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Harvard and Chicago. Harvard Class of 1873 reports from J. Laurence Laughlin 1879-1913


James Laurence Laughlin (1850-1933) was the founding head of the Department of Political Economy at the University of Chicago. One earlier post provided a mid-career biographical sketch of Laughlin and another his proposal at Cornell to expand the economics course offerings. Also of interest is his list of suggested titles for a personal library of economics as of 1887.

When compared to the notes submitted to the respective Harvard Class Secretaries,   Frank W. Taussig (Class of 1879) or Robert Franz Foerster (Class of 1909), Laughlin appears to have had a less intense filial attachment to his alma mater.

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1879

JAMES LAWRENCE [sic] LAUGHLIN.

Secretary has heard nothing from him. At last accounts he was teaching school in Boston

Source: The Second Triennial Report of the Secretary of the Class of 1873 of Harvard College. Boston, Geo. H. Ellis Press, Commencement 1879. Page 18.

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1883

JAMES LAWRENCE [sic] LAUGHLIN.

Received degree of Ph. D. from Harvard in 1876 and was appointed instructor in Political Economy in 1878. Has been made Assistant Professor in the same department the current year. Has been a contributor to the “Atlantic,” “International,” etc. Was married September 9, 1875, to Alice McGuffey of Cincinnati. A daughter, Agatha, was born January 3, 1880, and his wife died January 11, 1880.

Source: The Third Triennial Report of the Secretary of the Class of 1873 of Harvard College. Newport, Davis & Pitman, Commencement 1883. Page 17.

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1885

JAMES LAWRENCE [sic] LAUGHLIN.

Assistant professor of political economy at Cambridge. Has published ” Laughlin’s Mill’s Political Economy,” and written a few magazine articles. Was married to Miss H. M. Pitman, Sept. 4, 1883.

Source: The Fourth Triennial Report of the Secretary of the Class of 1873 of Harvard College. Boston, Rand, Avery, & Co., Commencement 1885. Page 14.

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1888

JAMES LAURENCE LAUGHLIN.

626 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. “I have written a new book : ‘The Elements of Political Economy; with some applications to Questions of the Day,’ in 1887, and it has gone into a second edition. ‘Gold and Prices since 1873;’ a study on the so-called appreciation of gold, etc., etc. My ‘History of Bimetalism,’ has gone into its second edition; and my edition of ‘Mill,’ into its fourth or fifth. I have resigned my position in Cambridge, and

have come to Philadelphia to take the management of an Insurance Co., the ‘Philadelphia Manufacturers Mutual Fire Insurance Co.;’ but shall continue my economic writing.”

Source: The Fifth Triennial Report of the Secretary of the Class of 1873 of Harvard College. Boston, S. J. Parkhill & Co., Commencement 1888. Page 21.

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1891

JAMES LAWRENCE [sic] LAUGHLIN.
“I am Professor of Political Economy and Finance at Cornell University and see Jack White every day. These are my two distinctions since last writing.”

[…]

HORATIO STEVENS WHITE.

“I have just finished my third year as Dean of the Faculty. This spring I was called to the chair of Germanic languages in the new Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. The trustees here meanwhile appointed me as head of the German department with an increase in salary. The California offer however remains open, and I shall visit the Pacific coast next winter and study the situation on the spot before coming to a final decision. Our Faculty baseball nine, which has been organized for several years, continues to win a majority of its games with various student clubs. The chair of Political Economy left vacant by the resignation of Professor E. B. Andrews, who was elected President of the Brown University, has been filled by the appointment of our classmate Laughlin, who has occupied the position this year with general acceptance. As a result of his efforts the trustees have decided to appoint an associate professor in the department, to establish two special fellowships in Political Economy, and to place at his disposal a generous publication fund. The University is to be congratulated upon this able contribution which ’73 has thus made to our Faculty.”

Source: The Sixth Triennial Report of the Secretary of the Class of 1873 of Harvard College. Boston, S. J. Parkhill & Co., Commencement 1891. Pp. 19, 39.

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1898

JAMES LAWRENCE [sic] LAUGHLIN.

5747 Lexington Ave., Chicago, I11. Taught school in Boston, and took degree of Ph.D. at Cambridge in 1876. Was appointed instructor in Political Economy at Harvard in 1878 and Assistant Professor in 1883. In 1888 he was in Philadelphia, where he had the management of the Philadelphia Manufacturers’ Mutual Fire Insurance Co. Subsequently he was Professor of Political Economy and Finance at Cornell, and is now at Chicago University in a similar capacity. He has devoted much time to writing on political economy and finance, and has published some important books on those subjects.

Source: The Seventh Report of the Secretary of the Class of 1873 of Harvard College Issued upon the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of Graduation. Boston, S. J. Parkhill & Co., Commencement 1898. Page 23.

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1905

JAMES LAWRENCE [sic] LAUGHLIN.

Since 1892 he has been Head Professor of the department of Political Economy in the University of Chicago. For some years he has been editor of the “Journal of Political Economy.” He served on the Monetary Commission appointed by the Indianapolis Convention of Boards of Trade, in 1898, and was entrusted with the preparation of the report which appeared in a volume of six hundred and eight pages. In 1894 he was invited to prepare a currency law for Santo Domingo. The visit to the island on a special steamer, the negotiations with the government, the enactment of the law and its provisions, were subsequently published in the “Journal of Political Economy.” In 1902 he published the first volume of a magnum opus on money. This volume, “The Principles of Money,” will be followed by five succeeding volumes “when time is granted to finish them.” In addition to this work he has written many books and articles treating of the various phases of his specialty in this and other countries.

Source: The Eight Report of the Secretary of the Class of 1873 Harvard. Boston, Rockwell and Churchill Press, Commencement 1905. Pp. 23-4.

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1913

JAMES LAURENCE LAUGHLIN.

Is at the head of the Department of Political Economy at Chicago, and an authority on finance whose reputation is world-wide. At the Three Hundredth Jubilee of the University of Giessen, Germany, in 1907, he was given an Honorary Doctorate. He writes:

“Any modest member of the Class of 1873 does not feel that he has done anything worth reporting. In 1906 I was appointed by the German Kultus Ministerium an exchange professor from the University of Chicago to Berlin. I lectured in German before the Vereinigung für Staatswissenschaftliche Fortbildung, and also in Cologne, as well as at the University of Berlin. In the winter of 1908-09, I was one of two delegates (the other being Professor A. A. Michaelson, the recipient of a Nobel Prize) to the Scientific Congress of all American Republics in Santiago, Chile. I crossed the Andes, visiting Argentina, and came home by the east coast. In June, 1911, I was given leave of absence from the University in order to take charge of the nation-wide campaign to obtain a reconstruction of our currency and banking system. In this work I was chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Citizens’ League for the promotion of a sound banking system. The results of this campaign are now apparent. Not only is there an insistent and intelligent public opinion demanding reform, but the new administration is ready to put a satisfactory measure through Congress. It now looks as if the purpose of this campaign was certainly attained. Of course I have been guilty off and on of publishing some books and articles, but they are not as good as I should like to have them, and when I get to the next world I am going to revise them and make them just what they ought to be for an audience that I hope will not yet be made up very largely of the Class of 1873. For I hope that the surviving members of the class will long be here after I have departed.”

