Category: Exam Questions

Harvard. Final exam questions for statistics and insurance/speculation. Allyn Young, 1911

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2022-04-22

If you were an important enough economist in your time, even shards of your course content are worthy of transcription and preservation as artifacts at Economics in the Rear-view Mirror.

Allyn Young was a visiting professor of economics at Harvard from Stanford during the academic year 1910-11. According to the course announcements for the year, he was to teach a two-term statistics course and two one-term courses, mathematical economics (fall term) and insurance and speculation (spring term). It doesn’t look like the mathematical economics course was actually held (no enrollment figures were reported nor could I find a final exam for that course). Maybe the course was still unofficially still taught to auditors anyway, or maybe it was withdrawn due to lack of student interest, who knows?

The jewel of the post is the final exam for Young’s course on insurance and speculation. It appears to have been a one-off offering, but nonetheless an early attempt to bring risk/uncertainty into the finance curriculum. The year-end examination in Statistics has been transcribed and included below.

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Economics 4. Statistics.

Course Announcement

[Economics] 4. Statistics. Tu., Th., at 11. Professor Young (Leland Stanford Jr. University).

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1910-11, p. 63.

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 4. Professor Young (Leland Stanford Jr. University. — Statistics. Theory, method, and practice.

Total 26: 5 Graduates, 8 Seniors, 9 Juniors, 1 Sophomore, 2 Freshmen, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-11, p. 49.

Economics 4
[Mid-Year Examination, 1911]

[Note: no printed copy was found in the Harvard Archives collection of Mid-Year Examinations.]

Economics 4
[Year-End Examination, 1911]

Answer eight questions.

In what ways did (1) “German university statistics” and (2) “political arithmetic” differ from modern “statistics”?
What errors are found in age statistics?
In what ways may the death rates of two or more cities be accurately compared?
What are the best methods of measuring the change in the length of human life? What different things may be meant by the “length of human life”?
Discuss census statistics of manufactures, with special reference to the definitions of (1) “manufactures,” and (2) “capital.”
What are the chief uses of price statistics? How are the problems of (1) choosing quotations, and (2) weighting, affected by the intended use?
What different methods of “smoothing” a statistical diagram can you suggest? When should diagrams be “smoothed” and when not?
What refinements of method should be observed in making comparisons of the birth rate at different periods or for different classes of the population?
May it be expected that most frequency curves will approximate the normal curve of error? Why?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 9, Papers set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics,… in Harvard College, June 1911 (in the bound volume Examination Papers 1910-11), p. 42.

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Economics 27. Mathematical Economics.

Course Announcement

[Economics] 27 ¹hf. Mathematical Economics. Half-course (first half-year). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 12. Professor Young (Leland Stanford Jr. University).

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1910-11, p. 64.

[No enrollment data were reported in the Report of the President of Harvard College 1910-11. A printed copy of the semester final examination was not included in the Mid-Year Examinations 1911 volume in the Harvard Archives. It appears that the course was in fact not offered during the first term of 1910-11 as originally planned.]

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Economics 28. Insurance and Speculation.

Course Announcement

[Economics] 28 ²hf. Insurance and Speculation. Half-course (second half-year). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 12. Professor Young (Leland Stanford Jr. University).

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1910-11, p. 65.

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 28 ²hf. Professor Young (Leland Stanford Jr. University. — Insurance and Speculation.

Total 84: 3 Graduates, 27 Seniors, 35 Juniors, 12 Sophomores, 1 Freshman, 6 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-11, p. 50.

* * * * * * * *

Note: Allyn A. Young published an article “Insurance and Speculation” in the Grolier series The Book of Popular Science (1924 edition, vol. 12) which was reprinted in the valuable collection edited by Perry G. Mehrling and Roger J. Sandilands, Money and Growth: Selected Papers of Allyn Abbott Young. Routledge, 1999.

* * * * * * * *

Economics 28
[Final Examination, 1911]

Answer eight questions.

What is self-insurance? What are its possibilities and its limitations?
Discuss briefly the advisability and the possibility of federal control of insurance.
What are “deferred dividend policies”? In what ways were they found to be objectionable?
Explain briefly the effects of speculation upon price fluctuations.
Describe the methods of a typical “hedging” operation on the part of the seller or buyer of an actual commodity.
What are “options”? Why are they discountenanced by the American exchanges?
What would be the probably economic effects of a prohibition of short-selling?
What do you consider to be the real evils of speculation? Suggest remedies.
Explain briefly the essential features of the methods of the New York Stock Exchange clearing house.

Image Source: The 1918 Cornell yearbook, The Cornellian (vol. 50), p. 18.

Tags Young

Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Economics Course Examinations, 1898-99

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2022-04-12

Another year of staffing, enrollments and semester examinations for the economics department at Harvard has been transcribed for the Economics in the Rear-view Mirror test-bank.

Worth noting is that half of the questions in the second semester exam for Frank Taussig’s advanced course on methodology (Economics 13) were in German. John Cummings’ course “Ethnology in its Applications to Economic and Social Problems” (Economics 17) was entirely what one would expect from a turn-of-the-century course of racist anthropology — e.g. “What do you understand by ‘cephalic index’? of what is it an index? Consider its validity as a test of (a) race origin, (b) of individual capacity”

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1898-99 Course Announcement
Outlines of Economics.

[Economics] 1. Outlines of Economics. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Professor [Frank William] Taussig, Asst. Professor Edward Cummings, Dr. John Cummings, Dr. [Morton Arnold] Aldrich, Mr. [Edward Henry] Warren, and Mr. [Charles] Beardsley.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction provided by the Faculty of Arts and Science 1898-99 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1898), p. 351.

1898-99 Enrollment
Outlines of Economics.

[Economics] 1. [Outlines of Economics] — Professor [Frank William] Taussig, Asst. Professor Edward Cummings, Dr. John Cummings, Dr. [Morton Arnold] Aldrich, Dr. [Oliver Mitchell Wentworth] Sprague, Mr. [Edward Henry] Warren, and Mr. [Charles] Beardsley. Lectures (2 hours); recitations and conferences (1 hour) in 14 sections.

Total 443: 26 Seniors, 88 Juniors, 259 Sophomores, 13 Freshmen, 57 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1898-99, p. 72.

1898-99.
Economics 1.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

Arrange your answers in the order of the questions.

It has been said that “the laws and conditions of the production of wealth partake of the character of physical truths.” Do you believe this to be true of the “laws and conditions” which Mill sets forth as to the accumulation of capital? as to the increase of production from land?
Suppose greater and greater amounts of capital to be saved and invested, other things remaining the same: would wages rise or fall? profits? Would there be a limit to the rise or fall in either case?
If all landlords owning advantageous sites remitted to tenants all economic rent, would the prices of commodities produced on those sites be affected? If so, how? If not, why not?
Would you expect wages in agreeable occupations to be high or low? Why? Are they in fact high or low? Why?
“The value or purchasing power of money depends, in the first instance, on demand and supply. But demand and supply, in relation to money, present themselves in a somewhat different shape from the demand and supply of other things.” Wherein different, and why?
“The sequel of our investigation will point out many qualifications with which the proposition must be received, that the value of the circulating medium depends on the demand and supply, and is in the inverse ratio of the quantity; qualifications which prove the proposition an extremely incorrect expression of the fact.” What are the qualifications? and how far do they make the proposition incorrect?
Wherein do the causes determining the level of prices remain the same, wherein become different, when specie has been displaced by inconvertible paper money?
What determines the exchange value of
an ounce of gold bullion,
a bale of wool,
English wheat in England,
Dakota wheat in Dakota,
Dakota wheat in England.
If American shoes sell at the same price in New York and in Mexico (allowance being made for cost of transportation) can it be said that their value in the one case is determined by cost of production, in the other case not?
What do you say to the common opinion that it is to a country’s advantage to dispose of an increasing quantity of exported goods?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 5, Bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-years 1898-1899.

1898-99
Economics 1.
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

Arrange your answers strictly in the order of the questions,
Answer concisely.
Take nine questions, and from each group at least two.

Does the rate of interest depend on the abundance of money? does the rate of discount? If so, how? if not, why not?
Is the exportation of specie from a country to be regarded with apprehension?
In what way is the price of landed property likely to be affected by a rise in the rate of interest? by an increase in the quantity of money? by a growth of population?

II.

Assuming Mill’s theory as to the causes determining the rate of wages to be sound, how far can trade union action influence the rate? State concisely whether you accede to Mill’s theory, and why or why not.
What light does the experience of English coöperators throw on the contention that the discontent of the workingmen would cease if coöperative organization were extended to all branches of industry?
Brentano’s reasoning as to the nature of the bargaining between employer and workman, and the policy therefore necessary on the workman’s part; and your own opinion as to his conclusion.

III.

(a) In what manner the exigencies of a commercial crisis are best met by banking institutions; (b) how far the legislation of England and the United States aids, in a time of crisis, in the pursuance of the best policy by the banking institutions of these countries.
Does the mode of regulating the issue of bank-notes in Germany proceed on a principal essentially different from that in England? Does the mode of regulation under the National Bank system?
Arrange in their proper order the following items:

Capital	$1,000,000
Specie	$1,100,000
Notes	$ 400,000
Surplus	$ 200,000
Securities	$ 450,000
Loans	$4,200,000
Deposits	$4,100,000
Undivided Profits	$ 100,000
Expenses	$ 50,000

Consider how the account would stand if the bank sold $100,000 of securities for cash, and with the proceeds met demands by depositors for the like sum; and whether the bank, before or after this operation, could carry on its operations as a National Bank?

IV.

How the resumption of specie payments in the United States was promoted by the condition of international trade and by the course of prices in the years preceding resumption.
Are there important differences between the modes in which the functions of money are fulfilled in the United States by National Bank notes, deposits in National Banks, legal tender notes, silver certificates?
Explain to whom and in what manner what manner the changes in general prices during the last twenty years have been harmful.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Architecture, and Music in Harvard College (June, 1899) in bound volume Examination Papers 1898-99, pp. 26-27.

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1898-99 Course Announcement
Economic Theory in the Nineteenth Century

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

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction provided by the Faculty of Arts and Science 1898-99 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1898), p. 352.

1898-99 Enrollment
Economic Theory in the Nineteenth Century.

[Economics] 2. Professor Taussig. — Economic Theory in the Nineteenth Century. Discussion of selected passages from leading writers. The history of theory. Lectures and recitations (3 hours).

Total 67: 5 Graduates, 27 Seniors, 22 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, 10 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1898-99, p. 72.

1898-99.
Economics 2.
[Mid-Year Exam, 1899]

Are the high wages earned by some kinds of skilled laborers cause or effect of high prices of commodities made by them?
Many Americans annually visit European countries, and there spend freely. Supposing this to be the only cause, beside the imports and exports of merchandise, affecting the international trade of the United States, what would you expect the usual relation of its imports and exports to be? and what the usual flow of specie to or from the country?
“What a nation is interested in is, not in having its prices high or low, but in having its gold cheap — understanding by cheapness not low value, butlow cost — a small sacrifice of ease and comfort; and it generally happens that cheap gold is accompanied by a high scale of prices.”
How does a country gain from having its gold cheap? and why need cheap gold not be accompanied by a high scale of prices?
“The distinction, then, between capital and non-capital does not lie in the kind of commodities, but in the mind of the capitalist — in his will to employ them for one purpose rather than another; and all property, however ill adapted in itself for the use of laborers, is a part of capital, so soon as it, or the value to be received from it, is set apart for productive reinvestment.” Is this true?
“The multitudes who compose the working class are too numerous and too widely scattered to combine at all, much more to combine effectually. If they could do so, they might doubtless succeed in diminishing the hours of labor, and obtaining the same wages for less work. But if they aimed at obtaining actually higher wages than the rate fixed by demand and supply — the rate which distributed the whole circulating capital of the country among the working population — this could only be accomplished by keeping a part of their number permanently out of employment. . . . The workpeople collectively would be no better off than before, having to support the same numbers out of the same aggregate wages.”
Whom do you suppose to be the writer of this passage? What would Cairnes say to it? Professor Taussig?
“If the efficiency of labor could be suddenly doubled, whilst the capital of the country remained stationary, there would be a great and immediate rise in real wages. The supplies of capital already in existence would be distributed among the laborers more rapidly than would otherwise be the case, and the increased efficiency of labor would soon make good the diminished supplies. The fact is that an increase in the efficiency of labor would bring about an increase in the supply of capital.” — Marshall.
Why? or why not?
Do you believe Walker’s discussion of the theory of wages has promoted the better understanding of the causes affecting the welfare of laborers? If so, how? If not, why not?
“The extra gains which any producer or dealer obtains through superior talents for business, or superior business arrangements, are very much a similar kind [to rent]. If all his competitors had the same advantages, and used them, the benefit would be transferred to their customers, through the diminished value of the article: he only retains it for himself because he is able to bring his commodity to market at a lower cost, while its value is determined by a higher. All advantages, in fact, which one competitor has over another, whether natural or acquired, whether personal or the result of social arrangements . . . . assimilate the possessor of the advantage to a receiver of rent.” — Mill.
Wherein does Walker’s doctrine differ from this?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 5, Bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-years 1898-1899.

1898-99.
Economics 2.
[Year-end Exam, 1899.]

Arrange your answers strictly in the order of the questions.

Three questions from this group.

J. S. Mill’s contributions to economic theory, and his position as regards the development of theory.
“Cost of production” and “expenses of production”: what Marshall designates by these phrases; whether he believes that “expenses” measure “cost”; and how far Cairnes and Mill believed “expenses” to measure “cost.”
It has been said that the wages-fund doctrine grew out of the industrial conditions of England during the Napoleonic wars, — capital having then been accumulated to such an extent as to enable employers to pay their laborers by the month, week, or day, without waiting for the marketing of the product. It has been said also that its general acceptance was favored by the fact that it afforded a complete justification, as to wages, for the existing order of things. — Give your opinion as to the historical accuracy of these statements as to the origin and the ready acceptance of the doctrine.
Marshall’s conclusions on the relation of cost and of utility to the value of a commodity, —

(a) for long periods, if it be subject to the law of constant returns;
(b) for short periods, if it be subject to the law of constant returns;
(c) for long periods, if it be subject to the law of increasing returns.

Which among these conclusions has been heretofore most dwelt on by economists? and which is applicable to the greatest range of phenomena?

II.

Three questions from this group.

Explain “consumers’ rent” (or “surplus,”) “producers’ rent,” “savers’ rent,” “quasi-rent”; and consider how far any or all of these conceptions are analogous to the traditional one of “economic rent.”
The effect on consumers’ rent of a tax on a commodity subject to the law of diminishing returns; and the mode in which the reasoning would be affected according as the commodity were tobacco or diamonds.
Admitting that interest is the reward of “abstinence,” does it follow that the rate of interest is a measure of the “abstinence” undergone by the several receivers of interest? Why or why not?
The rent of rare natural abilities may be regarded as a specially important element in the income of business men, so long as we consider them as individuals. In relation to normal value, the earnings even of rare abilities are, as we have seen, to be regarded rather as a quasi rent than as a rent proper.” Is the rent of rare abilities specially important in the case of business men? if so, why? and why not to be regarded as rent in relation to normal value?

III.

Two questions in this group.

“ The instructed man of today desires that the world generally and all other countries should have a full circulation, while he would like for his own country, if that were possible, a trifle less than its distributive share of that supply, so that it may be a good country to buy in and not a very good country to sell in. He desires to have prices everywhere sustained, in order that trade may be good. He would like, if that were possible, to have prices in his own country permanently lower, though only a shade lower, than anywhere else, in order that his countrymen may get the largest share of that trade.’ Walker
Would you agree?
Your conclusion as to whether in general a régime of falling prices is a cause of depression and an obstacle to prosperity; and whether the actual fall in prices during the past generation has had ill effects of this sort.
The compensatory action of bimetallism, in regard to the ratio between the metals, and in regard to their stability in value: is it made out in either way? in both ways?

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1898-99 Course Announcement
The Principles of Sociology

[Economics] 3. The Principles of Sociology. —Development of the Modern State, and of its Social Functions. Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 1.30. Asst. Professor E. Cummings.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction provided by the Faculty of Arts and Science 1898-99 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1898), p. 352.

1898-99 Enrollment
Principles of Sociology.

[Economics] 3. Asst. Professor Edward Cummings. — The Principles of Sociology. Development of the Modern State, and of its Social Functions. Lectures (2 or 3 hours) and conferences. 4 reports or theses.

Total 83: 4 Graduates, 42 Seniors, 21 Juniors, 5 Sophomores, 11 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1898-99, p. 72.

1898-99.
Economics 3.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

Answer the questions in the order in which they stand.

What as a matter of history, has been the contribution of the family to
a) Social organization?
b) Social ideals?
What does Spencer mean by saying, The Salvation of every society, as of every species, depends on the maintenance of an absolute opposition between the regime of the family and the regime of the State?
a) Does Haycraft agree?
b) Does Kidd?
c) Does Plato?

II.

“Man has been supposed to be a ‘free agent,’ which meant that there were no laws to which his activities were subject. There could be no science of man and hence no science of society.
a) What do the authors we have examined think?
b) What do you think about it?

III.

“In his Social Evolution he makes religion the mainspring of human progress and charges reason with anti-social and anti-progressive tendencies.”
“Religion is rational through and through.”
a) Expound and discuss these views.
b) Do you see any way of reconciling the demands of Biology and Ethics. — progress and justice?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 5, Bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-years 1898-1899.

1898-99.
Economics 3.
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

“The whole history of the world bears witness to the different endowments of races, and even to the unequal capacity of the nations which have grown out of them.” (Explain and illustrate.)
State some of the theoretical consequences drawn from these alleged differences.
How far can you trace the influence, good or bad, of biological conceptions in Bluntschli’s theory of the State? For example, in his analysis of sovereignty, division of powers, and the like.
“Another error, which is almost childish, is that which treads the organism of the State as a logical syllogism.” Discuss.
Contrast Tarde’s analysis of Social phenomena with the legal and biological conceptions of other writers with whom you are familiar.
The modern conception of the State and of its relation to the individual, contrasted with the ancient and the mediaeval.
State briefly the work done on your last report and the conclusions you reached.
Does the realization of social justice make for “equality” or the reverse? Why?
Does social progress call for the sacrifice of the weak to the strong or of the strong to the weak? Why?

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1898-99 Course Announcement
Statistics.

[Economics] 4. Statistics. — Theory, Method, and Practice. — Studies in Demography. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 11. Dr. J. Cummings.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction provided by the Faculty of Arts and Science 1898-99 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1898), p. 353.

1898-99 Enrollment
Statistics.

[Economics] 4. Dr. John Cummings. — Statistics. Theory, method, and practice. Studies in Demography. Lectures (3 hours) and conferences; 2 reports; theses.

Total 19: 10 Seniors, 4 Juniors, 4 Sophomores, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1898-99, p. 73.

1898-99.
Economics 4.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

Devote one hour to A and the remainder of your time to B.

A.
Take two.

The growth of modern cities and the laws governing the migrations of population as illustrated in the growth and constitution of the populations of London, Berlin, and other large cities.
Define fully a “normal or life-table population,” considering its age and sex constitution and its movement.
Discuss the development and predominance of the statistical method, and the gradual limitation of the field of statistical science.

B.
Take six.

What do you understand by the “law of large numbers”? Discuss some of the principles which should govern the formation of statistical judgments.
The “new law of population.”
The value of criminal statistics and the nature of the statistical proofs that the value of punishments is over-estimated.
“Several tests are employed to measure the duration of human life, and we are at present concerned to determine their precise value, and the relationship existing between them.” What are some of these tests, their precise value and inter-relationship?
What is the nature of the statistical evidence that the “influx of the population from the country into London is in the main an economic movement”?
The rate of mortality in urban and in rural populations.
Decline in the rates of natality in the populations of Europe and the United States.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 5, Bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-years 1898-1899.

1898-99
Economics 4.
[Year-end Exam, 1899.]

Devote at least one hour, but not more than one hour and a half, to A, and the remainder of your time to B.

Statistics of wages, manufactures, and capital in the eleventh census of the United States.
Movement of population and the standard of living. Consider in connection with the growth of population the movement of wages, prices, efficiency of labor and capital, the exploitation of new natural sources of power and wealth, and the relative movements of industrial groups.

B.
Take six.

Average wages as an index of social condition.
Statistical indexes of pauperism.
What is the statistical basis for calculating the doubling period of a population and of what is that period an index?
Define normal distribution of population (a) by sex, (b) by age.
Show how the economic value of a population is affected by its age and sex distribution.
To what extent may the prison population of the United States as given in the eleventh census be accepted as an index of criminality for the population of the United States?
The growth of cities and the movement of population. Consider the effect of “urbanization” upon rates of criminality, natality, and mortality.

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1898-99 Course Announcement
Railways and Other Public Works.

[Economics] 5¹ hf. Railways and other Public Works under Public and Corporate management. Half-course (first half-year). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 1.30. Mr. [Hugo Richard] Meyer.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction provided by the Faculty of Arts and Science 1898-99 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1898), p. 353.

1898-99 Enrollment
Railways and Other Public Works.

[Economics] 5¹ hf. Mr. Meyer. — Railways and other Public Works under Public and Corporate Management. Lectures (3 or 2 hours).

Total 85: 1 Graduate, 49 Seniors, 16 Juniors, 7 Sophomores, 12 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1898-99, p. 73.

1898-99.
Economics 5¹.
[Mid-year (Final) Exam, 1899]

Omit one of the last four questions.

“And the Commission elsewhere says that the question of rates is not so much one between the railroads and the body of shippers, as between different classes of shippers, or rival localities.” — Railroad Gazette, June 22, 1888.
Illustrate by means of the following complaints brought before the Interstate Commerce Commission:

- - Rates on sugar from Pacific Coast points to Fargo and St. Paul; V. 234.
  - Relative rates on wheat from certain “common territory” to Minneapolis and Duluth; V, 571.
  - Relative rates on salt from Hutchinson and St. Louis to certain “common points” in Texas; V, 299.
  - Export rates on wheat: III, 137.
  - Relative rates from Atlantic sea-board points to the interior on imported commodities and domestic; IV, 448.
  - Group rates on vegetables shipped from points between Mobile and East St. Louis; VII, 43.
  - Group rates on milk shipped from points in New York State to Jersey City; VII, 93.
  - Relative rates on hogs, dressed pork, and dressed beef: IV, 611.

To what extent have Germany, France, and the Australian Colonies been able to enforce their rigid schemes of railroad charges? What is the nature of the evidence that such enforcement has prevented the railroads from fully developing traffic? Why has not enforcement of these schemes worked with greater friction?
“Had [railroad] building been checked by the censorship of a board of commissioners, and charters granted by the State only upon a showing of necessity, to be determined by the population, density of traffic, and like warrantable reasons, a large percentage of the roads which to-day constitute the disturbing element of interstate commerce, would never have been built.” — Clark: State Railroad Commissions.
Give your reasons for accepting or rejecting the statement that the control here suggested could not possibly have been exercised.
State Railroad Control and Politics in California.
Why was the Interstate Commerce Commission unable to enforce the prohibition of special rates?
Contrast the working of the state ownership of railways in Prussia with the working of the state ownership of railways in Australia.
The Massachusetts Gas and Electric Light Commission.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 5, Bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-years 1898-1899.

Also: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Architecture, and Music in Harvard College (June, 1899) in bound volume Examination Papers 1898-99.

_______________________

1898-99 Course Announcement
Economic History of the U.S.

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

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction provided by the Faculty of Arts and Science 1898-99 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1898), p. 352.

1898-99 Enrollment
Economic History of the U.S.

[Economics] 6. Dr. Callender. — The Economic History of the United States. Lectures (2 hours) and discussions of assigned reading (1 hour). 2 theses.

Total 122: 6 Graduates, 60 Seniors, 38 Juniors, 7 Sophomores, 11 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1898-99, p. 73.

1898-99.
Economics 6.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

“Between England and the American Colonies there was a real interchange of services. England gave defence in return for trade privileges. In the middle of the last century, at the time when the American quarrel began, it was perhaps rather the colonies than the mother country that had fallen into arrears.” — Seeley.
Do you agree with this view of English Colonial Policy?
Compare the following statement, with what you know of the views of commercial policy entertained by leading American statesmen during and after the Revolution:
“From all this (i.e. the tariff acts passed by the various States between 1783 and 1789) it is clear enough that the States sought protection for the sake of building up manufactures. It was natural that they should. To suppose that they had any special predilection for free trade, at a time when restriction was the policy of the world, and while the mercantile system had not yet lost its grip save among a few economists, is to suppose them far ahead of their time.
“Nor would their policy have been different if England had practiced perfect reciprocity with them at the beginning.” — Kelley. Quarterly Journal of Economics II, 481.
What were the “Great Inventions” and how did they chiefly influence the economic growth of the United States down to 1860?
How would you explain the absence of commercial banks in America in Colonial times?
According to Adam Smith “there seems to be two cases in which it will generally be advantageous to lay some burden upon foreign for the encouragement of domestic industry.” Do you think the tariff act of 1816 could be fairly considered as coming under either of his exceptions to general free trade principles?
“It is now proper to proceed a step further, and to enumerate the principal circumstances from which it may be inferred that manufacturing establishments not only occasion a positive augmentation of the produce and revenue of the society, but that they contribute essentially to render them greater than they could possibly be without such establishments.” — Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures.
Mention as many of these “circumstances” as you can, and discuss one.
How do you explain the prevalence of much higher protective duties since the civil war than before it?
Mention three cases in which high duties have failed to cause any considerable growth of the industries affected, and compare these with any others in which the high duties did cause a growth of industry, pointing out a reason for the difference in result.
Compare the conditions which gave rise to the trade on the western rivers between 1815 and 1845 with the conditions which caused the growth of trade in the English colonies between 1700 and 1760.
To what extent have the people of the United States relied upon the assistance of government to supply transportation facilities? How would you explain the tendency to state intervention in this industry in the United States before 1850?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 5, Bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-years 1898-1899.

1898-99.
Economics 6.
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

Select at least eight questions and answer them concisely.

“The Southern States, then, are reduced to the very same relation to the tariff states, in point of principle, as that in which all the colonies formerly stood to Great Britain….
I confidently assert that the restrictions imposed by the tariff states upon the commerce of the planting states, are more injurious and oppressive than all the colonial restrictions and taxes which Great Britain ever imposed upon the commerce of our forefathers…” — McDuffie.
Do you think there is any grounds for such a comparison as this?
“It is sometimes loosely said, that America has been settled by the European races, and different portions are distinguished, as settled by the English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. The truth really is, that America, including its islands, has been settled chiefly from Africa, and by negroes….” — Weston.
How did African slavery affect the settlement and growth of the thirteen continental colonies?
How far has the United States applied the protective system to agriculture? Compare its policy in this respect with that of Continental Europe.
Point out the main causes of agricultural discontent in the following sections of the country: the South; the northern states east of the Mississippi River; the northern states west of the Mississippi River.
“Trusts have not yet been properly discriminated, and such a discrimination is necessary to a correct understanding of them. Some of the trusts have in them permanently vicious elements, whilst others, although not by any means harmless in their effect on political right, are so incapable of working prolonger and serious mischief that they may be left to the usual methods of relief or to their own inevitable dissolution.” — Bonham.
Discuss this proposition, pointing out the circumstances which render the power of a trust formidable to competitors, and how far all trusts are in possession of such advantages.
What reasons can you give for the failure of competition to regulate railway rates so as to secure justice to both buyer and seller of transportation? How far does the same reasoning apply to such industries as the manufacture of steel rails, and coal mining?
“Before inquiring as to general changes in our national condition which may justify a change of opinion and policy in this respect (i.e. restriction of immigration), let us deal briefly with two opinions regarding the immigration of the past, which stand in the war of any fair consideration of the subject. These two opinions were, first, that immigration constituted a net reinforcement of our population: and secondly, that, in addition to this, or irrespective of this, immigration was necessary, in order to supply the laborers who should do certain kinds of work, imperatively demanded for the building up of our industrial and social structure, which natives of the soil were unwilling to undertake.” — Walker. Discuss one of these opinions.
“In the early days of cotton growing it had been supposed that the cultivation of this staple would be carried on by white labor… It was a misfortune for Southern agriculture that slave labor was ever applied to the cultivation of the cotton plant. As has been pointed out in the preceding chapter, cotton culture offered many and great advantages over other crops for the use of slave labor; but slavery had few, if any, advantages over free labor for the cultivation of cotton…” — Hammond.
“Taking infants, aged, invalid, and vicious and knavish slaves into account, the ordinary and average cost of a certain task of labor is more than double in Virginia what it is in the adjoining free states.” — Olmsted.
Granting the truth of these statements how would you explain the growth of slavery in the United States after 1790? Compare these conditions with those existing in Virginia one hundred years earlier.
Sketch briefly the history of the legal tenders from the close of the civil war to the resumption of specie payments.
Compare the condition of the United States Treasury so far as its ability to maintain gold payments was concerned, in the years 1884-1885 and 1891-1893.
“…Up to our own day American history has been in a large degree the history of the colonization of the great West. The existence of an area of free land, its constant recession, and the advance of American settlements westward, explain American development.” — Turner.
What features of American social and political development have been influenced or determined by the conditions here referred to?
Describe what you consider to be the most important change which has taken place in the South as a result of Emancipation.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Architecture, and Music in Harvard College (June, 1899), pp. 32-34. In bound volume Examination Papers 1898-99.

