Author: Irwin Collier

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Brown Suggested Reading Syllabus Undergraduate

Brown. Syllabus for History and Philosophical Context of Economic Thought. Putterman, 1995

 

The Brown economics department has its Louis Putterman (Yale Ph.D., 1980) much as the Harvard economics department had its Overton Hume Taylor (Harvard Ph.D., 1928). Both of these economists have been interested in the philosophical underpinnings of economics  as well as the intersection of politics and economics in the history of economic ideas. 

I presume many visitors to Economics in the Rear-view Mirror are kindred spirits to Taylor and Putterman. This reading list is for you and your students! 

Overton Hume Taylor’s 1948 course (Economics and Political Ideas) reading list was transcribed for an earlier post. Here is a link to Taylor’s A History of Economic Thought (1960).

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The History and Philosophical Context of Economic Thought
[Fall, 1995]

Louis Putterman
Department of Economics

Requirements: You may choose one of the following options. (a) A paper of 8 to 10 double-spaced pages on an assigned theme or themes after each three units of the course, totalling four papers, each worth 20% of term grade; (b) a midterm exam worth 30% and a final exam worth 50% of term grade; (c) a paper on a topic approved by the instructor, worth 20% of term grade, plus midterm and final exams, worth 20% and 40%, respectively. Under (c), your paper is due at the final exam, and will be 10-15 pages in length. Under each option, the remaining 20% of the term grade will be determined by class participation.

Part I: A Short History of Political Economy

  1. Classical Economics: Smith, Malthus, and Ricardo.

Readings:

1. Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations [1776], Book 1, Ch. 1, 2, 3, 7, and 10 (Part I); Book II, Ch. 2 (pp. 420-423).

2. Thomas Malthus, Essay on Profits [1798], Chapters 2 and 5.

3. David Ricardo, Essay on Profits [1815], pp. 10-31.

4. William Barber, History of Economic Thought (1967), Chapters on Smith, Malthus, and Ricardo (pp. 23-93).

5. (Optional) Encyclopedia of Social Sciences: (a) “Economic Thought”: subsections on Ancient and Medieval Thought, Mercantilist Thought, and Physiocratic Thought; (b) “Adam Smith”; “Thomas Malthus”; “David Ricardo”. NOR.

  1. Marx’s Economics

Readings:

1. Karl Marx, Capital, Volume I: [1867], Ch. 1, Sec. 1 (pp. 35-41); Chs. IV, V, VI, and VII (pp. 146-7, 167-73, 175-6, and 190-5; Ch. XIV, Sec. 4, 5 (pp. 350-363); Ch. XXXII (pp. 761-764). Volume III: [1894], Ch. X (pp. 173-199) but especially pp. 188-191; Chs. XXI-XXIV (pp. 338-399), skim except for pp. 338-9, 391-3.

2. Maurice Dobb, Theories of Value and Distribution Since Adam Smith (1973), Ch. 6: “Karl Marx.”

3. Robert Heilbroner, Marxism for and Against (1980), Ch. “The Socioanalysis of Capitalism.”

4. (Optional) Frederick Engels, Prefaces to Volumes II and III of Capital (pp. 5-19 and 8-21, only), and Appendix to Vol. III, “Law of Value and Rate of Profit” (891-907).

5. (Optional) Mark Blaug, Economic Theory in Retrospect (1968), Chapter 7, “Marxian Economics.”

6. (Optional) Paul Sweezy, The Theory of Capitalist Development, especially first chapters.

7. (Optional) Joseph Schumpeter, Ten Great Economists, Chapter 1, “Karl Marx.”

  1. The Marginalists

Readings:

1. Alfred Marshall, Principles of Economics [1890], Preface to 1st Edition (pp. v-xi); Book 1, Chapter I, Section 4 (pp. 5-10); Book III, Chapters 3, 4, and 6 (pp. 92-116, 124-137); Book V, Chapters 2 and 3 (pp. 331-350); Book VI, Chapter 13, Sections 11-15 (pp. 712-722); (Optional: Appendix B. The Growth of Economic Science, pp. 754-769.

2. Barber, Chapter 6, “Alfred Marshall and the Framework of Neo-Classical Economics.”

3. William Jaffe, “Menger, Jevons and Walras Dehomogenized,” Economic Inquiry, 1976.

4. Mark Blaug, “Was There a Marginal Revolution?” and G.L.S. Shackle, “Marginalism: The Harvest,” in Black, Coats, and Goodwin, eds., The Marginal Revolution in Economics (1973).

5. (Optional) Emil Kauder, A History of Marginal Utility Theory (1965).

6. (Optional) Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, “Economic Thought”: subsections on the Historical School, The Austrian School, and the Institutional School. NOR.

Part II: Disciplinary Shifts and Disciplinary Boundaries

  1. Political-Economy versus Economics

Readings:

1. Phyllis Deane, The Evolution of Economic Ideas (1978), Chapters 6, 7, and 9 (“Scope and Methodology of Classical Political Economy,” “The Marginal Revolution and the Neoclassical Triumph,” and “The Marxian Alternative”).

2. Philip Mirowski, “Physics and the Marginalist Revolution.”

3. Dobb, Ch. 7, “The Jevonian Revolution,” Section I (pp. 166-183), in Theories of Value…

4. Paul Sweezy, “Editor’s Introduction,” Karl Marx and the Close of His System (1949).

5. Rudolf Hilferding [1904], “Bohm-Bawerk’s Criticism of Marx,” in Sweezy, ed., ibid.: pp. 130-134, 137-140, and 184-189.

6. Assar Lindbeck, The Political Economy of the New Left: An Outsider’s View (1977), Part One, and “Comment” by Stephen Hymer and Frank Roosevelt.

7. (Optional) Frank Hahn, “General Equilibrium Theory,” pp. 123-138 in Daniel Bell and Irving Kristol, eds., The Crisis in Economic Theory, 1981.

8. Ronald Meek, “Marginalism and Marxism,” in The Marginal Revolution in Economics (cited above).

9. (Optional) Thorstein Veblen, “Professor Clark’s Economics,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1908 (reprinted in The Place of Science in Modern Civilization).

  1. General Equilibrium Theory

Readings:

1. F.M. Scherer, “General Equilibrium and Economic Efficiency,” The American Economist, 1966.

2. F.M. Bator, “The Simple Analytics of Welfare Maximization,” originally in American Economic Review, March 1957.

  1. The Shift to Ordinal Utility

Readings:

1. Vincent Tarascio, “Paretian Welfare Theory: Some Neglected Aspects,” Journal of Political Economy, 1969.

2. Robert Cooter and Peter Rappaport, “Were the Ordinalists Wrong About Welfare Economics?” Journal of Economic Literature, 1984.

3. Amartya Sen, “Personal Utilities and Public Judgments: or What’s Wrong with Welfare Economics?” Economic Journal, 1979.

Part III: Epistemology and the Methods of Economic Analysis

  1. Background on Method and Epistemology

Readings:

1. Blaug, The Methodology of Economics. Part I: “What you always wanted to know about the philosophy of science but were afraid to ask,” and Part II: “The history of economic methodology,” except Chapter 5 (all listed as “From Received View to View of Popper”).

2. (Optional) Karl Popper, “Three Views Concerning Human Knowledge,” pp. 97-119 in Conjectures and Refutations, 1963.

3. (Optional) Bruce Caldwell, “Clarifying Popper,” Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 29, No. 1, March 1991.

  1. Contending Views on Methodology; The Making of an Economist

Readings:

1. (Optional) John Neville Keynes, The Scope and Method of Political Economy (1980), pp. 9-30.

2. Daniel Hausman, “Economic Methodology in a Nutshell,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2(3) 1989.

3. Ludwig von Mises, “Epistemological Problems of Economics,” pp. 17-22, and “The Scope and Meaning of the System of a Priori Theorems,” pp. 23-30, in Epistemological Problems of Economics [1933].

4. Milton Friedman, “Methodology of Positive Economics,” pp. 3-43 in Essays in Positive Economics, 1953.

5. (Optional) Amartya Sen, “Description as Choice,” Oxford Economic Papers, 1980.

6. (Optional) Axel Leijonhufvud, “Life Among the Econ.,” Western Economic Journal, 1973.

7. Benjamin Ward, “Economics as a Science,” in What’s Wrong with Economics?” (1972), pp. 5-13.

8. David Colander and Arjo Klamer, “The Making of an Economist,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 1987.

Some additional, strictly optional, material of interest for this topic and topic 10 is:

E.K. Hunt and Howard J. Sherman, excerpts from Economics: An Introduction to Traditional and Radical Views, 1972.

Oscar Lange, “The Scope and Method of Economics,” 1945.

Karl Polanyi, “The Economy as Instituted Process,” (ca.) 1957.

Alfred Marshall, “The Scope and Method of Economics,” 1890.

Ronald Meek, “Economics and Ideology.”

Lionel Robbins, “The Subject Matter of Economics,” in The Nature and Significance of Economic Science, 1932.

Hugh Stretton, “Paul Streeten: An Appreciation,” in Theory and Reality in Development, 1986, especially pp. 4-13 and 26-27.

  1. Examples of Economic Controversy

We will study either the controversy over the effect of “separating” ownership and control in the corporation, or that over the effect of team- versus family-based farming in China, using both theoretical and empirical readings. Readings will be announced after the topic is selected.

Part IV: Economics and Social Philosophy

  1. Political Philosophy and Economics

Readings:

1. John Locke, Treatise of Civil Government [1688], Chapter V, “Of Property.”

2. Selections from Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan [1651], Chapters 13 and 17.

3. S.H. Peterson, ed., Readings in the History of Economic Thought: Bernard de Mandeville, “Fable of the Bees,” [1714], pp. 2-18; Jeremy Bentham, “An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation,” [1789], pp. 178-182; John Stuart Mill, “On Liberty” [1859] and “Utilitarianism,” [1863], pp. 270-290 (all listed under Mandeville).

4. Gunnar Myrdal, The Political Element in the Development of Economic Thought, 1953 [1929] Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 (further reading guidelines to be announced).

  1. Economics and Values

Readings:

1. Frank Knight, “The Ethics of Competition,” (1935).

2. Herbert Gintis, “A Radical Analysis of Welfare Economics and Individual Development,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1978.

3. Dan Usher, “The Value of Life for Decision Making in the Public Sector,” in E.F. Paul et al., eds., Ethics and Economics, 1985.