Source: The Ninth Report of the Secretary of the Class of 1873 Harvard. Boston, Rockwell and Churchill Press, Commencement 1913. Pp. 25-6.

Image Source: Clipped from printed speech given at the 78th meeting of The Sunset Club at the Grand Pacific Hotel, Chicago, December 6, 1894 found in Laughlin, James Laurence. Papers, [Box 1, Folder 17], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

 

 

 

 

Categories
Chicago Courses Syllabus

Chicago. Graduate Price Theory. Economics 300A. Harberger, 1955

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Thus far Economics in the Rear-View Mirror has been able to provide syllabi for the following four professors who had taught the first core price theory course at the University of Chicago spanning nearly a quarter of a decade during the middle third of the 20th century:

Today I add the syllabus for Arnold Harberger (a.k.a.”Triangle Man”, see the photo credit below). Note: chapters from Samuelson’s Foundations are only recommended readings, not yet required.

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Economics 300A
Mr. Harberger
Autumn 1955

 

Texts:

  1. Alfred Marshall, Principles of Economics, 8th
  2. George Stigler, Theory of Price, revised ed.
  3. H. Knight, The Economic Organization

 

Supplementary material (Purchase not required):

  1. American Economic Association, Readings in Price Theory
  2. Milton Friedman, Essays in Positive Economics
  3. Milton Friedman, Notes on Lectures in Price Theory (mimeographed)

Students are expected to be familiar with the materials in Stigler’s Theory of Price before entering the course. Readings marked with an asterisk (*) are recommended, not required.

 

Reading List

 

  1. Introduction:

Knight, The Economic Organization, pp. 1-37
Stigler, Theory of Price, Chs. 1-3
Friedman, “The Methodology of Positive Economics” in Essays in Positive Economics

  1. Demand:

Stigler, Theory of Price, Chs. 4-5
Marshall, Book III, Chs. 2-4, Book V, Chs. 1-2
Knight, Risk, Uncertainty and Profit, Ch. 3
Hicks, Value and Capital, pp. 11-52
Working, “What do Statistical Demand Curves Show?” Quarterly Journal of Economics
*Samuelson, Foundations of Economic Analysis, Ch. 5

  1. Supply:

Stigler, Theory of Price, Chs. 6-8
Marshall, Book V, Chs. 3-5, 12, Appendix H
Robinson, Joan, Economics of Imperfect Competition, Ch. 2
Clark, J.M., Economics of Overhead Costs, Ch. 9
Viner, “Cost Curves and Supply Curves”, Zeitschrift fuer Nationaloekonomie, Book III (Sept 1931) pp. 23-46, reprinted in Readings in Price Theory, pp. 198-232
*Samuelson, Foundations of Economic Analysis, Ch. 4

  1. Market Organization:

Stigler, Theory of Price, Chs. 9-13
Stigler, “Monopolistic Competition in Retrospect” in Five Lectures on Economic Problems
Harrod, “Doctrines of Imperfect Competition”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, May 1934, pp. 442-461
Chamberlin, The Theory of Monopolistic Competition, Chs. 3, 5
*Robinson, E.A.G., The Structure of Competitive Industry
*Robinson, E.A.G., Monopoly.

  1. Utility and Welfare Economics:

Alchian, “The Meaning of Utility Measurement”, American Economic Review, March 1953, pp. 26-50
Friedman and Savage, “The Utility Analysis of Choices Involving Risk”, Journal of Political Economy, August 1948, pp. 279-304. Reprinted in Readings in Price Theory, pp. 57-96
Scitovsky, “The State of Welfare Economics”, American Economic Review, June 1951, pp. 303-315
Hicks, “The Four Consumers’ Surpluses”, Review of Economic Studies, XI (1943-44), pp. 31-40
*Hotelling, “The General Welfare in Relation to Problems of Taxation and of Railway and Utility Rates,” Econometrica (VI) (1938), pp. 242-269
*Samuelson, Foundations of Economic Analysis, Chs. 5-7

 

Source: Hoover Institution Archives. Papers of Milton Friedman, Box 77, Folder “77.1 University of Chicago Econ 300 A & B”.

Image Source: “[Arnold] Harberger strips down to reveal himself as “Triangleman” at the University of Chicago Economics Christmas Party, probably December 1970”. Robert J. Gordon’s website.

Categories
Chicago Funny Business

Chicago. Two Christmas Songs, “Economized” Lyrics. Undated.

Copies of the following bastardized Christmas Carols from the University of Chicago Department of Economics can be found in Milton Friedman’s papers at the Hoover Institution Archives. They are filed with other skit party materials in a folder marked “University of Chicago, Miscellaneous”.

These texts are undated, one might say timeless.

From the same collection: a HMS Pinafore parody; “Ode to an Economist”).

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THE TWELVE WEEKS OF CLASSES
(tune: “The Twelve Days of Christmas”)

On the first week of class my Professor said to me:

                                    We must maintain consumer sovereignty!

Second week:             Uncertainty is no answer, and
Third week:               Impute costs,
Fourth week:             Lunch is never free,
Fifth week:                 Free Enterprise!!!
Sixth week:                Marshall is our hero;
Seventh week:           M V equals P T;
Eight week:                Manna comes each Monday;
Ninth week:               Inflation is an evil;
Tenth week:               This week do the readings;
Eleventh week:          Answer true or false please;
Twelfth week:            SORRY, BUT I FLUNKED YOU!

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SONG FOR AN ENTREPRENEUR
(To the tune of Jingle Bells)

 

Maximize, maximize, that’s the crucial key.
Allocate resources by their productivity.
Equalize VMP’s with their prices, and
Your production function is the finest in the land.

 

Source: Hoover Institution Archives. Milton Friedman papers. Box 79, Folder “79.6 University of Chicago, Miscellaneous.”

Image Source: From a 1939 Nativity Play in Rockefeller Chapel in 1939. University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf4-03011. Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

 

Categories
Chicago Courses Curriculum Economic History

Chicago. Proposal for interdisciplinary MA courses on Capitalism and Democracy. Hoselitz, 1947

With the election of Donald J. Trump to the U.S. Presidency, it is perhaps time well-spent to yet again reflect upon the relation between capitalism and democracy. Today I post a 1947 proposal for the creation of a complementary pair of interdisciplinary seminars on problems of capitalism and democracy to be taught in the University of Chicago’s Divisional Social Science M.A. program. The proposal was written by a 34 year old Austrian, Berthold Franz Hoselitz ( the future founding editor of the journal Economic Development and Cultural Change), and presumably circulated among the respective departments of the Division of Social Science for approval. The copy transcribed here comes from Milton Friedman’s papers at the Hoover Institution together with the agenda for the faculty meeting when the proposal was scheduled to be discussed. We see from the course announcements that the proposal was accepted.

The poor image of Hoselitz from 1940 is partially compensated for by the fact that it is (up to now) the only image I have been able to find of him at all.

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Fun Fact: Hoselitz taught John Nash

Q. …Did you have any teacher through your period at university which was particularly a role model to you?…

John Nash: I certainly had some good teachers who were very helpful to me and influential. For example, in economics I only took one economics course and I was an undergraduate study in Pittsburgh at what is now called Carnegie Mellon, but by coincidence the person who taught the course, it was a course in international economics, and by coincidence this was someone who came from Austria. So there’s actually to consider Austrian economics is like a different school than typical American or British. So I was by coincidence influenced by an Austrian economist [Bert F. Hoselitz, Associate Professor of Economics appointed October 1, 1947, resigned September 1948, Carnegie Institute of Technology.] which may have been a very good influence.