_______________________

1898-99 Course Announcement
Western Civilization in its Economic Aspects

[Economics] 8² hf. Western Civilization in its Economic Aspects. (Mediaeval and Modern.) Half-course(second half-year). Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 12. Dr. [William] Cunningham (Trinity College, Cambridge, England).

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction provided by the Faculty of Arts and Science 1898-99 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1898), p. 352.

1898-99 Enrollment
Western Civilization in its Economic Aspects.

[Economics] 8² hf. Dr. Cunningham. — Western Civilization, mediaeval and modern, in its Economic Aspects. Lectures (3 hours). 4 reports.

Total 105: 13 Graduates, 41 Seniors, 15 Juniors, 23 Sophomores, 1 Freshmen, 12 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1898-99, p. 72.

Course Reading List (1899)

https://www.irwincollier.com/harvard-economic-aspects-of-western-civilization-cunningham-1899/

1898-99.
Economics 8².
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

Answer the first 3 questions and any 3 of the later questions.

“In any community where there is wealth to spare, which can be sunk in magnificent buildings or other public works, there is a permanent record of its greatness or of the riches of its rulers. On the whole, when the characteristic buildings of each civilization were erected was the time of its greatest material prosperity; this gives us the means of gauging most definitely the precise nature of its contribution to the growth of Western Civilization as a whole.”
Explain and criticise.
Take any two of the evils of which complaint is made in the “Common Weal of the Realm.” What were the causes of those evils given in the dialogues? Were they, in your opinion, the real causes?
Why can we obtain a greater knowledge of medieval Europe generally through the study of a single country than we could obtain for modern Europe by the use of a similar method?
Trace the change from a natural to a money economy in agriculture, and in taxation.
Compare the policy of a medieval town with the national policy of European States which followed.
In what new direction and with what results was capital invested at the close of the Middle Ages?
Compare the commercial policies of Portugal, Holland, and England with reference to the East India trade.
(Take one.) For what is Western Civilization indebted to:

(a) The monastery.
(b) The crusades.
(c) The craft guild.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Architecture, and Music in Harvard College (June, 1899), p. 34. In bound volume Examination Papers 1898-99.

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1898-99 Course Announcement
Labor Question in Europe and the U.S.

[Economics] 9. The Labor Question in Europe and the United States. — The Social and Economic Condition of Workingmen. Tu., Th., Sat., at 10. Asst. Professor E. Cummings.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction provided by the Faculty of Arts and Science 1898-99 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1898), p. 352.

1898-99 Enrollment
Labor Question in Europe and the U.S.

[Economics] 9. Asst. Professor Edward Cummings. — The Labor Question in Europe and the United States. The Social and Economic Condition of Workingmen. Lectures (3 hours) and conferences; 2 reports; thesis.

Total 129: 2 Graduates, 51 Seniors, 42 Juniors, 22 Sophomores, 12 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1898-99, p. 73.

1898-99.
Economics 9.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

So far as possible discuss both the historical and the theoretical aspects of the questions.

Is the principle of coöperation capable of indefinite extension and application? If not what are its limits?
Compare the English Trade Union congress with the annual convention of the American Federation of Labor.
Is the programme of trade unionism inconsistent with the coöperative ideal?
What do you understand by the English working classes; and what proportion do they bear to other classes in the community?
Indicate the manner in which English working people have met the exigencies of sickness, accident, old age, out of work.
What proportion of the working classes is identified with

a) the coöperative movement?
b) trade unionism?
c) the various forms of insurance?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 5, Bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-years 1898-1899.

1898-99.
Economics 9.
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

On what elements does the strength of a trade union depend? In what directions does it seem to you that American trade unions most need to develop in the future? In what specific respects may they profit by the policy and experience of European organizations?
“The workers should certainly not fail to realize how important is the recognition by them that only by unity and solidarity is there any hope for protection and progress.” — President Gompers.
Do the various forms of workingmen’s organizations give evidence of any distinctly differentiated wages class in the United States? Discuss carefully the evidence as to the extent and the limitations of class feeling among American workingmen.
“If unemployment insurance should follow trade lines, every argument would seem to indicate that such efforts should be made through existing organizations of workingmen.” Discuss the various forms of insurance against unemployment, and indicate the advantages and disadvantages of each form.
“France has joined Germany, Austria, Great Britain and Norway in the indorsement of the principles so boldly inaugurated by the first of these countries, — that the compensation of injured workmen should be compulsory upon their employers.”

(a) Explain the differences between the systems adopted in the countries named.
(b) Discuss the present status of employers’ liability and of accident insurance in the United States.

Contrast the condition of workmen in the United States, England, and on the Continent as regards earnings, conditions of employment, cost of living, and effectiveness of organization, — taking the condition of railway labor as the basis of your comparison.
Discuss the relative merits of the form which government interference on behalf of working people has taken in the United States and in European countries.
State briefly the most important conclusions which you have arrived at regarding the subject assigned you for special investigation

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Architecture, and Music in Harvard College (June, 1899), p. 35. In bound volume Examination Papers 1898-99.

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1898-99 Course Announcement
Industrial Revolution in England

[Economics] 11² hf. The Industrial Revolution in England. Half-course (second half-year). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 11. Dr. [William] Cunningham (Trinity College, Cambridge, England).

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction provided by the Faculty of Arts and Science 1898-99 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1898), p. 352.

1898-99 Enrollment
Industrial Revolution in England.

[Economics] 11² hf. Dr. Cunningham. — The Industrial Revolution in England. Lectures (2 hours) and conferences. 6 reports.

Total 98: 8 Graduates, 30 Seniors, 21 Juniors, 17 Sophomores, 1 Freshman, 21 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1898-99, p. 72.

1898-99.
Economics 11².
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

Arrange your answers strictly in the order of the questions.
Take the first 2 and any 3 of the later questions.

(Devote at least one third of your time to this question.) Compare industry before and after the Industrial Revolution with reference to —
1. The function of capital.
2. The control of the capitalist or entrepreneur over production.
3. Status of the artisan, which should include discussion of mobility of labor, stability of employment, and extent and objects of associated activity.
Give some account of Francis Place and his importance as a social reformer.
An account of the silk industry in England. Show how it illustrates the economic policy of England during the 17^th and 18^th century?
Why was the mercantile policy ultimately given up? Was that policy, in your opinion, advantageous to England during the 18^th century?
Arrange in order of importance causes of distress in the factory towns during the first quarter of this century. To what causes may the subsequent improvement be ascribed?
Discuss distress among the agricultural population in the same way.
Contrast the English Corn Laws of the 18^th century with the law of 1815 with special reference to its results on different elements in the agricultural interest.
Describe the chief improvements which have been introduced into English mines with special reference to the work of Alexander Macdonald.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Architecture, and Music in Harvard College (June, 1899), p. 36. In bound volume Examination Papers 1898-99.

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1898-99 Course Announcement
Banking and the History of the leading Banking Systems

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

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction provided by the Faculty of Arts and Science 1898-99 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1898), p. 353.

1898-99 Enrollment
Banking and the History of the Leading Banking Systems.

[Economics] 12¹ hf. Professor [Charles F.] Dunbar. — Banking and the History of the leading Banking Systems. Lectures (3 hours).

Total 61: 2 Graduates, 41 Seniors, 8 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, 7 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1898-99, p. 73.

1898-99.
Economics 12¹.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

Arrange your answers strictly in the order of the questions.

Reserve ONE THIRD of your time for questions under section B. Answer ALL the questions under A, and TWO of those under B.

Explain carefully the following terms:

(a) Safety or Guaranty Fund;
(b) Free banking;
(c) Reserve;
(d) Surplus;
(e) Daily Redemption;
(f) Clearing House Loan Certificates.

Compare Ricardo’s scheme for a national bank with the existing law for the bank of England.
What are the most striking advantages of the Scotch system of note issue?
Why is the Bank of France able to maintain a more uniform rate of discount than the Bank of England?
What provisions are made by the German bank law protecting, or tending to protect,

(a) notes;
(b) deposits?

White says [Money and Banking, p. 327], “In 1845 the State of Massachusetts passed a law providing that no bank should pay out over its counter any notes but its own.”
Was this law necessary for the working of the Suffolk Bank System?
What are the chief arguments for and against a system of banking with a central reserve as in England?

Discuss the following extract, and its consistency with the author’s aphorism that “money is that money does”:—
“Bankers’ deposits or liabilities are not money. Inscribed on the books of the bank itself, divided into no definite parts, constituting no tangible thing, having no outside course to run, with no separate identifiable existence, they are not money: they are simply an instrumentality for saving the use of money.” [Walker, in Quarterly Journal of Economics, October, 1893, p. 69.]
In what ways, if any, do the different proposals for modifying our present banking system appear to fall short of a theoretically perfect system of banking for the United States?
What are the circumstances which, beginning with 1865, have caused and kept up the great inequality observed in the distribution of national banks among the different sections of the Union?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 5, Bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-years 1898-1899.

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1898-99 Course Announcement
Methods of Economic Investigation

[Economics] 13. Methods of Economic Investigation. — English Writers. — German Writers. Tu., Th., at 1.30. Professor Taussig.

Course 13 may also be taken in either half-year as a half-course.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction provided by the Faculty of Arts and Science 1898-99 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1898), p. 352.

1898-99 Enrollment
Methods of Economic Investigation.

[Economics] 13. Professor Taussig. — Methods of Economic Investigation. Rapid reading in English and German books, and discussion of questions of method and scope. Lectures and conferences. 2 hours.

Total 5: 2 Graduates, 2 Seniors, 1 Junior.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1898-99, p. 72.

1898-99.
Economics 13.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

Point out, as to one of the subjects named below, the nature of the problems in economics according as its scope is believed to be that of a positive science, a normative science, an art formulating precepts:

Bimetallism.
Economic Rent and the “nationalization” of land.
Wages and Trade Unions.

The nature and extent of the aid given by statistical and historical inquiry in solving the problems of international trade and of tariff legislation.
Adam Smith’s and Ricardo’s methods of reasoning on wages and profits.
“The method by which Economic Science should be carried into regions never penetrated by Ricardo was simple. It was only necessary to draw from the actual observation of affairs fresh premises relating to forces of what we have called the secondary order.”
Consider how far this general proposition is illustrated or confirmed by (1) Cairnes’s reasoning on the relation between cost, value, wages in different occupations; (2) Marshall’s reasoning as to demand-schedules, supply-schedules, and the theory of value and distribution.
The questions of definition arising as to the terms capital, rent, money; and your grounds for believing one or another use of these terms to be advantageous.
Keynes’s conclusions as to the mode in which economic history bears on economic theory; and your own.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 5, Bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-years 1898-1899.

1898-99.
Economics 13.
[Year-End Exam, 1899]

“Alle konkreten volkswirthschaftliche Organisationsfragen sind also bedingt durch die Vorfrage, wie die psychologischen Grundtriebe bei dem fraglichen Volke durch Sitte und Recht modifiziert sind. Darum ist mir auch die Lehre von dem Egoismus oder dem Interesse, als dem psychologischen steten und gleichmässigen Ausgangspunkt aller wirthschaftlichen Handlungen nichts als eine bodenlose Oberflächlichkeit.” — Schmoller.
Explain; and give your own opinion.
“Die Geschichte bietet den Wissenschaften vom Staate und von der Volkswirthschaft . . . ein Erfahrungsmaterial ohne gleichen. Dieses Erfahrungsmaterial dient nun, wie jede gute Beobachtung und Beschreibung, dazu [1] theoretische Sätze zu illustrieren und zu verifiziren, die Grenzen nachzuweisen innerhalb deren bestimmte Wahrheiten gültig sind, [2] noch mehr aber neue Wahrheiten induktiv zu gewinnen. [3] Zumal in den komplizierteren Gebieten der Volkswirthschaftslehre ist nur auf Boden historischer Forschung voranzukommen; z. B. über die Wirkung der Maschineneinführung auf die Löhne, der Edelmetallproduktion auf den Geldwert, ist jedes bloss abstrakte Argumentieren wertlos. [4] Noch mehr gilt dies in Bezug auf die Entwickelung der volkswirthschaftlichen Institutionen und Theorien, sowie auf die Frage des allgemeinen wirthschaftlichen Fortschrittes.” – Schmoller.
Explain; and give your opinion as to the several conclusions as numbered.
“Das ist das Dilemma, vor welchem der Socialismus steht. Gelingt es ihm nicht, dem ersten Motiv noch eine genügende Wirksamkeit für die Arbeitsleistungen, für den technischen Fortschritt zu belassen, was nicht unmöglich, aber schwer, wen überhaupt mit den sonstigen Principien des Socialismus … in Einklang zu setzen ist; vermag er nicht das dritte, vierte, und vor Allem das fünfte Motiv in seinem System zu ordentlicher, mächtiger, wiederum mit seinen Principien aber noch vereinbarer Function zu setzen … was wen möglich, jedenfalls wieder ausserordentlich schwierig ist … so bleibt eben nichts Anderes übrig, als auf Zwang, Strafandrohung, kurz auf das zweite Motiv zurückzugreifen.”
Explain; and consider whether the difficulties and inconsistencies which Socialism must face are equally strong with the first motive as with the others referred to.
“Die Ergebnisse jedes der beiden Verfahren [Deduktion und Induktion] für sich allein haben hiernach ohne oder vor der Prüfung mittelst des anderen Verfahrens in Bezug auf die Wirklichkeit der Erscheinungen und auf deren Erklärung stets nur einen solch hypothetischen Werth.” — Wagner.
The reasoning which led to this conclusion; and your own opinion.

Answer summarily as many of the following as time permits.

Schmoller’s and Wagner’s statements of the ideal which the theory of distribution should set forth.
How far the scope of economics is differently defined by Cairnes, by Schmoller, by Wagner; and how far their conclusions as to methods of investigation rest on their demarcation of the science.
Schmoller’s views as to the nature of the services rendered by Adam Smith for economic theory; and your opinion as to the justice of these views.
The mode in which Wagner thinks the development of motives was affected by the system of restriction (e.g. guild system) and has been affected by the modern system of free competition.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Architecture, and Music in Harvard College (June, 1899), pp. 38-39. In bound volume Examination Papers 1898-99.

_______________________

1898-99 Course Announcement
Selected Topics in U.S. Financial Legislation

[Economics] 16. Selected Topics in the Financial Legislation of the United States. Tu., Th., at 2.30, and a third hour at the pleasure of the instructor. Professor [Charles F.] Dunbar.

Course 16 may be taken as a half-course during either half-year.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction provided by the Faculty of Arts and Science 1898-99 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1898), p. 353.

1898-99 Enrollment
Selected Topics in U.S. Financial Legislation.

[Economics] 16. Professor [Charles F.] Dunbar. — Selected Topics in the Financial Legislation of the United States. Lectures (2 hours). 4 reports.

Total 22: 4 Graduates, 11 Seniors, 1 Junior, 1 Sophomore, 5 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1898-99, p. 73.

1898-99.
Economics 16.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

Give one half of the time allowed for this examination to the discussion under Section B.

Give the reasons which would lead you to justify, or reject, the following sentence:
“It is sometimes said that Mr. Hamilton believed in a perpetual debt, and when one notices the form into which he threw the obligations of the United States, the only escape from this conclusion is to say that he was ignorant of the true meaning of the contracts which he created.” [H. C. Adams, Public Debts, p. 161.]
What is the historical value of Jefferson’s account of the adopting of the funding and assumption measure, given in his Ana?
The plan on which the first Bank of the United States was organized has been criticised as unsound,
(a) because subscriptions for stock could be paid in part in “public debt” instead of cash;
(b) because of the provision as to the mode of paying the subscription to stock made by the government.
Give your own judgment as to the weight of these criticisms.
What was the real importance of the resort to excise duties as a regular source of revenue under the Federalist administration?
Suppose that in collecting the direct tax of 1798 it had been found that a part of the taxpayers in the State of X were unable to pay the amount assessed upon them, — would this deficiency have remained as a debt due by the State, or would it have been lost by the United States?
What untoward events, tending to defeat calculations made as to the income and expenditure of the government, occurred between 1794 and 1800?

Discuss the following extract,

(a) with respect to the statement of fact;
(b) with respect to the conclusion arrived at:—

“The result of financial operations during the twelve years of Federalist administration was to increase rather than to decrease the Federal debt. Upon January 1, 1791, the amount of outstanding obligations was $75,463,476; upon the corresponding date for 1795 the debt had risen to $80,747,587. While Wolcott was Secretary of the Treasury, the operations of the sinking-fund made no impression whatever upon the amount of indebtedness, and there was left by the Federalists as a legacy to the Jefferson administration a debt of $80,700,000. Nothing is here said in criticism of the fact that the debt increased. That may have been a necessity under the circumstances. Nor do we undertake to decide whether this necessity was due to inefficiency on the part of the Federalist administration, or to the carping criticisms of the Republicans out of office; our only conclusion is, that it is unwise to play at paying a debt while the debt is in reality growing. This leads to false security, and becomes a most prolific source of new loans.” [H. C. Adams, Public Debts, p. 266.]

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 5, Bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-years 1898-1899.

1898-99.
Economics 16.
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

In answering those questions do not change their order.

In what ways did the revulsion of 1873 affect the question of specie resumption?
Has the coinage of silver dollars since 1878 at any time been a seriously inflating influence? If not, how and when has its influence been counteracted?
What modes of redemption of legal tender notes are contemplated by the act of 1890, or are practicable under its terms? How is the gold reserve affected by redemptions thus carried on?
What special phenomena gave an unusual character to the financial crisis of 1893?
What was the seignorage bill of 1894, its purpose, and its fate?
What were the operations by which the syndicate of 1895 undertook to protect the Treasury against demands for gold?
What is the precise relation between “the endless chain” and deficient revenue?

Choose one of these two subjects, and discuss it carefully, devoting to it at least one-third of your time.

The possibility of returning to the specie basis after the great depreciation of the Civil War, without contraction, either open or disguised.
Sherman’s qualities and rank as a financier, as exhibited in the history of the great financial measures with which, as Senator or as Secretary, he has associated his name.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Architecture, and Music in Harvard College (June, 1899), pp. 39-40. In bound volume Examination Papers 1898-99.

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1898-99 Course Announcement
Ethnology in its Applications to Economic and Social Problems.

[Economics] 17² hf. Ethnology in its Applications to Economic and Social Problems. Half-course (second half-year). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 9. Dr. J. Cummings.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction provided by the Faculty of Arts and Science 1898-99 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1898), p. 353.

1898-99 Enrollment
Ethnology in its Applications to Economic and Social Problems.

[Economics] 17² hf. Dr. John Cummings. — Ethnology in its Applications to Economic and Social Problems. Lectures and discussions (3 or 2 hours); conferences; 2 reports; 2 theses.

Total 16: 1 Graduate, 4 Seniors, 6 Juniors, 5 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1898-99, p. 73.

1898-99.
Economics 17².
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

Devote one hour, but not more than one hour and a half, to A, and the remainder of your time to B.

“When the skulls are compared of the various human races, belonging to the past and present, it is found that the races in which the volume of the skull presents the greatest individual variations are the most highly civilized races. … Anatomical and physiological equality only exist in the case of individuals of quite inferior races.”
“The superior races are distinguished from the inferior races by their character as well as by their intelligence. … Character is formed by the combination, in varying proportions, of the different elements which psychologists are accustomed at the present day to designate by the name of sentiments.”
“The inequality between the different individuals of a race is greater in proportion to the superiority of the race.”
“Whether in the race or the individual a correlation exists between the psychological character, the cerebral structure and the form of the skull.”
Consider each of these statements carefully and comment at length.
The race history of the French people.

B.
Two questions may be omitted.

The colored population of the United States: its physical, moral, and intellectual character and progress since emancipation.
What do you understand by “cephalic index”? of what is it an index? Consider its validity as a test of (a) race origin, (b) of individual capacity.
“The constant immigration from all countries (to America) brings to light the question of adaptability and non-adaptability of the different races to the special conditions of American life.”
How is this question being answered in America? in other countries? Consider in this connection the ethnical composition of the slum populations of American cities, and some social problems which arise in connection with these populations.
In what sense are Anglo-Saxons as a race more hostile to socialism than other races?
Take one:—

The French Canadian population of the United States.
The population of the city of Boston.

State and explain some of the more important “laws” of Anthropo-Sociology.
The growth of cities and social selection.
“Anthropology is destined to revolutionize the political and social sciences as radically as bacteriology has revolutionized the science of medicine.” Comment upon and explain.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 5, Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Architecture, and Music in Harvard College (June, 1899), pp. 40-41. In bound volume Examination Papers 1898-99.

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1898-99 Course Announcement
Seminary in Economics

[Economics] 20. The Seminary in Economics. Mon., at 4.30.

Subjects for 1898-99:—

(a) The Theory of Money. Professor [Charles F.] Dunbar.
(b) Local Taxation in the United States. Professor Taussig.
(c) Socialism and Communism. Asst. Professor E. Cummings.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction provided by the Faculty of Arts and Science 1898-99 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1898), p. 353.

1898-99 Enrollment
Seminary in Economics.

[Economics] 20. The Seminary in Economics. — Conferences (weekly); open meetings (fortnightly); thesis. Instructors and topics for 1898-99:

(a) Professor [Charles F.] Dunbar. — The Theory of Money. 1 Graduate.
(b) Professor Taussig. — Local Taxation in the United States. Total 7: 6 Graduates, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1898-99, p. 73.

Topics and Speakers at the
Seminary of Economics,
1898-99

Aids in economic investigation. Professor Taussig.
Economic study in England. Dr. O.M.W. Sprague.
The growth and the constituent elements of the population of Boston. Mr. F. A. Bushée (2).
Some operations of the United States Treasury in 1894-96. Professor Taussig.
The Interstate Commerce Act as interpreted by the courts. Mr. F. Hendrick.
The English industrial crisis of 1622. Dr. O. M. W. Sprague.
The earlier history of the English income tax. Dr. J. A. Hill.
The theory of savers’ rent and some of its applications. Dr. C. W. Mixter.
The working of the French Railway Conventions of 1883. Mr. F. Hendrick.
The adoption of the gold standard by England in 1816. Mr. D. F. Grass.

Source: Harvard University Catalogue 1899-1900, p. 417.

Image Source: Walter Babcock Swift (Photographer), Harvard Square looking south, ca. 1900. Harvard University Archives, Hollis Images.

Tags AldrichMA, Beardsley, Callender, CummingsEdward, CummingsJohn, Cunningham, MeyerHR, Sprague, Taussig, WarrenEH

Economic History Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Twenty years of graduate economic history exams. Gay and Usher, 1930-1949

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2022-04-09

This has turned into a post that is over fifty pages long when printed as a normal text document. It began with materials in a folder found in Alexander Gerschenkron’s papers at the Harvard archives that contained a test-bank of two of his predecessors in economic history at Harvard, Edwin F. Gay and Abbott Payson Usher, starting with the 1929-30 academic year. I thought this was a convenient collection to transcribe but soon found myself going through other archival material I have collected to fill in the inevitable “missing observations”. There are still a few gaps I am sorry to report, but not enough to stop me from posting this incredible collection of the exams for graduate courses in economic history at Harvard spanning twenty years during the first half of the 20th century.

Harvard’s catalogues of courses long distinguished between those “primarily for undergraduates”, “for undergraduates and graduates” and “primarily for graduates”. The exams transcribed below are from courses “primarily for graduates”.

__________________________________

Previous posts
(for 1921-1941)

Biographical info for Edwin F. Gay and Abbott Payson Usher.

Readings for undergraduate european economic history (Economics 2a). Usher, 1921.

Final Exam Questions for undergraduate European Economic History (Economics 2a). Usher, 1922.

Readings and final exam for undergraduate/graduate History of Commerce to 1750 (Economics 10a). Usher, 1929-30.

Readings and Exam for undergraduate European Economic History since the Industrial Revolution (Economics 2a) Gay, 1934.

Course outline, readings, and exam for undergraduate/graduate Development of Industrial Society (Economics 10b). Usher, 1934.

Readings for Recent Economic History (Economics 23). Gay, 1934-35.

Readings and paper topics for Economic History to 1450 (Economics 21) Usher, 1934-35.

Topics/readings for Modern Economic History Seminar (Economics 136). Usher, 1937-41.

__________________________________

1929-30

From Course Announcements

II
ECONOMIC HISTORY

Economics 23 ¹hf. Economic History to 1450

Half-course (first half-year). Two hours a week, to be arranged. Associate Professor Usher.

[Economics 24. Topics in Modern Economic History]

Two consecutive hours a week, to be arranged. Professor Gay.

Omitted in 1929-30.

Economics 25. Recent Economic History

Tu., Th., at 4. Professor Gay.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XXVI (September 19, 1929), No. 44, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1929-1930 (Second Edition), p. 124.

Enrollment

Economics 23 ¹hf. Associate Professor Usher. — Economic History to 1450.

Total 1: 1 Graduate.

Economics 25 Professor Gay. — Recent Economic History.

Total 47: 40 Graduates, 7 Radcliffe

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1929-30, p. 78.

1929-30.
Harvard University.
Economics 23¹.
[Mid-year Exam, 1930]

Answer five questions.

What distinction may be drawn between the process of invention and the process of achievement? Give illustrations.
What reasons may be advanced for considering the beginning of the Christian Era a line of demarcation of primary importance?
Comment on the individual terms and the general doctrine of the following passage:
For centuries the Roman adhered to his “two-field system” of agriculture, and rectangular fields, and the Germans preserved the ancestral “strip system” of fields of their village communities. Even the reduction of these free villages to manorial villages and the fiscal pressure of the manorial regime failed completely to fuse or even much to modify these immemorial farming practices.
Discuss the meanings of the terms “civitas”, “oppidum”, “portus” and their relation to the problem of the origin of the medieval towns.
What distinctions may be drawn between the “free” craft and the “worn” craft? What were the functions of the wardens of a craft guild?
Describe the general features of a radiate market system, and explain the broader characteristics of its price structure in normal times.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

1929-30
Harvard University.
Economics 25
[Mid-year Exam, 1930]

PART I

(An hour to an hour and a half)
Write an essay on one of the following topics.

The practical triumphs of the Ricardian economies before 1850.
The “movement of liberation,” or “laissez-faire,” as applied to the condition of the industrial workers.
An outline history of any decade between 1790 and 1860. In Europe and the United States, emphasizing the economic factors, and giving reasons for the choice of decade.

PART II

Write on three of the following questions.

Comment on the following statement:
[As compared with England] “the postponement of personal freedom gave the continental serfs one signal advantage. Emancipation was accomplished without the sacrifice of their rights in the soil.”
Give a definition or a concise description of the “putting-out” system; justify your inclusions and exclusions.
Describe briefly the relations between the agricultural development of the United States and Europe before 1860.
Outline the attitude of the government to railroads in England, the United States, and France, before 1860.
On two occasions in his life — 1819 and 1844 — Sir Robert Peel thought that he had placed the English monetary system on a sure foundation. Why?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 12, Bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1929-30.

1929-30
Harvard University.
Economics 25
[Year-end Exam, 1930]

Adequate and appropriate historical evidence must be presented in support of any opinions and generalizations.

Answer four of the following questions.