4. Richard Thaler and Sherwin Rosen, “The Value of Saving a Life: Evidence from the Labor Market,” in Terleckyj, ed., Household Production and Consumption,, National Bureau of Economic Research, 1976 (read for general idea).

5. (Optional) J.A. Mirrlees, “The Economic Uses of Utilitarianism,” and Frank Hahn, “On Some Difficulties of the Utilitarian Economist,” in Amartya Sen and Bernard Williams, eds., Utilitarianism and Beyond (1982).

  1. Utilitarianism and Other Views of Justice

Readings:

1. R. M. Hare, “Ethical Theory and Utilitarianism,” and John C. Harsanyi, “Morality and the Theory of Rational Behavior,” in Sen and Williams, Utilitarianism and Beyond.

2. John Rawls, “Justice as Fairness” [1958] in Laslett and Runciman, Philosophy, Politics and Society.

3. John Roemer, “An Historical Materialist Alternative to Welfarism,” 1981 reprinted with revisions in Jon Elster, ed., Foundations of Social Choice Theory.

4. James Buchanan, “A Hobbesian Interpretation of the Rawlsian Difference Principle,” (1979) in Karl Brunner, ed., Economics and Social Institutions.

Optional Readings on The Best of All Possible Worlds

5. Murray Rothbard, “Property and Exchange,” from For a New Liberty (1973) (optional).

6. Shlomo Avineri, “The Stages of Socialism,” from The Social and Political Thought of Karl Marx (1968) (optional).

Source: Internet Archive “Wayback Machine” webpage capture from November 20, 1996.

Image Source: Louis Putterman home page at Brown University. (Screen capture from April 8, 2018)

 

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Harvard Regulations Undergraduate

Harvard. Undergraduate concentration in economics, 1953

 

In this post we find the requirements for a major in economics (Harvardspeak = “concentration”) and for graduation with honors 65 years ago at Harvard. 

Earlier posts here at Economics in the Rear-view mirror include the 1953 General Examination questions and a Harvard Crimson article that briefly summarized the requirements transcribed here.

This artifact was found in John Kenneth Galbraith’s personal files from Harvard University that are kept at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. His papers provide a treasure trove of economics department administrative memoranda, among other delights.

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CONCENTRATION IN ECONOMICS
[February 1953]

Every concentrator in Economics is required:

  1. To complete a certain number of courses in Economics, Government, and History;
  2. To choose for more intensive work a special field within the general area of Economics;
  3. To submit a Plan of Study, fulfill the general requirements with respect to distribution, and participate in the departmental tutorial program;
  4. To pass one general written examination in Economics at the end of the senior year.

Every candidate for graduation with Honors is required in addition:

  1. To complete an honors thesis, and to take one more than the required number of courses in Economics. He is also to take three of the basic courses, including Economic Theory.

These requirements are discussed below under the Roman numerals indicated.

 

I. BASIC REQUIREMENTS IN ECONOMICS, GOVERNMENT, AND HISTORY

Every concentrator in Economics is required to complete as a minimum:

  1. That each concentrator is required to take Economics I and two of the five following basic courses:
    1. Money and finance (Econ. 141)
    2. Marketing organization and control (Econ. 161)
    3. Labor and social reform (Econ. 181a and b)
    4. Economic History (Econ. 136)
    5. Economic Theory (Econ. 101)
  2. Each non-honors concentrator will take a minimum of four courses in Economics while the minimum for honors candidates will be five courses. Ordinarily each undergraduate will take one general examination namely a departmental examination in his senior year. This examination is designed to test his knowledge of the general field of economics as it has been developed in course work and synthesized in tutorial.
  3. For both honors candidates and non-honors candidates, two full courses are required, or the equivalent in half-courses, in Social Sciences outside Economics—one such full course to be chosen from two of the three fields, History, Government, and Social Relation. In each of the two courses selected, such choice may be from either (a) courses administered by the Department in question, or, (b) courses in that field given under the heading of General Education, Second Group Courses.

II. SPECIAL FIELDS WITHIN ECONOMICS

Every concentrator is required to choose from the list below a special field for more intensive work.

Courses desirable as preparation in these fields should be selected in consultation with the student’s tutor or adviser. The written examination in the senior year will be arranged to encourage familiarity with the main questions in the whole field of the student’s choice, as well as intensive analysis of some segment of the field.

Economics courses directly relevant to the special field are listed. Other Economics courses are relevant in part.

(1) Economic Theory

Courses which fall definitely within this field are Economics 101 (Economic Theory and Policy), 104a (Mathematical Treatment of Economic Theory), and 115 (Economics and Political Ideas in Modern Times).

(2) Economic History

Economics 136 (Economic History of the Colonies and the United States), falls within this field.

(3) Money and Finance

This field covers money, banking, and business cycles; international trade, capital movements, and monetary problems; public expenditures, revenues, and credit. Related topics are some aspects of corporate finance and the investment process, financing of social security, inflexible prices and monetary policy, agricultural credit, and the like.

Within the field fall: Economics 141 (Money and Banking), 143a and 143b (International Trade and Economic Relations), 145a (Business Cycles), 151 (Public Finance).

(4) Market Organization and Control

The major topics in this field include the corporation; the structure and functioning of markets; business practices; and government control in industry, trade, agriculture, and public utilities. Related topics are international markets, corporate taxation, inflexible prices and monetary policy, and the like.

Economics courses directly in this field are: Economics 161 (Business Organization and Control), 171 (Economics of Agriculture) and 107 (Consumption, Distribution, and Prices).

(5) Labor Economics and Social Reform

This field covers labor problems; population, social stratification, distribution of wealth and income, social security; collectivism and other proposals for social reform. Related topics are taxation as an instrument of social policy, the financing of social security, the corporation and social stratification, and the like.

Economics courses directly in this field are: 181a (Trade Unionism and Collective Bargaining), 181b (Public Policy and Labor), 111b Socialism) and 186a (Social Security).

III. ADVISERS AND TUTORIAL INSTRUCTION: PLAN OF STUDY

(1) Every concentrator in economics is assigned to a tutor or, in the case of seniors who are not candidates for honors, an adviser. All concentrators except such seniors are required to participate in the tutorial program of the Department. In general, the purpose of tutorial is not to prime the student for examinations. Rather, it is to induce clearer thinking on a somewhat wider and more integrated range of problems than those discussed in the separate courses. A further purpose is to train students to organize and state their ideas in readable and cogent form.

Sophomores are assigned to tutorial groups of not more than six in the House of their residence. These groups meet with a tutor who is also a member of the House staff either once a week for approximately an hour or once every two weeks for approximately two hours. The objective of Sophomore tutorial is to give the student a sense of the relevance of economics as one of the social sciences and the relation of economics to the other social sciences as a factor in making policy decisions.

Juniors who are not candidates for honors are assigned to tutorial groups of not more than six which are organized in a manner similar to that of Sophomore tutorial. Juniors who are candidates for honors usually meet individually with tutors for a half hour once a week. Juniors who wish to become honors candidates meet in special groups. If their performance in tutorial at mid years warrants a grade of satisfactory or better, and if their course grades are adequate, they will be accepted as honors candidates at the beginning of the spring term.

Seniors who are candidates for honors will meet with tutors who will advise them in preparing and executing their honors theses. This will also include a liberal background of reading supplementary to the student’s course work in the field in which his thesis lies. Wide discretion is left to the individual tutor and student. Seniors who are not candidates for honors are assigned to advisers at the beginning of the fall term. The advisers consult with students an assist them to select courses. At the beginning of the spring term such seniors have the option of attending voluntary tutorial group meetings once every two weeks. The purpose of such tutorial is to synthesize the course work of the past three years. To the degree that the general examination also represents an attempt to synthesize course work, such tutorial will of necessity help prepare for the general examination, but such preparation will be merely incidental to the specific purpose of tutorial which will be rather to relate the fields of economics to a pattern of relevant judgment.

(2) Every new concentrator in Economics must file a Plan of Study in University 2 containing a selection of courses sufficient to meet the requirements for concentration and distribution as set forth in Rules Relating to College Studies. This Plan must be signed by the student’s adviser or some other representative of the Department of Economics. It is, however, merely a preliminary statement of intent and may be altered at a later date with the approval of the student’s adviser.

IV. THE DEPARTMENTAL EXAMINATION

This examination is given at the end of the senior year. The Departmental Examination is a three-hour written examination covering all phases of Economics. At the option of the Examiner, there may be given in addition an oral examination. This last is usually given when the mark of the student is in doubt. Furthermore, in determining whether a degree in Economics will be awarded and the level of the degree, performance in tutorial will be taken into account.

This examination has been established, not in order to place additional burdens upon candidates for the A.B., but for the purpose of securing better correlation of the student’s work, encouraging more effective methods of study, and furnishing a more adequate test of attainment.

V. CANDIDACY FOR HONORS, AND THE HONORS THESIS

Every candidate for the degree of A.B. with Honors in Economics will make application, not later than the beginning of his Senior year, at Holyoke 8. Acceptance of candidacy depends upon the over-all record of the student, and not upon grades alone; but in general it is expected that a B-minus average or better should have been attained in Economics course. It is required that a candidate recommended for honors attain a grade of C or higher in at least two-thirds of his other courses. In addition, to be eligible for honors, all candidates must maintain a grade of satisfactory or better in tutorial.

The candidate for honors will submit toward the close of his Senior year a thesis on some subject in economics chosen in consultation with his adviser. The thesis should evidence independent and effective work, and an integrated understanding of the general field in which the thesis subject lies: but the Faculty does not intend to call for research on a graduate level. The requirements are such that the degree with honors is attainable by a student of good ability. An honors candidate may, if he chooses, elect Economics 99 for one term only, in order to devote extra time to work on his thesis with his tutor. A penalty of five points will be imposed on all theses running over 40,000 words in length.

The grade of Honors which a student attains depends in part on the range and character of his work in Economics, History, and Government; but mainly on the average of his course grades in Economics, on his Departmental examination, and on the quality of his thesis. The usual grades of Honors are Honors (cum laude), High Honors (magna cum laude), and Highest Honors (summa cum laude). If the student’s work is judged unworthy of Honors, but worthy of a degree, he may be recommended for the degree without Honors.

 

Source:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. Personal Papers of John Kenneth Galbraith.Series 5. Harvard University File, 1949-1990. Box 528, Folder: “Tutorials 9/17/51-9/57”.