Source: Interview with Dr. John Nash at the 1st Meeting of Laureates in Economic Sciences in Lindau, Germany, September 1-4, 2004.    Interviewer: Marika Griehsel.

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Biographical Note

Bert F. Hoselitz was born Berthold Frank Hoselitz in Vienna, Austria in 1913. He received his doctor of law degree in 1936 from the University of Vienna. He left Austria in 1938, traveling first to England, then to the U.S., where he taught briefly at Manchester College in North Manchester, Indiana. He enrolled in the University of Chicago , receiving an M.A. in Economics in 1945. Hoselitz joined faculty at Chicago as an instructor in 1945, and became emeritus in 1978.

Hoselitz advocated interdisciplinary scholarship and his work pushed the common wisdom within economics at the time by considering the role of cultural and sociological factors on economic development. In pursing this line of inquiry, he developed professional relationships with scholars around the globe, though particularly in Asia, and participated in both a research and advisory capacity for a broad spectrum of academic research projects that spanned traditionally distinct social science disciplines. In 1962, Hoselitz supervised a pair of National Science Foundation sponsored studies examining the social and economic entailments of developments in science and technology within Asia, primarily India. At a broader level, he was also active in efforts to bring diverse social science disciplines into conversation with one another. In 1958 began participating in an editorial and authorial capacity for the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences.

Hoselitz’s scholarly activities were not confined to academic research and teaching. He was also active and engaged in policy discussions concerning development and the developing world. In the early phase of his career Hoselitz participated in an array of applied research projects, advising work and professional associations related to economic development and development policy more broadly. For example, he wrote for the United Nations on issues related to economic development, beginning with a 1952 technical-assistance mission to El Salvador, and in the late fifties he served on a team of advisors to the government of India concerning the plan for the national capital region.

In addition to his global professional engagements, Hoselitz also remained an active participant and organizer in the scholarly community of his home institution at Chicago. In 1952 Hoselitz founded the Research Center in Economic Development and Cultural Change at Chicago as well as the affiliated interdisciplinary journal Economic Development and Cultural Change, published through the University of Chicago Press. Hoselitz served as editor from the journal’s inception until 1985. He also served on the committee of the Norman Wait Harris Memorial Foundation based at the University of Chicago which focuses on issues of international interest and works to facilitate the exchange of knowledge about the diverse peoples of the world. In this capacity, Hoselitz organized visits by lecturers, funded conferences and facilitated the foundation’s publishing efforts.

Considered an interdisciplinary pioneer and an expert on the social and cultural dimensions of economic development, Professor Emeritus Bert Hoselitz died in Chicago on February 14, 1995.

 

Source: University of Chicago Library. Guide to the Bert F. Hoselitz papers, 1923-1987.

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DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

A G E N D A
Tuesday, June 3, 1947, at 1. p.m. in Room SS 424

 

  1. Students’ Business:
    1. Tom, Chiu-Faat Joseph: Petition to take Chinese as second language.
    2. Berkman, Herman G.: Petition to take Planning as major field of specialization; to take intensive examination in French only.
    3. Murphy, J. Carter: Petition to substitute Mathematics for second language.
    4. Schwitzer, Selma: Petition for Mathematics to be one of secondary fields of specialization for A.M. (alternative). Other fields statistics and theory.
    5. Weil, R.A.: Petition to waive residence requirement.
      Recommendation to Candidacy. Tentative approval of thesis topic: “Federal Aid to Achieve State-Local Co-operation in a Counter-Cyclical Fiscal Policy.”
  2. Weil, R.A.: Petition to waive residence requirement.
    Recommendation to Candidacy.
    Tentative approval of thesis topic: “Federal Aid to Achieve State-Local Co-operation in a Counter-Cyclical Fiscal Policy.”
  3. Seminar, course and staff for “Problems of Capitalism and Democracy”
  4. Plans for counseling students during summer and next fall.
  5. New business.

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OUTLINE FOR A PROGRAM ON THE “PROBLEM OF CAPITALISM AND DEMOCRACY”

I. Background

Some two years ago the History Department of the University of Chicago discussed the possibility of instituting in their Department so-called “problem-courses”. Instead of subdividing the subject matter of history on the basis of time periods and countries or regions, they felt that major problems, notably those of capitalism and democracy, should be studied in their historical perspective. These plans were thought over for some time but were not put into effect during the war, chiefly because of lack of suitable personnel who could be charged with the preparation and execution of these courses.

When, a few months ago, the Divisional Masters Committee met, and when it was decided that the Divisional Master’s program should provide for a more generalized program than that provided by departmental courses, the suggestion was made that the courses on the history of capitalism and the history of democracy might be worked out in a manner in which not only the historical sweep of the two institutions would be under consideration, but where also the problems arising in the two areas would be studied. The courses were thus conceived by the Divisional Masters Committee as comprising an analysis of historical background as well as the “nature” and problems of capitalism and of democracy.

When these courses were discussed it was the feeling of some members of the Divisional Masters Committee that what was needed to be stressed more and made more explicit than could be done by giving two apparently unrelated courses in isolation, was the problem of the interrelations of capitalism and democracy, or (in different words) the relationship of economic organization and the realization of political values of liberty, equality, and justice. This dilemma was met by the Masters committee by declaring the courses to be long into one “field” of study and by suggesting that the students be asked to take the courses simultaneously, by providing for parallel planning and teaching of the courses, as much as possible, and by providing an examination over the two courses (the field) in which the interrelations between economic organization and political values was stressed.

This plan was submitted to the Executive Committee of the Division of the Social Sciences and accepted as part of a program for the Divisional Masters Degree. At a later meeting between representatives of the Divisional Masters Committee and members of the Department of Economics, Political Science, and History, the problem was discussed again, and reasons for combination of the two courses, as well as reasons against brought forward. In addition the proposal was made and accepted that a faculty seminar be established which concern itself with the whole problem raised by the relationship of economic and political organization, notably the interrelations of capitalist, free enterprise, economic organization and political democracy.

 

II. Some Thoughts on a Program for Studying the Problem of Capitalism and Democracy.

A seminar or a combined course on the problems of capitalism and democracy seem to me to involve two sub-problems which ought to be separated from each other. One is the examination of the relationship of given economic institutions in the particular political framework and the processes which would be set in motion both in the political and economic field by attempts to realize certain aims of human welfare, or other chiefly political values, such as justice, freedom, etc.

The other problem would involve a study of actual processes of the interaction of political and economic institutions, their mutual interrelations in the past under different conditions in their dependence upon it given set of values in the particular hierarchies in which these values were accepted in certain countries and at certain times.

Both approaches may be dynamic but the first would primarily be analytical in that it would study the probable consequences of economic and political policies upon each other and therefore would in part deal with the study of how the existing institutions would be shaped by policies designed to meet social objectives in a more adequate way then is being done at present. In this analysis existing institutions such as constitutional arrangements, legal rules, the whole economic structure and possibly the international power structure as they affect the various countries, would be the starting point of the examination. This analysis would deal with problems which are of the utmost importance in the light of the discussion going on currently. It would have to take up those problems which presently are generally assumed under the heading of the relationship of freedom and planning. I think that it might be well for the Department to arrange the questions of a general and wide character affecting the whole social structure be included as well as more limited problems dealing with very specific economic or political policies in particular fields and their repercussions on the whole social structure.

