Category: Exam Questions

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Exam Questions Harvard Suggested Reading Syllabus

Harvard. Economic Analysis and Public Policy, Readings and Exams. Smithies and Baldwin, 1956-57

While Harvard archive’s collection of old course syllabi and reading lists offers a treasure chest of material, there still are plenty of “missing observations” and lost pages between us and a complete record. Fortunately there is often significant inertia in the actual syllabi so that interpolation is less hazardous than one might expect in filling the gaps. As noted below, the reading list for the Spring term was not found in the corresponding folder for Harvard economics course syllabi in the Harvard archives.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Arthur Smithies’ syllabus for this course as taught in 1949-50 has been transcribed and posted.

Robert Baldwin’s reading lists and exams for 1955-56 have been likewise transcribed and posted.

________________________

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 206. Economic Analysis and Public Policy. Professor Smithies and Assistant Professor Baldwin. Full course.

(F) Total 49: 9 Graduates, 36 Other Graduates, 1 Senior, 1 Radcliffe, 2 Others.
(S) Total 51: 10 Graduates, 37 Other Graduates, 1 Senior, 1 Radcliffe, 2 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1956-57, p. 70.

________________________

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

Economics 206
Reading List, Fall 1956

  1. Economic Analysis and Public Policy

F. H. Knight, “Economic Objectives in a Changing World,” Economics and Public Policy, The Brookings Institution, 1955.

A. Smithies, “Economic Welfare and Policy,” Ibid.

  1. The Ricardian System

David Ricardo, Principles of Political Economy, Chs. 2-6, 21.

W. J. Baumol, Economic Dynamics, Ch. 2.

Suggested:

Ricardo, Chs. 1, 31

G. J. Stigler, “The Ricardian Theory of Value and Distribution,” The Journal of Political Economy, LX, 3 (June 1952).

J. S. Mill, Principles of Political Economy, Bk. 3, Ch. 6 and 14;

Mimeographed paper on Smith and Ricardo*

  1. Marxian Dynamics

Karl Marx, A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, Preface.

M. M. Bober, Karl Marx’s Interpretation of History, Chs. 1-3, 9-13.

Suggested:

Joan Robinson, An Essay on Marxian Economics.

P. Sweezy, The Theory of Capitalist Development, Chs. 4-6, 8, 9,

J. A. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, Part I.

Mimeographed paper on Marx*

  1. The Neo-classical System

L. Walras, Elements of Pure Economics, Part I.

G. Cassel, The Theory of Social Economy, Ch. 4

W. S. Jevons, The Theory of Political Economy, Introduction.

Suggested:

E. Phelps Brown, Framework of the Pricing System

  1. The Schumpeterian System

J. A. Schumpeter, Business Cycles, Vol. I, Chs. 3, 4.

J. A. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, Part II

Suggested:

J. A. Schumpeter, The Theory of Economic Development.

Mimeographed paper on Schumpeter*.

  1. Keynesian Economics

J. M. Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, Ch. 19.

D. Dillard, The Economics of J. M. Keynes, Chs. 2, 3.

A. Hansen, Business Cycles and National Income, Part II

Suggested:

A. Hansen, A Guide to Keynes

J. M. Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money.

  1. Post-Keynesian Growth Theorists

E. Domar, “Expansion and Employment,” American Economic Review, March 1947.

W. Baumol, op. cit., Ch. 4

Suggested:

R. Harrod, Towards a Dynamic Economics, Ch. 3.

D. Hamberg, Economic Growth and Instability, Ch. 2, 3

*Available in Lamont and Littauer Libraries.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 6, Folder: “Economics, 1956-1957 (1 of 2).

________________________

1956-57
HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Economics 206
Fall 1956
Final Examination

Answer FIVE of the following seven questions.

  1. What conclusions can be drawn concerning the optimization of resource allocation in a competitive versus a monopolistic economy? Consider the problem under both static and dynamic conditions.
  2. Analyze the possible employment effects of an increase in the money supply in the Keynesian and the neo-classical aggregate models.
  3. Both Ricardo and Marx assert that real wages tend to be driven to a subsistence level in the long-run. Contrast the reasoning of these two writers in reaching this conclusion.
  4. Contrast the reasons why the classical writers were pessimistic about development prospects under capitalism whereas the neo-classical economists were quite optimistic about growth possibilities.
  5. Neo-classical writers claim that long-run equilibrium at a less than full employment level is impossible. Keynesians, on the other hand, assert that less than full employment equilibrium is possible. Carefully explain the reasons why these two groups differ on this point.
  6. What were the major policy recommendations of Ricardo? Analyze how, according to Ricardo, the adoption of these measures would postpone the arrival of the stationary state.
  7. Contrast the role of the interest rate as a determinant of investment in the Schumpeterian, neo-classical, and Keynesian models.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Final examinations, 1853-2001. Box 25, Volume: Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, …, Economics, …, Naval Science, Air Science, January 1957.

________________________

Note: The reading list for Economics 206, Spring Term 1957 was not found in the Harvard archives with the other filed course syllabi from 1956-57.

________________________

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Economics 206

Spring Examination, 1957

Answer FOUR of SEVEN.