Discuss the following statement, especially emphasizing the relations between banking and agriculture in American economic history:
“It is hardly too much to say that the political as well as economic history of America has been dominated by real estate speculation and by the cheap money controversy, largely an offshoot from the former.”
F. H. KNIGHT, Risk, Uncertainty and Profit (1921), p. 17.
Explain and illustrate the following passage from Alfred Marshall, Industry and Trade (1919), p. 746:
“[The English classical economists] overlooked the fact that many of those indirect effects of Protection which aggravated then, and would aggravate now, its direct evils in England, worked in the opposite direction in America. For the more America exported her raw produce in return for manufacture, the less the benefit she got from the Law of Increasing Return….”
Compare and criticize the two theories of the development of the Industrial Revolution implied in the two following quotations:
“La préponderance économique du commerce, trait dominant de la phase économique qui s’étend du commencement du XVI^e siècle à la fin du XVIII^e, va decroître relativement à l’industrie naissante.”
B. Nogaro and W. Oualid, L’Évolution du Commerce, du Crédit et des Transports (1914), p. 9.
“…it was this slow process of finding out the opaque matters of fact that make up the material of technological science that occupied several generations of the British before the Germans took over any appreciable portion of it. The first acquisition of this material knowledge is necessarily a slow work of trial and error, but it can be held and transmitted in definite and unequivocal shape, and the acquisition of it by such transfer is no laborious or uncertain matter.”
T. Veblen, Imperial Germany and the Industrial Revolution (1915), p. 185.
Discuss the tendency toward aggregation and control in industry in the United States, Germany, and England, with comment on the following statements:
1. “Our people cannot live and thrive under the regime of bureaucracy that threatens unless industry solves its own problems. It was the abuses attendant upon an unregulated national industrial impulse that brought upon our country that legislative monstrosity known as the Sherman anti-trust law…. It is industry’s own neglect … that gives us a growing number of boards, commissions and tribunals to add their weight to the burden of industry.” American Federation of Labor (1924)
  “The state is not capable of preventing the development of the natural concentration of industry.”
  S. Gompers, Presidential Address to the American Federation of Labor, 1899.
  “Our big business has not justified the fears of our people.” Owen D. Young.
2. As contrasted with the growth of industrial combination in other countries, a French writer thinks that “trusts” have arisen in the United States because the government has “done too little or too much” — i.e. too little intelligent and effective regulation (including the regulations of railroads) and too much protection by tariffs.
What have the successive booms and crises, the upward and downward swings of business cycles, during the last century taught the banker, the manufacturer, and the wage-earner?
Comment on the accompanying statistical table:

Net tonnage of leading mercantile fleets, 1850-1920
(in thousand tons)

		1850	1870	1890	1910	1920
United Kingdom	sail	3,397	4,578	2,936	1,114	625
United Kingdom	steam	168	1,113	5,043	10,443	12,026
United States (in foreign trade)	sail	1,541	2,449	749	235	937
United States (in foreign trade)	steam	45	97	198	557	8,626
German Empire	sail		900	710	507	342
German Empire	steam		82	724	2,397	221
France	sail	674	918	444	636	267
France	steam	14	154	500	816	1,746
Norway	sail	298	1,009	1,503	628	225
Norway	steam		14	203	897	1,149
Japan	sail			48	413	203
Japan	steam			94	1,234	1,900

Note: The figures for the year 1920 have been obtained from another source, and are not reliably comparable with the figures for the earlier years. There is particular suspicion of error in the figures for United States shipping in that year.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, New Testament, …, Economics, …, Military Science, Naval Science (January-June 1930) in Vol. 72 Examination Papers, Finals 1930.

__________________________________

1930-1931

From Course Announcements

II
ECONOMIC HISTORY

Economics 23 ¹hf. Economic History to 1450

Half-course (first half-year). Two hours a week, to be arranged. Associate Professor Usher.

[Economics 24. Topics in Modern Economic History]

Two consecutive hours a week, to be arranged. Professor Gay.

Omitted in 1930-31.

Economics 25. Recent Economic History

Wed., Fri., at 3. Professor Gay.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XXVII (September 17, 1930), No. 42, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1930-1931 (Second Edition), p. 125.

Enrollment

Economics 23 ¹hf. Associate Professor Usher. — Economic History to 1450.

Total 2: 1 Graduate, 1 Senior.

Economics 25 Professor Gay. — Recent Economic History.

Total 50: 41 Graduates, 9 Radcliffe

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1930-31, p. 77.

1930-31
Harvard University
Economics 23.
[Mid-year Exam 1931]

Answer five questions.

What distinctions may be drawn between the process of invention and the process of achievement? Give illustrations.
What reasons may be advanced for considering the beginning of the Christian Era a line of demarcation of primary importance to economic history?
Sketch the history of the “colonus” in Roman Gaul and in the Frankish kingdoms.
Discuss the meanings of the terms “civitas”, “oppidum”, “portus” and their relation to the problem of the origins of the medieval towns.
What distinctions may be drawn between the “free” craft and the “sworn” craft? What were the functions of the wardens of a craft gild?
Describe the general features of a radiate market system, and explain the broader characteristics of its price structure.
Write briefly on any one of the following topics:

shipping partnerships and sea-loans,
towns and trade routes of the Mohammedan world,
Venice, Genoa, and the crusades.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

1930-31
Harvard University
Economics 25
[Mid-Year Exam, 1931]

Write an essay on one of the topics in Part I, and answer briefly two questions in Part II.

The relation between the development of economic theory and the experiences of the period of the Industrial Revolution in England.
English Liberalism: its component elements as a body of doctrine, and its expression in political action before 1865, with especial emphasis upon its attitude toward economic policy.

Summarize in parallel columns the outstanding events in the economic history of England and the United States between 1840 and 1850.
Do the same for England and France between 1850 and 1870.
How closely is the history of transportation in England before 1870 related to the long and the short fluctuations in general business activity?
Outline the chief points you would treat in a chapter on Money and Banking for an Economic History of the Nineteenth Century to 1865.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 12, Bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1930-31.

1930-31
Harvard University
Economics 25
[Year-end Exam, 1931]

I
Write an essay on one of the following statements:

“The machine, the child of laissez faire, has slain its parent.”
“You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”
“The one-crop system has been the bane of American agriculture.”
“In England the Reform Act initiated and the Corn Law decreed the conquest of town over country, factory over farm; in the United States a similar revolution is in process.”
“The Sherman Act, like Canute’s throne, was set to stem the advancing tide. Now the question is, shall it be submerged or dragged back to higher land.”

II
Write concisely on two of the following questions:

What are four outstanding developments of banking from about 1790 to the present time? Compare and contrast these movements in Western Europe and the United States.
In what successful ways did Western Europe meet the invasion of American agricultural products after 1870?
Place in their order of industrial and commercial importance, at 1750, 1880 and 1930, the following countries: Holland, Germany, France, England and the United States. Give your reasons.
Trace the connection, if any, between (a) the swings of business cycles and secular trends and (b) the development of the combination movement and trade unionism.

__________________________________

1931-1932

From Course Announcements

II
ECONOMIC HISTORY

Economics 23 ¹hf. Economic History to 1450

Half-course (first half-year). Two hours a week, to be arranged. Associate Professor Usher.

[Economics 24. Topics in Modern Economic History]

Two consecutive hours a week, to be arranged. Professor Gay.

Omitted in 1931-32.

Economics 25. Recent Economic History

Wed., Fri., at 4. Professor Gay.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XXVIII (September 24, 1931), No. 45, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1931-1932 (Second Edition), p. 127.

Enrollment

Economics 23 ¹hf. Associate Professor Usher. — Economic History to 1450.

Total 1: 1 Graduate.

Economics 25. Professor Gay. — Recent Economic History.

Total 65: 54 Graduates, 11 Radcliffe

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1931-32, p. 72.

1931-32
Harvard University
Economics 23
[Final Exam 1932]

Answer five questions.

Write briefly on any one of the following topics:

the development of the mechanical clock,
the development of the sailing vessel, 1200-1450,
the application of power to milling, 100B.C.-1300 A.D.

May any of the industrial establishments of ancient Greece or Rome be properly classified as factories? Why, or why not?
What was the significance of the types of establishment whose classification is involved in such doubts?
Describe the general features of the organization of the craft gilds.
In what respect do we find differences in the various regions of Europe?
Describe the legal and economic features of villein tenure in France and England in the middle ages.
How may we explain the development of towns in Italy and Northern Europe after the ninth century?
What were the distinctive privileges of a town?
Describe the operations of banks of deposit in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and discus their significance in the development of credit.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

1931-32
Harvard University
Economics 25
[Mid-Year Exam, 1932]

Write an essay on one of the topics in Part I, and answer briefly three questions in Part II.

“The changes of the Industrial Revolution in England were interrelated both serially and laterally, i.e., as between commerce, industry and agriculture.”
“The policy of Free Trade has dislocated the whole structure of English society.”
Peasant proprietorship in Western Europe.

Estimate the significance of Peel’s administration (1842-46) in the economic history of England.
Discuss the “home-market” argument in United States tariff history.
Comment on the statement: “Between 1830 and 1840 the issue between individualists and collectivists was fairly joined.”
“The introduction of railways marks a stage in the Industrial Revolution in England, not as in some countries its beginning.” Give illustrations for three countries of this statement.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 12, Bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1931-32.

1931-32
Harvard University
Economics 25
[Year-End Exam, 1932]

Write an essay (not more than half your time) on any one of the following questions, and answer more briefly two other questions.

Compare the governmental railroad policies of the United States, England and Germany since 1870.
Explain the movement toward a protective tariff policy since 1860, with illustrations drawn from the economic history of two countries which led in the movement.
Does historical experience support the arguments of the advocates of ship subsidies for the United States?
Discuss the following statements:
“Virtual monopoly is an incident of our industrial development.” Senator Aldrich.
“The trust movement was and is a direct response to certain forces inherent in modern industry, and if it ought to be controlled, it must be controlled with those forces in mind.” Professor Jenks.
It is said that the labor movement in the United States is a generation behind that of England. Give your reasons for or against this statement.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Vol. 74 (HUC 7000.28) Examination Papers, Finals 1932.

__________________________________

1932-1933

From Course Announcements

II
ECONOMIC HISTORY

Economics 23 ¹hf. Economic History to 1450

Half-course (first half-year). Two hours a week, to be arranged. Associate Professor Usher.

[Economics 24. Topics in Modern Economic History]

Two consecutive hours a week, to be arranged, Professor Gay.

Omitted in 1932-33.

Economics 25 ¹hf. Recent Economic History

Half-course (first half-year). Wed., Fri. at 4. Professor Gay.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XXIX (September 19, 1932), No. 41, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1932-1933 (Second Edition), p. 126.

Enrollment

Economics 23 ¹hf. Associate Professor Usher. — Economic History to 1450.

Total 4: 4 Graduates.

Economics 25 ¹hf. Professor Gay. — Recent Economic History.

Total 51: 39 Graduates, 12 Radcliffe

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1932-33, p. 66.

Note: Have found no copy of the Economics 23¹ exam as of yet for 1932-33.

1932-33
Harvard University
Economics 25¹
[Mid-year Final Exam, 1933]

Write an essay (not more than half your time) on any one of the following questions, and answer concisely three other questions.

Compare governmental regulation of railroads, as developed in the United States, with governmental ownership as in Germany, emphasizing the merits and defects of the two methods of control. Do these historical experiences throw any light upon the present railroad problem in the United States?
Is free trade responsible for the relative decline of the British iron and steel industry as compared with that of the United States and Germany? Enumerate and weigh the chief factors accounting for the development of the industry in these countries.
(a) Trace the successive steps in banking reform in England and the United States. Is there any parallelism?
(b) How do you explain the differences between the two countries in regard to the movements of banking concentration and industrial combination?
Outline a series of chapters in a book on the agricultural “world invasion” of European markets.
“Among the agencies which labor has chosen to defend its interests are the trade union, the cooperative society, and political action.” What has been the relative importance of these agencies at three stages of the British labor movement?
Discuss critically Dice’s views concerning “collectivism” and its causes.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, …, Economics, …, Military Science, Naval Science (January-June 1933) in Vol. 75, Examination Papers, Finals 1933.

__________________________________

1933-1934

From Course Announcements

II
ECONOMIC HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

Economics 21 ²hf. (formerly Economics 23) Economic History to 1450

Half-course (second half-year). Two hours a week, to be arranged. Associate Professor Usher.

[Economics 22. (formerly Economics 24) Topics in Modern Economic History]

Two consecutive hours a week, to be arranged. Professor Gay.

Omitted in 1933-34; to be offered in 1934-35.

Economics 23 ²hf. (formerly Economics 25) Recent Economic History

Half-course (second half-year). Wed., Fri., at 4. Professor Gay.

[Economics 24. Topics in American Economic History]

Hours to be arranged. Professor A. H. Cole.

Omitted in 1933-34.

[Economics 25. (formerly Economics 30). Economic Problems of Latin America]

Tu., Th., at 3.

Omitted in 1933-34.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XXX (September 20, 1933), No. 39, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1933-1934 (Second Edition), pp. 127-128.

Enrollment

Economics 21 ²hf. (formerly Economics 23). Associate Professor Usher. — Economic History to 1450.

Total 3: 2 Graduates, 1 Seniors.

Economics 23 ²hf. (formerly Economics 25). Professor Gay. — Recent Economic History.

Total 18: 13 Graduates, 5 Radcliffe

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1933-34, p. 85.

Note: Have not found exam for Economics 21 ²hf. (formerly Economics 23) Economic History to 1450

1933-34
Havard University
Economics 23²
[Final Exam 1934]

Write an essay (not more than half your time) on any one of the first six questions, and answer concisely three other questions (including question 7).

Discuss the following statements:
“The present agricultural depression differs in its origin and character in many respects from the general depression of the period 1873-96, but in the conditions which brought about the depression of 1873-96 there are important points of similarity with the post-war situation.”
“The European attitude toward agriculture is entirely different from that of the great exporting countries beyond the seas.”
“The choice (in railway management) is between rationalization and nationalization.” (Sir Eric Geddes.)
“The trend, in all forms of transport and over a long period, is inevitably toward amalgamation. As between private monopoly and public ownership the choice is clear; the only question is as to the form which public ownership shall take.”
Comment on these views. In what respects does the experience of the United States differ from that of England and Germany?
The Webs say that there was a time at the middle of the nineteenth century when capitalism “could claim that it had produced a surprising advance in material civilization for greatly increased populations. But from that moment to the present it has been receding from defeat to defeat, beaten ever more and more hopelessly by the social problems created by the very civilization it has built up.”
A critic of the present governmental policies has recently declared that, with the various restrictions on output, wage and price regulations, and codes of business practice, the United States is returning to the Age of Diocletian or to the medieval gild-system, and thereby imperiling the chief gains of the great technological and economic progress since the Industrial Revolution.
Comment on the two points of view, and give reasons for your own view as to the present direction of economic and social development.
Compare the history of banking reforms since 1815 in England and the United States with reference to the successive business cycles.
What part, according to the Macmillan Report, has the United States played in the post-war economic situation; and in the proposals for monetary and banking reform, made in this Report, what is practicable for the United States?
“The Cooperative movement is one of the constituent elements in the socialist state.”
“No social group, on the Continent of Europe, is more important, and none more intensely individualistic, than the peasant landholders.”
Which of these assertions is more nearly true? Can they be reconciled?
Which among the books you have read in this course do you regard as the best? State your reasons and discuss that book critically.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

__________________________________

1934-1935

From Course Announcements

II
ECONOMIC HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

Economics 21 ¹hf. Economic History to 1450

Half-course (first half-year). Two hours a week, to be arranged. Associate Professor Usher.

Economics 22. Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History

Two consecutive hours a week, to be arranged. Professor Gay

Economics 23 Recent Economic History

Tu., Th., at 4. Professor Gay.

[Economics 24. Topics in American Economic History]

Hours to be arranged. Professor A. H. Cole.

Omitted in 1934-35

[Economics 25. Economic Problems of Latin America]

Tu., Th., at 3.

Omitted in 1934-35.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XXXI (September 20, 1934), No. 38, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1934-1935 (Second Edition), p. 128.

Enrollment

Economics 21 ¹hf. Associate Professor Usher. — Economic History to 1450.

Total 4: 2 Graduates, 2 Seniors.

Economics 23. Professor Gay. — Recent Economic History.

Total 22: 16 Graduates, 1 Senior, 4 Radcliffe, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1934-35, p. 82.

Economics 21. Economic History to 1450.
Readings and paper topics, Usher. 1934

1934-35
Harvard University
Economics 21
[Final Exam. Jan 18, 1935]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay upon some topic selected from the reading period assignments, or upon one of the following topics:
1. a multilinear concept of historical process,
2. systems of agriculture in the open field villages of England and Europe.

II
Answer three questions

Describe the rights and obligations of the peasant cultivator in two types of the perpetual leases of Roman and medieval law.
Describe the primary features of an organized market, and the simple and radiate forms of market systems.
Discuss the nature and importance of capitalistic control of industry in medieval Europe.
Describe the characteristic functions and features of religious gilds in England.
Sketch the early history of deposit banking in medieval Europe.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

1934-35
Harvard University
Economic 23
[Mid-year Exam 1935]

Write an essay (not more than half your time) on any one of the following questions and answer concisely three other questions.

Discuss critically the following statements:
1. In England, up to the middle of the eighteenth century, “production was regulated by local consumption…After an apprenticeship of greater or less length everyone became a master; the State guaranteed the guilds a monopoly of production and secured the interests of the consumer by requiring all products to pass certain standard tests. But this patriarchal state of things suddenly gave way before a movement which has been justly called the Industrial Revolution. To these gigantic changes (machinery, steam, factories, wide markets, chain of middle-men) the guild system soon showed itself inadequate.” (Guido de Ruggiero, History of European Liberalism.)
2. For about fifty years before the middle of the eighteenth century in England, “trade had been freed from the oppression of the dying guilds, but machinery had not yet come to the aid of capitalism to enable it to overturn and destroy the whole social fabric and especially the livelihood of the poor.” (R. W. Postgate.)
“Metallurgy and the metal workers have an absolute primacy in the history of modern manufacturing industry.” (Clapham.)
Illustrate this statement for England.
Is it equally true for all countries?
“It is questionable if all the mechanical inventions yet made have lightened the day’s toil of any human being.”
Was this true when John Stuart Mill wrote it in 1848? If so, why?
Outline a chapter (or a book) on the Agrarian Revolution in England.
Describe the development of the Zollverein, distinguishing the economic and the political factors.
The significance of the decade of the forties in European economic history.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

1934-35
Harvard University
Economics 23
[Year-end Exam, 1935]

Write an essay not more than half your time) discussing one of the quotations or topics in this paper, and comment concisely on three others.

“It is believed that, had it not been for the free-trade policy of Great Britain, the manufacturing system of America would at the present time have been much more extensive than it is.” (Ellison, 1858.)
“There is some truth in the view of the cynical British exporter who thanked God for the American tariff, but for which American manufacturers would have driven him out of the world markets.’ (London “Economist,” 1912.)
“In my belief, both Free Trade of the laissez-faire type and Protection of the predatory type are policies of Empire, and both make for War.” (H. J. Mackinder, 1919.)
Do you find any confirmation for these views in your reading of American tariff history? Illustrate from the cotton or iron industry.
“On voit apparaître chaque jour davantage tout ce que l’Angleterre, depuis cent ans, devait à des circonstances que les contemporains avaient cru permanantes et qui n’etaient que passagères.
L’hégémonie économique anglaise coincide dans l’histoire avec le règne de la machine à vapeur; la période victorienne, apogée de prosperité et de puissance, évolue tout entière sous le signe du charbon….C’est ainsi qu’a pu s’édifier, sur al base étroite d’un territoire plus que médiocre, cette paradoxale superstructure manufacturière, et parallèlement s’épanouir cette population aujourd’hui trop dense, si dangereusement dépendante, pour sa subsistance, des produits importés….
Dans ces conditions, le jeu parfaitement agencé de la doctrine libre-échangiste paraissait avoir été concu tout exprès pour l’Angleterre, par les soins d’une Providence attentive et partiale.” (Siegfried, 1931.)
The National Banking system is “not only a perfectly safe system of banking, but it is one that is eminently adapted to our political institutions.” (Hugh McCulloch, 1863.)
“American banking has not yet distinguished between solvency after an interval, and readiness to meet demands at once and without question… At present the characteristics of the American business man seem to fit him to do most things better than banking.” (Hartley Withers, 1909.)
“Everybody will agree to-day that it would be difficult to imagine a banking system more cruel and inefficient than that prevailing in the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century — a system which, instead of scientifically regulating the flow of credit and money so as to secure the greatest possible stability, was designed automatically to produce instability.” (Paul Warburg, 1930.)
“The technological revolution of the last hundred years furnishes the ultimate explanation of agricultural progress and of agrarian discontent both in Europe and America.” (ca. 1925)
“Though the mechanization of industrial processes is almost universal, the great majority of farmers throughout the world are content with the simple instruments used by their forefathers.” (“World Agriculture,” 1932.)
“The significant fact is that the periods of prosperity and the great depressions in agriculture have coincided with periods of monetary expansion and monetary contraction. Though other factors must not be ignored, the agricultural history of the last hundred years shows that favorable monetary conditions are essential to recovery.” (“World Agriculture,” 1932.)
“The Merchant Marine of the United States is not a burden upon the tax-payer’s back, but an economy of the first water, keeping millions in the country, giving employment to thousands of persons, aiding in the development of foreign markets and backing up the nation’s forces in any contingency that may arise.” (Senator Royal S. Copeland, 1934.)
“Our own vessels carry only about 40 per cent of our foreign trade. We are dependent on our competitors to carry 60 per cent of our trade to market. Of course, the result is that they help themselves and hamper us. Parity in merchant ships is only less important than parity in warships. We ought to make the necessary sacrifices to secure it.” (Calvin Coolidge, 1930.)
D. H. Robertson, writing in 1923, concerning the American Railroad Act of 1920 and the increased powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission, says:
“The home of free enterprise has furnished us with experiments in positive State control on a scale which finds no parallel outside Communist Russia.”
Louis D. Brandeis in 1912 wrote: “The success of the Interstate Commerce Commission has been invoked as an argument in favor of licensing and regulating monopoly.” This argument, he held, was not valid. Do you agree? Why or why not?
In a period when traditional standards have broken down and when the legal system is supported by laissez-faire theory, the movement toward industrial combination is “a remorseless sort of profit-seeking.” (M. W. Watkins, 1928.)
“The only argument that has been seriously advanced in favor of private monopoly is that competition involves waste, while the monopoly prevents waste and leads to efficiency. This argument is essentially unsound. The wastes of competition are negligible. The economies of monopoly are superficial and delusive. The efficiency of monopoly is at the best temporary.” (L. D. Brandeis, in Harper’s Weekly, 1913.)
“Our evidence goes to show that most of the Trusts and Cartels have been, in their origin at any rate, defensive movements.” (D. H. MacGregor, 1912.)
Industrial combinations must be recognized as “steps in the greater efficiency, the increased economy, and the better organization of industry.” (Minority Report of the Parliamentary Committee on Trusts, 1918.)
Write on the topic which, in your reading for this course, has most interested you.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

__________________________________

1935-1936

From Course Announcements

II
ECONOMIC HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

[Economics 21 ¹hf. Economic History to 1450]

Half-course (first half-year). Two hours a week, to be arranged. Associate Professor Usher.

Omitted in 1935-36.

Economics 22. Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History

Two consecutive hours a week, to be arranged. Professor Gay

Economics 23 Recent Economic History

Wed., Fri., at 4. Professor Gay.

Economics 24. Seminar. Topics in American Economic History

Hours to be arranged. Professor A. H. Cole.

[Economics 25. Economic Problems of Latin America]

Tu., Th., at 3.

Omitted in 1935-36.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XXXII (September 18, 1935), No. 42, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1935-1936 (Second Edition), p. 140.

Enrollment

Economics 23. Professor Gay. — Recent Economic History.

Total 31: 24 Graduates, 7 Radcliffe.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1935-36, p. 83.

1935-36
Harvard University
Economics 23
[Mid-year Exam, 1936]

Write an essay (not more than half your time) discussing one of the quotations or topics in this paper, and comment concisely on three others.

(a) “The essence of the Industrial Revolution is the substitution of competition for the medieval regulations which had previously controlled the production and distribution of wealth.”
(b) The use of machinery “began by being the resultant of these two phenomena (the extension of the exchange of commodities and the increase in the division of labor), at one of the decisive moments in their evolution. This crisis, distinguished by the appearance of machinery, best defines the industrial revolution.”
The relations between the industrial and agrarian revolutions in England.
(a) The chief measures of factory legislation in England.
(b) To what extent and why, on the continent of Europe, did factory legislation lag behind that of England?
(a) In 1850 Porter wrote: “The laissez faire system has been pregnant with great loss and inconvenience to the country in carrying forward the railway system.” Heaton has recently remarked: “Considering the novelty of the car and the strangeness of the route, parliament could retort to Porter that it had been a fairly competent back-seat driver.”
(b) A French writer in 1883 explained the contrast between private enterprise in English railway management and public control or ownership in France and Germany as resulting mainly from the more advanced state of English economic development.
“The safest lesson to draw from the experience of Germany is the simple fact that changes in tariff policy were only one, and commonly not the most important, amongst the many causes of her economic progress.”

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

1935-36
Harvard University
Economics 23
[Year-end Exam, 1936]

Write an essay (not more than half your time) discussing one of the questions in this paper, and comment concisely on three others.

Taussig finds that the development of trusts under protection does not “confirm the doctrine that the tariff matures monopolies permanently. … The industrial influence of the protective tariff tends to become less and less.” Illustrate with any two of his three cases — steel rails, tin plate and sugar refining. What is the basic historical relationship between the movements toward industrial combination and toward protectionism in Europe and America?
“The significant fact is that the periods of prosperity and the great depressions in agriculture have coincided with periods of monetary expansion and monetary contraction. Though other factors must not be ignored, the agricultural history of the last hundred years shows that favorable monetary conditions are essential to recovery.” (“World Agriculture,” 1932.) Give your reasons for agreement or criticism. What weight do you give to the “other factors”?
“A general view of the monetary history of the entire period of our national existence shows that each generation had to learn for itself and at its own expense the evils of unsound money and of defective banking.” Is the assertion also true of modern Europe? In outlining and comparing the experience of both America and Europe, distinguish between inherent unsoundness and lags of development.
“It remains clear that the Industrial Revolution is not a closed episode; we are living in the midst of it, and the economic problems of to-day are largely problems of its making.” (W. C. Mitchell, 1929.)
“Unregulated capitalism is being superseded by a regulated, organized and controlled capitalism.” (Hansen, 1932.)
“In the United States the profit motive . . . worked to the end of blind self-destruction.” (Childs, 1936.)
How far are these statements true and consistent with each other? In what respects are they questionable?
Clapham quotes a competent German observer of the English working classes, writing in the 80’s, as finding “an improvement . .. beyond the boldest hopes of even those who, a generation ago, devoted all their energies to the work.”
A recent writer, declaring that we must choose between security and progress, asks: “Have we reached a sufficiently high standard of per capita productivity to warrant stabilization at the present standard of living?”
Does Clapham agree that the German estimate was justified? What connections do you see between the two quotations?
“For all the exaggeration in the statements that English unionism has sounded the death-knell to English industrial leadership, it remains true that the absence of firmly entrenched unions in the cotton and iron manufactures has facilitated the march of improvement in the United States.”
“The English, by labor organization and social legislation, have built a platform over the abyss.”

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

Summer School of Harvard University
August 15, 1936
Economics S20 (Economics 23)

Write an essay (not more than half your time) discussing one of the questions in this paper, and comment concisely on three others.

(a) “The Napoleonic wars exercised the same influence upon subsequent commercial policy in France (though for different reasons) as the Civil War in the United States.” (Percy Ashley)
(b) “The British protective system up to 1846 had been maintained chiefly for the sake of agriculture; the German protective system from 1848 to 1860 had been dictated by the interests of manufacturers; now (in 1879) an effort was to be made to harmonize these two and to give a fair measure of protection to all.” (Percy Ashley)
“It remains clear that the Industrial Revolution is not a closed episode; we are living in the midst of it.” (W. C. Mitchell, 1929)
“Two contrasting theories of banking were put forward at the beginning of the nineteenth century and subsequently they controlled the banking development of the different countries.”
State precisely the two theories and their historical effects.
(a) “The one-crop system has been the bane of American agriculture.”
(b) In what ways did Western Europe meet the invasion of American agricultural products after 1870?
Trace the connection, if any, between (a) the fluctuations of business cycles and secular price trends, and (b) the development of the railroad network and railroad governmental policies in England and the United States since 1830.
“Among the agencies which labor has chosen to defend its interests are the trade union, the cooperative society, and political action.” (Webb) What has been the relative importance of these agencies at three stages of the British Labor movement? Compare and explain the differing development of American labor history.
“The wastes of competition are negligible. The economies of monopoly are superficial and delusive. The efficiency of monopoly is at the best temporary… Excesses of competition lead to monopoly, as excesses of liberty lead to absolutism.” (L. D. Brandeis, 1912)
“We are persuaded by our study of the combination movement at home and abroad that it is essentially a movement making for economy, efficiency, and better relations in business.” (Seager and Gulick, 1932)
What is your view, supported by what evidence?
Select the ten-year period in English and American economic history of the nineteenth century which you believe to be the most important, giving your reasons, and then summarize in parallel columns the outstanding events of that decade for both countries.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

__________________________________

1936-1937

From Course Announcements

III
ECONOMIC HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

[Economics 131 ¹hf. (formerly 21). Economic History to 1450]

Half-course (first half-year). Two hours a week, to be arranged. Professor Usher.