The historical part could be used, it appears to me, for the following purposes.

(1) It could throw light on the coexistence of particular economic and political institutions especially on the historical coexistence of capitalism and democracy.

(2) It could provide evidence to show how and to what extent changes which either of the two institutions undergo undergoes in industrial civilization, have affected the other, and therefore could provide a basis for making certain analogies which present policies actually in operation or proposed.

(3) It would have to be supplemented by an analysis of the influence of the institutions of industrial capitalism and democratic political organization upon the formation of human personality, and vice versa the influence of human motivations and psychological factors upon the social, economic and political organization of the time.

(4) I am not certain whether an analysis of the origins of capitalism would be fruitful in this connection, but I think that it would be useful in the historical part to provide for a comparison between the social structure of the 19th century in the economic organization which it manifested in political values which it claimed to realize, and other societies, their economic and technological equipment and their political organization. If this can be supplemented by a comparison of the “basic personalities” in the two cultures, this might throw additional light on the question whether industrial capitalism and political democracy are bound up with each other, whether the ties exist in the social field exclusively, what ties are provided by the personality structure of the individuals composing the society and what evidence is provided by the historical incidence of attempts simultaneously to realize certain economic and political aims.

It seems to me, therefore, a defect that in the original planning of the program social psychologists and social anthropologists did not participate and I would think that both of these have important contributions to make.

Although it would be difficult clearly to separate the analytical approach which is concerned with examination of concrete presently existing problems confronting us in America and European countries as well as some of the “backward” countries, from the historical problems, I don’t think that such a separation would be necessary as long as it is logically plain that in the one area we are dealing with the application of generalizations drawn from history and other social sciences on practical policies, whereas in the other field we deal with an attempt to give a comprehensive examination of why particular processes occur, when and where they occurred and what factors were responsible for their occurrence. In other words, the two approaches would complement each other and would give opportunity to representatives of all the social science disciplines to make a contribution.

We frequently talk about the problem of modern society and I think we mean primarily by this the set of problems outlined above. Although as individuals we feel inclined that we must provide answers of what will be the probable effects of concrete policies, all of us attempt to build those answers into a logical framework which comprises the totality of social arrangements in which, therefore, is colored by our conception of political and cultural processes as well as economic ones. Any clarification of the relationships of these processes in present-day society which can be deduced by analytical study or by an examination of historical periods from which analogies for present-day action can be provided might therefore give at least a partial answer. I would like to see both the seminar and a course or combination of courses be carried on on the basis of these thoughts. If a more complete outline is desirable I shall gladly provide one.

Respectfully submitted
Bert Hoselitz

May 22, 1947

Source: Hoover Institution Archives, Milton Friedman Papers, Box 79, Folder “79.1 University of Chicago, Minutes, Economics Department 1946-1949”.

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DIVISIONAL COURSES

[…]

Social Science 300A,B,C. The Nature and Problems of Capitalism. A study of the economic institutions of capitalist society in the more critical phases of their development up to the present, with particular emphasis on the social and political context in which economic change occurs. Closely correlated with Social Science 301A, B,C, which is taken concurrently. Enrolment limited to students under the Divisional Master’s Program. Aut, Win, Spr: MWF 10:30; Staff.

Social Science 301A,B,C. The Nature and Problems of Democracy (identical with Political Science 300A,B,C). Examination of the political institutions of Western society, especially in their relation to the development of democratic ideals and practices. Major concern is with American institutions as they operate in the context of both democratic ideals and political reality. Taken concurrently with Social Science 300 A, B, C. Enrolment limited to students under the Divisional Master’s Program. Aut, Win, Spr: MWF 10:30; Staff.

 

Source: University of Chicago, Announcements Vol. XLIX, No. 9 (July 1, 1949). The Division of the Social Sciences, Sessions of 1949-1950. p. 10.

Image Source: Declaration of Intention to apply for U.S. citizenship by Bertold Franz Hoselitz (alias Hazlitt), August 8, 1940.

Categories
Chicago Fields Regulations

Chicago. Doctoral Field Exams Schedule for the Friedmans, Stigler, Wallis. 1935

Milton Friedman, Rose Friedman née Director, George Stigler, and W. Allen Wallis all took some of their doctoral field examinations at the University of Chicago in the Spring Quarter of 1935. The names of the examiners and the other examinees can be seen from the mimeographed page I found in George Stigler’s papers at the University of Chicago Archives. I have included in this post the field examination requirements for doctoral students in economics from the annual Announcements published for the 1934-35 academic year.

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 Three Field Examinations for Doctorate

“The candidate is expected to have general training in the important fields listed below and to specialize in three fields, one of which must be Economic Theory, including Monetary and Cycle Theory, and another must be the field of his thesis. The fields to be chosen (in addition to Economic Theory) may be taken from (1) Statistics; (2) Accounting; (3) Economic History; (4) Finance and Financial Administration; (5) Government Finance; (6) Labor and Personnel Administration; (7) Trusts and Public Utilities; (8) International Economic Relations; (9) some other field proposed by the candidate. A field proposed by the candidate may be in Economics or in another social science, the arrangement in either case being made with the Department of Economics. It is desired to develop that program of work which best meets the needs of the individual student. This usually involves the election of some courses in other departments and possibly the development of a field in another social science as a substitute for one of the fields in economics.

“The candidate’s grasp of his three fields of specialization is tested by preliminary written examinations which must be passed to the satisfaction of the Department before admission to candidacy. The final oral examination is on the field of concentration and on the thesis. The written examinations can be taken in one quarter or they can be divided between two quarters, not necessarily consecutive quarters, at the option of the candidate. The written examinations are given in the sixth, seventh, and eighth weeks of the Autumn, Spring, and Summer quarters. The written examination in general economic theory, including monetary and cycle theory, is in two parts and will require five hours in all. The written examination in each of the other fields requires from three to four hours. Notice of intention to take any written examination must be filed with the Department at least three weeks before the examinations begin. In written examinations for the doctorate the questions cover both the theoretical and administrative aspects of the field.”

 

Source: Announcements. The University of Chicago. The College and the Divisions for the Sessions of 1934-35, pp. 283-4.

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DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

SCHEDULE FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS FOR THE DOCTORATE

Spring Quarter, 1935

The schedule below shows the preliminary examinations requested for the current quarter. Will the Chairman of each Committee please be responsible for turning in the complete examination by at least one week before the date on which it is to be given?

Dates Examinations Committees Students Enrolled
Saturday, May 11
8:30, S.S.R. 417		 Economic Theory
(New Plan)		 Viner, Chairman
Schultz
Yntema
Knight		 Friedman, M.
Shohan, C.J.
Stigler, G.J. (Brookings)
Wallis, W.A.
1:30, S.S.R. 417 Monetary and Cycle Theory Mints
Cox
Saturday, May 18
8:30, S.S.R. 417		 Financial System and Financial Administration Mints, Chairman
Cox
Meech
Gideonse		 Curtis, C.H.
Shohan, C.J.
Saturday, May 18
8:30, S.S.R. 417		 Government Finance Leland, Chairman
Simons		 Stigler, G.J. (Brookings)
Saturday, May 18
8:30, S.S.R. 417		 Statistics Schultz, Chairman
Cover
Yntema		 Director, R.
Friedman, M.
Jacoby, N.H. (Springfield)
Saturday, May 25
8:30, S.S.R. 417		 Economic History Wright, Chairman
Nef
Knight		 Ostrander, F.T. (Williams)
Shohan, C.J.