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Chicago Fields Suggested Reading Syllabus

Chicago. Industrial Organization Reading List. Stigler, 1973

 

While the asterisks in the following reading list probably indicate the subset of required course readings, the  list in its entirety may be considered George Stigler’s universe of readings relevant for a graduate student intending to take a comprehensive examination in the field of industrial organization at Chicago. An autobiographical note by George Stigler from 1982 is included at the Nobel Prize website.

_________________

READING LIST
INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION
George J. Stigler

Spring, 1973
Business 305
Economics 380

  1. The Definition and Empirical Determination of Competition and Monopoly
    1. Analytical literature

A. P. Lerner, “The Concept of Monopoly”, Review of Economic Studies, Vol. 1

F. H. Knight, Risk, Uncertainty and Profit, p. 76 ff.

G. J. Stigler, “Perfect Competition, Historically Contemplated”, Journal of Political Economy, 1957 (reprinted in Essays in the History of Economics).

*G. J. Stigler, The Organization of Industry, Ch. 2, 3, 4.

*G. Rosenbluth, “Measure of Concentration”, in Business Concentration and Price Policy.

E. F. Fama and A. B. Laffer, “The Number of Firms and Competition”, AER, Sept. 1972.

T. Scitovsky, “Economic Theory and Measurement of Concentration”, in Business Concentration and Price Policy.

M. O. Finkelstein and Richard Friedberg, “The Application of an Entropy Theory of Concentration”, Yale Law Review, March 1967.

H. Demsetz, “Why Regulate Utilities?”, Journal of Law and Economics, April 1968.

    1. Statistical studies

*A. C. Harberger, “Monopoly and Resource Allocation”, American Economic Review, May 1954.

G. Rosenbluth, Concentration in Canadian Manufacturing Industries.

R. Evely and I. M. D. Little, Concentration in British Industry, Ch. 1, pp. 104 ff., 160 ff.

P. Pashigian, “Market Concentration in the United States and Great Britain”, Journal of Law and Economics, October 1968.

Ralph C. Nelson, Concentration in the Manufacturing Industries of the United States, Ch. I-IV.

Carl Eis, “The 1919-1930 Merger Movement in American Industry”, Journal of Law and Economics, October 1969.

F. L. Pryor, “An International Comparison of Concentration Ratios,” Review of Economics and Statistics, May 1972.

M. Gort, “Analysis of Stability and Change in Market Shares”, Journal of Political Economy, 1963.

R. W. Kilpatrick, “A Choice Among Alternative Measures of Industrial Concentration”, Review of Economics and Statistics, May 1967.

*Irvin Grossack, “the Concept and Measurement of Permanent Industrial Concentration, Journal of Political Economy, July/Aug 1972.

  1. Determinants of the Firm-Size Structure
    1. The Economies of Scale

J. McConnell, “Corporate Earnings by Size of Firm”. Survey of Current Business, May 1945.

J. Johnston, Statistical Cost Functions, esp. pp. 110 ff., Ch. 6.

J. Haldi and D. Whitcomb, “Economies of Scale in Industrial Plants”, Journal of Political Economy, 1967.

J. S. Bain, Barriers to New Competition.

*J. S. Bain, “Economies of Scale…” in Readings in Industrial Organization and Public Policy.

*G. J. Stigler, The Economies of Scale, The Organization of Industry, Ch. 7.

P. E. Hart, “The Size and Growth of Firms”,Economica, February 1962.

*F. Modigliani, “New Developments on the Oligopoly Front”, Journal of Political Economy, June 1958.

D. Osborne, “The Role of Entry in Oligopoly Theory”, Journal of Political Economy, 1964.

L. Weiss, “The Survivor Technique and the Extent of Suboptimal Capacity”, Journal of Political Economy, June 1964.

T. Saving, “Estimation of Optimum Size of Plant by the Survivor Method”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Nov. 1961.

L. Telser, Competition, Collusion and Game Theory, Ch. 8.

    1. Mergers

A. S. Dewing, “A Statistical Test of the Success of Consolidations”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1921.

G. J. Stigler, “Monopoly and Oligopoly by Merger”, The Organization of Industry, Ch. 8.

F. T. C., Report on Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions.

*J. Markham, “Survey of the Evidence and Findings on Mergers”, in Business Concentration.

J. F. Weston, The Role of Mergers in the Growth of Large Firms.

G. J. Stigler, “The Statistics of Monopoly and Merger”, Journal of Political Economy, 1956.

*Ralph Nelson, Merger Movements in American Industry.

H. G. Manne, “Mergers and the Market for Corporate Control”, Journal of Political Economy, April 1965.

  1. The Effects of Concentration
    1. Collusion

*D. H. MacGregor, Industrial Combination, Part II, Ch. 1.

W. Fellner, Competition Among the Few.

W. Nicholls, Imperfect Competition Within Agricultural Industries, pp. 120-130.

F. Machlup, Economics of Sellers’ Competition, Ch. 13.

*G. J. Stigler, The Organization of Industry, Ch. 5.

W. Nutter, “Duopoly, Oligopoly, and Emerging Competition”, Southern Economic Journal, 1964.

Lester Telser, Competition, Collusion and Game Theory, Ch. 5.

    1. Price Discrimination

N. I. C. B., Public Regulation of Competitive Practices, pp. 63-85.

J. P. Miller, Unfair Competition, Ch. 7-9.

J. Robinson, Economics of Imperfect Competition, Bk. V.

F. Machlup, The Basing Point System.

G. J. Stigler, A Theory of Uniform Delivered Prices, The Organization of Industry, Ch. 14.

    1. Price Rigidity

*G. Means, Industrial Prices and Their Relative Inflexibility.

Sweezy and Stigler, articles on the kinked oligopoly demand curve in American Economic Association, Readings in Price Theory.

A. C. Neal, Industrial Concentration and Price Inflexibility.

*Stigler, Administered Prices and Oligopolistic Inflation, The Organization of Industry, Ch. 19.

*Stigler & Kindahl, The Behavior of Industrial Prices, Ch. 1, 4, 5.

Government Price Statistics (Joint Economic Committee, 1961, also, National Bureau of Economic Research), Staff Papers No. 8 and 9.

R. Selden and C. dePodwin, “Business Pricing Policies and Inflation”, Journal of Political Economy, 1963.

L. Weiss, “Business Pricing Policies and Inflation Reconsidered,” Journal of Political Economy, 1966.

    1. Profits

*J. S. Bain, “Relation of Profit Rate to Industry Concentration”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, August 1951.

N. R. Collins and Lee E. Preston, Concentration and Price-Cost Margins in Manufacturing Industries.

G. J. Stigler, Capital and Rates of Return in Manufacturing Industries, Ch. 3.

Y. Brozen, “The Antitrust Task Force Deconcentration Recommendation”, Journal of Law and Economics, October, 1970.

S. I. Ornstein, “Concentration and Profits”, Journal of Business, Oct. 1972.

  1. Topics in Industry Behavior
    1. Advertising

E. Chamberlin, Theory of Monopolistic Competition, Ch. 6-7.

L. Telser, “Advertising and Cigarettes”, Journal of Political Economy, October 1962.

*N. Kaldor, “Economic Aspects of Advertising”, Review of Economic Studies, 1950.

*L. Telser, “Advertising and Competition”, Journal of Political Economy, December 1964.

*G. J. Stigler, “The Economics of Information,” The Organization of Industry, Ch. 16.

J. Peterman, “The Clorox Case and the Television Rate Structure”, Journal of Law and Economics, Oct. 1968.

W. S. Comanor and T. A. Wilson, “Advertising Market Structure and Performance”, Review of Economics and Statistics, 1967.

Phillip Nelson, “Information and Consumer Behavior,” Journal of Political Economy, April 1970.

    1. The Nature of the Firm and Vertical Integration

*R. Coase, “The Nature of the Firm”, Readings in Price Theory.

H. Demsetz, “The Exchange and Enforcement of Property Rights”, Journal of Law and Economics, October 1964.

A. Smith, Wealth of Nations, Bk. I, Ch. 3.

Marshall, Principles of Economics, Bk. IV, Ch. 10-13.

A. Young, “Increasing Returns and Economic Progress”, Economic Journal, 1928 (and in Clemence’s Readings in Economic Analysis, 2 vols.)

G. J. Stigler, “Division of Labor is Limited by the Extent of the Market,” The Organization of industry, Ch. 12.

*M. Adelman, “Concept and Measurement of Vertical Integration”, in Business Concentration and Price Policy.

M. Gort, Diversification and Integration in American Industry.

    1. Conglomerate Mergers

C. Edwards, “Conglomerate Progress as a Source of Power”, in Business Concentration and Price Policy.

J. Lorie and P. Halpern, “Conglomerates: The Rhetoric and the Evidence”, Journal of law and Economics, April 1970.

FTC, Economic Report on Corporate Mergers (1969).

    1. Schumpeter’s Theory

*Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, Ch. 7-8.

E. Mansfield, “Size of Firm, Market Structure, and innovation”, Journal of Political Economy, 1963.

A. Plant, “Economic Theory Concerning Patents for Invention”, Economica, 1934.

*John McGee, “Patent Exploitation”, Journal of Law and Economics, Oct. 1966.

P. Swan, “Market Structure and Technological Progress”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1970.

  1. Large Number Industries
    1. Cartels

G. J. Stigler, The Theory of Price, (1966), Ch. 13.

Clair Wilcox, Public Policies Toward Business(3rd) Ch. 30.

C. Edwards, Economic and Political Aspects of International Cartels.

    1. Trade Associations

*Mancur Olson, The Logic of Collective Action, esp. pp. 125-167.

T. N. E. C. Monograph No. 18, Trade Association Survey.

    1. Retailing: Resale Price Maintenance

W. Bowman, “Prerequisites and Effects of Resale Price Maintenance”, University of Chicago Law Journal, 1955.

F. T. C., Resale Price Maintenance.

*L. Telser, “Resale Price Maintenance”, Journal of Law and Economics, October 1960.

B. Yamey, The Economics of Resale Price Maintenance.

  1. Anti-trust Policy
    1. History

J. D. Clark, Federal Trust Policy.

W. H. Taft, The Anti-trust Act and the Supreme Court.

H. B. Thorelli, The Federal Antitrust Policy.

Robert Bork, “Legislative Intent and the Policy of the Sherman Act”, Journal of Law and Economics, October 1966.

R. Posner, “A Statistical Study of Antitrust Enforcement”, Journal of Law and Economics, 1970.

G. Stigler, “The Economic Effects of the Antitrust Laws,” Journal of Law and Economics, Oct. 1966.

    1. Major dissolutions

E. Jones, Trust Problem in the United States, Ch. 18.

Hale, “Trust Dissolution”, Columbia Law Review, 1940.