Omitted in 1936-37.

Economics 133 (formerly 23). Recent Economic History

Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 4. Professor Usher.

[Economics 136 (formerly 22). Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History]

Two consecutive hours a week, to be arranged. Professor —

Omitted in 1936-37.

Economics 137 ²hf. (formerly 24). Seminar. Topics in American Economic History

Half-course (second half-year). Hours to be arranged. Professor A. H. Cole.

[Economics 138 (formerly 25). Economic Problems of Latin America]

Tu., Th., at 3.

Omitted in 1936-37.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XXXIII (September 23, 1936), No. 42, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1936-1937 (Second Edition), p. 146.

Enrollment

III

Economics 133 (formerly 23). Professor Usher. — Recent Economic History.

Total 36: 31 Graduates, 5 Radcliffe.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1936-37, p. 93.

[NOTE: the final exams volume for 1936-37 binds January-June, 1937 together so for full courses it appears only the June exam were included.]

1936-37
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Year-end Examination, 1937]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic covered by the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: the historical significance of the theory of monopolistic competition; the concept of interregional equilibrium.

II
(About two hours)
[Handwritten addition: Answer three questions]

Answer (a) or (b).
1. In what respects did the Ricardian group misjudge the structure of the London money market of their day?
2. Sketch the development of contacts between the United States Treasury and the New York money market in the period, 1869-1914.
Answer (a) or (b).
1. Sketch the history of the petroleum industry in the United States during the decade 1870-1879.
2. Discuss the development and the significance of any single cartel in Great Britain or Germany.
Describe briefly the position of British agriculture during the period 1878-1895, and discuss the relative significance of the factors primarily involved.
Answer (a), (b), or (c)
1. Discuss the relations between sugar growing in Hawaii and the position of Hawaiian products in the markets of the United States.
2. Is tariff protection likely to afford Great Britain an adequate solution to the problem of foreign dumping?
3. Discuss the relative importance of political and economic factors in the tariff policies of France or Germany since 1871.
Answer (a), (b), or (c).
1. Discuss the significance of recent tendencies toward centralized control of power production in Great Britain and continental Europe.
2. Sketch the development of the Royal Dutch-Shell Petroleum Company and discuss the significance of its position in the world market.
3. Discuss the relative importance of birth rates and death rates in the history of population in England in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

__________________________________

1937-1938

From Course Announcements

III
ECONOMIC HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

Economics 133 (formerly 23). Recent Economic History, 1820-1914

Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 4. Professor Usher.

Economics 136 (formerly 22). Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History

Two consecutive hours a week, to be arranged. Professor Usher.

[Economics 137 ²hf. (formerly 24). Seminar. Topics in American Economic History]

Half-course (second half-year). Hours to be arranged. Professor —.

Omitted in 1937-38.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XXXIV (October 1, 1937), No. 44, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1937-1938 (Second Edition), p. 153.

Enrollment

III

Economics 133 (formerly 23). Professor Usher. — Recent Economic History, 1820-1914.

Total 33: 25 Graduates, 2 Business School, 1 Public Administration, 4 Radcliffe, 1 Other.

Economics 136 (formerly 22). Professor Usher. — Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History.

Total 7: 7 Graduates.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1937-38, p. 86.

1937-38
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Mid-year Exam, 1938]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic based upon the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: the concept of social evolution as a multilinear process; the development of free trade in Great Britain.

II
(About two hours)

Answer three questions:

What were the more important factors underlying the differences in the rates of growth of the cotton and the woollen industries in the period, 1750-1850?
Answer a, b, c, or d.
1. Describe and discuss the characteristic features of railway rates in Trunk line territory before 1887.
2. Discuss the general features and the significance of the consolidation of railways in Great Britain in 1921.
3. Sketch the history of the French railway network through 1883.
4. Discuss the significance of water competition for the railways of Germany.
Describe the primary factors in the location and development of London, Paris, or New York city.
Discuss the problems presented by the proposal to include Austria in the German Customs Union, 1848-1863.
Answer a, b, or c.
1. Discuss the place of the small holding in Great Britain, with special reference to its development since the agricultural depression (1878-1895).
2. Describe the factors affecting the development of small peasant holdings in France.
3. Describe the organization and routine on some of the large slave plantations of the old south.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-Year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 13. Papers Printed for Mid-Year Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, … , Economics, … , Military Science, Naval Science (January-Febrary 1938) included in bound volume Mid-Year Examinations 1938.

1937-38
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Year-end Exam, 1938]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic covered by the work of the reading period or on one of the following topics: planning in free societies; modern tendencies toward autarchy.

II
Answer THREE questions.

Answer (a) or (b).
1. Discuss the policies used by the Bank of England between 1825 and 1910 in establishing its rate of discount.
2. What considerations seem to have led Biddle to apply in January 1832 for an extension of the charter of the Second Bank of the United States?
Discuss the characteristic practices of pools and cartels in the United States up to 1899.
Discuss: “The Corn Law of 1815 like the Agriculture Act of 1920 attempted to stabilize returns to the British wheat grower, but the machinery of the act of 1920 was even less adapted to its purpose than the machinery established in 1815.”
Answer (a), (b), (c), or (d).
1. Does the history of the silk manufacture in the United States afford decisive evidence of the significance of protection to young industries? Why, or why not?
2. Discuss the argument that protection will make it possible for Britain to maintain her “standard of life.”
3. Discuss: “In France, protection has been the parent as well as the child of fear. It has strengthened the force, which in conjunction with ignorance, gave it birth.”
4. What principles and purposes dominated the fiscal policy of Bismarck?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Final Examinations, 1853-2001. Box 4. Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, … , Economics, … , Military Science, Naval Science (June 1938).

__________________________________

1938-1939

From Course Announcements

III
ECONOMIC HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

[Note change in course numbering]

Economics 133. Recent Economic History, 1820-1914.

Mon., Wed., Fri., at 4. Professor Usher.

Economics 136. Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History

Two consecutive hours a week, to be arranged. Professor Usher.

[Economics 137 ²hf. Seminar. Topics in American Economic History]

Half-course (second half-year). Hours to be arranged. Professor —.

Omitted in 1938-39.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XXXV (September 23, 1939), No. 42, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1938-1939 (Second Edition), p. 150.

Enrollment

III

Economics 133. Professor Usher. — Recent Economic History, 1820-1914.

Total 46: 40 Graduates, 2 Public Administration, 2 Radcliffe, 2 Others.

Economics 136. Professor Usher. — Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History.

Total 10: 9 Graduates, 1 Senior.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1938-39, p. 99.

1938-39
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Mid-year Exam, 1939]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic based on the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: feudal tenures as a basis for land utilization; the significance of the quantitative method in economic history.

II
Answer THREE questions

Sketch the history of the application of machinery in the textile industries of Great Britain, France, Germany, or the United States for any period of 100 years between 1700 and 1900.
Describe the salient features of the railway network in any one country, and discuss the merits of public policy in respect of railway construction in that country.
Within what limits of accuracy may we compute the quantitative significance of the following inventions: Darby’s process for smelting iron with coke, Fourneyron’s turbine, the Jacquard loom action?
Sketch the development of the fiscal policy embodied in Peel’s budget of 1842, and discuss its significance.
Answer (a) or (b).
1. Discuss: “The long succession of preemption acts were but premonitions of a free land policy, a policy destined to come, but hindered by sectional interests and differences for many years.”
2. Discuss the economic and the political significance of the major compromises embodied in the ordinances creating the national domain in the United States.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

1938-39
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Year-end Exam, 1939]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic based on the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: the bullionists and the Bullion Report; the anti-monopoly policy in the United States.

II
Answer three questions

Answer (a) or (b).
1. What were the lessons of the crisis of 1847? In what ways did this crisis affect the policies of the Bank of England?
2. What were the merits and the defects of the organization of the call loan market in New York prior to 1914?
Answer (a), (b), or (c).
1. Discuss the attempts to establish international control of the sugar trade between 1926 and 1932.
2. Sketch the development of trusts and cartels in Great Britain after 1914.
3. Describe the characteristic types of “concern” in post-war Germany.
Answer (a), (b), (c), or (d).
1. Has the United States gained enough from the development of the Beet Sugar culture to justify the costs?
2. Can policy of tariff preferences between Great Britain and her dominions be defended on economic grounds?
3. Discuss the theories which served as the basis for the development of protection in France after 1889.
4. Sketch the development of agrarian influences upon German tariff policy after 18790 and discuss briefly the merits of the basic demands.
Discuss the influence of the development of hydro-electric power sites upon the industrial future of Italy.
What changes in the Malthusian theory of population are necessary to bring its broader elements into conformity with the historical record of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries?

__________________________________

1939-1940

From Course Announcements

III
ECONOMIC HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

Economics 133. Recent Economic History, 1820-1914

Mon., Wed., Fri. at 3. Professor Usher.

[Economics 136. Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History]

Two consecutive hours a week, to be arranged. Professor Usher.

Omitted in 1939-40; to be given in 1940-41.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XXXVI (September 22, 1939), No. 42, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1939-1940 (Second Edition), p. 158.

Enrollment

III

Economics 133. Professor Usher. — Recent Economic History, 1820-1914.

Total 50: 41 Graduates, 1 Senior, 1 Public Administration, 4 Radcliffe, 3 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1939-40, p. 100.

1939-40
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 133
[Mid-Year Exam, 1940]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic based on the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: the concept of nodality, the effective sphere of pure competition in the industrial societies of the nineteenth century.

II
Answer three questions

Answer a, b, c, d, or e.
1. How many of the basic forms of industrial organization were to be found in the textile industries of the United States between 1790 and 1830? What was their relative importance?
2. Describe the distinctive features in the organization, equipment, and management of the Boston Manufacturing Company in Waltham in its early years.
3. Discuss: “Those who draw all their illustrative material from the textile industries fall into serious errors in their judgment of the effect of machinery upon labour.”
4. Describe the position of organized labor in Germany towards the close of the nineteenth century.
5. Sketch the development in the use of iron and its products in England between 1800 and 1890.
In what ways and to what extent do geographic factors affect the rate structure of a given railway network?
Answer a, or b.
1. What considerations led the various groups of German states to accept the leadership of Prussia in the Customs Union?
2. Sketch the activities of M. Chevalier in the negotiation of the Anglo-French Treaty of Commerce of 1860.
Answer a, b, or c.
1. What elements of ambiguity made it difficult to interpret and enforce the resolutions of the French National Assembly of August 4 and 11, 1789? What interpretation was finally established by the legislation of 1792 and 1793?
2. Does the experience of France and Germany in the late nineteenth century warrant the belief that the number of small holdings can be now increased or even maintained without tariff protection or financial aid?
3. Discuss: “Although southerners have persistently asserted that the interstate slave trade was of no substantial significance, the structure of slave prices provides decisive evidence that the trade was vital to the perpetuation of slavery as a system.”
Discuss: “Southern systems of settlement were based on a policy of free land, and the actual introduction of such modes of settlement on the Public Domain was largely due to southern influence, but formal recognition of the policy was long and successfully opposed by southern members of Congress.”

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

1939-1940
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 133
[Year-End Exam, 1940]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic covered by the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: Malthus and the theory of population; technological factors underlying tendencies towards integration in the production and distribution of electricity.

II
Answer THREE questions

Answer (a) or (b).
1. “In actual operation, the Bank Act of 1844, instead of tying the currency more closely to gold, injected an additional amount of credit into the reserves of the English banking system.” Discuss.
2. Sketch the development of the Suffok banking system and discuss its significance.
Describe the conditions in the American iron industry that led to the formation of the United States Steel Corporation. What may we presume to have been the effect of this achievement upon competition in the industry?
Answer (a) or (b).
1. Discuss the effectiveness of the British Wheat Act of 1932.
2. Describe the organization of the Russian collective farms and their influence upon productivity.
Answer (a), (b), (c), or (d).
1. Discuss the relation of the changes in the duties on wool and woolens in the U. S. tariff act of 1913 to the general concept of a competitive tariff.
2. Does Beveridge offer a satisfactory defense for a continuance of a free trade policy in Great Britain? Why, or why not?
3. Discuss the concepts of tariff policy held by Protectionists and Liberals in France, with special reference to the precise points of difference between them.
4. Describe and discuss Bismarck’s theories of taxation and fiscal policy.
Does the development of hydro-electric power significantly affect either the immediate or the ultimate location of economic activity in Europe and the United States?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Final Examinations, 1853-2001. Box 5. Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, … , Economics, … , Military Science, Naval Science (June 1940).

__________________________________

1940-1941

From Course Announcements

III
ECONOMIC HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

Economics 133. Recent Economic History, 1820-1914

Mon., Wed., Fri., at 3. Professor Usher.

Economics 136. Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History

Two consecutive hours a week, to be arranged. Professor Usher.

[Previous post for the Economics 136 Seminar]

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XXXVII (March 4, 1940), No. 7, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1940-1941 (Provisional Announcement), p. 161.

Enrollment

III

Economics 133. Professor Usher. — Recent Economic History, 1820-1914.

Total 41: 31 Graduates, 4 Public Administration, 6 Radcliffe.

Economics 136. Professor Usher. — Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History.

Total 10: 9 Graduates, 1 Senior.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1940-41, p. 59.

1940-41
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Mid-year Exam, 1941]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic based on the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: typical deviations from a “normal” distance principle in railway rate structures; elements of a concept of social evolution implicit in the work of Bentham and Malthus.

II
Answer THREE questions

What were the primary changes in the processes of producing malleable iron in the late eighteenth century? In what fields did these changes extend the use of iron products?
Describe the changes in ocean shipping services that resulted in the organized attempt to control rates through shipping conferences. Do you feel that these rate agreements imposed undesirable restrictions upon free competition?
Under what circumstances is labor “externally conditioned”? Do such phenomena make the location of economic activity indeterminate?
Answer (a) or (b).
1. What were the objectives of the Middle German Commercial Union? What were the basic factors in its failure?
2. Describe the protectionist groups in Germany between 1833 and 1865, and point out the reasons for the ineffectiveness of their activities.
Describe the broader features of the concentration of ownership of land in England, France, and Prussia in the late nineteenth century. Have we reason to believe that the degree of concentration was affected by the agrarian reforms of the period 1750-1850?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 14, Papers Printed for Mid-Year Examinations [in] History of Religions, … , Economics, … , Military Science, Naval Science in a bound volume, Mid-Year Examinations—1941.

1940-41
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Year-end Exam, 1941]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic based on the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: the significance of locational theory for the restatement of the theory of international trade; the fallacies and dangers in the concept of a closed economy.

II
Answer THREE questions

Answer (a) or (b).
1. Sketch the development of the Bank of England as a central bank.
2. Describe the nature and the extent of the concentration of bank reserves in New York city under the old National Banking system. Was this a desirable or adequate means of achieving centralization of reserves? Why, or why not?
What were Adam Smith’s views on the use of the corporate form in private business, both as to public policy and private administration?
Does the history of private business corporations in the United States belie the wisdom of Smith’s judgment? Why, or why not?
Answer (a) or (b).
1. Discuss the place of wheat growing in British farming, and the effect upon agriculture in general of policies affecting wheat culture.
2. Were the countries of South Eastern Europe suffering from over-population in 1930? Why, or why not?
Answer (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e).
1. What circumstances led to the revision of the United States tariff in 1909? In what measure were the objectives of revision actually achieved?
2. Have we grounds for presuming that the development of the iron and steel industry of the United States was significantly influenced by the protection given it? Why, or why not?
3. What changes have taken place since 1880 in the position of Great Britain in the export markets of the world?
4. Discuss: “The agrarian interests in France made a fatal mistake in the decade of the eighties by seeking to share in protection instead of seeking reductions in the duties on manufactures.”
5. Discuss the program of the agrarian party in Germany towards the close of the last century.
Do changes in the expectation of life afford a significant measure of material well-being? Why, or why not?

__________________________________

1941-1942

From Course Announcements

III
ECONOMIC HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

Economics 133. Recent Economic History, 1820-1914

Mon., Wed., Fri., at 3. Professor Usher.

[Economics 136. Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History]

Two consecutive hours a week, to be arranged. Professor Usher

Omitted in 1941-42.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XXXVIII (September 18, 1941), No. 54, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1941-1942, p. 61.

Enrollment

III

Economics 133. Professor Usher. — Recent Economic History, 1820-1914.

Total 34: 26 Graduates, 4 Public Administration, 4 Radcliffe.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1941-42, p. 64.

1941-42
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Mid-year Exam, 1942]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic based upon the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: the postulates of liberalism; the influence of improvements in transport upon the importance of primary nodes.

II
Answer THREE questions

Sketch the broader features of the process of achievement, and indicate explicitly its relation to the process of invention.
Discuss: “The Marxian concept of the labor problem was largely implicit in the Marxian concept of the factory. Careful analysis of the conditions of employment in factories affords a basis for a significant restatement of the problems of labor.”
Answer (a), (b), (c), or (d).
1. Sketch the development of railroad rebates in the United States and discuss the elements of danger to shippers and to the public.
2. Describe the procedure of railway amalgamation in Great Britain in 1921, and discuss briefly the treatment of basic problems.
3. Describe the reorganization of French railways in 1921, and discuss the advantages of the plan.
4. Does the sketch of German railway policy in Barker actually support the conclusions he draws in respect of the advantages of state ownership?
In what respects does the history of the iron industry show the importance of a dominant material on the location and the structure of an industry? Draw illustrative material from the history of the industry in Great Britain, France, Germany, or the United States.
Answer (a), (b), or (c).
1. In what ways and in what degree did crop rotations lead to improvements in productivity and to more adequate differentiation of land use?
2. Sketch the development of the procedures and the policy of making grants of public lands to further internal improvements.
3. In what ways did the defects of the Harrison Act of 1800 lead to a demand for the revision of the general principles of public land policy?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 15, Papers Printed for Mid-Year Examinations [in] History, History of Religions,…Economics,…, Military Science, Naval Science. January-February, 1942 in bound volume Mid-year Examinations—1942.

1941-42
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Year-end Exam, 1942]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic covered by the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: concepts and measures of material well-being, the gold standard in the nineteenth century.

II
Answer THREE questions.

Answer (a) or (b).
1. What were the essential features of the credit policy proposed by the Banking School, 1820-1840? In what respects was it unsound?
2. Sketch the development of the Free Banking system in the United States. Discuss its advantages and disadvantages.
Discuss the issues of fact raised by the prosecution of the United States Steel Corporation. Do you feel that the position taken by the Court was sound? Why, or why not?
Discuss the policy of Great Britain towards agriculture during and since the great depression. Do you feel that agriculture was sacrificed to misguided loyalty to a free trade policy?
Describe the effects of technical development upon units of management in the production and distribution of electricity since 1890.
Answer any one of the following:
1. Discuss the relative merits of proration and unit operation as solutions of the problem of regulating the production of petroleum.
2. Sketch the history of the reservation of oil lands by the government of the United States, and the development of their exploitation.
3. Sketch the development of oil production and trade in eastern Europe and the Dutch East Indies from 1900 to 1924.
4. Sketch the development of British oil policies, 1900-1924.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

1942
Harvard University
Economics S133

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on the selected topic.

II.
Answer three questions: exclusive of the general topic of the essay.

Answer a or b:
1. Sketch the development of the factory system from its origins to a position of clear dominance in Great Britain, or in Germany
2. Sketch the development of the factory system in the United States to 1880.
Answer a, b, c, or d:
1. Describe and discuss the characteristic features of railway rates in Trunk line territory before 1887.
2. Discuss the general features and the significance of the consolidation of railways in Great Britain in 1921.
3. Sketch the history of the French railway network through 1883.
4. Discuss the significance of water competition for the railways of Germany.
Under what circumstances is labor “externally conditioned”? Do such phenomena make the location of economic activity indeterminate?
Answer a or b:
1. Discuss the contributions of Peel and Cobden to the establishment of Free Trade in Great Britain.
2. Sketch the progress of negotiations leading to the German Customs Union during the years 1828 to 1834.
Answer a or b:
1. Sketch the development of the Bank of England as a central bank.
2. Sketch the development of contacts between the United States Treasury and the New York money market in the period, 1869-1914
Answer a or b:
1. Sketch the history of the petroleum Industry in the United States from 1859-1879.
2. Discuss the development and the significance of any single cartel in Great Britain or Germany.
Answer a, b, c, d, or e:
1. What was the purpose of the compensating duties in the woollen and worsted schedules of the United States tariff of 1867, 1883, and 1890? Did the duties as levied achieve this purpose?
2. Describe the different forms of dumping. How did the forms prevalent in the United States before 1914 affect the development of our domestic industries? Was dumping disadvantageous to the consumers of similar goods in the United States?
3. Does imperial preference meet the essential needs of ether Great Britain or her dominions? Why, or why not?
4. Discuss: “The history of protection in France shows clearly the impossibility of securing trustworthy objective evidence of its effect, but the record of the nineteenth century affords no presumption that the benefits of protection offset the palpable increases in the cost of living due to the tariffs.”
5. Has the experience of Germany thrown new light upon the effects of protection to agriculture? Why, or why not?
Answer a or b:
In what ways and to what extent have technological changes, since 1900, affected the regional balance of primary resources in Europe and the world at large?
What changes in the Malthusian theory of population are necessary to bring its broader elements into conformity with the historical record of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

__________________________________

1942-1943

From Course Announcements

III
ECONOMIC HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

Economics 133. Recent Economic History, 1820-1914

Mon., Wed., Fri., at 3. Professor Usher.

Economics 136. Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History]

Two consecutive hours a week, to be arranged. Professor Usher.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XXXIX (September 23, 1942), No. 53, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1942-1943, p. 56.

Enrollment

III

Economics 133. Professor Usher. — Recent Economic History.

Total 15: 10 Graduates, 3 Public Administration, 2 Radcliffe.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1942-43 p. 48.

1942-43
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Mid-year Exam, 1943]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic based on the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: the shortcomings of Victorian liberalism, out-standing definitions of the factory and their significance.

II
Answer THREE questions.

Answer (a) or (b).
1. Discuss the changing conditions of competition among the various textile products from 1750 to 1851.
2. Describe the out-standing technical improvements in the iron industry in England in the late eighteenth century.
Answer one of the following:
1. Describe the devices employed by railroads in the United States to make personal discriminations in favor of particular shippers. What success has been achieved in the suppression of these practices?
2. Describe and discuss the primary features of the British Railway Act of 1921.
3. Discuss the relative significance of the benefits to the railroads and the new liabilities involved in the Conventions of 1883 between the great railroad companies and the French government.
4. Describe the inland waterways of Germany and discuss their place in the transport system.
What are the more important weight-losing materials? What is their relative significance for the localization of economic activity at the present time?
In what ways and to what extent did purely fiscal motives enter into the reform of the British tariff in the first half of the nineteenth century?
Answer (a), (b), or (c).
1. In what ways did new problems of land use affect the character of agrarian reforms in England and in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries?
2. What compromises were involved in the adjustments of the claims to western lands?
3. Sketch the development of the political agitation for free land through the passage of the Homestead Act.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

1942-43
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Year-end Exam, 1943]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic covered by the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: modern formulations of autarky as an objective of economic policy; Victorian Liberalism — its prestige as a gospel, its deficiencies as a social philosophy.

II
Answer three questions.

Answer (a) or (b).
1. Describe the primary features of the London money market in the early nineteenth century, indicating essential specialization of function.
2. Describe the various elements in the Democratic party that were hostile to the Second Bank of the United States. In what ways, and to what extent did they influence Jackson?
Was the Sherman Law an appropriate and well designed instrument to prevent the kinds of abuse of economic power that were emerging in the United States about 1890? Why, or why not?
Answer (a) or (b).
1. Discuss British policy towards wheat growing before and after World War I.
2. Does German trade under exchange controls offer an adequate solution to the problems of the agricultural areas of south eastern Europe? Why, or why not?
Sketch the development of centralized power production in Great Britain and Germany.
In what respects does the record of population growth in Great Britain reveal the presence of factors unsuspected by Malthus?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

__________________________________

1943-1944

From Course Announcements

III
ECONOMIC HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

Economics 133a. Economic History, 1750-1860

Half-course (summer term; to be repeated in spring term). Mon., Wed., Fri., at 3. Professor Usher.

Students will attend classes in Economics 33a and do supplementary work for [graduate] credit in this course.

Economics 133b. Economic History, 1860-1914

Half-course (winter term). Mon., Wed., Fri., at 3. Professor Usher.

Students will attend classes in Economics 33b and do supplementary work for [graduate] credit in this course.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XL (March 29, 1943), No. 4, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1943-1944, p. 40.

Enrollment

III

Economics 133a. (winter term) Professor Usher. — Economic History, 1750-1860.

Total 16: 12 Graduates, 2 Public Administration, 2 Radcliffe.

Economics 133b. (winter term) Professor Usher. — Economic History, 1860-1914.

Total 23: 16 Graduates, 2 Public Administration, 4 Radcliffe, 1 Other

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1943-44 p. 57.

1943-44
Harvard University
Economics 33a, 133a
[Final Examination, June 1944]

Write an essay on a topic based on the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: Bentham’s contribution to the content of liberalism: the theory of invention.

II
(About two hours)
Answer THREE questions.

Answer (a) or (b).
1. What were the characteristic features of the agrarian reforms in France, 1750-1815?
2. Have we reason to presume that the plantation would have developed significantly in southern United States if slave labor had not become available? Did slave labor make the plantation more profitable than farming with free labor? Why, or why not?
Why has it been misleading to develop a concept of an “Industrial Revolution” that is to be identified with the period 1760-1800?
The generalization of the factory system created new problems in labor relations which were very imperfectly covered by the methods of collective bargaining even at their best.
In what ways did the development of steam navigation create new problems in merchant service and in national policy?
What is the significance of water and water power for the location of economic activity?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

1943-44
Harvard University
Economics 33b, 133b
[Final Exam, February 1944]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic covered by the work of the reading period, or on one
of the following topics: planning in a free society, the significance of monopolistic competition theory for the formulation of policies for the control of business.

II
Answer THREE questions.

Answer (a) or (b):
1. Describe the structure of the Bank of England under the Bank Act of 1844. What was the significance of the distinctive features of the new structure?
2. Sketch the development of the Suffolk Bank system.
Answer (a) or (b):
1. In what ways does the topography of a region exert an influence on the pattern of the railway network? What typical patterns of networks may be distinguished?
2. Describe the broader features of the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. Do you feel that the courts were at fault for the disappointments experienced by the advocates of strict control?
Answer (a), (b), or (c):
1. What factors enabled the Standard Oil group to secure transport differentials from the railroads and from the pipe line companies?
2. What factors have controlled the development of integration of industry in Great Britain since 1870?
3. What changes have taken place in the structure of big business in Germany since 1919? How may we explain this development?
Describe the place of water power in the power system of the United States. Discuss the problems of policy involved in the full and effective utilization of these water powers.
What modifications of the Malthusian theory of population are necessary to bring its broader features into conformity with the historical record of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

__________________________________

1944-1945

From Course Announcements

III
ECONOMIC HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

Economics 133a. Economic History, 1750-1860

Half-course (winter term). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 12. Professor Usher.

Students will attend classes in Economics 33a and do supplementary work for [graduate] credit in this course.

Economics 133b. Economic History, 1860-1914

Half-course (winter term; to be repeated in spring term). Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 2. Professor Usher.

Students will attend classes in Economics 33b and do supplementary work for [graduate] credit in this course.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XLI (September 15, 1944), No. 19, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1944-1945, pp. 36-37.

Enrollment

III

Economics 133a. (winter term) Professor Usher. — Economic History, 1750-1860.

Total 20: 14 Graduates, 3 Public Administration, 3 Radcliffe.

Economics 133b. (winter term) Professor Usher. — Economic History, 1860-1914.

Total 17: 15 Graduates, 4 Public Administration, 7 Radcliffe [sic]

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1944-45 p. 64.

1944-45
Harvard University
Economics 33a, 133a
[Final Exam, February 1945]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic based on the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: liberalism; the structure and objectives of a free society.

II
Answer three questions

Answer a, b, or c.
1. In what ways did the rights enjoyed by English “landlords” of the eighteenth century fall short of being rights of unqualified ownership?
2. Discuss: “Homestead settlement had its essential roots in the practices of southern United States, but the formal adoption of the policy was persistently opposed by southern members in Congress.”
3. Sketch the various types of labor management used on southern plantations.
What are the essential features of the system of quantity production? Was the date of its significant introduction determined primarily by economic or by technological conditions?
Answer a or b.
1. Discuss the critical problems involved in the definition of a factory.
2. Describe the more conspicuous abuses in the administration of the old poor laws. Comment on the reform accomplished in 1834.
What conditions stood in the way of an early development of the operation of ocean going steamships by American builders and owners?
Why did the application of power to industry and transport alter the significance of surplus food supplies for the location of economic activity?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Final Examinations, 1853-2001. Box 10. Papers Printed for Final Examinations Winter Term [in] History, History of Religions, … , Economics, … , Military Science, Naval Science (February 1945).