 

Source: University of Chicago Archives, George Stigler Papers Addenda, Box 33, Folder “1935 Univ. of Chicago, Class Notes (Gray binder)”.

Image Source: Rose and Milton Friedman. From The Prodos Blog.

 

Categories
Chicago Economists Exam Questions

Chicago. Price and Distribution Theory. Taught by Viner and attended by Samuelson, 1935.

The graduate economics course at the University of Chicago “Price and Distribution Theory” as taught by Jacob Viner was often referred to by Paul Samuelson. From the Paul A. Samuelson papers at Duke University we have a copy of the examination questions for that course together with a copy of Jacob Viner’s evaluation of his “with one possible exception, the most promising undergraduate I have ever encountered since I began teaching some twenty years ago”. Any clues as to who might have claimed the status of the “one possible exception”? Viner’s cover note to Samuelson and the latter’s gracious response are included for the sake of completeness.

I have already posted the reading list for the 1932 vintage of the course.

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Course Description

[Economics] 301. Price and Distribution Theory.—A study of the general body of economic thought which centers about the theory of value and distribution and is regarded as “orthodox theory,” including the critical examination of some modern systems of this character. Prerequisite: Economics 209 or its equivalent and the Bachelor’s degree. Summer, 9:00 Knight; Winter, 10:00, Viner.

 

Source: Announcements. The University of Chicago. The College and the Divisions for the Sessions of 1934-35, p. 286. (Note the 1936-37 course description Announcements is identical to that of 1934-35, so we can assume the course announcement in the 1935-36 Announcements would too.)

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[Samuelson’s handwritten note and the copy of the 1935 examination for Economics 301]

My Final Exam for Viner’s famous course. Only 3(a) caused me trouble (no wonder!)
PAS 6/30/72

Examination in Economics 301
Winter Quarter, 1935-

  1. Discuss the relationship of marginal cost to prices:
    1. under short-run competitive equilibrium;
    2. under long-run competitive equilibrium

when (1) the industry is subject to external diseconomies of large production; (2) the industry operates under conditions of constant cost.

  1. In order that an industry shall operate at constant costs as its output is varied, what conditions must hold as to:
    1. the definition of “industry”;
    2. the supply curves, general and partial, of the factors used by that industry;
    3. the mode of operation of the law of diminishing returns in that industry;
    4. the presence or absence of internal diseconomies of large-scale firms in that industry;
    5. the size of the changes in output?
  2. Comment briefly on the following statements:
    1. “If labor has effective occupational mobility, the prices of all commodities under competitive conditions will tend to equal their marginal labor costs.”
    2. “Labor is paid out of current product, and if advances are made, they are made by laborer to employer, rather than vice versa.”
    3. “Saving is necessary only in an expanding economy. No one need wait for the product of his labor or property in a stationary economy.”
    4. “Any increase in investment lengthens the production period, and the production period cannot be lengthened unless more investment takes place.”

___________________________________

 

Jacob Viner’s Handwritten Note to Paul Samuelson, 1963

Jacob Viner
13 Newlin Road
Princeton, New Jersey

Aug. 7, 1963

Dear Paul,

I have just run across my carbon copy of a 1935 appraisal of you by me and am sending you a reproduction of it not to raise your ego but to raise mine. I recall your report at Pittsburg of a less perspicacious appraisal of about the same period by Paul Douglas. In this instance at least I showed skill apparently as a forecaster.

Cordially yours,
Jack

___________________________________

 

Jacob Viner’s Recommendation for Paul Samuelson to SSRC, 1935

The Social Science Research Council
230 Park Avenue
New York City

Mr. Paul A. Samuelson, although an undergraduate, did distinctly better work than any other member of my graduate course in Economic Theory during the past Quarter. He is a sober, careful and extremely able student, equipped with extensive mathematical technique, zealous, original and independent, without the belligerence and the arrogance that so often marks young men with keen minds and the knowledge that they are superior in mental capacity to their classmates. Mr. Samuelson shows all the signs of having it in him to become a very distinguished economic theorist, and is, with one possible exception, the most promising undergraduate I have ever encountered since I began teaching some twenty years ago. I have only known him for some four months, but I do not think that this is a too hasty judgment.

Jacob Viner
Professor of Economics
Chicago, Illinois

April 15, 1935
University of Chicago

___________________________________

 

Paul Samuelson’s response to Jacob Viner, 1963
Carbon copy

August 23, 1963

Dear Jack:

I had to be flattered by your August 19 note and the enclosed carbon of your 1935 evaluation of me. I feel as proud of that young man as if he had been my son and prouder still after your early discernment of his “growth-stock” potential.

Your 1935 graduate course certainly stimulated me. It sent me to Harvard well-prepared—over-prepared some of my teachers may have thought!

Last June I basked in the reflected glory of your Harvard degree.

Our love to Frances,

___________________________________

 

Source: Duke University.   Rubenstein Library. Paul A. Samuelson Papers, Box 74, Folder “Viner, Jacob (corresp) 1935-1990”.

Image Source: University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf1-08490, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

 

Categories
Chicago Economists

Chicago. Career data for first 60 Economics PhDs. 1894-1926

Economics in the Rear-View Mirror proudly adds a new data base for the history of economics community:  biographical data for the first sixty Ph.D. economists turned out by the University of Chicago from 1894-1926.

Additions and corrections are welcome! Just add a comment with your suggestions.  

Categories
Chicago Fields

Chicago. Doctoral Examination Committees by Fields 1923-24

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Three memos that propose the faculty members in Political Economy (and Commerce and Administration) to prepare the written doctoral examination questions by fields, 1923-1924 along with a list of the names of the examinees by fields for the summer quarter of 1925.

____________________________

October 24, 1923

MEMORANDUM to the PERSONS mentioned below
SUBJECT:       Written Examinations for the Doctorate. Autumn Quarter, 1923.

  1. New questions will need to be prepared in the fields indicated below.
  2. It has been customary to have the questions cover a very broad territory and to give a considerable number of options. Each examination lasts for three and a half hours.
  3. Will Mr. Clark and Mr. Viner assume joint responsibility for the questions in “Economic Theory”.
  4. Will Mr. Wright and Mr. Clark assume joint responsibility for the questions in “Capitalistic Organization”.
  5. Will Mr. Barnes and Dr. Duddy assume joint responsibility for the question in “The Manager’ Relationship to the Market”.
  6. Will Mr. Wright prepare the questions in “The Historical Evolution of Industrial Society”.
  7. Will Mr. Millis and Mr. Douglas assume joint responsibility for the questions in “Labor”.
  8. Will Mr. Field and Mr. McKinsey assume joint responsibility for the questions in “Statistics and Accounting”.
  9. Will Mr. Viner assume responsibility for the questions in “Economics of Government Administration”, conferring with such other persons as seems to him appropriate.