  1. a) Under what conditions could the U.S. economy achieve uninterrupted growth? Do you think these conditions are likely to prevail?
    b) What sort of obstacles to steady growth would you expect to find in the U.S. economy? Are they self-correcting or would you recommend specific policies to overcome them?
  2. Is an equal or unequal distribution of income more compatible with the achievement of steady growth? What are the chief determinants of income distribution in the United States? Would you expect a shift in distribution as the economy grows?
  3. Analyze the causes of inflationary pressure. With our present institutional arrangements, what policy measures would you advocate to alleviate an inflation? Discuss any changes in present institutions that you feel would be desirable for combating inflation. Would your policy measures change if you were operating under changed legal or institutional arrangements? (i.e. Would you use the same instruments in a different way?)
  4. What is the meaning of balance of payments disequilibrium? How would you deal with such a disequilibrium in a country that had a goal of maximizing economic growth?
  5. Do you think there was a fundamental change in the U.S. economy between the prosperous ‘20’s and the depressed ‘30’s or between the ‘30’s and the post World War II era? If so, what were these changes and how do they contribute to an explanation of the behavior of the economy in these periods? If not, how would you explain the mixed performance of the economy?
  6. How can the traditional theory of the firm be used to explain the distribution of income? Would the theory lead you to expect a different distribution in an imperfectly competitive economy than in a purely competitive one?
  7. Are large budgets consistent with equilibrium growth? What effect on growth would an increase in government expenditure have if (a) it is deficit financed, (b) it is tax financed?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Final examinations, 1853-2001. Volume 113 (HUC 7000.28) Final Exams—Social Sciences—June 1957: Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, …, Economics, …, Naval Science, Air Science, June 1957.

Image Sources:  (Left) John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation website. Arthur Smithies (1955 Fellow); (Right) Robert Baldwin from Selection from photograph (ca. 1975) of Robert E. Baldwin from the University of Wisconsin Archives/The University of Wisconsin Collection/The UW-Madison Collection/UW-Madison Archives Images.

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Exam Questions M.I.T.

M.I.T. Comprehensive Theory Exams in Macroeconomics, 1961

 

The Microeconomics examination questions for the economic theory general examinations of May and September at M.I.T. have also been transcribed and posted.

__________________

From the 1961 Economics Graduate Program Broschure
[boldface emphasis added]

Major Program and General Examinations

Work taken in the Department of Economics and Social Science for the doctorate in economics is divided—broadly speaking—into two separate options: economics and industrial relations. But there is considerable overlap between the two.

All students in both options are examined five fields. Among the fields presently available are the following: economic theory, advanced economic theory, monetary and fiscal economics, industrial organization, economic development, international economics, economics of innovation, labor economics and labor relations, personnel administration, human relations in industry, statistical theory and method, and economic history. Each student selects one field as having primary importance for this professional career; ordinarily this is the field in which he writes his dissertation, though exceptions may be made. The remaining four fields are designated secondary fields. One of the five fields must be economic theory.

Students are also required to have at least a minimum knowledge of statistics and economic history. This minimum is presently interpreted to mean one semester of work in each at the graduate level. Candidates who present statistics or economic history as a primary or secondary field normally take two or three semester subjects in the field and automatically satisfy the requirements in that area.

Students may qualify in one of the secondary fields through course work only, provided that they receive a mark of B or better in two subjects. Students are examined in writing in the remaining four fields during an eight-day period (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Monday). The theory examination is four hours long (divided roughly between microeconomics and macroeconomics), while the other three are each three hours long.

Following these written examinations, the student takes a two-hour oral examination which covers theory, his primary field, and one secondary field.

Source: Excerpt from Graduate Economics Program Brochure, 1961. MIT Archives, Department of Economics Records, Box 2, Folder “Department Brochures”.

____________________

GENERAL EXAMINATION IN ECONOMIC THEORY
Macroeconomics—Two Hours
[May 22, 1961]

Answer THREE questions, at least ONE from each part. (Course XV students answer ONE question from each part only.)
USE A SEPARATE EXAMINATION BOOK FOR EACH QUESTION.

Part I.

  1. Write a comprehensive essay on the subject of “The Measurement of Economic Growth”. Include in it the description of existing methods, their rationale (the most important part) and your suggestions for improvement.
  2. Write an essay on “The General Theory after Twenty-Five Years”.
  3. (a) Explain the nature and the rationale of the definition of the concept of money in “Price Flexibility and Employment” problems.”
    (b) “If the ‘Balanced-Budget Multiplier’ is correct, isn’t Say’s Law also correct?” Comment fully.

Part II.

  1. “By making existing capital assets obsolete, technological progress is alleged to create new investment opportunities and thus raise the level of income and employment. But to the extent that such obsolescence was foreseen, the assets were depreciated over a shorter period and thus gave rise to larger gross savings. Therefore, expected technological progress fails to stimulate the economy.” Comment fully.
  2. Present your favorite (traditional, eclectic, or original) business cycle theory. Indicate the empirical tests to which it will be subjected.
  3. “In order to prevent a cost-push inflation, wage rates in each firm or industry should not increase faster than its labor productivity price increases will thus be avoided.”
    Comment fully and critically; indicate and justify your wage and price policy.

____________________

GENERAL EXAMINATION IN ECONOMIC THEORY
Macroeconomics—Two Hours
[September 18, 1961]

Answer FOUR questions, TWO from each part. USE A SEPARATE EXAMINATION BOOK FOR EACH QUESTION.