1944-45
Harvard University
Economics 33b, 133b
[Final Exam. June 1945]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic covered by the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: revisions and restatements of the theory of population; the future of the liberal concept of economic statesmanship.

II
Answer three questions

Answer (a) or (b).
1. What were the primary contentions of the Bullionist writers? In what respects would their positions now be criticized?
2. What tendencies towards centralization of banking appeared in the United States in the early nineteenth century?
Answer (a) or (b).
1. Under what circumstances does value of the transport service modify the rate structure of a railway network? Are discriminations of this nature “reasonable”?
2. In what ways did the Hepburn Act (1906) extend the authority of the Interstate Commerce Commission? Were the new powers adequate?
Answer (a) or (b).
1. Describe the position of the United States Steel Corporation in the industry about the time of the decision of the Supreme Court. Do you feel that the Court was justified in finding that “full and free competition” existed in the industry?
2. Does the experience of Germany indicate that the “cartel” is a satisfactory and permanent means of organizing big business enterprises? Why, or why not?
What is, at present, the relative significance of coal, oil, and water power as sources of mechanical energy? Are there grounds for believing that the future development of water power will significantly alter the pattern of industrialization in the world?
Describe recent tendencies toward centralization of power production in Great Britain and continental Europe. Discuss the economic and social consequences of these changes.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Final Examinations, 1853-2001. Box 10. Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, … , Economics, … , Military Science, Naval Science (June 1945).

__________________________________

1945-1946

From Course Announcements

III
ECONOMIC HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

Economics 133a. Economic History, 1750-1860

Half-course (fall term). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 11. Professor Usher.

Economics 133b. Economic History, 1860-1914

Half-course (spring term). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 11. Professor Usher.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XLII (March 31, 1945), No. 8, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1945-1946, p. 40.

Enrollment

III

Economics 133a. (fall term) Professor Usher. — Economic History, 1750-1860.

Total 54: 34 Graduates, 1 Junior, 1 Freshman, 4 Public Administration, 14 Radcliffe.

Economics 133b. (spring term) Professor Usher. — Economic History, 1860-1914.

Total 79: 58 Graduates, 1 Sophomore, 9 Public Administration, 11 Radcliffe

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1945-46, p. 59.

1945-1946
Harvard University
Economic 133a
[Final Exam, August 1946]

Answer all questions. Question 1 is given double weight. Please write clearly and in ink.

Write an essay of one hour on the factors which appear to have controlled the timing and rate of industrial development of areas, using illustrative material from the industrial history of England, France, Germany, and the United States. What recommendations respecting policy would you make to a government of a backward nation anxious to achieve, not only parity in industrial development and technology, but also a position of leadership in these fields?
Compare the major features of the structures of land ownership and use, and of agricultural organization during the first half of the nineteenth century in two of the following regions: Great Britain, France, the southern United States, the American West. Discuss fully the economics of each of the two systems considered and criticize in the light of this discussion the public and private policies involved in each.
Explain how the Industrial Revolution and the factory system in Great Britain altered the position of the workers in the economic system, and discuss in the light of the prevailing concepts of economic and political organization the problems of government labor policy which arose.
Analyze the remarkable boom in the American shipping and ship-building industries between 1830 and 1856, and the subsequent collapse. In this connection, what features of American and British merchant marine policy appear to have been important, and which of these policies might be criticized as being undesirable or ill-conceived from the American point of view?
Discuss the evolution of the structure of the British money market and banking system between the late eighteenth century and the mid-nineteenth century, showing the major changes which occurred, and analyzing the primary problems which arose.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

1945-1946
Harvard University
Economics 133b
[Final Exam, August 1946]

Answer all questions. Please write clearly and in ink.

Compare the primary features since 1860 of railway organization and public railway policy in two of the following countries: the United States, Germany, France, Great Britain. Analyze the points of strength and weakness which you find in each of the two cases.
Analyze the reasons for the continued failure of American foreign-trade shipping to make progress between 1860 and 1914. In particular, what problems were encountered in the use of ship subsidies, and what conclusions do you draw from this experience, and that of other countries, regarding the essentials of a good subsidy policy?
Analyze the reasons for the development of industrial integration in the United States, and explain the timing of the movement. In this connection compare and criticize the integration movements and associated public policies in the United States and in Germany or Britain.
What major problems have arisen in connection with the control and exploitations of major sources of energy for capitalistic economies? How has the energy problem conditioned the economic development and basic policies of western nations?
Analyze the factors responsible for the agricultural maladjustments of the period 1914-1939. In what respects does this period differ from that from 1870 to 1914?
Write an essay discussing those features of the economic history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries which seem to you evidences of progress, and those which seem the reverse. What concept and test of progress, or of the lack of it, do you consider valid.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

__________________________________

1946-1947

From Course Announcements

III

[NOTE: the announcement of courses of instruction no longer distinguishes “Economic history” courses from others in group III…cf: Group I Theory/Group II Statistics]

Economics 133a. Economic History, 1750-1860

Half-course (fall term). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 11. Professor Usher.

Economics 133b. Economic History, 1860-1914

Half-course (spring term). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 11. Professor Usher.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XLIII (September 3, 1946), No. 21, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1946-1947, p. 45.

Enrollment

III

Economics 133a. Professor Usher. — Economic History, 1750-1860 (F).

Total 68: 46 Graduates, 3 Seniors, 1 Junior, 10 Public Administration, 8 Radcliffe.

Economics 133b. Professor Usher. — Economic History, 1860-1914 (Sp).

Total 73: 50 Graduates, 1 Senior, 1 Junior, 12 Public Administration, 9 Radcliffe

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1946-47, p. 71.

1946-47
Harvard University
Economics 133a
[Final Exam, January 1947]

I
About one hour

Write an essay based on the work of the reading period or on one of the following topics: the Marxian concept of the factory and its problems: British and American shipping subsidies.

II
Answer three questions.

What were the essential features of the rotation systems developed in Great Britain and in Europe? In what ways and to what extent did the introduction of the rotations require reform of tenure and of village organization?
Discuss: “Recent developments of science and of scientific methods have made invention a laboratory process; it has become a group activity independent of particular individual endowments.”
What are the characteristic features of craft industry? Describe and define the different kinds of relationships to be found in the craft industries.
Is Weber’s treatment of transportation costs as uniform ton-mile rates a satisfactory basis for the theoretical analysis of the location of economic activity? Why, or why not?
Answer a or b.
1. What political and economic circumstances led to the success and significance of the German Customs Union?
2. In what respects was the liberal philosophy of the nineteenth century unsound or incomplete?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

1946-47
Harvard University
Economics 133b
[Final Exam, May 1947]

I
About one hour

Write an essay on a topic based on the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: the legal concept of “free competition” in U. S. statutes and case decisions; the significance of the value of transport in railroad rate structures.

II
Answer THREE questions

Answer (a) or (b).
1. What were the merits and defects of the defense of the policies of the Bank of England made by the officers of the Bank, in the period 1820-1840?
2. Describe the tendencies toward centralization of banking activity in the state banking systems of the United States prior to 1860.
Answer (a), (b), or (c).
1. Sketch the development of British policy towards railroad construction and regulation, 1830-1914.
2. In what ways did the government of France give financial aid to the construction and operation of railroads prior to World War I?
3. What were the characteristic features of the rate structure in the southern United States prior to World War I?
In what ways did the development of the Bessemer Converter and the Open Hearth process affect the structure and organization of the iron and steel industry?
Discuss the social and economic problems embodied in the doctrine of “capture” as developed in the United States in respect of property rights in petroleum.
Discuss: “The Malthusian principles of population were not essentially incorrect, though the formulation by Malthus was infelicitous and incomplete, and later discussion has commonly exaggerated the defects of the original presentation.”

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

__________________________________

1947-1948

From Course Announcements

III

Economics 133a. Economic History, 1750-1860

Half-course (fall term). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 11. Professor Usher and Assistant Professor Rostow.

Economics 133b. Economic History, 1860-1914

Half-course (spring term). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 11. Professor Usher and Assistant Professor Rostow.

Economics 136a. Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History

Half-course (spring term). Hours to be arranged. Professor Usher and Assistant Professor Rostow.

Economics 136b. Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History

Half-course (spring term). Hours to be arranged. Professor Usher and Assistant Professor Rostow.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XLIV (September 9, 1947), No. 25, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1947-1948, p. 74.

Enrollment

III

Economics 133a. Professor Usher. — Economic History, 1750-1860 (F).

Total 77: 59 Graduates, 11 Public Administration, 7 Radcliffe.

Economics 133b. Professor Usher. — Economic History, 1860-1914 (Sp).

Total 65: 50 Graduates, 8 Public Administration, 6 Radcliffe, 1 Other

Economics 136a. Professor Usher. — Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History (F).

(F) Total 7: 5 Graduates, 1 Junior, 1 Radcliffe

Economics 136b. Professor Usher. — Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History (Sp).

(Sp) Total 5: 5 Graduates

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1947-48, p. 91.

1947-48
Harvard University
Economics 133a
[Final Exam, January 1948]

I.
About one hour

Write an essay on a topic based on the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: the place of energy resources in the economy of a region, the concept of the factory.

II.
Answer three questions

Answer a, b, or c.
1. How did copyhold tenures arise in England? In what respects, and on what grounds, were the relations of the copyholder to his lord modified by judicial interpretation?
2. Discuss: “The National Assembly destroys entirely the feudal régime, and decrees the abolition without compensation of all feudal dues.” Resolution of Aug. 11, 1789.
3. Discuss the political and economic issues involved in granting rights of preemption to squatters on the Public Domain.
Answer a, or b.
1. What were the more important stages in the development and application of the hydraulic and steam turbines?
2. Describe the official and unofficial procedures for establishing wage rates in England in the eighteenth century.
Describe the various types of improved inland waterways, and discuss the effectiveness of competition between waterways and railroads.
What types of industries can be most advantageously located at wholesale market sites? why?
Discuss: “The function of state coercion is to override individual coercion; and, of course, coercion exercised by any association of individuals within the state.”

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

1947-48
Harvard University
Economics 133b
[Final Exam, May 1948]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic based on the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: “malefactors of great wealth,” the judicial concept of competition.

II
Answer THREE questions.

Answer (a) or (b):
1. “The Bank Act of 1844 is an outstanding illustration of erroneous policy: the act failed to achieve any of its essential purposes; it remained on the statute books because it secured incidental conveniences that were really without importance.” Discuss.
2. Describe the relations between the United States Treasury and the National Banks, 1865-1913.
Answer (a), (b) or (c):
1. What are the obstacles to the adoption of cost of service as a test of the “reasonableness” of railroad rates?
2. In what ways, and to what extent did the British government encourage competition among railroads in the nineteenth century?
3. Did the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 provide adequate remedies for the abuses against which it was directed? Why, or why not?
Describe the technical factors affecting the size of the enterprise in the iron and steel industry, or the electric power industry.
Discuss the competitive position of coal as a source of energy since 1900.
In what ways and to what extent do vital statistics throw light upon the relative well-being of different populations?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

__________________________________

1948-1949

From Course Announcements

Note: Usher’s last year, Gerschenkron’s first year.

III

Economics 233a (formerly 133a). Economic History, 1750-1860

Half-course (fall term). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 11. Professor Usher and Associate Professor Gerschenkron.

Economics 233b (formerly 133b). Economic History, 1860-1914

Half-course (spring term). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 11. Professor Usher and Associate Professor Gerschenkron.

Economics 236 (formerly 136a and 136b). Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History

Full-course. Wed., 4-6. Professor Usher and Associate Professor Gerschenkron.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. XLV (September 15, 1948), No. 24, Announcement of the Courses of Instruction, 1948-1949, p. 78.

Enrollment

III

Economics 233a (formerly 133a). Economic History, 1750-1860 (F). Professor Usher and Associate Professor Gerschenkron.

Total 43: 38 Graduates, 1 Senior, 2 Public Administration, 5 Radcliffe. [sic]

Economics 233b (formerly 133b). Economic History, 1860-1914 (Sp). Professor Usher and Associate Professor Gerschenkron.

Total 42: 38 Graduates, 2 Public Administration, 2 Radcliffe

Economics 236 (formerly 136a and 136b). Seminar. Topics in Modern Economic History (Full Co.) Professor Usher and Associate Professor Gerschenkron.

(F) Total 2: 2 Graduates
(Sp) Total 4: 2 Graduates, 1 Senior, 1 Public Administration

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1948-49, p. 78.

1948-49
Harvard University
Economics 233a
[Final Exam, January 1949]

I
About one Hour

Write an essay on a topic based on the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: the process of invention, the copyhold tenure.

II
Answer three questions

Answer a, b, or c.
1. Describe the primary features of the métayage tenures in France. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the tenure.
2. In what ways did the defects of the Harrison Act of 1800 lead to a demand for the revision of the general principles of public land policy?
3. Discuss the problems of determining the effective costs of slave labor on the plantations of the southern United States.
In what ways and to what extent did the development of the factory system modify the position of the capitalist or entrepreneur?
In what way did the development of steam navigation affect the character of competition and the organization of oceanic shipping in the second half of the nineteenth century?
Answer a or b.
1. What factors must be considered in computing the capacity of a railroad? What are the more conspicuous kinds of unused capacity?
2. Describe the primary features of the patterns of procurement and distribution costs in a material oriented industry.
Answer a or b.
1. Discuss the relative significance of Peel’s budget of 1842 and the repeal of the Corn Laws as the date line for the establishment of the Free Trade principle.
2. What were the distinctive contributions of Bentham to the development of liberalism?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Final Examinations, 1853-2001. Box 16. Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, … , Economics, … , Military Science, Naval Science (February 1949) in the bound volume Final Examinations Social Sciences, Feb. 1949.

1948-49
Harvard University
Economics 233b
[Final Exam, June 1949]

I
(About one hour)

Write an essay on a topic based on the work of the reading period, or on one of the following topics: the legal concept of competition in the United States; the measurement of material well-being.

II
Answer three questions.

Answer (a) or (b).
1. Describe the policies and functions of the Bank of England 1790-1819. Were the policies of the Bank essentially sound?
2. What problems were presented in the choice of a monetary standard in the United States? What were the defects of the Mint Act of 1792?
Answer (a) or (b).
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of organizing a railway network under a principle of regulated regional monopoly?
2. Describe the Trunk Line’ Rate system in the United States. Discuss its significance for theoretical analysis of railroad rate structures.
Answer (a) or (b).
1. Describe the tensions and difficulties in the steel industry of the United States in the decade 1890-1900. Did the formation of the United States Steel Corporation provide a sound and satisfactory solution for these problems?
2. In what ways and to what extent did the development of industrial consolidation in Germany after 1919 lead to the formation of more fully integrated enterprises than the older cartels?
Discuss the purposes and primary features of the British Electricity Supply Acts of 1919 and 1926.
How may we explain the changes in the birth rates and death rates in England in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alexander Gerschenkron, Box 3, Folder “Examinations 233a & b [1929/30-1967/68].

Image Source: Edwin F. Gay (left) and Abbott P. Usher (right) from Harvard Class Album 1934.

Tags Gay, Gerschenkron, RostowWW, Usher

Chicago Exam Questions

Chicago. Final exam for Economics 301, Price Theory. Telser, 1965

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2022-03-31
3 Comments on Chicago. Final exam for Economics 301, Price Theory. Telser, 1965

Chicago Price Theory boils down ultimately to a series of True-False-Uncertain examination questions. One of Lester Telser‘s contributions to the stock of questions comes to us from the Zvi Griliches’ papers at the Harvard Archives. A steady diet of this stuff would make for a dull economist in my opinion, but it was force fed to generations of Chicago economists, and many somehow survived to have productive (in a good sense) professional careers. Hence another important historical artifact that has earned digitization by Economics in the Rear-View Mirror.

______________________________

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
Final Exam

Economics 301
Autumn, 1965

Mr. L. Telser
Time: 2.5 hours

Answer the following questions, true, false or uncertain and briefly defend your answer.

An increase in the demand for the product of a monopoly results in a rise in the price of the product.
If the supply schedule of an industry is perfectly elastic then the production function for the industry is characterized by constant returns to scale.
A monopoly can never have a larger output and lower price than a competitive industry assuming that cost conditions would be the same for both.
No one would resort to the cultivation of inferior lands if he did not run into diminishing marginal returns on fertile land. Since inferior lands are in cultivation, diminishing returns must be present.
If there are empty seats on a train then marginal cost pricing requires that new passengers should ride free.

The following two questions require essay answers.

The margin in stock trading is the fraction of the price of the stock which the trader must supply and the balance is lent to the trader by the broker. Hence the margin represents the trader’s equity and is analogous to a down payment. Assume there is no government regulation of the margin and that brokers are free to set any margin they please and to charge any interest rate they please on the loan they extend to traders. Assume there is perfect competition in the brokerage industry.
1. Would you expect margins to be higher during periods of “active” speculation?
2. Would you expect higher margins when stock prices are rising then when they are falling?
3. Would a rise in the interest compensate for or be equivalent to a rise in the margin?
In the theory of the household demand for perishable goods, for a given money income there is a fall in real income if the price of some good rises. The pure substitution effect is the effect on quantity demanded of a price change for constant real income. In the case of durables households own stocks of durables. Hence a rise in the price of durables causes the value of the stock of consumer owned durables to appreciate. Hence a price rise of perishable reduces the demand for perishables if money income is given and the income elasticity is positive while a price rise of durables increases the demand because it implies a rise in consumer wealth if the wealth elasticity of demand is positive.
1. What are appropriate budget constraints for the demand for durables?
2. Is the last statement beginning with “HENCE …” correct?
3. Would it make a difference if the durable good had a fixed life or if it lasted forever?
4. What are the counterparts of constant real income in the demand for durables?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Zvi Griliches. Box 130, Folder “Syllabi and exams, 1961-1969”.

Tags Telser

Chicago Exam Questions Suggested Reading Syllabus

Chicago. Course outline, readings, examination for introduction to econometrics. Marschak, 1949

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2022-03-30

The following course material was transcribed from copies found in Franco Modigliani’s papers at the Economists’ Papers Archive in the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library of Duke University. These items are also available in a scanned .pdf file at the Cowles Foundation website at Yale. Modigliani’s original mimeographed copy is for the most part much more legible than the on-line scanned copy at the Cowles Foundation. This is particularly true for the “terminal examination” questions. Over forty pages of typescript for the lectures are also found in the original Cowles Commission Discussion paper.

More on Jacob Marschak can be found in Robert W. Dimand’s “Keynesian Economics at the Cowles Commission” (Review of Keynesian Studies, vol. 2, 2020, pp. 22-25).

________________________

J. Marschak. INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMETRICS
Economics 314
Spring 1949.

314. Introduction to Econometrics: Statistical testing of economic theories. Numerical estimation of demand and cost functions and other functions occurring in the theory of the firm and household, the theory of markets and the theory of national income. Estimation of economic models. Statistical prediction under conditions of changing economic structure and policy. Prerequisites: Econ 310, 311, 312 or equiv. Win [sic] TuTh 3-4:30; Marschak.

Source: University of Chicago.The College and the Divisions, Sessions of 1948-1949. In Announcements Vol. XLVIII (May 25, 1948) No. 4, p. 250.

________________________

INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMETRICS
20 Lectures given at the University of Chicago in Spring, 1949*

Cowles Commission Discussion Papers, Economics: 266

[*To be used jointly with 24 Lectures (same title) given at the University of Buffalo in Spring, 1948.]

Part I. Non-stochastic economics [11 lectures]

Best policy. Goal variable; non-controlled, controlled, strategic variables.
Exogenous variables and structural parameters. Types of prediction.
Determining the structure from theory and data.
An example.
Econometric “pitfalls” due to disregarded variables or relations. Non-idenifiable structures.
[continued]
The identification, continued
Why does the identification problem arise in non-experimental sciences?
Discussion of earlier problems.
Discussion of earlier problems. [continued]
When need we know the structure?

Part II. Stochastic economics: Population properties [8 lectures]

Joint distributions, non-parametric.
Mid-term examination.
Parameters of joint distributions.
Least-squares property of coefficients of linear regression. Properties of normal distributions.
Exogenous and endogenous variables in stochastic economics.
Identification and determination of structure by the method of reduced form: examples.
More examples.
Motion of an economic variable. Dynamic models. The assumption of independent successive disturbances and its implication.

Part III. Stochastic economics: Sample properties [1 lecture]

Useful properties of certain least squares and maximum likelihood estimators. Obtaining maximum likelihood estimates of structure from those of reduced form.

Attached Materials**

J. Marschak, “Economic Structure, Path, Policy and Prediction”

__________, “Statistical Inference from Non-Experimental Observations—an Economic Example”

G. Hildreth, “Problems in the Estimation of Agricultural Production Functions”

[**As far as available.]

* * *

READING MATERIAL TO BE USED IN COURSE ON INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMETRICS,
SPRING QUARTER, 1949

Allen, R. G. D., Mathematical Analysis for Economists.
American Economic Association, “Survey of Contemporary Economics” (Blakiston Co., 1949).
Haavelmo, T., “The Probability Approach to Econometrics” (Supplement to Econometrica, 194) .
Haavelmo, T., “Quantitative Research in Agricultural Economics,” Journal of Farm Economics, Vol. 29, No. 4, November, 1947.
Girshick, M. A., and T. Haavelmo, “Statistical Analysis of the Demand for Food,” Econometrica, Vol. 15, No. 2. April, 1947.
Klein, Lawrence R., “The Use of Econometric Models,” Econometrica, April, 1947.
Haavelmo, T., “Methods of Measuring the Marginal Propensity to Consume,” Journal of the American Statistical Association, March, 1947.
Klein, Lawrence R., “A Post-Mortem on Transition Predictions,” Journal of Political Economy, August, 1946.
Marschak, J., L. Hurwicz, Abstracts of papers: Econometrica, April, 1946, pp. 165-170.
Koopmans, T., “Statistical Estimation of Simultaneous Economic Relations,” Journal of the American Statistical Association, Vol. 40, December, 1945.
Marschak, J. and William H. Andrews, “Random Simultaneous Equations and the Theory of Production,” Econometrica, Vol. 12, No. 3-4, July-October, 1944.
Marschak, J., “Money Illusion and the Demand Analysis,” The Review of Economic Statistics, 25, February, 1943.
Marschak, J., “Economic Structure, Path, Policy, and Prediction,” American Economic Review, Vol. 37, May, 1947, pp. 81-84. Lil.
Marschak, J., “Statistical Inference from Non-Experimental Observations,” Econometrica, January, 1948, p. 53.
Hurwicz, L., “Some Problems Arising in Estimating Economic Relationships,” Econometrica, Vol. 15, July, 1947.
Tinbergen, J., “Business Cycles in the U.S.A. 1919-1932” (Statistical Testing of Business-cycle Theories. II), League of Nations, Geneva, 1939.
Koopmans, T., “Measurement without. Theory,” Review of Economic Statistics, 29, August, 1947.

* * *

J. Marschak.
INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMETRICS
Economics 314, Spring 1949.

Terminal Examination

Note: Try to answer all 4 problems first, omitting the questions (III) in problems 1 and 4. Answer the questions (III) if time remains.

Problem 1. The quantity x and the price p of a perishable farm product (each measured from its population mean) are determined as in the following model (subscripts indicate time):

(1.1) Demand: x_t = αp_t + u_t

(1.2) Supply: x_t = βp_t-1 + u_t

(1.3) The disturbance u_tis not autocorrelated; nor is v_t.

Show

(I) How to estimate α for a long time series.

(II) What other structural parameters are present?

(III) (If time remains): How would you estimate those other parameters?

Problem 2. The model of the previous problem is modified as follows:

(2.1) Demand: x_t = αp_t + u_t (u_tnot autocorrelated)

(2.2) Price fixation: $p_{t}=p^{\ast }_{t}$ , a level fixed every year by decree.

Show

(I) How to estimate α and σ_uu?

(II) Is the estimate of α the same as in the previous problem?

Problem 3. National income y, consumption c, and annual (saving) investment i are all measured in dollars of constant purchasing power, and

(3.1) c = αy + β + u ;

(3.2) E(u);

(3.3) i = y – c (an identity);

(3.4) i is exogenous.

(I) Show how to estimate α, β, σ_uu from a long time series of data on y, c, i.

(II) Suppose y, c, i denote the income, consumption and saving of an individual family which can control its savings but not its income. How does this modification affect the model and the estimation procedure from a time series of family data, or from a survey of a large number of families?

Problem 4. A survey of very large number T of firms belonging to the same industry but located in places with different wage-rates w₁, …, w_T has been made. The price p of the product is the same for all firms. Wage-rates and price are fixed independently of the firms’ action. The output X_t of each firm depends on labor used only, N_t, according to the formula

(4.1) ${X_{t}=B_{t}N^{A}_{t}}C$ , t = 1, …, T

(the elasticity A being the same for all firms.) Hence,

(4.2) x_t = b_t + An_t, t = 1, …, T

where the small letters (except for t) stand for the logarithms. Further assume that each firm pushes its output to the point where, apart from a random deviation, the ratio $\left( w_{t}/p\right) \equiv R_{t}$ equals the labor’s marginal product,

(4.3) R_t = (dX_t/dN)⋅C_t, t = 1, …, T

where C_t is a random percentage deviation. Hence

(4.4) R_t = $R_{t}=AN^{A-1}_{t}\cdot B_{t}C_{t}$ , t = 1, …, T

(4.5) r_t = a + b_t + c_t + (A-1)n_t, t = 1, …, T,

where again small letters indicate logarithms.

Questions:

(I) How to estimate A?

(II) What other structural parameters are present?

(III) (If time remains): How to estimate those?

Source: Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Economists’ Papers Archive. Franco Modigliani Papers, Box T1, Folder “Jacob Marschak’s Courses, 1940-1949.”

Image Source: Carl F. Christ. History of the Cowles Commission, 1932-1952

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Courses Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Economics Course Descriptions, Enrollments, and Exams. 1897-98

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2022-03-27

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

_______________________

ECONOMICS.
GENERAL STATEMENT.

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

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

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

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

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

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

_______________________

Outlines of Economics
Economics 1

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

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

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

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

Economics 1: Enrollment

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

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

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

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

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

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

1897-98.
Economics 1.
[Final Examination]

Arrange your answers strictly in the order of the questions.

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

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

_______________________

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_______________________

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

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

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

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

Economics 11: Enrollment
1897-98

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The Economic History of the United States
Economics 6

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

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

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

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

Economics 6: Enrollment

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

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

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

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

[Omit one question from each group]

I.

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

II.

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

III.

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

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

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

Answer at least eight questions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Economics 15: Enrollment
1897-98

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Economic Theory
in the 19th Century
Economics 2

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

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

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

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

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

Economics 2: Enrollment
1897-98

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1897-98.
Economics 2.
[Final Examination]

The answer to one question may be omitted.

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

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

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Scope and Method in Economic Theory and Investigation
Economics 13²

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

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

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

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

Economics 13²: Enrollment
1897-98

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Principles of Sociology
Economics 3

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

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

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

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

Economics 3: Enrollment
1897-98

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

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

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

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

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

I.

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

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

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

II.

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

III.

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

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

1897-98.
Economics 3.
[Final Examination]

I.

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

II.

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

III.

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

IV.

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

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

_______________________

Socialism and Communism
Economics 14

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

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

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

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

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

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

Economics 14: Enrollment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No Year-end Examination for 1898 found.

_______________________

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Economics 9: Enrollment

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

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

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

No Mid-year Examination found.

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

I.
WORKINGMEN’S INSURANCE.

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

II.

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

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

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

III.

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

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

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

IV.

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

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

V.

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

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

_______________________

Statistics
Economics 4

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

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

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

Economics 4: Enrollment
1897-98

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

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

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

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

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

A.

[Take two.]

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

B.

[Take four.]

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

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

1897-98.
Economics 4.
[Final Examination]

A.

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

II.

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

III.

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

Take six.

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

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

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Railways and other Public Works
Economics 5²

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

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

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

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

Economics 5²: Enrollment
1897-98

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

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

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

1897-1898.
Economics 5².
[Final Examination]

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

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

_______________________

Theory and Methods of Taxation
Economics 7¹

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

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

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

Economics 7¹: Enrollment

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

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

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

Economics 7¹.
Readings

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

PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS: CLASSIFICATION.

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

TAXES ON LAND.

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

HABITATION TAXES.

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

INCOME TAXES.