W. H. Spencer, for Commerce and Administration
C. W. Wright, for Political Economy

WHS:EL

____________________________

 

January — 1924

Memorandum to the persons mentioned below
Subject:          Written Examination for the Doctorate. Winter Quarter, 1924.

 

  1. New questions will need to be prepared in the fields indicated below. Please remember that the examinations are in fields and not in courses.
  2. It has been customary to have the questions cover a very broad territory and to give a considerable number of options. Each examination lasts for three and a half hours.
  3. Will Mr. Clark prepare a paper on “Economic Theory”, consulting with Mr. Viner?
  4. Will Mr. Christ prepare a paper on “Social Direction and Control of Economic Activity”, conferring with Messrs. Wright, Spencer, and Clark?
  5. Will Mr. Marshall prepare a paper on “The Pecuniary and Financial System” and the “Manager’s Relationship to Finance”?
  6. Will Mr. Douglas assume the responsibility for the paper on “Capitalistic Organization”, consulting with Messrs. Marshall, Viner, and Wright?
  7. Will Mr. McKinsey and Mr. Field assume joint responsibility of preparing a paper in “Statistics and Accounting”?
  8. Will Mr. Millis, Chairman, and Mr. Douglas prepare a paper on “Labor and the Manager’s Relationship to Personnel”?
  9. Will Mr. Viner prepare a paper on “The Economics of Government Administration”, consulting, perhaps, with Messrs. Merriam and Millis?
  10. Will Mr. Wright prepare a paper on “Historical Evolution of Industrial Society”, conferring with such other persons as seems to him appropriate?

____________________________

 

WRITTEN EXAMINATION FOR THE DOCTORATE, SPRING QUARTER 1924

Memorandum to the persons mentioned below:

  1. New questions will need to be prepared in the fields indicated below. Please remember that the examinations are in fields and not in courses.
  2. It has been customary to have the questions cover a very broad territory and to give a considerable number of options. Each examination lasts for three and a half hours.
  3. Will Mr. Clark prepare a paper on “Economic Theory”, consulting with Mr. Viner?
  4. Will Mr. Christ prepare a paper on “Social Direction and Control of Economic Activity”, conferring with Messrs. Wright, Spencer, and Clark?
  5. Will Mr. Marshall prepare a paper on “The Pecuniary and Financial System” and the “Manager’s Relationship to Finance”?
  6. Will Mr. Viner prepare the paper on “Capitalistic Organization”, consulting with Messrs. Millis, Douglas, and Wright?
  7. Will Mr. McKinsey and Mr. Field assume joint responsibility of preparing a paper in “Statistics and Accounting”?
  8. Will Mr. Millis, Chairman, and Mr. Douglas prepare a paper on “Labor and the Manager’s Relationship to Personnel”?
  9. Will Mr. Viner prepare a paper on “The Economics of Government Administration”, consulting, perhaps, with Messrs. Merriam and Millis?
  10. Will Mr. Wright prepare a paper on “Historical Evolution of Industrial Society”, conferring with such other persons as seems to him appropriate?

THIS MATTER NEEDS TO BE RUSHED THIS CURRENT QUARTER; WE NEED TO HAVE ALL EXAMINATION PAPERS IN SOME CONSIDERABLE TIME AHEAD OF THE BEGINNING OF THE EXAMINATION PERIOD. SEVERAL COLLECTIONS OF PAPERS HAVE TO GO TO OUTSIDE PARTIES TO ADMINISTER THE EXAMINATIONS. WE OUGHT TO SEND THESE EXAMINATIONS IN ONE BUNCH.

LCM: EL

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SUMMER QUARTER, 1925

August 1.       Economic Theory

Mr. [S. E.] Beckett
Mr. [Clifford Austin] Curtis
Mr. [Harold Amos] Logan
Mr. [Royal Ewert] Montgomery
Mr. [H. V.] Olson
Mr. [Christian] Van Riper

August 8.       Govt. Finance

Mr. [Harold Amos] Logan
Miss [Mabel] Magee

August 8.       Social Direction and Control

Mr. [Christian] Van Riper

August 15.     Labor

Mr. [S. E.] Beckett
Mrs. [Helen] Homan
Miss [Leila] Houghteling
Mr. [Harold Amos] Logan
Mr. [H. V.] Olsen

August 22.     Economic History

Mr. [S. E.] Beckett
Mrs. [Helen] Hohman
Mr. [H. V.] Olsen

 

Source: University of Chicago Archives. Department of Economics. Records, Box 26, Folder 9.

Image Source: University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf4-01703, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Categories
Chicago Economists

Chicago. Talent-Scouting for New Faculty, Joint Appointments and Visiting Faculty, 1945

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On April 10, 1945, the chairman of the University of Chicago’s economics department, Professor Simeon E. Leland, submitted a 77 page (!) memorandum to President Robert M. Hutchins entitled “Postwar Plans of the Department of Economics–A Wide Variety of Observations and Suggestions All Intended To Be Helpful in Improving the State of the University”.

In his cover letter Leland wrote “…in the preparation of the memorandum, I learned much that was new about the past history of the Department. Some of this, incorporated in the memorandum, looks like filler stuck in, but I thought it ought to be included for historical reasons and to furnish some background for a few of the suggestions.” 

In recent posts I have provided a list of visiting professors who taught economics at the University of Chicago up through 1944 (excluding those visitors who were to receive permanent appointments) and supporting tables with enrollment trends and faculty data (ages and educational backgrounds).

In this post we have three lists of names for economists who in 1945 could be taken into consideration for either permanent economics, joint appointments with other department or visiting appointments at the University of Chicago. Many names are immediately recognisable, others less so, and other known names left unnamed. Instead of observing the actual choices of the department, we have, so to speak, an observation of the “choice set” as perceived by the department.

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          The following list of possible additions to the staff of the Department of Economics represents an enumeration of suggestions made by various members of the Department. It, of course, does not include all of those whom the Department would like to invite as permanent members of the University staff. Many of those whom we would most like to have, it is well-known, are not available; nor can the Department be sure that those listed below would favorably consider an invitation to join our staff. Likewise, this list must not be construed as nominations for membership in the Department. Some members of the staff are known to object to the inclusion of some of the names listed below. But if unanimous consent were required before suggestions could be made, little progress in building a Department would be possible. In its present state, the list is only an enumeration of suggestions warranting further inquiry. The fields of interest of many of the potential candidates overlap and the appointment of some individuals would make it undesirable, or at least uneconomic, to appoint others. Nevertheless, the list does given an idea of some persons who might be considered for future appointments. This list, like any other enumeration, is subject to constant revision, both in the addition or subtraction of names.