W. S. Stevens, Industrial Combinations and Trusts, Ch. 14-15.

S. Whitney, Antitrust Policies, 2 vols.

    1. Law of Conspiracy

U. S. v. Trenton Potteries, 273 U.S. 392 (1927).

F. T. C. v. Cement Institute, 68 Sup. Ct. 793 (1948).

Report of Attorney-General’s National Committee on the Anti-trust Laws.

 

Source: University of Chicago Archives. George Stigler Papers, Box 2, Folder “1970’s: course notes + related: Industrial org. + microeconomics”.

Image Source: George Stigler (November 1977). University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf3-00844, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

 

Categories
Chicago Problem Sets

Chicago. Unions and wages problem set. Murphy, 2008

 

 

The following problem was assigned by Kevin Murphy in Economics 301 at the University of Chicago during the Autumn quarter of 2008. Marshall Steinbaum, Friend of Economics in the Rear-view Mirror and Research Director at the Roosevelt Institute), provided a copy to share here with the history of economics community. 

Marshall Steinbaum writes:

Gary Becker and Kevin Murphy would each give one lecture per week. Every weekly problem set had two questions, one assigned by Becker and one by Murphy. This one on unions was Murphy’s, as indeed were all the ones with a vaguely macro cast to them. It was odd how he both denigrated macro in lectures and assigned a whole shadow macro curriculum.

The problem below can be profitably read in light of the contemporary discussion of monopsony power and unions (e.g. Kate Bahn, “Understanding the importance of monopsony power in the U.S. labor market,” Equitable Growth, July 5, 2018)

_____________________

Links to 1947 Harvard syllabi on unions

Looking back in the rear-view mirror a half-century earlier, it is interesting to note the depth of coverage of unions in the graduate labor sequence at Harvard taught by John Dunlop:

Economics 81a Labor Organization and Collective Bargaining

Economics 81b  Labor and Public Policy

_____________________

Problem by Kevin Murphy on unions (2008)

Consider the impact of unions on wages. Consider a simple economy with a fixed supply of labor, L, which is supplied inelastically. Assume that there is a union that sets wages for workers covered by the union contract so as to maximize the income of its members. Assume that there are three inputs to production, L1, L2 and K. All workers are identical and can provide either type 1 or type 2 labor. Capital is supplied in a competitive market. Assume that all prices are denominated in terms of the output good Y.

  1. If the production function has the form Y=F(K,G(L1,L2)), where both F() and G() are CRS, how would a union that can set wages for L1and L2 desire to set wages? Might the union want to set wages at the competitive level? Would the union want to set equal wages for the two types of labor? Why or why not?
  2. How would your answer to A change if the production function was Y=H(K,L1,L2), where H was CRS?
  3. What would happen in parts A and B if the supply of capital was perfectly elastic? Why?
  4. Now assume that markets are initially competitive which results in competitive prices and usage for each type of labor and capital. Assume that those working as type 2 workers form a union so that they can increase their incomes. In particular assume that the newly formed union seeks to maximize the incomes of its initial members. Under the assumption of part A, how would the union set the wage for type 2 labor? What effect would this have on overall labor income? Could it make workers as a whole worse off? If so when and why?
  5. Now assume that there is only one type of labor so that Y=F(L,K) with F() having CRS. Assume that the union is free to set the real wage picks a wage that will maximize the current income of workers and that the demand for labor is inelastic at the steady state wage rate. Assume that the capital stock is fixed initially but that capital is accumulated via investment as in the neo-classical growth model. If we start at the steady state of the neoclassical growth model, what will happen to wages, capital and employment over time? Why?

Source: Transcribed from a personal copy of Marshall Steinbaum made available to Economics in the Rear-view Mirror.

_____________________

Marshall Steinbaum added

“In this case, I believe the point is that when the union causes labor to be paid in excess of its marginal product, the rate of return on capital is driven lower than the capitalists’ rate of time preference, causing them to cease to supply capital. As the capital stock depreciates away, the labor share remains high even as the wage level declines, causing a downward spiral rather than re-equilibration at a lower level of capital and output.

These problem sets were never explicitly tied to real-world events, but the sense I got was that this was intended to be a theory of the declining manufacturing sector in the United States and Western Europe.”

Source: Personal communication.

Image Source:  Kevin Murphy in “Chicago Schooled” by Michael Fitzgerald, University of Chicago Magazine (September-October, 2009).

Categories
Chicago Curriculum Regulations

Chicago. Intradepartmental discussion, graduate microtheory prerequisite. 1928.

 

Within an academic year there is often a natural ordering for a two-semester or three-quarter course sequence that allows the later courses to build on the course(s) that preceded it. With the growing depth of economic theory by the 1920s at the latest, more than a single course year was understood to be required to get up to research speed. We can add to this the further complicating fact of graduate programs being fed from a variety of undergraduate programs. It then becomes necessary to get excruciatingly explicit about the course content of prerequisites. 

The memos transcribed below make it clear that a “stiff” sophomore-level “value and distribution theory” course as taught in the College at the University of Chicago would constitute the minimum preparation to begin the study of neo-classical economics à la Viner in 1928. It is also noteworthy that the “powwow” of Chicago economists named in L. C. Marshall’s first memo below appeared to consider the course on “Contemporary Continental Economic Thought” a different species altogether, not requiring even intermediate microeconomic theory as a prerequisite.

________________

Economic Theory Course Numbers and Titles

General Survey Course [undergraduate]

102, 103, 104. The Economic Order I, II, III. Professor [Leon Carroll] Marshall and Others.

Intermediate Course [undergraduate]

201. Intermediate Economic Theory. Professor [Paul Howard] Douglas, Associate Professor[Lewis Carlyle] Sorrel and Assistant Professor [Garfield V.] Cox

[Graduate Theory Core]

301, 302, 303. Introduction to the Graduate Study of Economic Theory

301. Neo-Classical Economics. Professor [Jacob] Viner
302. History of Economic Thought. Professor [Frank Hyneman] Knight
303. Modern Tendencies in Economics. Professor [Jacob] Viner

309. Contemporary Continental Economic Thought. Mr. [Paul Howard] Palyi

 

Source:  University of Chicago, Annual Register with Announcements for the Year 1927-1928, pp. 162-163.

________________

3 Memos: Marshall to Viner to Marshall to Viner

The University of Chicago
Department of Economics

January 13, 1928

Memorandum

To: J. Viner
From L. C. Marshall

Before Knight left us we had a long powwow about the theory situation as it seemed to have developed through the autumn quarter. [Frank Hyneman] Knight, [Lionel D.] Edie, [Theodore Otte] Yntema, [Henry] Schultz, [William Homer] Spencer and myself participated.

Here are the results of the conference:

1) It was agreed that neither 201 nor 301 should be regarded prerequisite to 309.

2) It was agreed that a person taking 301 could not wisely take 309.

3) It was agreed that 201 could not properly be made prerequisite for 301 since most of the students taking 301 do not come up through our own organization.

Do you see any difficulties with this arrangement?

[signed]
L. C. Marshall

LCM:GS

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

The University of Chicago
The Department of Economics

Memorandum to L. C. Marshall from J. Viner. Jan. 20, 1928

(1) I do not know enough about the purposes and scope of 309 to be able to express an intelligent opinion.

(2) Do. [ditto]

(3) I do not see why 201 or its equivalent should not be demanded as a prerequisite for 301, any stiff undergraduate course in price and distribution being regarded as the equivalent of 201. For undergraduates wanting to take 301 as undergraduates it seems to me clear that 201 should be insisted upon as a prerequisite.

J.V.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

[Memorandum to] Mr. Jacob Viner [from] Mr. L. C. Marshall. Feb. 9, [192]8

In reply to your note of January 20 in which you say “I do not see why 201 or its equivalent should not be demanded as a prerequisite for 301, any stiff undergraduate course in price and distribution being regarded as the equivalent of 201. For undergraduates wanting to take 301 as undergraduates it seems to me clear that 201 should be insisted upon as a prerequisite.”

I judge that this means that no substantial difference of opinion exists between you and the group that talked the matter over. Apparently you would regard a sophomore course in the principles of economics (the usual thing in American colleges) as being an equivalent of 201 for purposes of stating the prerequisite for 301. This being true, what would you think of stating the prerequisite thus:

Prerequisite: a good undergraduate course in value and distribution.

It seems wise specifically to mention value and distribution for the expression “principles of economics” has no one meaning as far as undergraduate instruction is concerned.

LCM:GS

 

Source:  University of Chicago Archives. Department of Economics. Records.Box 35, Folder 14 “Economics Department. Records & Addenda”.

Image Source: University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf1-08488, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library. The photograph is dated 14 June 1944.

Categories
M.I.T. Suggested Reading Syllabus

M.I.T. Theories of State and Economy. Piore and Berger, 1977

 

Michael Piore, a labor economist, and Suzanne Berger, a political scientist (European and global political economy), team-taught the following graduate course in political economy at M.I.T. during the second term of 1976-77, its first-run. The course requirement was a short-fuse take-home examination. It was a fun reading list for a third-year graduate student of economics. It also just so happens that I have taught about a quarter of these readings in my undergraduate team-taught course on origins of political economy at Bard College Berlin this semester!

One salient memory from the course was Berger’s enthusiasm for the work of the (then) young scholar Roberto Unger. Another was the look on Piore’s face when he realized that in his haste he had labeled his upward sloping line in p-q space a “demand curve”. Quelle horreur!

One can find the Spring 2016 version of the course at the MIT Open Courseware site, along with archived versions for 2002, 2005, and 2010). Here that 2016 reading list. This is a course that is apparently still running, which is over a decade longer than Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera (thus far, that show is still running too).

_________________

Economics 14.781J, Michael Piore
Political Science 17.945J, Suzanne Berger

POLITICAL ECONOMY I: THEORIES OF THE STATE AND THE ECONOMY
[1976]

February 8: Introduction

February 15: Neo-classical theories of the economy

Readings:
Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom
Robert Solow, “The New Industrial State, or Son of Affluence”, and Galbraith reply, in The Public Interest, no. 9, fall 1967.
Robin Marris “Galbraith, Solow and the Truth about Corporations” in The Public Interest, no. 11 spring 1968, pp. 37-46
Robert Solow “The Truth Further Redefined: A Comment on Marris” in Ibid. pp. 47-52.
Robert Solow “Blood and Thunder” in Yale Law Review, pp. 1696-1711.
[K.J. Arrow “Gifts and Exchanges”, Philosophy & Public Affairs, Summer 1972 No. 4]

February 22: Theories of the liberal state:

Readings:
Roberto Unger, Knowledge and Politics, chapters 1-3.