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

BUSINESS TAXES.

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

SUCCESSION TAXES.

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

PROGRESSION.

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

DIRECT TAXES BY THE UNITED STATES.

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

LOCAL TAXES IN ENGLAND.

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

LOCAL TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_______________________

Financial Administration and Public Debts
Economics 7²

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

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

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

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

Enrollment data not published for 1897-98.

1897-98.
Economics 7²
[Final Examination]

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

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

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Banking and the History of the leading Banking Systems
Economics 12²

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

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

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

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

Economics 12: Enrollment

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

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

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

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

Give ONE THIRD of your time to these two questions.

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

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

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

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

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International Payments and the Flow of the Precious Metals
Economics 12¹

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Economics 16²: Enrollment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Economics Seminary
Economics 20

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

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

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

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

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

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

Economics 20: Enrollment

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

Total 12: 11 Graduates, 1Senior.

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

Members of the Harvard Economics Seminary, 1897-1898

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

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

Tags Ashley, Callender, CummingsEdward, CummingsJohn, Dunbar, GriffinCS, MeyerHR, MixterCW, Taussig, WarrenEH

Economics Programs Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Mid-year and Year-End Final Exams in Economics and Social Ethics, 1896-1897

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2022-03-09

The collection of transcribed Harvard semester examinations here at Economics in the Rear-view Mirror is growing slowly. This post adds the exam questions from 1896-1897 for all the economics courses and for Francis Peabody’s philosophy course “The Ethics of the Social Questions”.

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From the Preface to the Announcements
for 1896-97

The courses primarily for Undergraduates are open (and in some cases recommended) to Graduate Students, but are not ordinarily counted towards any of the higher degrees. The courses for Graduates and Undergraduates are, under certain limitations, open to any properly qualified student. To the courses primarily for Graduates Undergraduates are admitted only on the recommendation of the Instructor.

No starred (*) course and no course of research can be taken without the previous consent of the Instructor….

By recent action of the Governing Boards, the requirement of two years of residence at this University of a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Science has been rescinded. The minimum requirement of residence in now one year, this period being fixed for all degrees by the Statutes. It is not the purpose of the change thus made to lower the standards for these two degrees; but only to reduce the amount of compulsory residence at this University. (April, 1896).

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, pp. iii-iv.

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Philosophy 5.
The Ethics of the Social Questions.
1896-1897

Course Announcement

[Philosophy] 5. The Ethics of the Social Questions. — The problems of Poor-Relief, the Family, Temperance, and various phases of the Labor Question in the light of ethical theory. — Lectures, special researches, and required reading. Tu., Th., Sat., at 10. Professor Peabody.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 26.

Course Enrollment

[Philosophy] 5. Professor Peabody. — The Ethics of the Social Questions. — The problems of Poor-Relief, the Family, Temperance, and various phases of the Labor Question in the light of ethical theory. — Lectures, special researches, and required reading. 3 hours.

Total 56: 1 Graduate, 31 Seniors, 10 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, 11 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1896-1897, p. 66.

* * * * *
[Mid-year examination,
still to be added]

*** * * * ***

Philosophy 5.
THE ETHICS OF THE SOCIAL QUESTIONS.
Year-End Examination,
1896-97

[This paper should be considered as a whole. The time should not be exhausted in answering a few questions, but such limit should be given to each answer as will permit the answering of all the questions in the time assigned.]

Indicate, briefly, the place in the history of the modern Labor Question of:
Chalmers;
Von Ketteler;
Lassalle;
The Rochdale Pioneers;
Carlyle;
Ruskin as an Economist.
The anarchist’s criticism of the socialist; the socialist’s criticism of the anarchist, and the communist as he is criticised by both.
What do you understand to be the “quintessence” of socialism, as expounded by Schäffle; and what criticisms on this whole social programme appear to you most serious?
Arbitration and conciliation — their differences, varieties, advantages, and limitations.
The history of co-operation in Great Britain, its fortunes in the United States, and the conditions of its success.
Various types of industrial partnership, — their special advantages and limitations.
The Scandinavian Licensing System compared with the present Massachusetts Liquor Law. (Fanshawe, 187-229.)
Sum up, briefly, the general doctrine of social duty which our study of various social questions is intended to illustrate.

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ECONOMICS.
Primarily for Undergraduates.

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Economics 1.
Outlines of Economics,
1896-97

Course Announcement

[Economics] 1. Outlines of Economics. — Principles of Political Economy. — Lectures on Economic Development, Social Questions, and Financial Legislation. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Professors Taussig and Ashley, Asst. Professor Edward Cummings, and Dr. John Cummings.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 33.

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 1. Professors Taussig and Ashley, Asst. Professor Edward Cummings, and Dr. John Cummings. Outlines of Economics. — Principles of Political Economy. — Lectures on Economic Development, Social Questions, and Financial Legislation. 3 hours.

Total 464: 1 Graduate, 40 Seniors, 131 Juniors, 235 Sophomores, 12 Freshmen, 45 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1896-1897, p. 65.

Economics 1.
Mid-year Examination,
1896-97

“Productive labor is that which produces utilities fixed and
embodied in material objects. All other labor, however useful, is classed as unproductive.” Why? or why not?
Capital is the result of saving: capital is produced by labor; all capital is consumed. Can you reconcile these propositions?
“Those circumstances of a country, in which population can with impunity increase at its utmost rate, are rare and transitory.” What are they? and why rare? What is the utmost rate?
Give examples of (a) differences in wages arising from different degrees of attractiveness in different employments; (b) differences arising from natural monopolies.
Suppose a tax were imposed on land precisely equal to the economic rent paid for its use; could the owner of the land shift the tax to his tenant by charging a higher rent than before?
What is meant when it is said that rent does not enter into the cost of production?
It is said to be immaterial whether a community has a large or a small stock of money; and it is said to be harmful for a community to resort to inconvertible paper. Can both of these propositions be sound?
“With enormous shortsightedness, the people of the United States send abroad every year over one hundred millions of dollars, with which to pay for sugar which might have been produced at home.” Why, or why not, is there shortsightedness in this operation?
Wherein does a country gain, if other countries demand more of its exports?
In the stationary state. as described by Mill, what determines the rate of interest? the rate of wages?

Source: Harvard University Archives. [Examinations] Scrapbook of F. W. Taussig, p. 58.

Economics 1.
Year-end Examination,
1896-97

[Answer nine questions, selecting at least one from each of the four groups. Arrange your answers strictly in the order of the questions selected. Give your reasons in all cases.]

I.

Mention a case in which the income received for the use of a piece of real estate is to be regarded as rent; one in which it is to be regarded as interest; and one in which the classification would be doubtful.
Mention a commodity whose value is permanently governed by cost of production; one whose value is permanently governed by the equation of demand and supply; and one whose value is permanently affected by both causes.
Does the gain from foreign trade arise from the sale of exports? from the purchase of imports?

II.

Is the law of Rent stated by Mill applicable either to the German peasant of the early part of the century or to the American farmer of to-day? Give your reasons.
What are the functions of the entrepreneur? Give some account of the origin of the entrepreneur
Illustrate the influence of the feeling of nationality as an economic factor.

III.

How far have English trade unions tried to control (a) the wages of labor? (b) the supply of labor? In what respects have they been most useful?
What do you understand by the rise of the modern factory system? In what sense is this system responsible for what is known as the labor problem?
If all the productive and distributive business of a community were in the hands of cooperative societies would the labor question cease to exist?

IV.

Point out wherein the deposits of a bank resemble its notes, and wherein they differ from its notes; and consider why one or the other should be regarded as part of the circulating medium of the community.
What was the amount outstanding (in round numbers) of legal-tender notes in 1867? in 1877? in 1897? What were the laws under which the notes outstanding at those several dates had been issued, and what was the state of the legislation then in force for their redemption?
Wherein does the Reichsbank of Germany, as to its management of notes and deposits, resemble the Bank of France? Wherein the Bank of England?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 4. Bound volume: Examination Papers 1896-97. Papers Set for Final Examinations in Philosophy, History, Government, Economics, Fine Arts, Architecture, and Music in Harvard College, June 1897, pp. 37-38.

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ECONOMICS
For Graduates and Undergraduates.

The Courses for Graduates and Undergraduates are open to students who have passed satisfactorily in Course 1. Courses 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are also open to Juniors and Seniors of good rank who take Course 1 at the same time; and Course 11 is open to students who have taken either Economics 1 or History 1.

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Economics 10.
The Mediaeval Economic History of Europe

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

Omitted in 1896-97. Courses 10 and 11 are usually given in alternate years.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 33.

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Economics 11.
The Modern Economic History of Europe and America (from 1600),
1896-97

Course Announcement

[Economics] 11. The Modern Economic History of Europe and America (from 1600). Tu., Th., (and at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 12. Professor Ashley.

Courses 10 and 11 are usually given in alternate years.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 33.

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 11. Professor Ashley. The Modern Economic History of Europe and America (from 1600). 2 hours.

Total 29: 16 Graduates, 6 Seniors, 1 Junior, 1 Sophomore, 5 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1896-1897, p. 65.

Economics 11.
Mid-Year Examination,
1896-97

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

Give some account of Asiatic commerce in the middle ages.
Enumerate very briefly some of the reasons for which Genoa deserves attention in economic history.
“The mooste part of the lordes have enclosed their demeyn lands and meadows and kept them in severalties.” (Fitzherbert, c. 1530). Explain the nature and effects of the action here described.
What features, if any, were common to the Peasant Risings in the different countries of Western Europe in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries?
Compare the action of the English government in relation to industry in the sixteenth century with that of the French government.
“Our merchants may do well to provide for the Russians such wares as the Dutch nation doth serve them of.” Explain and comment.
Describe the industrial condition of Norfolk in the time of Defoe.
Explain, with illustrations, what is meant by the “territorial” period in German economic development.
What impressions do you derive from Defoe’s Essay upon Projects as to the constitution, temper and interests of the business circles of London in his time?
Explain the following terms Droit de vaine pâture, Société en commandite, Niederlegung von Hufen, Hausindustrie, Fondaco.
Give a critical account of any really important work (not on the printed list) of which you have read any considerable portion in connection with this course.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-Year Examination, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1896-97.

Economics 11.
Year-end Examination,
1896-97

N.B. – Not more than eight questions must be attempted.

“The fifteenth century was the golden age of the English labourer.” What is the evidence for that contention? How is that evidence to be interpreted?
Explain the part played by Hamburg in the economic history of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Give some account of the history, since the massacre of Amboyna, of the Dutch East Indian Empire.
Indicate very briefly the chief points in Schmoller’s account of mercantilist policy. In what directions does it seem open to criticism?
State the causes and criticize the alleged consequences of the drain of specie from the English colonies in the eighteenth century.
[Not to be taken by those who have written theses on the Navigation Act.]
“English industries could not have advanced so rapidly without protection.” Examine this statement.
Describe the main features of English industrial life in the early part of the eighteenth century.
What changes did the French Revolution make in the position of the rural population of France.
Discuss the application of the Infant Industries argument to the United States during the early decades of the present century.
Give some account of the competition between railroads and canals as means of transportation.
What exactly were the English “Corn Laws,” repealed in 1846? Have the anticipations of Cobden been realized?
“You made me look rather a fool, Arminius,” I began, “by what you primed me with in Germany last year about Stein settling your land question.” “I dare say you looked a fool,” says my Prussian boor, “but what did I tell you?” “Why,” says I, “you told me Stein had settled a land question like the Irish land question, and I said so in the Cornhill Magazine, and now the matter has come up again by Mr. Bright talking at Dublin of what Stein did, and it turns out he settled nothing like the Irish land question at all, but only a sort of title-commutation affair.” “Who says that?” asked Arminius. “A very able writer in the Times,” I replied. — May we have your opinion?

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Economics 15.
The History and Literature of Economics to the Middle of the Nineteenth Century,
1896-97

Course Announcement

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

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 34.

Course Enrollment

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

Total 14: 10 Graduates, 2 Seniors, 2 Juniors.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1896-1897, p. 65.

Economics 15.
Mid-Year Examination,
1896-97

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

Explain the influence of the Greek conception of the State upon the economic speculation of Greek philosophers.
“The sacredness of property is a notion far more fixed in modern than in ancient times.” Comment upon this remark
Explain and illustrate the influence of the example of Sparta on Greek social thought.
In what sense is it true that Plato anticipated Adam Smith’s teaching concerning division of labour?
In what sense is it true that Aristotle anticipated the modern distinction between Value in Use and Value in Exchange.
Set forth briefly Aristotle’s doctrine as to Chrematistic.
Discuss the question as to whether Christianity destroyed slavery.
What sanction, if any, has Socialism or Communism in the teaching of the Christian Fathers?
Trace the early history of the doctrine of “interest” in the original sense of that word.
Distinguish between the various senses attached to the term Mercantilism. Which do you think most convenient?
What ideas prominent in modern Protectionist argument are absent from Mercantilism as represented by Mun?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-Year Examination, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1896-97.

Economics 15.
Year-End Examination,
1896-97

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

Mention some of the practical questions which called forth economic pamphlets in the period 1650-1700, and give some illustrations.
Illustrate and criticize the attitude of the mercantilist writers towards the regulation of internal industry.
Explain the relation of Locke’s doctrine of price to the immediate purpose of his Considerations.
Describe, as definitely as possible, the relation of the Physiocrats to the other reforming or revolutionary movements of their time.
Criticize Adam Smith’s criticism of Physiocratic doctrine.
What elements in his teaching do you conceive Adam Smith to have derived from Hume?
What does Smith mean by “the component parts of the price of commodities”?
Compare Smith’s definition of capital with that of John Stuart Mill.
What does Smith mean by “the natural rates of wages”?
What bearing has the teaching of Malthus on “Socialism.” Explain in your answer what sort of “Socialism” you have in mind, and mention the sources whence you have derived your impression of it.

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Economics 2.
Economic Theory from the Middle of the Nineteenth Century to the Present Time,
1896-97

Course Announcement

[Economics] *2. Economic Theory from the Middle of the Nineteenth Century to the Present Time. — English Writers. — The Austrian School. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 2.30. Professor Taussig.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 34.

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 2. Professor Taussig. — Economic Theory from the Middle of the Nineteenth Century to the Present Time. — English Writers. — The Austrian School. 3 hours.

Total 42: 12 Graduates, 12 Seniors, 13 Juniors, 2 Sophomores, 3 Other.

Source: Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1896-97, p. 65.

Economics 2.
Mid-Year Examination,
1896-97

“According to Ricardo, the exchange value of commodities contains neither return to capital nor rent, but simply labor.” Why? or why not?
Sketch concisely the development of the general theory of value at the hands of Ricardo, Mill, Cairnes.
“Skill, as skill, produces no effect on value; in other words, commodities do not under any circumstances exchange for each other in proportion to the degree of skill bestowed on them. Skill, though in itself inoperative on value, nevertheless affects it indirectly in two distinct ways; first, where competition is effective among producers, through the cost which must be undergone in acquiring the skill; . . . and secondly, in the absence of competition, through the principle of monopoly.” — Cairnes.
Explain and illustrate.
“If there really was a national fund the whole of which must necessarily be applied to the payment of wages, that fund could be no other than an aggregate of smaller similar funds possessed by the several individuals who compose the employing part of the nation. Does, then, any individual employer, possess any such fund? Is there any specific portion of any individual’s capital which the owner must necessarily expend upon labour? . . . May he not spend more or less on his family and himself, according to his fancy, — in the one case having more, in the other less, left for the conduct of his business? And of what is left, does he or can he determine beforehand how much shall be laid out on buildings, how much on materials, how much on labour? . . . Be it observed, fixity of definiteness is the very essence of the supposed wages-fund. No one denies that some amount or other must within any given period be disbursed in the form of wages. The only question is, whether that amount be determinate or indeterminate.” — Thornton, On Labour.
State carefully, and consider critically, the answers Cairnes made to these questions.
Would you accede to the statement that “President Walker’s theory is, in reality, not a theory of manager’s earnings at all, but a theory of differences in manager’s earnings”?
“For an understanding of the machinery by which distribution is accomplished, the classification of sources of income should thus be different from that to be adopted for an explanation of the fundamental causes.” — Taussig.
Wherein different?
Explain what is meant by Consumer’s Rent; and consider how its significance is affected by inequalities in wealth.
“As a rule, the poorer soils rise in value relatively to the richer, as the pressure of population increases.” — Marshall. Why?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-Year Examination, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1896-97.

Economics 2.
Year-end Examination,
1896-97

Do you believe that a permanent gain for the theory of wages has been made by Walker’s discussion of that subject? If so, wherein? if not, why not?
Does Marshall’s analysis of the different grades of labor, and of the barriers between them, differ in essentials from Cairnes’s? from Mill’s?
Explain what “quasi-rent” is, wherein it differs from true rent, wherein resembles true rent; and state whether the conception seems to you a helpful one, deserving to be permanently embodied in economic theory.
What do you conceive the difference to be between what Walker calls “current product,” Marshall “the national dividend,” and the instructor in the course “real income”?
On what grounds does Marshall maintain that “the extra income earned by natural abilities may be regarded as a rent, when we are considering the sources of the income of individuals, but not with reference to the normal earnings of a trade”? What is your own opinion?
“The attribute of normal value implies systematic and continuous production.” Cairnes. Would Böhm-Bawerk accede to this proposition? Why, or why not? Give your own opinion.
Explain what Böhm-Bawerk means by (subjective) “value”; and consider his analysis of the relation between value and cost.
Enumerate the grounds on which Böhm-Bawerk maintains that “present goods have greater value than future goods of like kind and quantity”; consider to which of these grounds he gives most attention; and give your opinion as to the justice of this emphasis.

_____________________

Economics 13.
Scope and Method in Economic Theory and Investigation

[*13 hf. Scope and Method in Economic Theory and Investigation. Half-course. Professor Taussig.]

Omitted in 1896-97; to be given in 1897-98.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 34.

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Economics 3.
The Principles of Sociology.
1896-97

Course Announcement

[Economics] *3. The Principles of Sociology. —Development of the Modern State, and of its Social Functions. Mon., Wed., (and at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 1.30. Asst. Professor Edward Cummings.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 34.

Course Enrollment

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

Total 47: 6 Graduates, 23 Seniors, 13 Juniors, 2 Sophomores, 3 Other.

Source: Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1896-97, p. 65.

Economics 3.
Mid-Year Examination,
1896-97

(It is the purpose of the following questions to elicit first, an intelligent statement of the gist of what has been read or discussed; second, a free statement of an intelligent opinions you may be forming for yourselves.
Arrange your answers in the order in which the questions stand. Limit the discussion of each question to about an hour.)

I.

A critical comparison of Mr. Giddings’ treatise on the principles of Sociology with that of Mr. Spencer:—
(a) In regard to method, arrangement, and terminology :
(b) In regard to fundamental resemblances in the theories presented:
(c) In regard to supposed differences

II.

“Next in order come the problems of the social consciousness, or social mind, including its content of common memories and ideas, its aspirations and its volition.” What explanation of the phenomena in question is offered by (a) Giddings; (b) Spencer; (c) Durkheim; (d) Tarde? What is your opinion of the relative merits and the practical bearing of the several explanations?

IlI.

The significance and the function of the family (a) in the earlier and (b) in the later phases of social evolution.
(c) If you still have time, give some account of the successive theories and of the present state and significance of the controversy in regard to early forms of marriage.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-Year Examination, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1896-97.

Economics 3.
Year-end Examination,
1896-97]

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

I.

Discuss the conceptions of progress found in the following authors: Spencer, Comte, Giddings, Kidd, Kelly. Bluntschli. Indicate in each case (a) the nature of progress, (b) the criteria, (c) the chief causes.

What do you mean by progress?

What evidence of progress do you find in the historical sequence of the various forms of political organization which have lead to the modern state? Illustrate carefully.

Name and classify the principal types of political organization. Indicate briefly the social and industrial characteristics of each type.

II.

Give a critical summary of the views of Haycraft in Darwinism and Race Progress.

By what other writers, ancient or modern, have similar views been urged?

What importance do you attach to this school of thought?

What is the practical bearing of such views upon (a) the problems of scientific philanthropy and the treatment of defective and criminal classes? (b Upon socialism?

III.

State and criticise Bluntschli’s theory as to the nature and functions of the State, — the relation of the State to society and to the individual.

Compare Bluntschli’s theory with that of other writers, — Pollock, Spencer, Ritchie, Giddings.

What in your opinion are the merits and the defects of Bluntschli’s treatise?

_____________________

Economics 14.
Socialism and Communism.

Course Announcement

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

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 34.

Course Enrollment

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

Total 13: 10 Seniors, 2 Juniors, 1 Sophomore.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1896-97, p. 65.

Economics 14.
Mid-Year Examination,
1896-97

(Arrange your answers in the order of the questions. Omit one.)

The different senses in which the word Socialism is used. Where do you intend to draw the line between Socialism proper, and familiar forms of government interference and control – such as factory legislation, municipal water works, and government postal, telegraph or railroad services? Why?
“National communism has been confused with the common ownership of the family; tenure in common has been confused with ownership in common; agrarian communism with village commons.” Discuss the evidence.
“Just as Plato had his Republic, Campanella his City of the Sun, and Sir Thomas More his Utopia, St. Simon his Industrial System, and Fourier his ideal Phalanstery…. But the common criticism of Socialism has not yet noted the change, and continues to deal with the obsolete Utopias of the pre—evolutionary age.” What do you conceive to be the character of the change referred to? How far did earlier Utopias anticipate the ideals of the modern social democracy?
What indication of Socialistic tendencies are to be found in the discipline of the Christian church? Explain the triple contract and its bearing on the doctrine of the usury.
The contributions of Greek writers to the development of economic thought.
To what extent are the theories of Karl Marx indebted to earlier writers in the 19^th-century?
How far are the economic series of (a) Lasalle, (b) Marx related to the theories of the so-called orthodox Economists? Explain critically.
How far do you trace the influence of historical conditions in the social philosophies of Plato, More, Bacon, Rousseau, St. Simon, Karl Marx?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-Year Examination, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1896-97.
Previously transcribed: https://www.irwincollier.com/harvard-exams-and-enrollment-for-economics-of-socialism-and-communism-edward-cummings-1893-1900/

Economics 14.
Year-end Examination,
1896-97

I.

“The figures of Cardinal Manning and Monsignor Bagshawe in England, of De Mun in France, of Decurtins in Switzerland, of Abbé Hitz in Germany, and of Von Vogelsang in Austria, will ever stand apart as State Socialists who, while looking to the Church for moral reform, expected and wished all economic reforms to come from the State alone.”
Give some account of the leaders mentioned, and discuss the peculiarities of so-called Catholic Socialism in each country.
How far does the programme of “Catholic Socialism” in different countries harmonize with the programme of the German Social Democratic party.
State carefully what has been the attitude of the Vatican towards Socialism? What are the personal views of Leo XIll?

II.

Describe the origin, development, fortunes and present strength of the Social Democratic party in Germany, — with special reference to the Eisenach, Gotha and Erfurt programmes.
State and criticise Marx’s Theory of Surplus Value. Explain carefully the formula

$\left( S=P_{n}\times \frac{s\ l\ t}{n\ l\ t} \right)$

What are Schäffle’s chief criticisms of the Socialistic State?

III.

[Take one question.]

“Though social conflicts are as old as civilization itself, Socialism as we now understand it is of scientific origin, and essentially modern.” State carefully your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing.
What are the characteristics of modern Utopian ideals, as contrasted with the ideals embodied in earlier literature of the kind? Contrast Bellamy, Hertzka, Morris.
Trace in a general way the influence of socialistic doctrines in the establishment of socialistic and communistic societies in the United States. What light has experiment thrown upon socialistic and communistic ideals?
State accurately the reading you have done in this course during the second half-year. Give a careful summary of the views of the author you recently selected for your special reading.

_____________________

Economics 9.
The Labor Question in Europe and the United States

Course Announcement

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

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 34.

Course Enrollment

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

Total 50: 5 Graduates, 9 Seniors, 27 Juniors, 7 Sophomores, 2 Others.

Source: Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1896-97, p. 65.

Economics 9.
Mid-Year Examination,
1896-97

Divide your time equally between A and B.

A.

The labor problem and the unity of the labor movement as manifested in trade unionism, co-operation, and socialism.
How, if at all, has the introduction of machinery directly modified methods of industrial remuneration?
What are the several bases for determining remuneration?
Explain the unpopularity, (a) with employers and (b) with employees, of certain methods of industrial remuneration, and, if you can, offer some general principle justifying the adoption of one method rather than another.
Tell in what way, if at all, the amount of remuneration is affected by the method of remuneration.

B.

Take six.

The “Old” and the “New” Trade-Unionism. Give an account of growth of the English Trade Unions.
What social and economic motives have contributed to the growth of modern cities? Explain so far as you are able the migratory movements which have led to the aggregation of population within certain industrial centres.
Define: “nibbling”; “lump system “; “pay-as-you-please” piece work; the “lump of labor” theory; “chasing”; “collective gain-sharing”; the “plus” system; “butty-gangs”; “tut-work”; “working in pocket”; “garret master”: “product-sharing”; “bribe participation.”
How far are the various forms of profit-sharing “sops to Cerberus”? What is the essential difference between a profit-sharing firm and a co-operative association? How far does industrial co-operation enable workmen to become their own employers?
To what extent is the development of modern machine industry dependent upon the location of the world’s coal fields?
What are the economic and social conditions of industrial depressions?
Are the evils of sweating due to underpay, to overwork, or to the method of remuneration? Are they peculiar to some particular method of remuneration?
The methods of estimating the annual revenue of Great Britain and its distribution.
Has the introduction of machinery lessened the demand for labor?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-Year Examination, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1896-97.

Economics 9.
Year-end Examination,
1896-97

I.

State the subject of your special research during the second half-year. How far were you successful in getting material from (a) newspapers, (b) magazines, (c) books, (d) other sources? What general results did you reach?
Explain the essential difference between a socialistic policy and what Schäffle calls a “positive social policy.” What, according to Schäffle, are legitimate objects of protective legislation? Give some recount of German protective legislation, and the “factory labor” to which this legislation applies.
What according to Mallock, determines the minimum wage in any occupation? How far is this minimum rate subject to legislative or other control? Has the introduction of machinery tended to raise or lower this rate? To increase or to lessen the proportion of wages to product?
What do you understand by the statement that “today the labor contract is perfectly free”? Discuss the legality of (a) strikes; (b) boycots; (c) intimidation; (d) “molesting.”
Describe accurately the German compulsory system of old-age insurance. State the precise arguments which are urged for and against the adoption of some such system in England. How far may the German system be said to be the product of peculiar local conditions?

II.

[Omit two questions.]

Describe some of the chief agencies and methods devised for dealing with the unemployed. How far have they been successful?
Describe the strength, composition and programme of the labor party in Belgium, and its relation to trade-unions, cooperation and socialism. Contrast the situation in Belgium with that in Germany.
Show in what respects the general policy of France towards Associations of workingmen during the present century has differed from that of England. Indicate briefly the effects of this policy upon trade-unions, coöperation, etc.
Discuss, the growth, character, programme and strength of existing labor organizations in the United States, — contrasting the situation in this country with the situation in England and explaining differences.
By what peculiar local conditions in each case do you account for the success or the failure of the coöperative movements in (a) England, (b) France, (c) the United States? What do you predict for the future of coöperation?

_____________________

Economics 4.
Theory and Methods of Statistics,
1896-97

Course Announcement

[Economics] *4, Theory and Methods of Statistics. — Applications to Economic and Social Questions. — Studies in the Movement of Population. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 11. Dr. John Cummings.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 34.

_____________________

Course Enrollment

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

Total 15: 8 Seniors, 7 Juniors.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1896-1897, p. 65.

Economics 4.
Mid-Year Examination,
1896-97

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

A.

The development of scientific statistics and the statistical method as employed in the social sciences.
Social and economic causes of the migratory movements which have taken place in the populations of Europe and America during this century, and the laws in accordance with which those migrations have taken place where you can formulate any.

B.

(Take five.)

Rural depopulation and the growth of cities in the United States.
Define: “mean after life,” “expectation of life,” “mean duration of life,” “mean age at death.” What relation does the mean age of those living bear to the mean age at death? To the mean duration of life?
Anthropological tests of race vitality as applied to the American negro?
Explain how the economic value of a population is effected by its age and sex distribution.
The United States census: either (1) an historical account of it, or (2) an account of the work now undertaken by the Census Bureau.
Explain the various methods of calculating the birth rate of a population.
How far are social conditions in a community revealed in the birth rate, the death rate, the marriage rate? Of what are fluctuations in these rates evidence in each case?
What do you understand by the “index of mortality”?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years. 1896-97.

Economics 4.
Year-End Examination,
1896-97

I.

