetary system with free exchange rates, and an international gold standard? Why should not each of the 48 states have its own monetary system?

Answer any one of the following:

  1. Discuss the points of view in the following statement on the decontrol of prices:

What the long-range effect of decontrol will be nobody knows. Some members of Congress say wage increases will now start another inflationary spiral, but others think the country’s productive capacity will effectively control prices unassisted by a tightening of government credit and money policies.

  1. There has been some agitation in recent years for raising the buying price of the U. S. Treasury for gold. What are the arguments in favor of such action? What would be the probable effects on the following countries: Great Britain, South Africa, the United States, Russia?
  2. Outline the outstanding monetary and banking legislation in the United States from 1861 to 1935.

Source: Hoover Institution Archives. Papers of Milton Friedman, Box 76, Folder “76.10”.

Image Source: Social Science Research Building. University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf2-07490, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

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Preliminary and Field Exams from the economics graduate program of the University of Chicago

Note: The chronological ordering of quarters at the University of Chicago during a calendar year goes Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn. For this reason the following is arranged chronologically.