March 1: Theories of the liberal state:

Readings:
John Locke, Second Treatise on Government, chapters 1-5, 7-9.
Mancur Olson, The Logic of Collective Action, chapters 1,2,3,4.

March 8: Marxist theories of the economy

Readings:
Marx, “The Communist Manifesto” in Tucker, ed. Marx-Engels Reader, Part II.

March 15: Neo-marxist theories of the economy

Reading:
G.C. Harcourt, “Some Cambridge Controversies in the Theory of Capital,” The Journal of Economic Literature, vol. VII, 1969, pp. 369-405.

March 22: Marxist theories of the state:

Readings:
Marx, “Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy” in Tucker, ed. Marx-Engels Reader
Marx, “The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte,” in Tucker ed.

March 29: Vacation

April 5: Neo-marxist theories of the state:

Readings:
L. Althusser, “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses,” in Lenin and Philosophy
Thompson, Whigs and Hunters, “Introduction” (pp. 21-24) and “Consequences and Conclusions (219-269)

April 12: Neo-marxist theories of the state:

Readings:
Antonio Gramsci, “The Modern Prince”

 

Reading list for cases to be discussed April 19-May 10 will be distributed later.

Reading List
Part II

April 19: [Patriots Day – No Class] Crises and Growth:

Reading:
Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, Part II
W. W. Rostow, The Stage of Economic Growth, Chapters 1-5, 10

April 26: Crises and Growth:

Reading:
Paul Sweezy, The Theory of Capitalist Development, Part III
Recommended: Jurgen Habermas, Legitimation Crisis

May 3: Ethnicity and Regionalism:

Readings.
Michael Hechter, Internal Colonialism, Chapters 1, 2, 9, 10.
D. Moynihan and N. Glazer, Beyond the Melting Pot, [pp. 1-23, 292-310, and any two interior chapters.)

May 10: Welfare

Readings:
E. Ginzberg and R. Solow The Great Society, Introduction, Chapter 3, Conclusion (Chapter 11).
F. Piven and R. Cloward, Regulating the Poor

May 17: Exam due

Source: Irwin Collier, personal copy from course.

Image Sources: Suzanne Berger in MIT News, Feb. 8, 2006. Michael Piore from screen capture of his webpage at M.I.T. (Mar 13, 2012 Wayback Machine)

Categories
Courses Curriculum Economics Programs Gender Wisconsin

Wisconsin. Economics Courses and Faculty, 1893-94

 

Early economics course offerings for Harvard, Columbia, Chicago, and a guide to graduate economics study at 23 universities from 1898 have been posted earlier. Today’s post for the University of Wisconsin serves as a reminder of the humble scale of economics departments just(?) 125 years ago: one professor (Ely), one associate professor (Scott), an instructor (Kinley) and two teaching fellows (Swain and Hubbard) covered the sixteen economics courses offered at the University of Wisconsin then. It is also worth noting the disciplines of the academic triplet joined at the hips: School of Economics, Political Science, and History. Finally I note that of three scholarships offered at the school, one was reserved for women.

_________________

Richard T. Ely

Richard T. Ely, the illustrious Director of the School of Economics, Political Science and History of the University of Wisconsin, was born in Ripley, New York, April 13, 1854. In 1876 he graduated from Columbia College, and, as the holder of the Graduate Fellowship of Letters in that institution, spent the next three years abroad in the study of social science, taking the degree of Ph.D. at Heidelberg in 1879. For several years he lectured in Cornell, Johns Hopkins and other Eastern colleges, and in 1885 Dr. Ely went to the associate chair of Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University, which institution he left to become the Director of the new School of Economics in Wisconsin University at the opening of the present college year.

Dr. Ely can receive no eulogy at our hands. His fame is world-wide, and the prosperity of the department under his control attests his powers of organization and successful management. The foundation of this school has been the beginning of a new order of things in the Universsity. A superior class of post-graduate effort has come under the direction of Dr. Ely, and the University of Wisconsin has attracted students from the far East and from the West.

Dr. Ely’s own writings need no comment. His field is large and accurately sustained. He stands foremost in the ranks of the new-school writers on econoimcs, and he has done much to advance economic study to its present enviable position of wide sympathies and scholarly effort.

David Kinley.

David Kinley was born in Dundee, Scotland, August 2, 1861. He came to this country at the age of twelve, and was fitted for college at Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, graduating from Yale in 1884. For the next six years Mr. Kinley was prinipal of the High School of North Andover, Mass. He then studied a year in Johns Hopkins, and at the end of that time was elected instructor in History and Political Economy in that institution, and instructor in Political Economy and Logic at the Woman’s College, Baltimore. At the beginning of the present college year Mr. Kinley came to the University of Wisconsin as fellow and instructor in the School of Economics.

[Note: David Kinley’s Ph.D. thesis (1892-93) at Wisconsin, “The Independent Treasury”.]

Willam A. Scott

Prof. W. A. Scott was born in Clarkson, Monroe County, New York, April 17, 1862. When sixteen years of age he entered the State Normal School at Brockport, New York, from which he was graduated in June, 1882. In the fall of the same year he entered the University of Rochester, and received therefrom in 1886 the degree of B.A., and a scholarship in political science. The latter was granted for success in a competitive examination on the works of Bluntschli and certain selected French writers on political economy.

During a portion of the academic year 1884-5 Prof. Scott occupied temporarily the position of instructor in Latin and Greek to the Normal School at Oswego, N.Y. The year following his graduation he spent in post-graduate study, occupying at the same time the position of librarian of the Reynolds Library at Rochester. In the spring of 1887 he was appointed Professor of History and Political Economy in the University of South Dakota, and after occupying this position for three years he was granted leave of absence to complete his course of post-graduate study. He entered Johns Hopkins University in October, 1890, was appointed instructor in that institution in January, 1891, and in June, ’92, received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Since September, 1892, he has occupied the position of Assistant Professor of Political Economy in the University of Wisconsin.

Besides numerous articles published in the newspapers and periodicals, Prof. Scott has in process of publication at the present time by T. Y. Crowell & Co. of New York, a book entitled: “The Repudiation of State Debts in the United States”.

Prof. Scott is a member of the Alpha Delta Phi and Phi Beta Kappa fraternities.

Source: The University of Wisconsin yearbook, The Badger 1894, pp. 26-29. Portraits inserted between pp. 26 and 27.

_________________

Faculty and Courses of Instruction
1893-1894

Officers of Instruction.

CHARLES KENDALL ADAMS, LL.D., President of the University.
RICHARD T. ELY, Ph.D., L.L.D., Director and Professor of Political Economy.
JOHN B. PARKINSON, A.M., Professor of Constitutional and International Law.
FREDERICK J. TURNER, Ph.D., Professor of American History.
CHARLES H. HASKINS, Ph.D., Professor of Institutional History.
WILLIAM A. SCOTT, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Economy.
VICTOR E. COFFIN, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of European History.
DAVID KINLEY, Ph.D., Instructor in Administration and Political Science, and Lecturer on Money and Banking.
H. H. SWAIN, A.B., Fellow in Economics.
CHARLES M. HUBBARD, A.B., Fellow in Finance.
O. G. LIBBY, B.L., Fellow in History.

 

Introductory.

The purpose of the school is to afford superior means for systematic and thorough study in economics, political and social science and history. The courses are graded and arranged so as to meet the wants of students in the various stages of their progress, beginning with the elementary and proceeding to the most advanced work. They are also designed to meet the wants of different classes of students; as, for instance, those who wish to enter the public service, the professions of law, journalism, the ministry or teaching, or those who wish to supplement their legal, theological, or other professional studies with courses in social science or history. Capable students are encouraged to undertake original investigations, and assistance is given them in the prosecution of such work through seminaries and the personal guidance of instructors. A means for the publication of the results of investigations of merit and importance is provided in the University studies, the expense of which is met by the state.

 

Courses of Instruction.