Part I.

  1. State, explain and justify the treatment of government expenditures (Federal, state and local) in the computation of national product and its components. Why is government treated differently from other sectors? What is the logical foundation for such treatment?
  2. Compare and contrast the Keynesian and the so-called Classical systems.
  3. Contrast the investment criteria applicable to (a) an individual firm, (b) the U.S. government, (c) the government of an undeveloped country. Explain clearly your reasons for such differences, if any.
  4. Write an essay on “The History of the Consumption Function.” Indicate and evaluate the major contributions. How significant are they? Which one do you prefer and why?

Part II.

  1. Describe fully the “economic indicator” approach to economic forecasting. Evaluate its performance. Compare it with the use of projected models of GNP.
  2. Describe the long-term trends in (a) population, (b) output, (c) capital, (d) real wage rates, (e) interest, (f) relative shares, (g) capital-output and other important ratios. What constancies have people claimed to observe? What behavior is explicable by a simple neoclassical model? What points to technological change or to various non-neoclassical growth theories? Mention authors as well as theories.
  3. Summarize briefly the historical facts on business cycles or fluctuations here and abroad. What theories have been suggested? Besides naming names, give your own best way of cataloguing the different theories (e.g. non-linear, etc.).
  4. Give the basic facts on “growth” here and abroad, recently and in history. How could America increase its sustained growth rate? Be analytical and specific.

Source: Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Evsey D. Domar Papers, Box 16, Folder “Ph.D. Examinations, Macroeconomics”.

Image Source: Boston Public Library, Tichnor Brothers Postcard Collection. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. Tichnor Bros. Inc., Boston, Mass., 1930.

 

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Exam Questions M.I.T.

M.I.T. Comprehensive Theory Exams in Microeconomics, 1961

 

The Macroeconomics examination questions for the economic theory general examinations of May and September at M.I.T. have also been transcribed and posted.

Note:  S.I.M. = School of Industrial Management

__________________

From the 1961 Economics Graduate Program Broschure
[boldface emphasis added]

Major Program and General Examinations

Work taken in the Department of Economics and Social Science for the doctorate in economics is divided—broadly speaking—into two separate options: economics and industrial relations. But there is considerable overlap between the two.

All students in both options are examined five fields. Among the fields presently available are the following: economic theory, advanced economic theory, monetary and fiscal economics, industrial organization, economic development, international economics, economics of innovation, labor economics and labor relations, personnel administration, human relations in industry, statistical theory and method, and economic history. Each student selects one field as having primary importance for this professional career; ordinarily this is the field in which he writes his dissertation, though exceptions may be made. The remaining four fields are designated secondary fields. One of the five fields must be economic theory.

Students are also required to have at least a minimum knowledge of statistics and economic history. This minimum is presently interpreted to mean one semester of work in each at the graduate level. Candidates who present statistics or economic history as a primary or secondary field normally take two or three semester subjects in the field and automatically satisfy the requirements in that area.

Students may qualify in one of the secondary fields through course work only, provided that they receive a mark of B or better in two subjects. Students are examined in writing in the remaining four fields during an eight-day period (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Monday). The theory examination is four hours long (divided roughly between microeconomics and macroeconomics), while the other three are each three hours long.

Following these written examinations, the student takes a two-hour oral examination which covers theory, his primary field, and one secondary field.

Source: Excerpt from Graduate Economics Program Brochure, 1961. MIT Archives, Department of Economics Records, Box 2, Folder “Department Brochures”.

__________________

GENERAL EXAMINATION IN ECONOMIC THEORY
Part I—Microeconomics—Two Hours
[May 22, 1961]

Economics Candidates: Answer any FOUR questions (thirty minutes each).
S.I.M. Candidates: Answer any TWO questions (thirty minutes each).

  1. Within the framework of static, partial-equilibrium theory, indicate under what circumstances advertising will reduce product prices in the long run, (a) if the advertiser is a simple monopolist, (b) if the advertisers are members of a large, perfectly symmetrical, Chamberlinian group of suppliers of differentiated products (the number of firms being large enough to rule out oligopolistic relationships, and variable in accordance with a long-run-equilibrium condition of zero profit for all firms).
  2. How is a firm’s demand schedule for a particular factor of production derived (a) when that factor is the only variable one, and (b) when the quantities of all factors are variable? Show which of these demands is, if anything, the more elastic.
  3. The demands for two products are: q1 = q2 = 54 – p1 -p2. How would you characterize their relationship? If they are produced by separate sellers at constant average costs of c1 = 12 and c2 = 6, respectively, calculate each man’s equilibrium price, quantity, and profit under each of the following conditions:
    1. Each seller assumes that the other’s price is a constant;
    2. The second seller behaves that way and the first seller realizes that he does;
    3. Both sellers maximize their joint profit and share it equally.
  4. Two countries can produce food (F) and clothing (C) with labor (L) as the only factor of production. Country A has 20 billion units of L, each of which can produce either 5 units of F or 2 units of C. Country B has 10 billion units of L, each of which can produce either 8 units of F or 6 units of C. Everyone always spends half of his income on F and the other half on C. In a purely competitive equilibrium with balanced trade between the two countries (and no transportation costs), what is the effect on the quantities of F and C produced and consumed in each country? Could either country benefit by imposing a tariff on the imported good?
  5. What are the various reasons why a free-private-enterprise economy may fail to allocate its resources in an optimally efficient way? Explain.
  6. Discuss the roles of “real” and “monetary” elements in a satisfactory theory of interest. Is it logically possible to fashion an interest theory exclusively in terms of one or the other of those elements? Explain.