Name

 Present Location

Field of Interest or Specialization
Abraham (sic) Bergson University of Texas Wages and Wage Theory
Robert Bryce Ottawa, Canada
Norman Buchanan University of California Public Utilities, Corporation Finance, Business Cycles (also possible interest in United States Economic History)
Earl Hamilton Northwestern University Economic History
Albert G. Hart C.E.D., Chicago Theory, Finance, etc.
J. R. Hicks University of Manchester, England Economic Theory
Harold A. Innis University of Toronto Economic History
Maurice Kelso University of Wisconsin Land Economics
Tjalling Koopmans Cowles Commission Statistics; Mathematical Economics; Business Cycles; Shipping
Simon Kuznets University of Pennsylvania National Income; Historical Statistics
Sanford Mosk University of California Economic History
Charles A. Myers Massachusetts Institute of Technology Labor; Industrial Relations
Walter Rostow Columbia University Economic History (XIX Century)
Leonard Salter University of Wisconsin Land Economics
T. Scitovszky London School of Economics; U.S. Army Theory of Capital and Interest; Theory of Tariffs
Arthur Smithies University of Michigan; Bureau of the Budget, Washington, D. C. Fiscal Policy; Theory; Money and Banking
Eugene Staley School of Advanced International Studies (Washington, D.C.) International Economics; Foreign Trade
George Stigler University of Minnesota Theory and Foreign Trade
R. H. Tawney London School of Economics Economic History
Allen Wallis Stanford University Statistics

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Joint Appointments

The Department of Economics shares an interest in many fields with other departments, schools and divisions of the University. It recognizes that most problems of the Social Sciences have economic aspects, and other aspects as well. Many of the fields embraced within particular disciplines are explained by accident or tradition, not always by logic. No one department can, therefore, assert a valid claim for the exclusive staffing of fields of interest held in common with other branches of knowledge. It seems wisest to develop these common grounds through joint appointments. Not only does this enable us to attract to the University more outstanding scholars than the fellowship of one department might provide, but it should also place at the disposition of those interested in promoting joint fields, perhaps, larger resources than either acting alone could command.

Joint appointments, too, will tend to integrate the Social Sciences with the other schools and departments affected, as well as contribute to the unity of the University as a whole. The Department of Economics, therefore, ventures to suggest joint appointments in the following fields:

Fields Units Affected
Trusts and Monopolies Business, Law, Economics
Railroads and Transportation Business, Economics
Public Utilities Economics, Political Science, Law
Social Control of Business Business, Law, Political Science, Economics
Advanced Applied Mathematics and Statistics Economics, Mathematics, Business, Institute of Statistics, other departments interested in statistics
Urban Planning (or the Utilization of Land) Geography, Political Science, Economics, Law, Business, Sociology
Social Legislation, particularly affecting Labor Business, Sociology, Social Service Administration, Law, Political Science, Economics

[…]

Among those who might be proposed for joint appointments are the following:

Name Present Location Field of Interest Appropriate Appointment
Charles L. Dearing Brookings Institution and U.S. Government Transportation Economics, Business
Corwin D. Edwards Northwestern University Trusts, Monopolies, Control of Business Political Science, Law, Economics
Milton Friedman Columbia University Economic Theory, Public Finance, Monetary Policy Economics, Institute of Statistics
Homer Hoyt Regional Plan Association, Inc., New York, N.Y. Land Planning Economic Geography, Political Science
David E. Lilienthal T. V. A. Public Utilities Political Science, Law, Economics
Abraham Wald Columbia University Applied Mathematics, Statistics Mathematics, Economics
Allen Wallis Columbia University Applied Mathematics, Statistics Mathematics, Economics
Samuel S. Wilks Princeton University Applied Mathematics, Statistics Mathematics, Economics

Visiting Professorships

Each department needs to diversify its courses. Too frequently the attempt at diversification is made by adding permanent members to the regular staff. The need can best be met by the appointment of visiting professors.

[…]

A list of some who might be invited to the University as Visiting Professors is as follows:

Name Present Location Fields of Interest
John D. Black Harvard Agricultural Economics
(J.) Roy Blough U. S. Treasury Public Finance
Kenneth Boulding Iowa State College Economic Analysis; Theory of Capital
Karl Brandt Food Institute, Stanford U. Agricultural Economics
Harry G. Brown University of Missouri Economic Theory, Public Finance
J. Douglas Brown Princeton University Industrial Relations
Edward H. Chamberlain(sic) Harvard Economic Theory; Monopolistic Competition
J. M. Clark Columbia University Economic theory
J. B. Condliffe California International Trade; International Commercial Policy
Joseph S. Davis Food Institute, Stanford U. Agricultural Economics
Milton Gilbert Office of Price Administration, Washington, D.C. Economic Theory; Price Control
T. Haavelmo Norwegian Shipping Administration, New York, N.Y. Econometrics
Alvin Hansen Harvard Economic Theory; Fiscal Policy
F. A. Hayek London School of Economics and Political Science History of Social Thought; Economic Theory; Monetary Policy
J. R. Hicks University of Manchester Economic Theory
George Jaszy U. S. Dept. of Commerce National Income; Business Analysis
O. B. Jesness University of Minnesota Agricultural Economics
Nicholas Kaldor London School of Economics Theory of the Firm; Imperfect Competition; Money; Business Cycles
M. Kalecki Institute of Statistics of University of Oxford, England Economic Fluctuations; Expenditure Rationing
M. Slade Kendrick Cornell University Public Finance; Farm Taxation
Arthur Kent San Francisco Attorney-at-Law Taxation
J. M. Keynes Cambridge University Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Simon S. Kuznets National Bureau of Economic Research; University of Pennsylvania Statistics; National Income and Its Problem
A. P. Lerner New School for Social Research Economic Theory; Fiscal Policy; Public Finance
Edward S. Mason Harvard University Economic Theory; International Trade and Trade Practices
Wesley C. Mitchell Columbia University Money and Prices
Jacob Mosak Office of Price Administration, Washington, D.C. Economic Theory; Statistics; Control of Prices
R. A. Musgrave Federal Reserve Board, Washington, D. C. Public Finance
Randolph Paul Lord, Day and Lord, Attorneys-at-Law Taxation
Paul A. Samuelson Massachusetts Institute of Technology Economic Theory; Money and Banking; Fiscal Policy
Lawrence H. Seltzer Wayne University Money and Banking; Public Debts; Fiscal Policy
Carl S. Shoup Columbia University Public Finance
Sumner H. Slichter Harvard University Business Economics
Richard Stone England Statistics; National Income
R. H. Tawney London School of Economics Economic History
Abraham Wald Columbia University Mathematics and Statistics
John H. Williams Harvard University Money and Banking

In the past, the Department has supplemented its staff by the appointment of visiting professors, but the invitations have ordinarily been restricted to the Summer Quarter in order (1) to relieve the regular staff from summer teaching and (2) to provide “window-dressing” to make the Summer Quarters more attractive to new students. The potentialities of the visiting professorship can hardly be realized when the practice is applied only to the Summer Quarter. That it has made that Quarter more attractive would seem to be indicated by the outstanding economists who have been guests of the University of Chicago.

[…]

The practice of inviting outstanding men to the University of Chicago seems to have been more prevalent in the early years of the University than it is today. Visiting appointments also declined with the strained finances of the University during the late depression. The Department is anxious to develop a program of instruction and research based upon the policy of the regular employment of visitors. A sum, equal to the stipend of a full professor, if used to finance a program of regular visitors, would add greater content and prestige to the Department than could be secured in any other way.

Source: University of Chicago Library, Department of Special Collections. Office of the President. Hutchins Administration Records. Box 73, Folder “Economics Dept., “Post-War Plans” Simeon E. Leland, 1945″.

Categories
Chicago Economists

Chicago. Historical Enrollment Trends, Economics Faculty by Age and Educational Background. 1944-45.