I. ECONOMICS.

  1. The Principles of Political Economy. — A survey of the principles of political economy in their present state. Emphasis will be laid upon the sociological character of the science and upon the importance of the subjective standpoint in the explanation of economic phenomena. — Ely’s Outlines of Economics. — Three hours per week during the fall term. — ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SCOTT and MR. SWAIN.
  2. The Classical Economists. — A study of the development of economic theory as exhibited in the writings of Adam Smith, Ricardo, Mill and Cairnes. Characteristic parts of the writings of these authors will be assigned to the students for careful study, and conversational lectures will be given for the purpose of summarizing, systematizing and supplementing the class discussions. Three hours per week during the winter term. — Associate PROFESSOR SCOTT.
  3. Money and Banking. — A study of the functions and history of money and banks and of the problems connected therewith. Especial attention will be given to the history of bi-metallism in this country and Europe, to the various banking systems of the world, and to our own monetary and banking problems. — Walker’s “Money, Trade and Industry,” Laughlin’s “History of Bi-metallism in the United States,” and Dunbar’s “The History and Theory of Banking.” — Three hours per week during the spring term. — ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SCOTT.
  4. Practical Economic Questions. — Socialism, Communism, Co-operation, Profit Sharing, Labor Organizations, Factory Legislation and similar topics will be discussed in this course. Its aim is to familiarize students with the problems of our social life and the plans suggested for their solution, and to give them actual practice in the investigation of such topics. — Three hours per week during the winter term. — MR. SWAIN and MR. HUBBARD.
  5. The Financial History of the United States. — A survey of the financial legislation and experiences of the United States, including the finances of the Colonies and the Revolutionary epoch. — Three hours per week during the spring term. — MR. HUBBARD.
  6. Distribution of Wealth. — Rent, interest, profits and wages. Plans which have been advocated for bringing about what their authors regard as a better distribution of wealth will be discussed. — Two hours per week throughout the year. — PROFESSOR ELY.
  7. History of Economic Thought. — The history of economic theories in classical antiquity will be sketched; their development under the influence of the Christian era and the middle ages to the time of the Mercantilists will be discussed at greater length. The rise and growth of economics as a distinct branch of social science. Existing schools of economic thought. — Three hours a week during the winter term. — PROFESSOR ELY.
  8. Theories of Value and Interest. — History of value and interest theories down to the present day. The seminary method of instruction will be employed, and each student will be expected to study critically the writings of the theorists examined. — Twice a week throughout the year. – ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SCOTT.
  9. Theories of Rent, Wages and Profits. — A critical study of the history of these theories conducted in the manner described in the previous course. — Twice a week throughout the year. — ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SCOTT.
  10. Theory of Exchange. — The history, methods and theory of domestic and foreign exchange will be considered in this course, under the two following heads:
    1. Money. — This is an advanced course, open only to those who have done the equivalent of courses 1, 2 and 3. In it a knowledge of the history of money will be assumed, and attention devoted to the critical consideration of such topics as the international movement of the precious metals, the theory of prices, bimetallism, paper money, etc. — Two hours a week throughout the winter term. — MR. KINLEY.
    2. Banking. — This is also an advanced course. The history, theory and practice of banking will be studied, including a comparison of the existing banking systems of different countries, the theory of credit, bank paper, the management of stringencies and panics, and the proper attitude of government towards the banking business. – Two hours a week throughout the spring term. – MR. KINLEY.
  11. Socialism. — Historical account of its origin, followed by a critical examination of its nature, strength and weakness. — Three hours per week during the fall term.— PROFESSOR ELY.
  12. Business Corporations. — The nature and economic functions of corporations, including a sketch of their origin and history. Lectures. — One hour per week during fall term. — MR. HUBBARD.
  13. The Economics of Agriculture. — A discussion of those economic topics which are of especial interest and importance to farmers. This course is designed primarily for the students of the college of agriculture, though any student who desires may be admitted. — Lectures.—One hour per week during the winter term.—ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SCOTT.
  14. American Taxation. — Brief examination of federal taxation and a more detailed study of taxation in American states and cities. — Three times per week during the spring term. — PROFESSOR ELY.
  15. Sociology. — This course will consist of an historical study of the nature and principles of growth of the social body, and of a critical investigation of the positivist, the synthetic, the evolutionary, and other theories of society. — Three times a week throughout the fall term. — MR. KINLEY.
  16. Economic Seminary. — This is designed primarily for advanced students who wish to carry on special investigations under the guidance which the department affords. Each student, with the consent of the instructors, may select a topic of investigation for himself, or one may be assigned him connected with the subject selected for the main seminary work of the year. The subject for 1893–94 will be American Taxation. A subordinate feature of the seminary work will be the review of recent books and important articles published in the periodicals. — PROFESSOR ELY and ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SCOTT.

ARRANGEMENT OF COURSES.

Of the above courses, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 12 are elementary. All beginners will take course 1; for those who wish to make a more special study of political economy, — with a view, possibly, of making it their major subject of study, — course 1 will be followed by courses 2 and 3 and these by course 6; those who expect to do most of their work in other departments, but desire such a knowledge of economic science as is needed for purposes of general culture and the proper performance of the duties of citizenship are advised to take courses 4 and 5 after course 1. Special students in economics are also urged to take courses 4 and 5 during the first year of their economic study, if their time will permit. Courses 7, 8 and 9 are theoretical. Course 7 is designed to furnish students with a general knowledge of economic literature and the general features of the development of economic thought. Courses 8 and 9 furnish opportunity for critical and exhaustive study of the most important economic theories, and are designed to cultivate the power of independent judgment; in other words, to equip competent students for original work in the domain of economic theory.

At least courses 1, 2 and 3, or their equivalent, must have been taken as preparation for courses 8 and 9. Graduate students will find it to their advantage to take at least courses 7 and 8, and, if possible, course 9 during the first year of their graduate study. Courses 10, 11, 12 and 14 furnish training in the application of economic principles to the affairs of practical life.

 

II. HISTORY
[11 courses listed…]

III. POLITICAL SCIENCE
[7] Courses by Professor Parkinson
[…]

ADMINISTRATION
[3] Courses by Mr. Kinley
[…]

 

Library Facilities

The General University Library, including the department libraries catalogued therewith, contains about 29,000 volumes and 8,000 pamphlets. About 200 of the best American and Foreign periodicals are taken. The College of Law has a special library of 2,300 volumes, and in addition students have access to the state law library, containing about 25,000 volumes, and to the city library of Madison, containing a well-selected collection of over 12,000 volumes.

The library of the State Historical Society contains about 76,000 volumes and 77,000 pamphlets. It is exceptionally rich in manuscript and other material for the study of the Mississippi valley. The collections of the late Lyman C. Draper are included in this library. Its files of newspapers and periodicals are among the most complete in the United States. There are over 5,000 volumes of bound newspapers published outside of Wisconsin, and the files cover, with but few breaks, the period from the middle of the seventeenth century to the present.

There is an excellent collection of United States government documents, and the material for the study of American local history, Western travel, the Revolution, Slavery, and the Civil War, is unusually abundant. In English history the library possesses the Calendars of the State Papers, the Rolls Series, and other important collections, including works on local history. The Tank collection (Dutch) offers facilities for the study of the Netherlands. The library of the Historical Society is accessible to students of the University, and thus affords exceptional facilities for the prosecution of advanced historical work. The Historical and Economic Seminaries have been generously granted special facilities in the rooms of the library. The Historical, State, University and City libraries afford duplicate copies of books most in use, and to a large extent supplement one another.

During the year 1892–93 the Regents of the University appropriated five thousand dollars for the supply of special works for the use of the seminary students of the school. The works supplied by this fund afford good facilities for investigations of an advanced nature.

These library facilities are unsurpassed in the interior, and equaled by very few institutions in the country.

 

Fellowships and Scholarships.

The University offers nine annual fellowships of $400 each, which are open to general competition without restriction except in one instance. During the current year three scholarships of $150 each will be awarded to members of the school. One of these is furnished by the Woman’s Club of Madison, and is open only to Women.

For further information, address

PROFESSOR RICHARD T. ELY,
Director,

Or the
REGISTRAR OF THE UNIVERSITY.

 

Source:  University of Wisconsin. School of Economics, Political Science, and History. Announcement for 1893-94 (Madison, Wis., 1893), pp. 3-8, 14-15.

Images Source: The University of Wisconsin yearbook, The Badger 1894.

Categories
Suggested Reading Syllabus Yale

Yale. Soviet Economic Development. Powell, 1974

 

Raymond Park Powell (b. 20 January 1922 in Spokane WA, d. 28 May 1980 in New Haven CT) was a professor of mine who played a significant role along with his Yale colleague John Michael Montias in my decision to specialize in the field of comparative economics systems. His monumental volume co-authored with Richard Moorsteen on the Soviet capital stock helped to inspire my career-long interest in the application of economic theory to the calculation of aggregate measures of input, output, and welfare. The Yale economics department awards teaching prizes in his honor to this day.

A transcribed syllabus from Powell’s graduate course on the Soviet economy follows his obituary in The Yale Daily News. 

 

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Economics’ Powell dies

Raymond Powell, Henry S. McNeil Professor of Economics at Yale and chairman of the Russian and East European Studies Department died of cancer on May 28 at Yale New Haven Hospital. He was 58 years old.

Mr. Powell joined the Yale faculty in 1952, after teaching in Princeton’s Economics Department and studying at Harvard’s Russian Research Center.

Last winter, Mr. Powell received a Devane medal for “his exceptional contribution to undergraduate life” from students belonging to the Yale Phi Beta Kappa chapter.

He wrote two books on the Soviet economy, one published in 1959 and one in 1966.

In 1967, Mr. Powell became the first professor ever to be named Henry S. McNeil Professor of Economics at Yale.

Mr. Powell continued to teach until a few weeks before his death, insisting, despite his poor health, on completing his spring term classes, according to Economics Department chairman Merton J. Peck.

Mr. Powell was the motivating force behind Economics 112, a course which constantly packed Davies auditorium in the past several years. The 1979 Course Critique described the class as “an excellent introduction to microeconomics,” and Mr. Powell’s lectures as varying tone from “humor to solemnity.”

The Course Critique also praised Mr. Powell as “very accessible and very willing to help.”

Students and faculty members laude Mr. Powell at a memorial service in Connecticut Hall June 4.

Source: Yale Daily News,  September 5, 1980.

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Economics 197b: Economic Development in the Soviet Union

Spring 1974
Mr. Powell

Assigned materials are to be found in the Cross Campus Library and, with some exceptions, in the Social Science Library.

Students unfamiliar with the general course of Soviet development may find it helpful to read through Alec Nove’s An Economic History of the U.S.S.R.

Part I: Pre-revolutionary Origins

For lack of time, neither of the first two topics will be covered in the course. The citations following are for reference purposes.

  1. Doctrinal Origins
    H. Schwartz, Russia’s Soviet Economy, 2nd ed., ch. III
    K. Marx, Capital, The Communist Manifesto, and Other Writings, edited by M. Eastman, pp. 1-7
    “Teaching of Economics in the Soviet Union”, American Economic Review, September 1944
    J. Stalin, Economic Problems of Socialism in the U.S.S.R.
    P.J.D. Wiles, The Political Economy of Communism, ch. 3
  2. Historical Origins
    P.I. Lyashchenko, History of the National Economy of Russia to the 1917 Revolution
    J.T. Fuhrman, The Origins of Capitalism in Russia: Industry and Progress in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
    W.L. Blackwell, The Beginnings of Russian Industrialization, 1800-1860
    T.H. Von Laue, Sergei Witte and the Industrialization of Russia
    A.Gerschenkron, “The Rate of Industrial Growth in Russia Since 1885”, Journal of Economic History, Supplement VII, 1947