Give an historical account of the United States census, and a general statement of the ground covered in the census of 1890; also show how the census taking is supplemented by work done in the Department of Labor and in the statistical bureaus established in connection with the several administrative departments.
Define Körösi’s “rate of natality,” and state any statistical evidence you know that the rate is affected by the standard of living.
“It must, at all times, be a matter of great interest and utility to ascertain the means by which any community has attained to eminence among nations. To inquire into the progress of circumstances which have given pre-eminence to one’s own country would almost seem to be a duty….The task here pointed out has usually been left to be executed by the historian.” Porter: “The Progress of the Nation.”
What contribution has statistics to make in the execution of this task? What do you understand to be the nature of the statistical method, and what are the legitimate objects of statistical inquiry?

II.

[Take two.]

What light does statistics throw upon the “natural history of the criminal man”?
Give Ferri’s classification of the “natural causes” of crime, and comment upon that classification. Of criminals.
What do you understand by “rate of criminality”? By “criminal saturation”?
To what extent in your opinion is suicide an evidence of degeneration in the family stock?
Discuss the influence upon the rate of suicide of education, religious creed, race, climate and other facts of physical, political and social environment.
Comment critically upon the tables relating to crime in the last five federal censuses taken in the United States.
What difficulties beset a comparative study of criminality in different countries?
How far is it possible to give a quantitative statement to moral and social facts?

III.

[Take one.]

What are some of the more salient facts concerning the movement of population and wealth in the United States, England, and France during the present century, so far as those facts are evidenced in the production, consumption and distribution of wealth?
Discuss the movement of wages and prices in the United States since 1890.
What do you understand by “index figures,” “average wages,” “average prices,” and “weighted averages”?

IV.

[Take one.]

How do you account for the increase in the proportion of urban to rural population during this century? What statistical evidence is there that the increased density of a population affects the mean duration of life? What importance to you attach to this evidence?
Explain the effect of migratory movements upon the distribution of a population according to age, sex and conjugal condition, and upon the birth rate, death rate and marriage rate.
Define and distinguish: “mean age at death”; “mean duration of life”; “mean age of those living”; “expectation of life.”
The “law of population” as formulated by Malthus and by subsequent writers.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 4, Bound volume: Examination Papers 1896-97. Papers set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Architecture, and Music in Harvard College. June 1897, pp. 39-41.
Previously transcribed: https://www.irwincollier.com/harvard-semester-exams-for-statistics-john-cummings-1896-1900/

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Economics 5¹.
Railway Transportation
1896-97

Course Announcement

[Economics] 5¹ hf. Railway Transportation. — Lectures and written work. Half-course. Tu., Th., Sat., at 1.30 (first half-year). Professor Taussig.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 34.

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 5¹. Mr. Virtue. — Railway Transportation. 3 hours.

Total 62: 2 Graduates, 33 Seniors, 20 Juniors, 5 Sophomores, 2 Others.

Source: Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1896-97, p. 65.

Economics 5¹.
Final Examination,
1896-97

[Omit one.]

Sketch the railway history of Italy.
What light does the internal improvement movement in the United States throw upon the question of the public management of the railway industry?
What is the present position of the courts with regard to the power of State legislatures to fix railway rates? On what ground does the public claim the right to interfere in the fixing of such rates.
Discuss the attempt made by any one of the State governments to control railways by means of a commission.
Describe the Hungarian system of passenger tariffs and its effects.
As a basis of rate making, what is the relative importance of the principle of “charging what the traffic will bear,” and that of charging according to the “cost of service”?
It is said of the railway business that “where combination is possible, competition is impossible.” Why is this true? Is it peculiarly true in the railway business? Give your reasons fully.
Discuss the rate policy set forth in the following passages:
“In the proposed reform of our transportation taxes it will probably be found advisable, at the beginning, to follow the example of Sir Rowland Hill in his reform of the old English postal system, and adopt, as the uniform rate for each class of service for all distances, the lowest rate now charged for the shortest distance for that class of service.”… “If distances of hundreds of miles, can be safely disregarded in the local transportation of milk and potatoes and grain, then surely there is every reason to believe that a general grouping of all the railway stations in the country with a uniform rate will prove to be the best possible system that can be devised for the common good of all.”
A railroad company subject to the “Interstate Commerce Law” charges a much lower rate from New Orleans to San Francisco, for goods which have been imported than for like goods of domestic manufacture. What is the decision of the courts as to the legality of such a charge? What is the economic justification for the decision?
What do you regard as the greatest defects of the “Interstate Commerce Law,” as at present interpreted, and what legislation should you suggest to remedy such defects?
What is the “railway problem”?

Sources: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-Year Examination, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1896-97. Copy also in Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 4, Bound volume: Examination Papers 1896-97. Papers set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Architecture, and Music in Harvard College. June 1897, pp. 41-42.

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Economics 6¹
History of Tariff Legislation in the United States,
1896-97

Course Announcement

[Economics] 6² [sic] hf. History of Tariff Legislation in the United States. Half-course. Tu., Th., at 2.30, and a third hour at the pleasure of the instructor (second [sic] half-year). Professor Taussig.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 34.

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 6¹. Professor Taussig. — History of Tariff Legislation in the United States. Hf. 2 hours. 1^st half-year.

Total 74: 7 Graduates, 39 Seniors, 20 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, 5 Others.

Source: Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1896-97, p. 66.

Economics 6¹.
Final Examination,
1896-97

[Arrange your answers strictly in the order of the questions. Answer all the questions.]

How was the course of commercial history between 1789 and 1810 connected with customs legislation and with the state of opinion on the tariff during the same period?
What were the “abominations” of the tariff act of 1828? What became of them?
Was there similarity between the stages in tariff policy reached by England and by the United States in 1846?
“The ultimate reduction of the price of American to that of the British rolled iron can only, and ultimately will, be accomplished in that western region, which abounds with ore, and in which is found the most extensive formation of bituminous coal that has yet been discovered in any part of the globe.” — Gallatin, in 1832.
What were the conditions as to the production of iron in the United States when Gallatin wrote? When and how was his prediction fulfilled?
When did the argument appear that protective duties serve to maintain a high rate of wages in the United States? Why at that time? How far do you think it sound?
Why is no carpet wool raised in the United States? Why is no flax cultivated for fibre? Are high wages an obstacle to the production of such commodities?
Was Webster a consistent advocate of free trade in 1824? Gallatin in 1832? Secretary Walker in 1846?
Sketch the main features in the history of duties on wool and woollens from 1846 to 1896.
Wool, pig iron, sugar, — on which would you now remit duties first, and on which last? Why? What are the present duties?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Mid-Year Examination, 1852-1943. Box 4. Bound volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1896-97.

Copy also in Harvard University, Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 4, Bound volume: Examination Papers 1896-97. Papers set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Architecture, and Music in Harvard College. June 1897, pp. 42-43.

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ECONOMICS 8¹.
History of Financial Legislation in the United States

[8¹ hf. History of Financial Legislation in the United States. Half-course. Tu., Th., at 2.30, and a third hour at the pleasure of the instructor (first half-year). Professor Dunbar.]

Omitted in 1896-97.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 34.

_____________________

ECONOMICS 16².
Selected Topics in the Financial History of the United States,
1896-97

Course Announcement

[Economics] *16¹ [sic] hf. Selected Topics in the Financial History of the United States. Half-course. Tu., Th., at 2.30(first half-year [sic]). Professor Dunbar.
Course 16 may be taken as a full course by Graduate Students and by candidates for Honors in Political Science.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 34.

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 6². Professor Dunbar. — Selected Topics in the Financial History of the United States. Hf. 2 hours. 2^dhalf-year.

Total 21: 11 Graduates, 6 Seniors, 4 Juniors.

Source: Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1896-97, p. 66.

Economics 16².
Final Examination,
1896-97

Under the present arrangement of our financial system how far is the original theory of the Independent Treasury Act of 1846 preserved?
What are the considerations for and against the use of banks as government depositaries?
Trace the steps by which the idea that redeemed notes might be reissued became familiar and was finally embodied in the existing law.
How far was the successful resumption in 1879 the result of fortunate circumstances, not to be foreseen in 1875?
What is the legal authority for receiving United States notes in payment of duties on imports?
What would be the probable effect on the Treasury, if Congress were now to adopt a tariff producing ample revenue, without making any change in the currency legislation?
In Secretary Sherman’s Report for 1879 “it is respectfully recommended that by law the resumption-fund be specially defined and set apart for the redemption of United States notes, and that the notes redeemed shall only be issued in exchange for or purchase of coin or bullion.”
Trace the effect of such a provision in case of large exports of gold. How far would it have served to prevent the difficulties which have actually occurred since 1893?
In his Report for 1889, Secretary Windom recommended the following measure: —
“Issue Treasury notes against deposits of silver bullion at the market price of silver when deposited, payable on demand in such quantities of silver bullion as will equal in value, at the date of presentation, the number of dollars expressed on the face of the notes at the market price of silver, or in gold, at the option of the Government; or in silver dollars at the option of the holder. Repeal the compulsory feature of the present coinage act.”
What was this measure expected to accomplish? How would its operation probably have differed from that of the Silver Purchase Act of 1890?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 4. Bound volume: Examination Papers 1896-97. Papers Set for Final Examinations in Philosophy, History, Government, Economics, Fine Arts, Architecture, and Music in Harvard College, June 1897, pp. 51-52.

____________________

Economics 7².
The Theory and Methods of Taxation,
1896-97

Course Announcement

[Economics] *7² hf. The Theory and Methods of Taxation, with special reference to Local Taxation in the United States. Half-course. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9 (second half-year). Mr. ——.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 35.

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 7². Professor Taussig. — The Theory and Methods of Taxation, with special reference to Local Taxation in the United States. Hf. 3 hours. 2^d half-year.

Total 51: 6 Graduates, 17 Seniors, 18 Juniors, 5 Sophomores, 5 Others.

Source: Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1896-97, p. 66.

Economics 7².
Final Examination,
1896-97

[Arrange your answers strictly in the order of the questions.]

Which among the following would you call a “tax,” and why,—
(a) an assessment for betterment (e.g. for a sidewalk) on real estate;
(b) a liquor license;
(c) the charge for a postage stamp;
(d) the charge for tobacco in France;
(e) the charge for a ticket on a Prussian railway.

How far is there separation of local taxes on real estate from state taxes on real estate in France? in Prussia? in England? In American states? Which adjustment seems to you the best, and why?
State the points of resemblance and the points of difference between the system of local taxation in England and the usual method of local taxation in the United States.
Is a tax like the French personelle-mobilière adapted for use in American states? one like the Prussian Business Tax?
Do you think progressive taxation to be sound in principle? Why? or why not?
Point out similarities and differences between the methods of taxing the holders of securities in England and in Pennsylvania.
What do you conceive to be the methods and effects of the taxation of mortgage debts in Massachusetts? in California?
On what grounds would you approve or disapprove of taxes on inheritances and successions, levied by the several American states? of income taxes, similarly levied?
“The statute in Massachusetts, which taxes corporations on their capital stock less the value of real estate and machinery, is indefensible. According to the Massachusetts law, corporations are taxable locally only on their real estate and machinery, while they are taxable for commonwealth purposes only on the value of their capital stock deducting the value of the machinery and the real estate, they are therefore taxed only once on their total property. Individuals, on the other hand, pay not only a general tax for state purposes, but also another general property tax for local purposes. Corporations thus are treated more leniently than individuals.” — Seligman.
Is this an accurate statement of the legislation in Massachusetts? and are corporations more leniently dealt with than individuals?

One of the following questions may be substituted for any one of the preceding.

What distinctions are made, in the process of assessment under the Prussian income tax, between incomes under 3000 marks and those above?
How are state and local control combined in the assessment of income taxes in Prussia? in England?

_____________________

Economics 7¹.
Financial Administration and Public Debts

[[Economics] *7¹ hf. Financial Administration and Public Debts. Half-course. Tu., Th., Sat., at 11 (first half-year). Professor Dunbar.]

Omitted in 1896-97. Courses 7¹ and 7² are usually given in alternation with Courses 12¹ and 12².

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 35.

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Economics 12¹.
Banking and the History of the Leading Banking Systems

Course Announcement

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

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 35.

Course Enrollment

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

Total 47: 1 Graduate, 18 Seniors, 24 Juniors, 4 Others.

Source: Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1896-97, p. 66.

Economics 12¹
Final Examination,
1896-97

If, as McLeod says, all modern banks are banks of issue, how is it that discussions and legislation about banking are chiefly taken up with questions as to bank notes?
When can a note currency be said to be elastic, and what is necessary to give it that quality? Illustrate by actual cases.
Name as many banking systems as you can, which
(a) protect creditors by a stockholders’ liability of any sort; or
(b) protect notes by a prior lien on assets.
What advantages are derived from the system of branch banks, and where is it used?
Which of the great banks, — the Bank of England, the Bank of France, the Reichsbank, — appears to have the best title to be called a government bank?
Suppose that, in a country having well developed banks, a large issue of inconvertible legal tender notes should be made; in what way should you expect its inflating effect upon prices and credits to be produced?
How is the unequal distribution of national banks in the United States, during the years when banking under the national act was most profitable, to be explained?
The following items being given, viz. :

Public Deposits	£7.7	Other Securities	£30.0
Other Deposits	£48.0	Notes in circulation	£28.1
Government Securities	£20.7	Coin and Bullion	£40.4
Government Debts	£11.0

construct a Bank of England account, with its separate Departments of Issue and Banking.

Why is it that a comparison of the English country bank circulation with the Scotch shows that one is gaining while the other is dying out?
Under the German bank act what are the two requirements as to holding cash? What is counted as cash under these requirements respectively? Under what conditions does a bank find one or the other of these requirements practically inoperative?
The account of the Bank of France may be simplified as follows:—

Cash, Surplus, and Profits	fr. 225.	Loans and Investments	fr. 1.141.
Sundries	fr. 72.	Government Securities	fr. 353.
Deposits	fr. 822.	Sundries	fr. 75.
Notes	fr. 3.612	Cash	fr. 3.162.
	fr. 4.731.		fr. 4.731.

How much of its circulation could the bank pay off and yet earn its present profit? State the account as it would appear if such a change were made?

_____________________

Economics 12².
International Payments and the Flow of the Precious Metals,
1896-97

Course Announcement

[Economics] *12² hf. International Payments and the Flow of the Precious Metals. Half-course. Tu., Th., Sat., at 11(second half-year). Professor Dunbar and Mr. Meyer.
Courses 12¹ and 12² are usually given in alternation with Courses 7¹ and 7².

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 35.

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 12². Professor Dunbar and Mr. Meyer. — International Payments and the Flow of the Precious Metals. Hf. 3 hours. 2^d half-year.

Total 20: 9 Graduates, 2 Seniors, 6 Juniors, 3 Others.

Source: Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1896-97, p. 66.

Economics 12².
Final Examination,
1896-97

It is expected that one-half of the time of this examination will be required for the questions in division A of this paper.

A.

It is often said that the resumption of specie payments by France and by the United States and the adoption of the gold standard by Germany made nearly simultaneous demands upon the world’s stock of gold. Discuss this statement at length.
The transfer of international securities,
(a) during the funding operations of the United States, 1872-79;
(b) as a consequence of the French Indemnity payments.
Take one of these two cases.
The conditions which led to the flow of gold to the United States,
(a) in 1896;
(b) in the fiscal years 1880 and 1881.
Take one of these two cases.

B.

What were the contributions of Ricardo, Mill and Cairnes, respectively, to the discussion of the laws determining the exchange of commodities between nations?
To what extent are the principles involved in exchanges of goods and services between nations also applicable in domestic exchanges?
Describe the” triangular” operation in exchange between three countries, whereby an export of specie may take place from one of them before the price of exchange has fallen to the shipping point. Illustrate by an actual case.
Explain the difference in rates for long exchange as compared with short, and show the conditions under which an unusual divergence of rates may exist. Illustrate by an actual case.
Why is it that in the dealings between England and other countries bills of exchange are chiefly drawn upon England and few are drawn by her upon others? How are the transactions between England and the United States adjusted, when the bills are for the most part drawn by us upon England?

_____________________

Primarily for Graduates.

Economics Seminary Announcement

[Economics] 20. Seminary in Economics. Mon., at 4.30.
Professors Dunbar, Taussig, and Ashley and Asst. Professor Edward Cummings will guide competent students in research on topics assigned after consultation. The Seminary will hold weekly meetings; and in addition each student will confer once a week, with the instructor under whose guidance he carries on his investigations.

Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1896-1897, p. 35.

Economics Seminary Enrollment

[Economics] 20. Professors Dunbar, Taussig, and Ashley and Asst. Professor Edward Cummings. — Seminary in Economics.

Total 20: 17 Graduates, 2 Seniors, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University, Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1896-97, p. 66.

Image Source: Memorial Hall, Harvard University. From Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

Tags Ashley, CummingsEdward, CummingsJohn, Taussig, Virtue

Exam Questions Harvard Suggested Reading Syllabus

Harvard. Economics of population growth. Syllabus and examination. Kuznets, 1963

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2022-02-28

Simon Kuznets was born in Pinsk (Russian Empire, now Belarus) April 30, 1901. He went to secondary school in Rovno and in Kharkov. In 1918–1921 he attended Kharkov Commercial Institute, after which he worked 1921–1922 in the Department of Labor Statistics of South Bureau of Council of Trade Unions. His family emigrated to the United States in 1922.

The Kharkiv National University of Economics in Ukraine was named after Simon Kuznets in 2013.

Previously transcribed and posted here at Economics in the Rear-view Mirror: materials from Simon Kuznets’ 1960-61 Harvard course, Economics 203 “Economic Growth and Comparative Economic Structures”.

____________________________

Course Announcement

Economics 286. Economics of Population Growth
Half course (spring term). Tu., 2-3:30. Professor Kuznets.

A review of long-term trends in growth and structure of population and of their economic implications.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Courses of Instruction for Harvard and Radcliffe, 1962-1963. Official Register of Harvard University, Vol. LIX, No. 17 (August 20, 1962), p. 108.

____________________________

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics
Economics 286
Professor Kuznets

Spring Term, 1963

List of Readings (preliminary)

The Malthusian Theory

T. R. Malthus, An Essay on the Principle of Population, 1st edition 1798, reprinted by Macmillan 1929 (or other reprints)
James Bonar, Malthus and His Work, London 1885, reprinted in 1924, (particularly Book I, pp. 1-207)

(For Browsing)

Kenneth Smith, The Malthusian Controversy, London 1951
Harold A. Boner, Hungry Generations, New York 1955

The Low-level Equilibrium Trap

R. R. Nelson, A Theory of the Low-Level Equilibrium Trap, American Economic Review, December 1956, pp. 894-908
Harvey Leibenstein, Economic Backwardness and Economic Growth, New York 1957, Chapter 10, pp. 117-173

Historical Background

United Nations, The Determinants and Consequences of Population Trends, New York 1953, Chapter II, pp. 5-20

Mortality

United Nations, volume listed under (7), Chapter IV, pp. 47-70
George J. Stolnitz, A Century of International Mortality Trends, Population Studies, vol, IX, no. 1, July 1955, pp. 24-55 and vol. X no. 1, July 1956, pp. 17-42

(For Browsing)

Thomas McKeown and R. S. Record, two papers on causes of decline in mortality in England in the 18th and in the 19th centuries, Population Studies, vol. IX, 1955, pp. 119-41 and vol. XVI, 1962, pp. 94-122

Fertility

United Nations, volume listed under (7), Chapter V, pp. 71-97
Frank Lorimer, Culture and Human Fertility, UNESCO 1954, pp. 15-251
Kingsley Davis and Judith Blake, Social Structure and Fertility: An Analytic Framework, Economic Development and Cultural Change, vol. IV, no. 3, April 1956, pp. 211-35
Gary S. Becker, An Economic Analysis of Fertility, Demographic and Economic Change in Developed Countries, Universities-NBER Committee volume, Princeton 1960, pp. 209-240
E. E. Hagen, Population and Economic Growth, American Economic Review June 1959, pp. 310-327

Migration

United Nations, volume listed under (7), Chapter VI, pp. 98-134

Economic Implications

United Nations, volume listed under (7), Chapter XIII, pp. 220-38
Simon Kuznets, Population Change and Aggregate Output, in the volume listed under (6), pp. 324-351
Ansley J. Coale and Edgar M. Hoover, Population Growth and Economic Development in Low Income Countries, Princeton 1958, Part Five, pp. 295-335

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003, Folder “Economics, 1962-1963 (2 of 2)”.

____________________________

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Economics 286
Examination, May 23, 1963

Please answer six and no more than eight questions, choosing at least one question in each of the four Roman numeral groups.

A detailed outline of an answer is a good substitute for writing out the answer in full,

Please write legibly.

I

What are the connections in the Malthusian theory of population growth among the rate of natural increase of population, the “Iron” law of wages, and the law of diminishing returns? In answering consider birth and death rates separately.
What assumptions are made in the low-level equilibrium trap theories concerning the connection between death rates and per capita income? Concerning the connection between birth rates and per capita income? Discuss the validity of these assumptions.

II

What factors made for significant declines in mortality in the period since the late 18th century? In outlining the groups of factors involved, suggest why the declines were delayed for long periods in the 19th century in many developed countries.
Indicate the differences in magnitudes of decline in mortality among (a) age groups; (b) sex groups; (c) urban and rural population. Select any two of these for a discussion of the factors that may have been responsible for the differences in magnitude of mortality decline.

III

Outline the major trends in the birth rates since late 18^th century in: (a) older developed countries of Europe; (b) younger offshoots of Europe overseas; (c) underdeveloped countries. In answering the questions, indicate, in case trends are significant, whether they apply to crude rates alone or also to rates per woman of child-bearing age and per married woman of child-bearing age.
What groups of factors have been suggested to account for the downward trends in birth rates in the developed countries? In outlining these, and the relevant theories, mention also the cross-section differentials in birth rates that provide the empirical base for such theories.
What do the current differences in crude birth rates between developed and underdeveloped countries reflect in the way of different marriage rates, different ages of women at marriage, differential fertility by age of mother and age of father, total number of children in a completed family? Suggest some economic implications of these differences.

IV

What relationship between population trends and economic trend account for much of internal and external migration observed since the late 18^th century in and among developed countries? In answering, try to specify as closely as possible the economic and the population trends involved.
What effects on the efficiency of labor can be ascribed to internal (and external) migration in developed countries? Indicate briefly the various types of effect that might be usefully distinguished.
What effects on the pattern of life and consumption of the population can be ascribed to internal (and external) migration in developed countries? Indicate briefly the various type of effect that might be usefully distinguished.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, … , Economics, …Naval Science, Air Science. June 1963. In bound volume: Social Sciences, Final Examinations, June 1963 (HUC 7000.28, Vol. 147 of 284).

Image Source: Simon Kuznets portrait from 1971 in Wikipedia Commons.

Tags Kuznets

Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. General Examination in Microeconomic Theory. Spring, 1993

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2022-02-19

Economics in the Rear-view Mirror has been provided a copy of nearly all the 1990s general exams in micro- and macroeconomic theory from Harvard through the collegial generosity of Minneapolis Fed economist Abigail Wozniak. With this post you now have the Spring 1993 graduate general exams in microeconomic theory.

While these exams lie outside of my personal comfort zone as a historian of economics (1870-1970), for fledgling historians of economics of today and tomorrow these are indeed legitimate historical artifacts definitely worth transcription. I am rather slow in digitizing them because transcription of mathematics for this blog requires latex inserts. Latex expressions involve considerably longer roundabout production than the application of my talents for touch-typing/OCR to non-mathematical text. Patience! The Rest is Yet to Come!

________________________________

Previously Transcribed Harvard Graduate General Exams

Spring 1989: Economic Theory

Spring 1991: Microeconomics; Macroeconomics

Spring 1992: Micro- and Macroeconomics

Fall 1992: Micro- and Macroeconomics

________________________________

Graduate Microeconomic Theory Sequence, 1992-93

Economics 2010a. Economic Theory

Michael D. Whinston and Eric S. Maskin

Covers the theory of individual behavior including the following topics: constrained maximization, duality, theory of the consumer, theory of the producer, behavior under uncertainty, consumer choice of financial assets, externalities, monopolistic distortions, game theory, oligopolistic behavior, asymmetric information.

Prerequisite: Economics 2030 or equivalent; can be taken concurrently.
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 10-11:30.

Economics 2010b. Economic Theory

Andreu Mas-Colell and Stephen A. Marglin

General equilibrium, stability, pure and applied welfare economics, uncertainty, descriptive and optimal growth theory, income distribution, methodology.

Prerequisite: Economics 2010a.
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 10-11:30.

Source: Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Courses of Instruction 1992-1993, p. 248.

________________________________

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

Economics 2010b: FINAL EXAMINATION and
GENERAL EXAMINATION IN MICROECONOMIC THEORY

Spring Term 1993

For those taking the GENERAL EXAM in microeconomic theory:

You have FOUR hours.
Answer a total FIVE questions subject to the following constraints:

— at least ONE from Part I;
— at least TWO from Part II;
— EXACTLY ONE from Part III.

For those taking the FINAL EXAMINATION in Economics 2010b (not the General Examination):

You have THREE HOURS
Answer a total of four questions subject to the following constraints:

— DO NOT ANSWER ANY questions from Part I;
— at least TWO from Part II;
— at least ONE from Part III.

PLEASE USE A SEPARATE BLUE BOOK FOR EACH QUESTION

PLEASE PUT YOUR EXAM NUMBER ON EACH BOOK

Part I (Questions 1 and 2)

Suppose that there are J firms producing good differentiable cost function c(w,q) where w is a vector of input prices and q is the firm’s output level. The differentiable aggregate demand function for good is x(p), where p is good ’s price. Assume c(w,q) is strictly convex in q and that x´(p)≤0. Also assume that partial equilibrium analysis is justified.
1. Suppose that all factor inputs can be adjusted in the long-run, but that input k cannot be adjusted in the short-run. Suppose that we are initially at an equilibrium where all inputs are optimally adjusted to the equilibrium level of output $\bar{q}$ and factor prices $\bar{w}$ so that, letting $z_{k}\left( \bar{w} ,\bar{q} \right)$ be the conditional factor demand function for factor k, we have $z_{k}=z_{k}\left( \bar{w} ,\bar{q} \right)$ . What can be said about the short-run versus long-run output response of the firm to a differential change in the price of good $\ell$ ? What does this imply about the short-run versus long-run equilibrium response of p to a differential exogeneous shift in the demand function (hold the number of firms fixed in both cases)? (Hint: Define a short-run cost function $c_{s}\left( w,q,z_{k}\right)$ giving the minimized cost of producing output q given factor prices w when factor k is fixed at level $z_{k}$ ).
2. Now suppose that all factor inputs can be freely adjusted. Give the weakest possible sufficient condition, stated in terms of marginal and average costs and/or their derivatives, that guarantees that if the price of input $k\left( w_{k}\right)$ marginally increases, then firms’ equilibrium profits decline for any demand function $x\left( \cdot \right)$ with $x^{\prime }\left( \cdot \right) \leq 0$ . Show that if your condition is not satisfied, then there exist demand functions such that profits increase when the price of input k increases. What does your condition imply about the firm’s conditional factor demand for input k?
A. Consider a one-shot two-player game in which player 1 has a set of possible moves M₁ (with n₁ elements) and player 2 has a set of possible moves M₂ (with n₂ elements). Players move simultaneously. How many strategies does each player have?

B. Now suppose that the game is changed so that player 1 moves before 2, and 2 observes 1’s move, but that the game is otherwise the same as before. That is, the sets of moves are still M₁ and M₂, and player 1’s and 2’s payoffs as functions of moves $\psi_{1} \left( m_{1},m_{2}\right) \text{ and } \psi_{2} \left( m_{1},m_{2}\right)$ , respectively, are unchanged. How many strategies does each player have in the altered game?

C. The game of part B may have multiple subgame-perfect equilibria. Show, however, that, if this is the case, there exist two pairs of moves $\left( m_{1},m_{2}\right)\text{ and } \left( m^{\prime }_{1},m^{\prime }_{2}\right)$ (where either $m_{1}\neq m^{\prime }_{1}\text{ or } m_{2}\neq m^{\prime }_{2}$ ) such that either

(*) $\psi_{1} \left( m_{1},m_{2}\right) =\psi_{1} \left( m^{\prime }_{1},m^{\prime }_{2}\right)$
or
(**) $\psi_{2} \left( m_{1},m_{2}\right) =\psi_{2} \left( m^{\prime }_{1},m^{\prime }_{2}\right)$ .