__________________________

On April 10, 1945, the chairman of the University of Chicago’s economics department, Professor Simeon E. Leland, submitted a 77 page (!) memorandum to President Robert M. Hutchins entitled “Postwar Plans of the Department of Economics–A Wide Variety of Observations and Suggestions All Intended To Be Helpful in Improving the State of the University”.

In his cover letter Leland wrote “…in the preparation of the memorandum, I learned much that was new about the past history of the Department. Some of this, incorporated in the memorandum, looks like filler stuck in, but I thought it ought to be included for historical reasons and to furnish some background for a few of the suggestions.” 

In a recent post I provided a list of visiting professors who taught economics at the University of Chicago up through 1944 (excluding those visitors who were to receive permanent appointments). For this post I have selected a few supporting tables from the memo providing data on the age distribution and educational backgrounds of the economics faculty along with time series on enrollments and registrations.  A later post provides talent-scouting lists for possible permanent, visiting and joint appointments.

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In making his plea for administration support for new additional hires, Chairman Leland began by noting that in 1944 Professor Chester Wright “was transferred to the emeritus status”. Negotiations with Professor H. A. Innis of the University of Toronto to succeed Wright were taking place but Leland did not appear to be overly confident, having written “If he [Innis] does not [accept a Chicago offer], due to the scarcity of men in Economic History, the post occupied by Professor Wright will be very difficult to fill.”

Looking ahead over the six years before the retirements of Knight and Kyrk were scheduled, Leland hoped to get support to begin the process of hiring younger faculty (only three of the staff were under 40 years of age as of the end of 1944), so that  (1) gaps in the existing program would not occur and (2) promising new fields could be covered.

Furthermore Leland argued “…the Department does not seem to have enough young men as instructors and assistant professors. As a result, the chores of running a department, including sharing in administration and advising students, fall heavily on the older, higher-salaried men on the staff.”

 

Ages of Staff Members
(as of December 31, 1944)

Name

 Rank Age

Came to University of Chicago
Bloch, Henry Simon

Instructor

 29

1939
Douglas, Paul Howard

Professor*

 52

1920
Harbison, Frederick Harris

Assistant Professor

 33

1940
Knight, Frank Hyneman

Professor

 59

1917-19; 1927
Kyrk, Hazel

Professor; also Home Economics

 59

1925
Lange, Oscar

Professor

 40

1938
Leland, Simeon Elbridge

Professor; also Political Science

 47

1928
Lewis, Harold Gregg

Instructor*

 30

1939
Marschak, Jacob

Professor

 46

1943
Mints, Lloyd Wynn

Associate Professor

 56

1919
Nef, John Ulric

Professor; also History

 45

1929
Schultz, Theodore William

Professor

 42

1943
Simons, Henry Calvert

Associate Professor

 45

1927
Viner, Jacob

Professor

 52

1916

This list does not include part-time instructors (3), research associates (3), lecturers, or members of the college staff (3).

*On leave for military service

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To reassure the President that the department was not in danger of “inbreeding” the following table was included in the memo. Leland’s first comment was that the educational backgrounds of the economics faculty included some 18 U.S. and 13 foreign institutions. While noting a significant concentration of Harvard and/or Chicago training of the economics faculty, only five of the fourteen actually had advanced training at Chicago and of those just two held Ph.D.’s from Chicago as of 1945 (Kyrk and Leland).

 

Educational Institutions Attended by Members of the Department of Economics

 

Name and Rank Degrees or Advanced Training Other Work
A.B. A.M. Ph.D.
H. S. Bloch
(Instructor)		 Nancy* Nancy Strasbourg*
Paris’
Nancy (Dr. en Droit)		 Acad. Int’l. Law
The Hague
P. H. Douglas
(Professor)		 Bowdoin Columbia Columbia Harvard
F. H. Harbison
(Asst. Prof.)		 Princeton Princeton Princeton
F. H. Knight
(Professor)		 Tennesee(B.S.)
Milligan (Ph.B.)		 Tennessee Cornell University American University, Harriman, Tennessee
H. Kyrk
(Professor)		 Ohio Wesleyan*
Chicago (Ph.B.)		 Chicago
O. Lange
(Professor)		 Poznan* Cracow (LL.M.) Cracow (LL.D.) London
S. E. Leland
(Professor)		 De Pauw Kentucky Chicago Harvard Law School
H. G. Lewis
(Instructor)		 Chicago Chicago* Chicago*
J. Marschak
(Professor)		 Oxford Heidelberg Technolog. Institut, Kiev
Berlin
L. W. Mints
(Assoc. Prof.)		 Colorado Colorado Chicago*
J. U. Nef
(Professor)		 Harvard (B.S.) Paris*
London*
Montpellier*		 Brookings
T. W. Schultz
(Professor)		 South Dakota State Wisconsin Wisconsin
H. C. Simons
(Assoc. Prof.)		 Michigan Michigan* Iowa*
Chicago*
Columbia*
Berlin*
J. Viner
(Professor)		 McGill Harvard Harvard

*Work taken at this level; no degree conferred.

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Two time series were included in Leland’s memo to provide evidence for an upward trend in the demand for economics courses: enrollments and course registrations.

It is difficult to forecast the postwar enrollment in Economics. Since 1928 there has been a steady upward trend in the number of students majoring in the Department, as is shown in the following table. Even the depression only slightly retarded the growth of our student body. Part of the increase was due to the emphasis given our subject matter by the events of the Thirties. Another factor responsible for the gain in students was the strength of the faculty—its reputation in the United States and abroad.

 

Total Number of Different Graduate Students Majoring in the Department of Economics Who Have Been in Residence a Part or All of the Years Indicated Below

 

Years

 Number of Students
1943-44

57

1942-43

77

1941-42

 133
1940-41

162

1939-40

 156
1938-39

144

1937-38

 133
1936-37

113

1935-36

 111
1934-35

98

1933-34

 114
1932-33

111

1931-32

 125
1930-31

113

1929-30

 118
1928-29

101

 

The trend of registrations in the Department for “200- and 300-level courses” (roughly corresponding to former undergraduate and graduate registrations) is shown in the following table. Data are shown only since 1931-32 inasmuch as statistics prior to that date included introductory courses for College freshmen and sophomores. This inflates all statistics prior to 1931 and destroys their validity for comparative purposes. The peak of enrollment in Economics came in 1938-39. It is believed that comparable enrollments will reappear soon after the cessation of hostilities.

 

Registration in Courses Offered by the Department of Economics

Years

Quarters
Summer Autumn Winter

Spring

First Term

Second Term

1944-45

 74
1943-44 62 202 138

185

1942-43

 252 237 249 207 153
1941-42 214 206 329 396

406

1940-41

 264 225 455 529 516
1939-40 262 224 431 589

583

1938-39

 277 244 560 516 689
1937-38 249 214 477 447

592

1936-37

 243 206 407 438 457
1935-36 245 218 367 503

534

1934-35

 239 206 325 460 398
1933-34 183 174 361 371

396

1932-33

 278 244 337 427 244
1931-32 233 224 443 411

339

 

Source: University of Chicago Library, Department of Special Collections. Office of the President. Hutchins Administration Records. Box 73, Folder “Economics Dept., “Post-War Plans” Simeon E. Leland, 1945″.