Part II: The Development Process

  1. 1917 to 1928.
    A. Nove, An Economic History of the U.S.S.R., chs. 1, 3, and 4
    A. Erlich, “Stalin’s Views on Economic Development”, in F.D. Holzman, ed., Readings on the Soviet Economy
    O. Hoeffding, “State Planning and Forced Industrialization”, in Holzman
  2. Reliability of the Data and Inference from Them (Post-1928)
    A. Bergson, “Reliability and Usability of Soviet Statistics: A Summary Appraisal”, in Holzman
    H. Hunter, “Soviet Economic Statistics: An Introduction”, in V. Treml and J. Hardt, eds., Soviet Economic Statistics
    M. Kaser, “The Publication of Soviet Statistics”, in Treml and Hardt
    R. Powell, “The Rate and Process of Soviet Growth” (processed), pp. 1-8
    R. Moorsteen and R. Powell, The Soviet Capital Stock, 1928-1962, pp. 2-7, 13-16, 274-83
  1. Measures of Growth
    (Scan through the following to get a sense of the methods used.)
    Bergson, “National Income”, in Bergson and Kuznets, eds., Economic Trends in the Soviet Union
    D. Johnson, “Agricultural Production”, in Bergson and Kuznets
    N. Kaplan and R. Moorsteen, “An Index of Soviet Industrial Output”, in Holzman
    M. Bornstein, “A Comparison of Soviet and United States National Product”, in Holzman
  1. Sources of Growth: Inputs
    W.W. Eason, “Labor Force”, in Bergson and Kuznets
    F.A. Leedy, “Demographic Trends in the USSR”, in U.S. Congress, Joint Economic Committee, Soviet Economic Prospects for the Seventies (in Documents Room, 93-1. Y4. Ec7: So 8/10) (read pp. 460-65, on “Population Policy”; scan remainder)
    J.G. Chapman, “Consumption”, in Bergson and Kuznets (to up-date Chapman, see Bronson and Severin in J.E.C., Soviet Economic Prospects)
    Moorsteen and Powell, chs. 6, 8, and 9 (for a somewhat different view of investment policy, see Bergson, The Economics of Soviet Planning, ch. 13)
  1. Sources of Growth: Productivity
    1. Aggregate statistics
      Moorsteen and Powell, ch. 10 (from p. 283)
      A. Becker, Moorsteen, Powell, “The Soviet Capital Stock: Revisions and Extensions, 1961-1967”, pp. 2-10
      M.L. Weitzman, “Soviet Postwar Economic Growth and Capital-Labor Substitution”, American Economic Review, Sept. 1970
      B.H. Mikhalevsky and Iu.P. Solov’ev, “Proizvodstvennaia funktsiia narodnogo khoziaistva SSSR v 1951-1963 gg.”, Ekonomika i matematicheskie metody, 1966, no. 6
      Bergson, “Comparative Productivity and Efficiency in the Soviet Union and the United States”, in A. Eckstein, Comparison of Economic Systems
    2. Other evidence
      D. Dalrymple, “American Technology and Soviet Agricultural Development, 1924-1933” Agricultural History, July 1966
      R. Campbell, Soviet Economic Power, 2ndedition, pp. 59-62
      G. Maddala and P. Knight, “International Diffusion of Technical Change—A Case Study of the Oxygen Steel Making Process”, Economic Journal, Sept. 1967
      Astrachan, review of L.R. Graham, Science and Philosophy in the Soviet Union, in The New Yorker, Sept. 24, 1973, pp. 117 ff.
      [Scanlan, James P. “Review of Science and Philosophy in the Soviet Union by Loren R. Graham in Slavic Review, December 1973.
      Joravsky, David. “The Lysenko Affair” in Scientific American, November 1962]
      V. Dudinstev, Not by Bread Alone, pp. 165-68

Part III: Growth and the Choice of Institutions

  1. The Institutional Structure
    Bergson, The Economics of Soviet Planning, chs. 2 and 3
  2. Central Planning
    H. Köhler, Welfare and Planning, ch. 7, pp. 82-95 and 99-102
    H. Levine, “The Centralized Planning of Supply in Soviet Industry”, in Holzman
    J.M. Montias, “Planning with Material Balances”, American Economic Review, Dec. 1959
    R. Judy, “Information, Control and Soviet Economic Management”, in J. P. Hardt and others, Mathematics and Computers in Soviet Planning
    Treml, “Input-Output Analysis and Soviet Planning”, in Hardt
    G. Schroeder, “Recent Developments in Soviet Planning and Incentives” (skip pp. 30-35), in J.E.C., Soviet Economic Prospects
  3. Investment Choices
    Grossman, “Scarce Capital and Soviet Doctrine”, in Holzman
    Bergson, The Economics of Soviet Planning, ch. 11
    “Standard Methodology for Determining the Effectiveness of Capital Investment”, The ASSTE Bulletin[?], Fall 1971
  4. Agriculture
    L. Volin, “Agricultural Policy of the Soviet Union”, in Holzman
    A. Nove and R.D. Laird, “A Note on Labour Utilization in the Kolkhoz”, in Holzman
    A. Nove, “Soviet Agriculture Under Brezhnev”, with comments by Jackson and Karcz and reply, Slavic Studies, Sept. 1970.
  5. Industry: Pre-Reform
    J. Berliner, “Managerial Incentives and Decisionmaking: A Comparison of the United States and Soviet Union”, in Holzman or in Bornstein and Fusfeld
    Berliner, “The Informal Organization of the Soviet Firm”, in Holzman
    Powell, “Plan Execution and the Workability of Soviet Planning” (processed)
  6. The Economic Reform
    Y. Liberman, “The Plan, Profits and Bonuses”, in Bornstein and Fusfeld
    A. Kosygin, “On Improving Management of Industry”, in U.S. Congress, Joint Economic Committee, New Directions in the Soviet Economy, Part IV (abbreviated version also in Bornstein and Fusfeld)
    R. Campbell, “The Dynamics of Socialism, Problems and Reforms” (processed)
    G. Schroeder, “The ‘Reform’ of the Supply System in Soviet Industry”, Soviet Studies, July 1972.
  7. Households
    E.C. Brown, “The Soviet Labor Market”, in Holzman or Bornstein and Fusfeld
    Nove, “Social Welfare in the USSR”, in Holzman
    Volin, “The Peasant Household under Mir and Kolkhoz in Modern Russian History”, in Holzman
    A. Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, approx.. pp. 82-108

Part IV: Subsidiary Policy Problems

  1. Price Formation
    G. Grossman, “Industrial Prices in the USSR”, in Holzman
    Bornstein, “Soviet Price Theory and Policy”, in Bornstein and Fusfeld
  2. Monetary and Fiscal Policy
    Grossman, “Introduction”, in Grossman, ed., Money and Plan
    J. M. Montias, “Bank Lending and Fiscal Policy in Eastern Europe”, in Grossman,Money and Plan
    Powell, “The Financing of Soviet Capital Formation: Past Experience and Current Reform”, in A. Sametz, ed., Financial Development and Economic Growth
    Powell, “A Simplified Model of Soviet Monetary Relations” (processed)
  3. Foreign Trade and Economic Policy
    Holzman, “Foreign Trade” in Bergson and Kuznets
    Holzman, “Foreign Trade Behavior of Centrally Planned Economies”, in Rosovsky, Industrialization in Two Systems
    Grossman, “U.S.-Soviet Trade and Economic Relations: Problems and Prospects”, ACES Bulletin, Spring 1973
    Tansky, “Soviet Foreign Aid: Scope, Direction, and Trends”, in J.E.C., Soviet Economic Prospects
  4. Ecological Policy
    M. I. Goldman, “Externalities and the Race for Economic Growth in the USSR: Will the Environment Ever Win?” Journal of Political Economy, March/April 1972

Source: Personal copy of Irwin Collier from the course.

Image Source: From Raymond Powell’s obituary in Yale Daily News, September 5, 1980.

Categories
Harvard Principles Problem Sets Suggested Reading Syllabus Undergraduate

Harvard. Principles of Economics, Ec 10. Feldstein and Li, 2000

 

Harvard’s Principles of Economics Course (Ec 10) has been historically taught as weekly lectures by some big faculty gun with parlour tricks pedagogy conducted in smaller sections run by graduate students or even junior faculty, especially in earlier years. The lecture part of the course has evolved to include more guest lecturers for specific fields but the grand-lecture/small recitation section format has been robust and apparently quite popular.

I thought it would only involve a few short dives into the internet archive, The Wayback Machine, to reconstruct the course around the year 2000. This turned out to be an over-optimistic plan. Still, I did not re-surface empty-handed and I provide links below to the materials I was able to salvage from that time. Perhaps some still young economist from the period, can provide us copies of problem sets and teaching-handouts to complete our collection. But hey, econometricians have to worry about measurement error, so historians of economics are really not allowed to complain about missing observations. Just as long as we are doing the best we can with what we’ve got. And what you see is what I got.

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Registrar Identifies Biggest Classes
By Catherine E. Shoichet
Harvard Crimson. October 2, 2000

When it comes to picking Core classes, Harvard students tend to be risk averse.

Preliminary figures show that last fall’s two most popular courses, Social Analysis 10, “Principles of Economics” and Moral Reasoning 22, “Justice,” have taken the top slots again this year.

Social Analysis 10, usually called Ec 10, has 805 students this year, according to preliminary course enrollment numbers released by the Office of the Registrar last week. Justice is a close second with 754.

Judith A. Li, an assistant professor of economics who teaches Ec 10 along with Baker Professor of Economics Martin S. Feldstein ’61, says that despite the class’s large lecture size, most of the basic skills introduced in Ec 10 are taught in smaller sections of about 20 students.

“Our goal for the course is to provide students with a solid and comprehensive foundation in economics,” Li wrote in an e-mail message. “By taking a course like Ec 10, they will be better able to evaluate government policies and political proposals on their own.”

The course is particularly popular among first-year students, many of whom are considering economics as a potential concentration.

“I really enjoy the lectures,” Leah E. Wahba ’04 said. “It’s an honor to be in Marty Feldstein’s class because he has so much extensive experience in the field of economics.” […]

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From the Ec 10 home page (2000-2001)

Social Analysis 10

Faculty
Martin Feldstein
Judith Li

Ec 10 is the introductory course for both economics concentrators and those who plan no further work in the field. This course provides an introduction to economic issues and basic economic principles and methods. Fall term focuses on “microeconomics”: supply and demand, labor and financial markets, taxation, and social economic issues of health care, poverty, the environment, and income distribution. Spring term focuses on “macroeconomics”: the impact of both monetary and fiscal policy on inflation, unemployment, interest rates, investment, the exchange rate, and international trade. We study the role of government in the economy, including Social Security, the tax system, and economic change in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and China. By the end of the year, you should be able to use the analysis practiced in the course to form your own judgments about the major economic problems faced by the United States and other countries.

Note: Must be taken as a full course, although in special situations students are permitted to take the second term in a later year. Taught in a mixture of lectures and sections. No calculus is used, and there is no mathematics background requirement. Designed for both potential economics concentrators, and those who plan no further work in the field. The Department of Economics strongly encourages students considering concentration to take this course in their freshman year.

Source: Webpage capture from the Wayback Machine.