__________________

GENERAL EXAMINATION IN ECONOMIC THEORY
Part I—Microeconomics—Two Hours
[September 18, 1961]

A. Answer any TWO of the three questions (40 minutes each).

A.1. Choose one theory of oligopoly. State its principal assumptions and conclusions and criticize them.

A.2. “The fact that a position on the contract curve is always better than one off it implies that we should move toward a situation of perfect competition.” Discuss.

A.3. What changes must be introduced into the conventional theory of the household to take account of the fact of capital?

B. Answer all three questions.*

B.1 Suppose that the coal industry is perfectly competitive. A certain coal-mining machine uses coal for fuel physically identical to that which it mines. What is the numerical value in equilibrium of the marginal product of the coal burned in the mining of more coal? Why? Are there any difficulties with the answer if explicit account is taken of the fact that coal production takes time?

B.2 Are demand curves faced by monopolists generally inelastic? Why or why not? How about their supply curves?

B.3 “In long-run equilibrium, a perfectly competitive firm which gives each unit of each factor that factor’s marginal physical product will precisely exhaust its own output.” Comment.

*Hint about the examiner’s preferences: Two carefully thought-out, good answers are better than three hurried, incomplete and sloppy answers. If you give good answers to any two of the three questions in Part B, don’t worry (about Part B).

Source: Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Evsey D. Domar Papers, Box 16, Folder “Ph.D. Examinations, Microeconomics”.

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Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Comparative Land Tenure Systems, Final Exam. Laughlin, 1884

 

1883-84 brought a significant expansion in economics course offerings at Harvard. Cf. Report published in the Harvard Crimson and the report published in the New York Evening Post.

    1. Mill’s Principles of Political Economy. – Lectures on Banking and the Financial Legislation of the United States. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Prof. Dunbar and Asst. Prof. Laughlin.
    1. History of Economic Theory and a Critical Examination of Leading Writers. – Lectures. Mon., Wed. at 2 and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri. at 2. Prof. Dunbar.
    1. Discussion of Practical Economic Questions. – Theses, Tu., Th., at 3, and a third hour to be appointed by the instructor. Assistant Professor Laughlin.
    1. Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War. – Lectures. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 11. Professor Dunbar.
      Course 4 requires no previous study of Political Economy.
    1. Economic Effects of Land Tenures in England, Ireland, France and Germany. – Theses. Once a week, counting as a half course. Asst. Professor Laughlin.
    1. History of Tariff Legislation in the United States. – Once a week, counting as a half course. Mr. Taussig.
    1. Comparison of the Financial Systems of France, England, Germany and the United States. – Tu., at 2, counting as a half course. Professor Dunbar.

Note-to-self: still need to find the mid-year exam for this course.

___________________________

Course Enrollment

[Political Economy] 5. Prof. Laughlin. Economic Effects of Land Tenures in England, Ireland, France, and Germany.— Lectures and Theses.

Total 5: 1 Graduate, 3 Seniors, 1 Junior.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1883-84, p. 72.

 

POLITICAL ECONOMY 5
[Final Examination, June 1884]

  1. What are your conclusions as to the effect of land tenures in England and France upon (1) production, and (2) distribution?
  2. Compare the increase of population in England, France, and Ireland, and indicate what you think to be the chief causes controlling such increase in each country.
  3. How far does the Agricultural Holdings Act of 1883 interfere with freedom of contract? What is the present position of English legislation in regard to entailed estates?
  4. It has been stated that the abolition of the Corn Laws by Great Britain would not injure the farmer, but would lower the rent of the landlord. Has this proved true? What are the facts as to changes in agriculture and the amount of rent?
  5. It is said that capital Is more equally distributed in France than in Great Britain. How would you account for it?
  6. Which classes in England and France are the greatest buyers of land? What differences do these facts create in respect to production from land?
  7. Contrast briefly the processes by which out of past conditions France, Germany, and Ireland have reached their present systems of holdings.
  8. Compare the security of tenure to the tenant in England and Ireland. Is it possible to extend the comparison to France?
  9. Discuss the origin and workings of Tenant Right in Ireland. What legislation has been passed affecting it?
  10. Compare the class of agricultural laborers in England and Ireland with the corresponding class in France.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 2, Bound volume “Examination Papers, 1883-86”. Papers Set for Final Examinations in Rhetoric, Philosophy, Political Economy, History, Roman Law, Fine Arts, and Music in Harvard College (June, 1884), pp. 11-12.

Image Source: Portrait (1885-88) of James Lawrence Laughlin. Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Transfer from the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts.

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Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Comparative Fiscal Systems. Final examination, Dunbar, 1884.

 

 

1883-84 brought a significant expansion in economics course offerings at Harvard. Cf. Report published in the Harvard Crimson and the report published in the New York Evening Post.