D. Suppose that, for any two pairs of moves $\left( m_{1},m_{2}\right)\text{ and } \left( m^{\prime }_{1},m^{\prime }_{2}\right)$ such that $m_{1}\neq m^{\prime }_{1}\text{ or } m_{2}\neq m^{\prime }_{2}$ , (**) is violated, i.e., $\psi_{2} \left( m_{1},m_{2}\right) \neq \psi_{2} \left( m^{\prime }_{1},m^{\prime }_{2}\right)$ . In other words, player 2 is never indifferent between pairs of moves. Suppose that there exists a pure-strategy equilibrium in the game of part A in which $\pi_{1}$ is player 1’s payoff. Show that in any subgame-perfect equilibrium of part B, player 1’s payoff is at least $\pi_{1}$ . Would this conclusion necessarily hold for any Nash equilibrium of part B? Why or why not?

E. Show, by example, that the conclusion of part D may fail if either

(a) $\psi_{2} \left( m_{1},m_{2}\right) =\psi_{2} \left( m^{\prime }_{1},m^{\prime }_{2}\right)$ holds for some pair $\left( m_{1},m_{2}\right) ,\left( m^{\prime }_{1},m^{\prime }_{2}\right)$ with $m_{1}=m^{\prime }_{1}\text{ and } m_{2}=m^{\prime }_{2}$ ; or

(b) we replace the phrase “pure-strategy equilibrium” with “mixed-strategy equilibrium.”

Part II (Questions 3, 4, & 5)

QUESTION 3 (General Equilibrium with Gorman Preferences)
(20 points)

Suppose you have a population of consumers i = 1,….,I. Ever consumer i has an endowment vector of commodities $\omega_{i} \in R^{I}$ and preferences expressed by an indirect utility function $v_{i}\left( p,w_{i}\right)$ .

(a) (5 points)

Let $\left(\bar{x}_{1},\cdots,\bar{x}_{I}\right)$ be a Pareto optimal allocation. The utility levels of this allocation are $\left(\bar{u}_{1},\cdots,\bar{u}_{I}\right)$ . The second welfare theorem asserts the existence of a price vector $\bar{p}$ and wealth levels $\left(\bar{w}_{1},\cdots,\bar{w}_{I}\right)$ supporting the allocation. What does this mean? Express $\left(\bar{u}_{1},\cdots,\bar{u}_{I}\right)$ in terms of the indirect utility functions.

Assume for the next two parts of this question (b and c) that the indirect utility functions take the (Gorman) form $v_{i}\left( p,w_{i}\right) =a_{i}\left( p\right) +b\left( p\right) w_{i}$ . Note that $b\left(\cdot\right)$ does not depend on i. In the following, neglect always boundary allocations. Use of pictures is permissible and helpful.

(b) (5 points)

Show that for the above family of utility functions all the Pareto optimal allocations are supported by the same price vector.

Use the conclusion of part (b) to argue that the Walrasian equilibrium allocation is unique. (Assume preferences are strictly convex.)

For the last part of the question (d) assume that indirect utilities are of the form $v_{i}\left( p,w_{i}\right)=b_{i}\left(p_{i}\right)w$ , that is, the preferences on commodity bundles are homothetic (but possibly different across consumers).

(d) (5 points)

Argue by means of an Edgeworth box example (or in any other way you wish!) that the multiplicity of Walrasian equilibria is possible even if preferences are restricted to be homothetic.

QUESTION 4 (Revelation of Information Through Prices)
(20 Points)

Suppose there are two equally likely states $s_{1},s_{2}$ and two traders. In each state there is a spot market where a good is exchanged against numeraire. The utilities of the two traders are (the second good is the numeraire):

	STATE 1	STATE 2
TRADER 1	2 ln x₁₁ – x₂₁	4 ln x₁₁ + x₂₁
TRADER 2	4 ln x₁₂ – x₂₂	2 ln x₁₂ + x₂₂

The total endowment of the first good equals 6 in the first state and $6+\varepsilon$ in the second state. All the endowments of this good are received by the second trader. Assume that the endowments of numeraire for the two traders are sufficient for us to neglect the possibility of boundary equilibria. The price of the numeraire is fixed to 1 in the two states. The prices of the non-numeraire good in the two states are denoted $\left( p_{1},p_{2}\right)$ .

(a) (5 points)

Suppose that when uncertainty is resolved both traders know which state of the world has occurred. Determine the spot equilibrium prices $\left(\hat{p}_{1}\left(\varepsilon\right) ,\hat{p}_{2}\left(\varepsilon\right) \right)$ in the two states (as function of the parameter $\varepsilon$ ).

(b) (5 points)

We assume now when a state occurs Trader 2 knows it while Trader 1 remains uninformed (i.e. s/he must keep thinking of the two states or equally likely). Under this information set up determine the spot equilibrium prices $\left( \bar{p}_{1}\left(\varepsilon\right) ,\bar{p}_{2}\left(\varepsilon \right)\right)$ in the two states.

We are as in (b), except that now we allow Trader 1 to deduce the state of the world from prices. That is, if $p_{1}\neq p_{2}$ then Trader 1 is actually informed while if $p_{1}=p_{2}$ , s/he is not informed. A system of equilibrium spot prices $\left( p^{\ast }_{1}\left(\varepsilon\right) ,p^{\ast }_{2}\left(\varepsilon\right) \right)$ is a rational expectation equilibrium if at the equilibrium Trader 1 derives information from $\left( p^{\ast }_{1}\left(\varepsilon\right) ,p^{\ast }_{2}\left(\varepsilon\right) \right)$ in the manner described. Let $\varepsilon \neq 0$ . Exhibit a rational expectations equilibrium. Comment.

(d) (5 points)

Show that if $\varepsilon = 0$ then there is no rational expectations equilibrium.

QUESTION 5 (20 Points)

There are three participants in a public good decision problem with two outcomes. If the public good project is not carried out then the utility is zero for everybody. If it is carried out then the utility is 3 for the “project-lovers” and -1 for the “project-haters.” The cost of the project is zero.

We consider first the following decision mechanism. People are asked if they are PL (project-lovers) or PH (project haters). If at least one participant announces PL the project is carried out and the self-declared PH are exactly compensated for their loss. The resources for the compensation comes from a tax imposed on the self-declared PL (equal across them).

(a) (5 points)

Show that the above mechanism is not straightforward. Define your terms.

(b) (5 points)

Suppose now that participants know each others characteristics (i.e. if they are project-lovers or project-haters). Consider the situation where everybody self-declares truthfully. Argue that this is an equilibrium (i.e. it does not pay to any participant to deviate) if there is one but not if there are two PLs. Which are the equilibrium situations in the latter case?

We now change the set-up somewhat. Suppose that the designer knows how many PLs there are and that the participants know that the designer knows (or, simply you can assume that both designer and participants have this information). Say that the number of PLs is $\alpha \in \left( 1,2,3\right)$ . (Hence there is at least one PL.) Then the decision mechanism is as above except that for the project to be carried out it is now required that at least $\alpha$ self-declare as PL.

Show that for this mechanism it does not always pay to self-declare truthfully (that is, the truth is not a dominant strategy).

(d) (5 points)

Suppose that it is understood (Precisely, it is common knowledge) that no participant will ever use a dominated announcement. Show then that it cannot hurt to self-declare truthfully (technically, the truth is dominant after one round of deletion of dominated strategies. There is a subtle point here—that you may want to discuss—namely, if “dominated” should be understood as “weakly dominated” or “strongly dominated.” The distinction does not matter for the case $\alpha =1$ but it does for the case $\alpha =2$ .)

Part III (Questions 6 and 7)

(a) How does the following idea (or vision, in Schumpeter’s sense of the term) get reflected in the neo-Keynesian model presented in this course?

…there is a subtle reason drawn from economic analysis why…faith may work. For if we act consistently on the optimistic premise, this hypothesis will tend to be realized; whilst by acting on the pessimistic premise, we keep ourselves for ever in the pit of want. (Keynes, Essays in Persuasion, pp. vii-viii)

(b) Why does Knight’s dictum [following] fail to characterize the neo-Keynesian model?

…competition among even a very few [entrepreneurs]will raise the rate of contractual returns [wages] and lower the residual share [profits], if they know their own powers. If they do not, the size of their profits will again depend on their “optimism,” varying inversely with the latter. (Knight, Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit, p. 285.)

(c) Is it true, as Joan Robinson once wrote, that in a neo-Keynesian conception of the world businessmen are free to make the rate of profit anything they wish?

(d) More generally, how can investment demand be exogenous in a model where income and expenditure must be equal as a condition of equilibrium? What features of the theory allow investors’ preferences and investment demand to play a role in neo-Keynesian theory which differs from the role played by consumers preferences and consumption demand in neoclassical theory?

Economic theories are, among other things, theories of knowledge—implicitly if not explicitly. What is the neoclassical theory of knowledge? Which do you regard as the more serious of the many objections to this theory of knowledge? Why in your view has the theory been able to survive the objections?

Source: Department of Economics, Harvard University. Past General Exams, Spring 1991-Spring 1999, pp. 84-88. Private copy of Abigail Waggoner Wozniak.

Tags Marglin, Mas-Colell, Maskin, Whinston, Wozniak

Exam Questions Johns Hopkins Undergraduate

Johns Hopkins. Undergraduate economics examinations, 1921-1922

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2022-02-09

Mid-year and year-end exams for the undergraduate political economy courses at Johns Hopkins for the academic year 1921-1922 have been transcribed for this post. Exams for the second semester of Political Economy V and VI were not found in the department’s file of old examinations. Names of instructors with their educational backgrounds along with short course descriptions are provided below as well.

_______________________________

Previous years’ exams transcribed

Undergraduate exams for 1919-20.

Undergraduate exams for 1922-23.

Undergraduate exams for 1923-24.

_______________________________

Johns Hopkins Faculty 1921-22
For Undergraduate Courses in Political Economy

Weyforth, William Oswald, Ph.D., Associate in Political Economy.

A.B., Johns Hopkins University, 1912, and Ph.D., 1915; Instructor, Western Reserve University, 1915-17.

Mitchell, Broadus, Ph.D., Instructor in Political Economy.

A.B., University of South Carolina, 1913; Fellow, Johns Hopkins University, 1916-17, and Ph.D., 1918.

Barnett, George Ernest, Ph.D., Professor of Statistics.

A.B., Randolph-Macon College, 1891; Fellow, John Hopkins University, 1899-1900, and Ph.D., 1901.

Jacobs, Theo, A.B., Associate in Social Economics.

A.B., Goucher College, 1901; Federated Charities of Baltimore (District Assistant, 1905-07, District Secretary, 1907-10, Assistant General Secretary, 1910-17, Acting General Secretary, 1917-19).

Sources:

Academic Rank in 1921-22 from The Johns Hopkins University Circular, New Series 1922, No. 7. Report of the President of the University 1920-1921 (November 1922), p. 70.

Academic biographical data from The Johns Hopkins University Circular, University Register 1922-1923, No. 342, January 1923. Announcements for 1923-1924.

_______________________________

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
1921-22

Political Economy I. Three hours weekly, through the year. In the first half-year the economic development of England and the industrial experience of the United States were studied. In the second half-year particular attention was given to the history of distribution and its application to leading economic problems. (Dr. Weyforth and Dr. Mitchell.)

Political Economy II. Three hours weekly, through the year. In the first half-year a preliminary study of the value and place of statistics as an instrument of investigation was made; attention was directed to the chief methods used in statistical inquiry. In the second half-year the principles of monetary· science were taught with reference to practical conditions in modern systems of currency, banking and credit. (Professor Barnett and Dr. Weyforth.)

Political Economy IV. Three hours weekly, through the year. In the first half-year the problems growing out of modern industrial employment were studied. In the second half-year the history of the industrial corporation was studied. (Professor Barnett and Dr. Mitchell.)

Political Economy VI. Three hours weekly, through the year. In the first half-year the applications of statistics to business and economic problems, such as price levels, cost of living, wage adjustments, business cycles, and business forecasting, were considered. In the second half-year the theory and practice of finance was considered, with particular reference to the problems of taxation presented in the experience of the United States. (Dr. Weyforth and Dr. Mitchell.)

Political Economy VII. Two hours weekly, through the year. History and development of social work. The responsibility of the State and private organizations toward the dependent, defective, and delinquent. (Miss Theo Jacobs.)

Source: The Johns Hopkins University Circular, New Series 1922, No. 7. Report of the President of the University 1921-1922 (November 1922), pp. 56-57.

_______________________________

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
POLITICAL ECONOMY I
(Academic Section)

January 30, 1922 — 2-5 P.M.

What was the economic situation of England during the Roman occupation?
Describe the economic strength and weakness of the manorial system, and show how the feudal plan suggests the Single Tax scheme.
What elements in gild life would be welcome in our present industrial order, and what elements of the medieval arrangement would be impossible with us at present?
Tell what you know of trading in England in the middle ages.
Suppose half the people of the United States should die inside of two or three years. What would be the chief economic consequences?
Trace the gradually developing economic freedom of the lowest order of workers in England. Did peasants benefit more from the breaking up of the manorial system, or journeymen and apprentices from the collapse of the gilds?
What was the economic condition of England on the eve of the Industrial Revolution?
What is the significance of the Industrial Revolution? How did the factor system differ from the factory system?
Define briefly: enclosures, Peasants’ revolt, Gresham’s Law, Steelyard, steward, serf or villein, apprentice, domestic system, Doomsday Book, Statute of Artificers, staple, virgate.
What is the chief thing you have learned in this semester?

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
EXAMINATION IN POLITICAL ECONOMY I
(Academic Section)

Wednesday, May 31 — 2-5 P.M.

What distinction would you draw between history, political science, and political economy? Explain fully.
What facts in the industrial history of England illustrate economic principles that we have dwelt upon?
Define: Wealth, capital, labor, time discount, wages of superintendence, consumer’s surplus, real wages, economic good, marginal productivity, entrepreneur.
Explain carefully the differential principle of rent. With whose name do we link this theory, and how did Henry George employ the law of rent to justify the Single Tax?
What was the wage-fund theory, and how was it used to discourage trade unionism?
Comment fully on this passage from Adam Smith: “Nothing is more useful than water; but it will purchase scarce anything; scarce anything can be had in exchange for it. A diamond, on the contrary, has scarce any value in use, but a very great quantity of goods may frequently be had in exchange for it.”
What accounts for the phenomenon of interest?
What is meant by pure profit?
Comment upon the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in declaring the national act imposing a 10% tax on the net profits of industries employing children unconstitutional.
Give, briefly, as many arguments as you can for and against trade unionism?
State the number of firms interviewed by you in connection with the survey of the industrial life of the Negro in Baltimore.

RE-EXAMINATION
POLITICAL ECONOMY I.
[Handwritten note: Late June 1922]

Define the following terms: “entrepreneur”, “marginal utility”, “capital”, “labor”, “diminishing returns”.
Explain fully the differential principle of rent.
Name and describe briefly four theories of wages.
What in your judgment is the best justification for trade unions?
What seems to you the most reasonable theory of interest?
Explain the theory of value to which most emphasis was given in the lecture.

_______________________________

POLITICAL ECONOMY 1.
Dr. Weyforth

Monday — January 30, 1922 — Afternoon.

Describe the chief characteristics of the economic life of the towns in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
What was the industrial revolution? What new conditions and what problems in economic life resulted from it?
Define the following terms: goods, free goods, economic exchange value, price,
Explain the underlying principles of “scientific management” in production. State and explain the attitude of organized labor toward scientific management.
Explain how market price is determined under conditions of competition. What is the relationship between market price and expenses of production?
Describe the principal forms of combination that have been used in the United States. Outline the main features of Federal legislation concerning combinations.
What is meant by standard money? What are the requirements of a bimetallic standard? Outline the main features of the monetary legislation of the United States.
What is a corporation? How is it brought into existence? What are its advantages as compared with the partnership or individual enterprise? Describe the principal securities through the issue of which its capital is obtained.

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
POLITICAL ECONOMY 1
(Engineering Group)

[N.B. falsely filed as a 1923 exam]

Wednesday, May 31.

Define the various types of credit. Explain how bank credit serves as a substitute for money as a medium of exchange,
Explain the factors that a bank officer takes into consideration in judging of the credit standing of a borrower,
What is the fallacy involved in the mercantilist theory of the desirability of a favorable balance of trade?
Explain the theory that each factor in production tends to receive a share of the product corresponding to its marginal productivity.
What is interest? Give an analysis of the forces that determine its rate.
How do you account for inequalities in the personal distribution of wealth? Why is less inequality desirable? How could it be effected?
What are some of the outstanding economic characteristics of railroad transportation? Explain their bearing upon the following: (a) practice of charging what the traffic will bear; (b) large variations in net earnings with small variations in traffic; (c) cut-throat nature of competition that sometimes develops.
What is socialism? Give briefly the arguments for and against

_______________________________

POLITICAL ECONOMY II.

Thursday, February 2, 1922 — 9-12 A.M.

What is the distinction between a census and a registration?
Define an average. Illustrate by defining the arithmetic mean, the mode and the median.
Define an index number. Explain the difference between the aggregate and the relative methods of constructing an index number.
Taking the following group of figures calculate the standard deviation:

Height of men	No. in Class
5.6 — 5.7	28
5.7 — 5.8	42
5.8 — 5.9	65
5.9 — 5.10	78
5.10 — 5.11	164
5.11 — 6.0	92
6.0 — 6.1	46
6.1 — 6.2	7

For the same group, calculate the mode.
For the same group, calculate the mean.

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
POLITICAL ECONOMY II
Money and Banking
Dr. Weyforth

Friday, June 2

What is bimetallism? What are the chief requisites of a bimetallic standard? What principles do the bimetallists depend for maintaining the concurrent circulation of gold and silver?
Define credit. What are the various kinds of credit? Distinguish especially the difference between investment credit and mercantile or commercial credit?
What is the function of the commercial paper house or note broker in present day commercial banking?
What is (a) a trade acceptance and (b) a bank acceptance? Explain their use and advantages.
What problems are presented to bankers (a) by seasonal fluctuations in business and (b) by cyclical fluctuations in business?
Describe the organization of the Federal Reserve System.
In what way does the Federal Reserve System provide for elasticity in currency and elasticity in credit?
What is the principle that governs the distribution of gold among the nations of the world under normal conditions such as those existing before the war?

_______________________________

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
POLITICAL ECONOMY IV
(Labor Problems)

February 2, 1922 — 9 A.M.-12M.

What are the principal reasons for believing that trade unionism and employers’ associations did not originate in the medieval gilds?
State in some detail who Francis Place was and explain his service to trade unionism.
What present-day evidences have we of the spirit which characterized the English combination acts?
State the arguments for and against the “closed shop”.
What do you know of the history of strikes?
Give your estimate of the purposes and progress of workers’ education in England and in the United States?
In the light of what you have learned, do you believe compulsory arbitration likely to promote industrial peace? What would you make the main provisions of a compulsory arbitration law could such be passed by congress?
Speak of the trade agreement and its significance.
Describe briefly one of the books you read during this course.
What do you think will be the next important development in the labor movement in this country?
List the books you have read for this course.

EXAMINATION IN POLITICAL ECONOMY IV.

Friday, June 2nd, 1922, (3-5 p.m.)

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the partnership?
Why is a complex capitalization usually superior to a simple form of capitalization?
What is the distinction between preferred and common stock as to (a) income, (b) control, (c) risk?
Define mortgage bonds, debenture bonds, income bonds, collateral bonds and equipment trust bonds.
What is meant by amortization? Under what circumstances is some provision for amortization necessary for the protection of the bond-holders?
What is the distinction between an underwriting syndicate with undivided liability and a syndicate with divided liability?
Does a stock dividend theoretically increase the total value of the stock outstanding? Practically how does it frequently work and why?
What are the advantages of the holding company form of organization?

_______________________________

POLITICAL ECONOMY VI
Dr. Weyforth.

Tuesday — January 31, 1922 — Afternoon.

Explain the construction of a logarithmic chart. What are its advantages?
Explain and illustrate the construction of (a) an index number of relatives, and (b) an index number of aggregates. What advantages are claimed for the latter?
Describe the way in which the Bureau of Labor Statistics index number of the total cost of living is constructed
What is the utility of an index number of the physical volume of production? Explain how Professor Stewart and Professor Day respectively constructed their index numbers.
Explain as fully as you can the system employed by the Harvard University Committee on Economic Research for the forecasting of business conditions.

_______________________________

[POLITICAL ECONOMY VII.]
SOCIAL ECONOMICS
Miss Jacobs.

Monday — January 30, 1922 — Morning

Give the arguments for and against public outdoor relief.
Give the war and peace time activities of the American Red Cross.
What is the Confidential Exchange of Information? What is its value to the community?
What are the effects of dependency and delinquency upon the community?
Give some of the causes of poverty. Tell how some of them may be lessened or eradicated.
Give the objects and aims of three (3) social organizations that seem the most important to you.

Source: Johns Hopkins University. Eisenhower Library. The Ferdinand Hamburger, Jr. Archives. Department of Political Economy, Series 5/6. Box No. 6/1, Folder “Exams 1907-1924.”

Image Source. Gilman Hall image from the 1924 edition of the Johns Hopkins’ yearbook Hullabaloo.

Tags Barnett, Jacobs, MitchellB, Weyforth

Economics 4. Statistics.

Course Announcement

Course Enrollment

Economics 4 [Mid-Year Examination, 1911]

Economics 4 [Year-End Examination, 1911]

Economics 27. Mathematical Economics.

Course Announcement

Economics 28. Insurance and Speculation.

Course Announcement

Course Enrollment

Economics 28 [Final Examination, 1911]

1898-99 Course Announcement Outlines of Economics.

1898-99 Enrollment Outlines of Economics.

1898-99. Economics 1. [Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Economics 1. [Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement Economic Theory in the Nineteenth Century

1898-99 Enrollment Economic Theory in the Nineteenth Century.

1898-99. Economics 2. [Mid-Year Exam, 1899]

1898-99. Economics 2. [Year-end Exam, 1899.]

1898-99 Course Announcement The Principles of Sociology

1898-99 Enrollment Principles of Sociology.

1898-99. Economics 3. [Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99. Economics 3. [Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement Statistics.

1898-99 Enrollment Statistics.

1898-99. Economics 4. [Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Economics 4. [Year-end Exam, 1899.]

1898-99 Course Announcement Railways and Other Public Works.

1898-99 Enrollment Railways and Other Public Works.

1898-99. Economics 51. [Mid-year (Final) Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement Economic History of the U.S.

1898-99 Enrollment Economic History of the U.S.

1898-99. Economics 6. [Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99. Economics 6. [Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement Western Civilization in its Economic Aspects

1898-99 Enrollment Western Civilization in its Economic Aspects.

Course Reading List (1899)

1898-99. Economics 82. [Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement Labor Question in Europe and the U.S.

1898-99 Enrollment Labor Question in Europe and the U.S.

1898-99. Economics 9. [Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99. Economics 9. [Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement Industrial Revolution in England

1898-99 Enrollment Industrial Revolution in England.

1898-99. Economics 112. [Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement Banking and the History of the leading Banking Systems

1898-99 Enrollment Banking and the History of the Leading Banking Systems.

1898-99. Economics 121. [Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement Methods of Economic Investigation

1898-99 Enrollment Methods of Economic Investigation.

1898-99. Economics 13. [Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99. Economics 13. [Year-End Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement Selected Topics in U.S. Financial Legislation

1898-99 Enrollment Selected Topics in U.S. Financial Legislation.

1898-99. Economics 16. [Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99. Economics 16. [Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement Ethnology in its Applications to Economic and Social Problems.

1898-99 Enrollment Ethnology in its Applications to Economic and Social Problems.

1898-99. Economics 172. [Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement Seminary in Economics

1898-99 Enrollment Seminary in Economics.

Topics and Speakers at the Seminary of Economics, 1898-99

Previous posts (for 1921-1941)

1929-30

From Course Announcements

Enrollment

1929-30. Harvard University. Economics 231. [Mid-year Exam, 1930]

1929-30 Harvard University. Economics 25 [Mid-year Exam, 1930]

PART I

PART II

1929-30 Harvard University. Economics 25 [Year-end Exam, 1930]

1930-1931

From Course Announcements

Enrollment

1930-31 Harvard University Economics 23. [Mid-year Exam 1931]

1930-31 Harvard University Economics 25 [Mid-Year Exam, 1931]

1930-31 Harvard University Economics 25 [Year-end Exam, 1931]

1931-1932

From Course Announcements

Enrollment

Economics 4
[Mid-Year Examination, 1911]

Economics 4
[Year-End Examination, 1911]

Economics 28
[Final Examination, 1911]

1898-99 Course Announcement
Outlines of Economics.

1898-99 Enrollment
Outlines of Economics.

1898-99.
Economics 1.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99
Economics 1.
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement
Economic Theory in the Nineteenth Century

1898-99 Enrollment
Economic Theory in the Nineteenth Century.

1898-99.
Economics 2.
[Mid-Year Exam, 1899]

1898-99.
Economics 2.
[Year-end Exam, 1899.]

1898-99 Course Announcement
The Principles of Sociology

1898-99 Enrollment
Principles of Sociology.

1898-99.
Economics 3.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99.
Economics 3.
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement
Statistics.

1898-99 Enrollment
Statistics.

1898-99.
Economics 4.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99
Economics 4.
[Year-end Exam, 1899.]

1898-99 Course Announcement
Railways and Other Public Works.

1898-99 Enrollment
Railways and Other Public Works.

1898-99.
Economics 5¹.
[Mid-year (Final) Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement
Economic History of the U.S.

1898-99 Enrollment
Economic History of the U.S.

1898-99.
Economics 6.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99.
Economics 6.
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement
Western Civilization in its Economic Aspects

1898-99 Enrollment
Western Civilization in its Economic Aspects.

1898-99.
Economics 8².
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement
Labor Question in Europe and the U.S.

1898-99 Enrollment
Labor Question in Europe and the U.S.

1898-99.
Economics 9.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99.
Economics 9.
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement
Industrial Revolution in England

1898-99 Enrollment
Industrial Revolution in England.

1898-99.
Economics 11².
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement
Banking and the History of the leading Banking Systems

1898-99 Enrollment
Banking and the History of the Leading Banking Systems.

1898-99.
Economics 12¹.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement
Methods of Economic Investigation

1898-99 Enrollment
Methods of Economic Investigation.

1898-99.
Economics 13.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99.
Economics 13.
[Year-End Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement
Selected Topics in U.S. Financial Legislation

1898-99 Enrollment
Selected Topics in U.S. Financial Legislation.

1898-99.
Economics 16.
[Mid-year Exam, 1899]

1898-99.
Economics 16.
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement
Ethnology in its Applications to Economic and Social Problems.

1898-99 Enrollment
Ethnology in its Applications to Economic and Social Problems.

1898-99.
Economics 17².
[Year-end Exam, 1899]

1898-99 Course Announcement
Seminary in Economics

1898-99 Enrollment
Seminary in Economics.

Topics and Speakers at the
Seminary of Economics,
1898-99

Previous posts
(for 1921-1941)

1929-30.
Harvard University.
Economics 23¹.
[Mid-year Exam, 1930]

1929-30
Harvard University.
Economics 25
[Mid-year Exam, 1930]

1929-30
Harvard University.
Economics 25
[Year-end Exam, 1930]

1930-31
Harvard University
Economics 23.
[Mid-year Exam 1931]

1930-31
Harvard University
Economics 25
[Mid-Year Exam, 1931]

1930-31
Harvard University
Economics 25
[Year-end Exam, 1931]

1931-32
Harvard University
Economics 23
[Final Exam 1932]

1931-32
Harvard University
Economics 25
[Mid-Year Exam, 1932]

1931-32
Harvard University
Economics 25
[Year-End Exam, 1932]

1932-33
Harvard University
Economics 25¹
[Mid-year Final Exam, 1933]

1933-34
Havard University
Economics 23²
[Final Exam 1934]

Economics 21. Economic History to 1450.
Readings and paper topics, Usher. 1934

1934-35
Harvard University
Economics 21
[Final Exam. Jan 18, 1935]

1934-35
Harvard University
Economic 23
[Mid-year Exam 1935]

1934-35
Harvard University
Economics 23
[Year-end Exam, 1935]

1935-36
Harvard University
Economics 23
[Mid-year Exam, 1936]

1935-36
Harvard University
Economics 23
[Year-end Exam, 1936]

Summer School of Harvard University
August 15, 1936
Economics S20 (Economics 23)

1936-37
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Year-end Examination, 1937]

1937-38
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Mid-year Exam, 1938]

1937-38
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Year-end Exam, 1938]

1938-39
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Mid-year Exam, 1939]

1938-39
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Year-end Exam, 1939]

1939-40
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 133
[Mid-Year Exam, 1940]

1939-1940
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 133
[Year-End Exam, 1940]

1940-41
Harvard University
Economics 133
[Mid-year Exam, 1941]