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Course Syllabi (.pdf files)

Spring 2000, Fall 2000/01

Syllabus Spring 1999-2000 (Macroeconomics)

Syllabus Fall 2000-2001 (Microeconomics)

Course Syllabi (.html files)

Syllabus Spring 1996-1997 (Macroeconomics)

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Miscellaneous Course Materials

Spring 1997 (Macroeconomics)

Unit Test Program explained

 

Spring 2000 (Macroeconomics)

Introductory Lecture for Macroeconomics and Growth by Martin Feldstein (Feb.2, 2000)

Future of Social Security by Martin Feldstein by Martin Feldstein (Feb. 9, 2000)

Problem Set 3, Answers (March 14, 2000)

Spring 2001 (Macroeconomics)

July 23, 2001 capture of Social Analysis 10 (Ec 10) homepage

[October 4, 2002 FAQ about unit tests in Ec 10]

Unit 1, Economic Growth: Test 1A solutions

Unit 2, Financial Markets: Test 2A questions

Unit 2, Financial Markets: Test 2A solutions

Unit 2, Financial Markets: Test 2B questions

Unit 2, Financial Markets: Test 2B solutions

Unit 3, Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand:  Test A questions

Unit 4, Monetary Policy: Test 1A questions

Unit 4, Monetary Policy: Test 1A solutions

Unit 4, Monetary Policy: Test 1B solutions

Unit 5, Fiscal Policy: Test 1A  questions

Unit 5, Fiscal Policy: Test 1A solutions

Unit 5, Fiscal Policy: Test 1B solutions

 

Fall Semester 2002 (Microeconomics)

From the Fall 2002/03 home page

Social Analysis 10
Principles of Economics
Martin Feldstein

Introduction to economic issues and basic economic principles and methods. Fall term focuses on supply and demand, labor and financial markets, taxation, and social economic issues of health care, poverty, the environment, and income distribution. Spring term focuses on the impact of both monetary and fiscal policy on inflation, unemployment, interest rates, investment, the exchange rate, and international trade. Studies role of government in the economy, including Social Security, the tax system, and economic change in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Covers international trade and financial markets.
Source: Webpage capture from the Wayback Machine.

Syllabus Fall 2002-2003 (Microeconomics)

Lecture on Unions by Richard B. Freeman (October 28, 2002)

Lecture on the Economics of Health Care by Martin Feldstein (Nov. 20, 2002)

Ec 10 Hourly Exam Questions (December 11, 2002)

 

Spring Semester 2003 (Macroeconomics)

Introductory Lecture by Martin Feldstein (January 29, 2003)

What Should the Fed do Now? lecture by Martin Feldstein (April 18, 2003)

The Dollar and the Trade Deficit lecture by Martin Feldstein (April 21, 2003)

 

Image Source:  “Das Feldstein-Horioka-Paradoxon” in Finanz und Wirtschaft (November 18, 2014).

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
Johns Hopkins Seminar Speakers

Johns Hopkins. Economic Seminary. Speakers and Topics, 1904-1905

 

 

The  notes of date, place, speaker, topic, seminary participants and occasional visitors of the Johns Hopkins’ economic seminary in 1904-05 were recorded as seminary minutes by James M. Motley. From these handwritten notes we learn that  on a roughly alternating basis the seminary would meet at the home of Professor Hollander (2011 Eutaw Place, Baltimore) and Room 21 McCoy Hall on campus. These minutes have been compared to printed report of the seminar published in the University Circular.

A visitor noted in the October 26, 1904 minutes of the Seminary was Professor Weber from Heidelberg. As can be seen from the letter appended to this post, this was indeed Max Weber who was travelling through the United States at the time.

Source:  The Johns Hopkins University, Eisenhower Library, The Ferdinand Hamburger, Jr. Archives. Department of Political Economy, Series 1, Minutes of the Economic Seminary, 1892-1951. Box 1, 2ndvolume of minutes, Folder “Minutes of the Economic Seminar, 1897-1908”, pp. 148-156.

The printed reports  of seminary participants and the schedule of speakers and their topics have been transcribed for this post.

The economic seminary schedule for the following years have also been posted:

1903-1904
1904-1905

1922-1923
1923-1924
1924-1925
1925-1926
1926-1927

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POLITICAL ECONOMY
Classes meet in McCoy Hall

Economic Seminary: Professor Hollander and Dr. Barnett. Alternately, Wednesday, 8 p. m., Tuesday, 11 a.m. (12)

Bagge, G. A. Glocker, T. W. Kirk, W. Sakolski, A. M.
Blum, S. Hilbert, F. W. Motley, J. M. Taliaferro, T. H.
Buckler, W. H. Kennedy, J. B. Rosebro, F. B. Willis, L. M. R.

Source:  The Johns Hopkins University Circular. New Series, 1905, No. 3 (March, 1905), p. 20.

 

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THE ECONOMIC SEMINARY, 1904-1905,
EDITED BY
PROFESSOR J. H. HOLLANDER and DR. G. E. BARNETT.

The Economic Seminary has continued its investigation into the history, activities and influence of labor organizations in the United States during the current academic year. Its membership has been narrowly limited to advanced students preparing for a scientific career in economic study, and its primary design has been the development of sound method in economic research. The regular fortnightly evening sessions have been supplemented by briefer morning sessions in alternate weeks. The material resources necessary for the inquiry have been supplied by the continued generosity of the citizen of Baltimore, whose original gift made its inception possible.

Appreciable progress has also been made by individual members of the Seminary in the study of specific aspects of the several questions assigned for investigation. During the summer, field work was carried on in various carefully selected localities, and the data thus collected have since been supplemented and corrected by documentary study and personal interview. Certain preliminary studies were completed and published in dignified form, and two senior members of the Seminary submitted monographic studies of the particular subjects on which they have been engaged, in part fulfillment of the requirements for the doctor of philosophy degree. These will appear in the twenty-third series of the Johns Hopkins Studies in Historical and Political Science. Early in the next academic year a cooperative volume of ”Essays in American Trade Unionism” will also be issued by the Seminary, embodying the preliminary results of the various investigations now in progress and ultimately designed for monographic publication.

The record of the proceedings of the Seminary, and abstracts of certain papers there presented, are appended:

October 5. Report of the summer’s field work, by Professor Hollander, Dr. Barnett, Messrs. Kirk, Motley, Hilbert, Glocker, Kennedy, and Blum.
October 11. “Trade Union Agreements in the Iron Holders’ Union,” by F. W. Hilbert.
October 17. Report on the summer’s field work, by W. H. Buckler.
October 26. “Functions of the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor,” by Wm. Kirk.
November 2. “Finances of the Iron Molders’ Union,” by A. M. Sakolski.
November 8. “Collective Bargaining in the International Typographical Union,” by Dr. George E. Barnett.
November 16. “The Apprentice in the Building Trades,” by J. M. Motley.
November 22. “Shop Rules in the Building Trades,” by S. Blum.
November 29. “School Taxation in the Indian Territory,” by Professor Hollander.
December 7. “Shop Rules in the Building Trades,” by S. Blum.
December 13. “Recent Court Decisions Affecting Labor Unions,” by L. M. R. Willis.
December 21. “The Open Shop,” by Dr. George E. Barnett.
January 11. “The Structure of the Iron Holders’ Union,” by T. W. Glocker.
January 17. “The Maryland Workmen’s Compensation Act,” by Dr. George E. Barnett.
January 25. “The Meeting of the Economic Association at Chicago,” by Professor Hollander.
“The Beneficiary Features of the Railway Unions,” by J. B. Kennedy.
January 31. “Reform Movements in Baltimore,” by S. Blum.
February 8. “The Functions of the Allied Trades Council,” by Wm. Kirk.
February 14. “A Sketch of David Ricardo,” by Professor Hollander.

[Dr. Barnett also gave a notice of Adams and Sumner’s “Labor Problems”]
February 24. “The Development of Apprentice Laws in American Labor Unions,” by J. M. Motley.
February 28. “The Origin of the Constitution of the International Typographical Union,” by Dr. George E. Barnett.
March 8. “The Standard Wage in the Machinists’ Union,” by W. H. Buckler.
March 22. “Beneficiary Expenditures of American Trade Unions,” by A. M. Sakolskl
March 29. “Statistical Methods,” by Hon. Charles P. Neill, U. S. Commissioner of Labor.
April 4. “The Government of General Federations of Labor,” by Wm. Kirk.
April 11. “The Union Stamp of the Boot and Shoe Workers’ Union,” by G. A. Bagge.
“Cunnynghame’s Geometrical Political Economy,” by Dr. T. H. Taliaferro.
April 18. “The Administration of Trade Union Finances,” by A. M. Sakolski.
May 2 “The Rise of the National Union,” by T. W. Glocker.
“The Baltimore Municipal Loans,” by S. Blum.
“The Recent Nine Hour Decision of the Supreme Court,” by F. W. Hilbert.
May 9. “The Trade Union Agreements in the Building Trades,” by F. W. Hilbert.
May 16. “Trade Union Rules for Maintaining the Standard Rate,” by S. Blum.
May 23. “Beneficiary Features of the Iron Holders’ Union,” by J. B. Kennedy.

Source: The Johns Hopkins University Circular. New Series, 1905, No. 6 (June, 1905), pp. 1-3.

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Excerpt from letter to Jacob Hollander from Max Weber
November 3, 1904

Dear Professor Hollander—

Allow me to express, again, how much I enjoyed my visit in your seminary, the acquaintance I made of your students and of your assistant fellow-teacher. I was deeply impressed by the intensity of the work done in your department and, before all, learned with pleasure, that—at least in your university—the ambition to get the largest numberof students, so dangerous even now to almost all our German universities—is not allowed to lower the high standard of scientific investigation. In Germany we suffer much more than you are able to imagine from that illness resulting out of our system of paying the teacher by taxes paid by the students for each lecture.—When I come again after some years—as I hope to do—[I] think my English will be improved so that I will be more able to express myself. —
…
Do you think I should be able to get some recent reports of the Johns Hopkins University and, if possible, the rules for taking the Ph.D. degree, by simply applying to the Secretary of the President? or are the[y] sold by the bookseller? I should be much obliged for any information about that and am sorry having forgotten to ask you in Baltimore.

Yours very respectfully Max Weber (Young’s Hotel, Boston or: Holland House, New York) …

Source: Max Weber to Jacob Hollander 3 November 1904 Young’s Hotel, Boston handwritten Hollander Papers, series I, box 11; Eisenhower Library, the Johns Hopkins University transcribed in Lawrence A. Scaff, Max Weber in America (Princeton, 2011). pp. 260-261.