  1. Mill’s Principles of Political Economy. – Lectures on Banking and the Financial Legislation of the United States. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Prof. Dunbar and Asst. Prof. Laughlin.
  1. History of Economic Theory and a Critical Examination of Leading Writers. – Lectures. Mon., Wed. at 2 and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri. at 2. Prof. Dunbar.
  1. Discussion of Practical Economic Questions. – Theses, Tu., Th., at 3, and a third hour to be appointed by the instructor. Assistant Professor Laughlin.
  1. Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War. – Lectures. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 11. Professor Dunbar.
    Course 4 requires no previous study of Political Economy.
  1. Economic Effects of Land Tenures in England, Ireland, France and Germany. – Theses. Once a week, counting as a half course. Asst. Professor Laughlin.
  1. History of Tariff Legislation in the United States. – Once a week, counting as a half course. Mr. Taussig.
  1. Comparison of the Financial Systems of France, England, Germany and the United States. – Tu., at 2, counting as a half course. Professor Dunbar.

Note-to-self: still need to find the mid-year exam for this course.

___________________________

Course Enrollment

[Political Economy] 7. Prof. Dunbar. Comparison of the Financial Systems of France, England, Germany, and the United States.— Lectures.

Total 23: 2 Graduates, 19 Seniors, 2 Juniors.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1883-84, p. 72.

 

POLITICAL ECONOMY 7.
[Final examination, June 1884]

  1. Describe the customary methods of issuing loans in England, France, and the United States.
  2. State the conditions under which loans will sell higher or lower by reason of
    1. annual drawings by lot for payment;
    2. reserved right to pay at pleasure;
    3. agreement to pay at or after some distant dates;
    4. arrangement like that of the “Five-twenties.”
  3. Explain the English method of using terminable annuities for the reduction of the public debt, as in 1867 and 1883.
  4. The comparative advantages and disadvantages of the course of the English government in borrowing upon 3 per cents during the war with Napoleon.
  5. How was it that the Sinking Fund during the same war was not only useless but wasteful?
  6. Legal authority for the Sinking Fund of the United States, its establishment and the failure to comply with its strict obligations.
  7. What has been the practice of England, France, and the United States respectively in regard to taxation of the public debt.
  8. Describe the resumption of specie payments by Italy.
  9. Describe the system on which the German banks of issue are arranged.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 2, Bound volume “Examination Papers, 1883-86”. Papers Set for Final Examinations in Rhetoric, Philosophy, Political Economy, History, Roman Law, Fine Arts, and Music in Harvard College (June, 1884), p. 13.

Image Source: Charles F. Dunbar in E. H. Jackson and R. W. Hunter (eds.), Portraits of the Harvard Faculty (Boston, 1892).

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Economic History Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Economic History of Europe and America, final exam. Dunbar, 1884

 

1883-84 brought a significant expansion in economics course offerings at Harvard. Cf. Report published in the Harvard Crimson and the report published in the New York Evening Post.

  1. Mill’s Principles of Political Economy. – Lectures on Banking and the Financial Legislation of the United States. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Prof. Dunbar and Asst. Prof. Laughlin.
  1. History of Economic Theory and a Critical Examination of Leading Writers. – Lectures. Mon., Wed. at 2 and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri. at 2. Prof. Dunbar.
  1. Discussion of Practical Economic Questions. – Theses, Tu., Th., at 3, and a third hour to be appointed by the instructor. Assistant Professor Laughlin.
  1. Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War. – Lectures. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 11. Professor Dunbar.
    Course 4 requires no previous study of Political Economy.
  1. Economic Effects of Land Tenures in England, Ireland, France and Germany. – Theses. Once a week, counting as a half course. Asst. Professor Laughlin.
  1. History of Tariff Legislation in the United States. – Once a week, counting as a half course. Mr. Taussig.
  1. Comparison of the Financial Systems of France, England, Germany and the United States. – Tu., at 2, counting as a half course. Professor Dunbar.

Note-to-self: still need to find the mid-year exam for this course.

___________________________

Course Enrollment

[Political Economy] 4. Prof. Dunbar. Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War.— Lectures.

Total 40: 17 Seniors, 19 Juniors, 4 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1883-84, p. 72.

 

 

POLITICAL ECONOMY 4.
[Final Examination, June 1884]

I.
  1. The plan on which the Zollverein was established and the reasons for its beneficial effects.
  2. Devices by which Napoleon III. stimulated the material development of France.
  3. How far the adoption of Free Trade by England would have been affected, had the refusal of other countries to follow her example been foreseen.
  4. Reasons for the grants of land to railway companies in this country, as illustrated by the cases of the Illinois Central and the Union Pacific.
  5. Effects of the Suez Canal.
    Either of the following may be substituted for 1, 4, and 5.

    1. Reasons for the rise and decline of American Navigation, 1840-84.
    2. Sketch of the history and effects of the Zollverein.
II.
  1. The absorption of silver by India and reasons for its recent irregularity.
  2. The causes which prevented the disastrous fall of gold predicted by some writers after 1850.
  3. The heavy demands for gold 1871-83 and their failure to produce financial disturbance.
  4. The circumstances which enabled the United States to accumulate gold with special case after the passage of the Resumption Act.
    The following may be substituted for 8 and 9.

    1. Connection between the revulsion of 1873 and the resumption of specie payments by the United States.
III.
  1. What form of wealth France paid out in settlement of the Indemnity of 1871, and what Germany actually received.
  2. The connection between the Indemnity and the revulsion of 1873.
  3. The concentration of bank reserves in New York and its effect in the fall of 1873.
    The following may be substituted for 10 and 11.

    1. Method by which France effected the payment of the Indemnity to Germany.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 2, Bound volume “Examination Papers, 1883-86”. Papers Set for Final Examinations in Rhetoric, Philosophy, Political Economy, History, Roman Law, Fine Arts, and Music in Harvard College (June, 1884), pp. 10-11.

Image Source: Charles F. Dunbar in E. H. Jackson and R. W. Hunter (eds.), Portraits of the Harvard Faculty (Boston, 1892).

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Exam Questions Harvard Suggested Reading Syllabus

Harvard. Applied Economic Analysis, Readings and Exams. Smithies and Baldwin, 1956-57

For a course that promises applied economic analysis, the content  for the 1956-57 course taught by Arthur Smithies and  Robert Baldwin appears to have been about 2/3 analysis and 1/3 “application”.

The course materials from the previous year (taught by James Duesenberry) have been posted earlier at: 

Applied Economic Analysis, 1955-56.

________________________

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 106. Applied Economic Analysis. Professor Smithies and Assistant Professor Baldwin. Full course.

(F) Total 45: 2 Other Graduates, 36 Seniors, 6 Juniors, 1 Other.
(S) Total 43: 1 Other Graduate, 36 Seniors, 6 Juniors.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1956-57, p. 68.

________________________

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

Economics 106
Reading List, Fall 1956

  1. Economic Analysis and Public Policy

F. H. Knight, “Economic Objectives in a Changing World,” Economics and Public Policy, The Brookings Institution, 1955.

A. Smithies, “Economic Welfare and Policy,” Ibid.

  1. The Ricardian System

David Ricardo, Principles of Political Economy, Chs. 2-6, 21.

W. J. Baumol, Economic Dynamics, Ch. 2.

Suggested:

Ricardo, Chs. 1, 31

G. J. Stigler, “The Ricardian Theory of Value and Distribution,” The Journal of Political Economy, LX, 3 (June 1952).

J. S. Mill, Principles of Political Economy, Bk. 3, Ch. 6 and 14;

Mimeographed paper on Smith and Ricardo*

  1. Marxian Dynamics

Karl Marx, A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, Preface.

M. M. Bober, Karl Marx’s Interpretation of History, Chs. 1-3, 9-13.

Suggested:

Joan Robinson, An Essay on Marxian Economics.

P. Sweezy, The Theory of Capitalist Development, Chs. 4-6, 8, 9,

J. A. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, Part I.

Mimeographed paper on Marx*

  1. The Neo-classical System

L. Walras, Elements of Pure Economics, Part I.

G. Cassel, The Theory of Social Economy, Ch. 4

W. S. Jevons, The Theory of Political Economy, Introduction.

Suggested:

E. Phelps Brown, Framework of the Pricing System

  1. The Schumpeterian System

J. A. Schumpeter, Business Cycles, Vol. I, Chs. 3, 4.

J. A. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, Part II

Suggested:

J. A. Schumpeter, The Theory of Economic Development.

Mimeographed paper on Schumpeter*.

  1. Keynesian Economics

J. M. Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, Ch. 19.

D. Dillard, The Economics of J. M. Keynes, Chs. 2, 3.

A. Hansen, Business Cycles and National Income, Part II

Suggested:

A. Hansen, A Guide to Keynes

J. M. Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money.

  1. Post-Keynesian Growth Theorists

E. Domar, “Expansion and Employment,” American Economic Review, March 1947.

W. Baumol, op. cit., Ch. 4

Suggested:

R. Harrod, Towards a Dynamic Economics, Ch. 3.

D. Hamberg, Economic Growth and Instability, Ch. 2, 3

*Available in Lamont and Littauer Libraries.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 6, Folder: “Economics, 1956-1957 (2 of 2).

________________________

1956-57
HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Economics 106
Fall 1956
Final Examination

Part I
(30 Minutes)
Answer the following question.

  1. Discuss the concept of steady growth in the Post-Keynesian models. Do you consider that steady growth is attainable or desirable?

Part II
(One Hour)
Answer the following question.

  1. Ricardo, Marx, Schumpeter and Keynes all predicted that the capitalist system would either break down or arrive at a stationary state. Compare and contrast these theories. What light does your answer to Question 1 throw on their validity?

Part III
(One Hour and A Half)
Answer TWO questions.

  1. Is there an economic basis for the notion of an optimum distribution of income in (a) a stationary and (b) a developing economy. What economic factors would you consider in defining such a concept?
  2. Keynes produced a theory of involuntary unemployment. How does involuntary unemployment occur in his system and to what extent does his theory constitute a revolution in economic thinking?
  3. Discuss the concepts of profits in the various theories you have studied. In the light of these theories do you consider profits to be pure surpluses or rewards to factors of production?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Final examinations, 1853-2001. Box 25, Volume: Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, …, Economics, …, Naval Science, Air Science, January 1957.

________________________

Harvard University
Department of Economics

Economics 106
[Spring term, 1956-57]

Part I Aggregative Theories (continued from 1st term)

  1. Post-Keynesian Growth Theorists

Domar, E., “Expansion and Employment,” American Economic Review, March 1947.

W. Baumol, Economic Dynamics, Ch. 4

Suggested:

R. Harrod, Towards a Dynamic Economics, Ch. 3.

D. Hamberg, Economic Growth and Instability, Ch. 2, 3

Smithies, A., “Economic Fluctuations and Growth,” Econometrica, January 1957.

Part II Public Policy and Economic Goals

  1. Full Employment and Price Level Stability

    1. General

Maxwell, Fiscal Policy

    1. Policy Approaches

Simons, Economic Policy for a Free Society, Ch. 7.

Committee for Economic Development, “Taxes and the Budget: A Program for Prosperity in a Free Economy,” Readings in Fiscal Policy, Number 23, American Economic Association.

United Nations, National and International Measures for Full Employment, 73-87.

Beveridge, Full Employment in a Free Society, Part IV.

Lerner, Economics of Control, Ch. 24.

Clark, “Criteria of Sound Wage Adjustment, with Emphasis on the Question of Inflationary Effects,” Impact of the Union, Ch. 1, Wright (ed.)

[Note: page 2 of the syllabus is missing, cf. Baldwin’s Spring Term 1956, Economics 206. Missing part B almost certainly included “Equitable Income Distribution” and “Efficient Resource Allocation”]

  1. Continued Growth

Fellner, Trends and Cycles in Economic Activity, Chapters 8 and 9.

Davis, “Economic Potentials of the United States,” Lekachman (ed.), National Policy for Economic Welfare at Home and Abroad.

Wright, Democracy and Progress, Chapters 5-7 and 12.

Hansen, “Growth or Stagnation in the American Economy,” Review of Economics and Statistics, November 1954.

Slichter, “How Big in 1980?” Atlantic Monthly, November 1949.

Hennipman, “Monopoly: Impediment or Stimulus to Economic Progress,” Monopoly and Competition and Their Regulation, Chamberlin (ed.).

Lange, On the Economic Theory of Socialism, 98-120.

  1. International Equilibrium

Snider, Introduction to International Economics, Ch. 11.

Thorp, Trade, Aid, or What?, Chapters 1 and 2.

Humphrey, American Imports, Chapter 24.

  1. General

Tinbergen, J., Economic Policy: Principles and Design.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 6, Folder: “Economics, 1956-1957 (2 of 2).

________________________

1956-57
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

Economics 106
Applied Economic Analysis
Final Examination

ANSWER FIVE (5) OF THE FOLLOWING SIX QUESTIONS.

  1. Contrast the Domar-Harrod and neo-classical analyses of the problem of maintaining full-employment growth.
  2. What policy tools are available to control the level of aggregate demand in the American economy? Outline the policy program you would recommend in a depression.
  3. “There has recently been a tendency, I believe, to exaggerate the effectiveness of monetary policy and to gloss over its weaknesses.” Discuss.
  4. Discuss the policy proposals of the “dynamic competition” group (Schumpeterians) and the “guided capitalism” group (Keynesians) with regard to the problem of maintaining satisfactory growth.
  5. What were the major causes of the post-war balance of payments difficulties for Europe? What measures were taken in an effort to cure the problem?
  6. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the “structure” versus the “performance” criteria of anti-trust policy.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Final examinations, 1853-2001. Volume 113 (HUC 7000.28) Final Exams—Social Sciences—June 1957: Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, …, Economics, …, Naval Science, Air Science, June 1957.

Image Sources:  (Left) John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation website. Arthur Smithies (1955 Fellow); (Right) Robert Baldwin from Selection from photograph (ca. 1975) of Robert E. Baldwin from the University of Wisconsin Archives/The University of Wisconsin Collection/The UW-Madison Collection/UW-Madison Archives Images.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Socialism Suggested Reading Syllabus

Harvard. Socialism and Planning. Syllabus and final exam. Tinbergen and Tsuru, 1957

 

During the spring term of 1957 at Harvard, two visiting professors jointly taught an undergraduate course on “Socialism and Planning”. The instructors were future (inaugural!) Nobel laureate, Professor Jan Tinbergen coming from the Netherlands School of Economics and Dutch Central Planning Bureau, and Harvard economics Ph.D. alumnus (1940), Professor Tsuru Shigeto of Hitotsubashi University (Tokyo).

The American-Japan Intellectual Interchange Committee invited Tsuru Shigeto to be a visiting lecturer for one year at Harvard University in 1956-57. In his March 26, 1957 testimony before the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws of the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate (his testimony will be included in the next post), Tsuru was asked “And what do you do, do you teach at Harvard?” and he answered “Under the terms of this invitation, my main job at Harvard is research. But I assist occasionally in a number of courses, to give sort of guest lectures.” This explains why both Tinbergen and Tsuru are listed on the course syllabus and final exam but only Tinbergen’s name appears in the annual report of the President of Harvard College.

__________________________

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 111a. Socialism. Professor Tinbergen (Netherlands School of Economics). Half course.

(S) Total 30: 14 Other Graduates, 5 Seniors, 7 Juniors, 4 Sophomores.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1956-1957, p. 68.

__________________________

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

Economics 111a
Professors Tinbergen and Tsuru, Spring 1957

Socialism and Planning
Outline

I. Socialism
Feb. 4 (Tinbergen) Introductory and remarks on treatment of the subject
4 (Tinbergen) History of socialism: “utopian” and “scientific”
6 (Tsuru) History of socialism: “utopian” and “scientific” (cont.)
8,11 (Tinbergen) Types of socialist doctrines in the post-Marxian period (revisionism, Fabianism, etc.)
13, 15, 18 (Tsuru) Economic characteristics of socialism
20 (Tinbergen) Recent socialist policies:
(1) Wage policy
25 (Tinbergen) (2) Social insurance
27
Mar. 1		 (Tinbergen) (3) Socialization
4 (Tinbergen) (4) Anti-depression policy
6 (Tinbergen) (5) War-time regulations
8 (Tinbergen) (6) Regulations of agricultural markets
11 (Tinbergen) (7) Income distribution
13, 15 (Tsuru) (8) Recent socialist policies in the Soviet Union
18, 20 (Tsuru) (9) Recent socialist policies in mainland China
II. Planning
Mar. 22,25 (Tinbergen) Use made of planning since 1940 (also critique of free-pricing society)

27, 29

Apr. 8

 (Tinbergen) “Free” planning illustrated by The Netherlands
10, 12 (Tinbergen) Some points of planning for detailed control
15 (Tinbergen) Development planning: (1) Italy
17, 22 (Tsuru) Development planning: (2) India
24, 26 (Tsuru) “Planning vs. the law of value”

 

READINGS
*Obligatory reading.

Books

Cole, G. D. H., Socialist Economics, London, B. Gollancz Ltd., 1950.

Central Planning Bureau of the Netherlands: Scope and Methods of the Central Planning Bureau, The Hague, 1956.

Government of India: Second Five Year Plan, New Delhi, 1956.

Gray, A., The Socialist Tradition, Moses to Lenin, Longmans, Green & Co., 1947.

Harris, S. E., Economic Planning; The plans of fourteen countries with analyses of the plans, New York, Knopf, 1949.

J. Jewkes, Ordeal by Planning, London, Macmillan, 1948.

W. Keilhau, Principles of Private and Public Planning, London, Unwin Bros., 1951.

Lewis*, W. A., The Principles of Economic Planning, Washington, Public Affairs Press, 1951.

K. Mannheim, Man and Society in an Age of Reconstruction, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., London.

J. E. Meade, Planning and the Price Mechanism, London, Allen & Unwin, 1948.

H. Mendershausen, The Economics of War, New York, Prentice-Hall, 1941.

J. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, New York, Harper and Bros., 1947.

Socialist Union*, Twentieth Century Socialism, New York, Penguin Books, 1956.

N. Thomas, Democratic Socialism: A New Appraisal, New York, 1953.

United Nations, Measures for the Economic Development of Underdeveloped Countries, New York, 1951.

Articles

P. Baran, “National Economic Planning,” in: A Survey of Contemporary Economics II.

A. Bergson, “Socialist Economics,” in: A Survey of Contemporary Economics, I.

R. L. Marris, “The position of economics and economists in the government machine, a comparative critique of the United Kingdom and The Netherlands,” Economic Journal 1954.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 6, Folder “Economics, 1956-1957 (2 of 2)”.

__________________________

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Final Examination
ECONOMICS 111a
Spring 1957

(Tinbergen & Tsuru)

  1. Comment on the book or articles which you read during the reading period.
  2. Give an answer to three of the following questions in no more than 15 lines for each:
    1. Which industries are publicly owned in most Western European countries?
    2. What does the term “revisionists” mean?
    3. Why do countries in war usually impose regulations on their economies?
    4. Why do agricultural markets tend to be unstable?
    5. What is the essence of social insurance schemes?
    6. What taxes are favored by socialists and why?
  3. Answer one of the following two questions in about two pages:
    1. Give the main arguments in favor of and those against socialization.
    2. What is meant by the economic surplus and what is its characteristic for a socialist economy?
  4. Answer three of the following questions in at most one page each:
    1. What is the difference between a forecast and a plan for the economy as a whole?
    2. Which are the main instruments used by:
      1. A country applying overall year-to-year planning;
      2. A country applying overall development planning; and
      3. A country applying detailed planning?
    3. What are the assumptions underlying input-output analysis and why are they first approximations only?
    4. What were the difficulties facing the Netherlands economy in 1951 and how were they solved?
    5. What is the issue involved in the controversy of “planning versus the law of value”?
    6. What are the salient features of development planning in the present-day India?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Final Examinations, 1853-2001 (HUC 7000.28). Vol. 113: Final Exams—Social Sciences—June 1957. Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, …, Economics, …, Naval Science, Air Science, June 1957.

__________________________

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

Economics 111a
Socialism and Planning
Outline and Extended Bibliography

(Professor Tsuru)

An Appraisal of Marx’s Contribution to Socialism

  1. Vision [1] [2] [3]
  2. Analysis [4]
    1. Historical materialism [5]
      1. Positing of objective laws of the development of society in which an economic process is the prime mover. [3] p. 162, [6] p. 8, [7] Ch. 12
      2. Productive relations and productive forces
    2. The nature of capitalism
      1. Its historical mission and achievements [1]
      2. The labor theory of value [8]
      3. Long-run trends [9] ch. 14, 15, 5, 6, 8, 9
        1. Concentration and monopoly
        2. Increasing misery and unemployment
        3. The falling tendency of the rate of profit
        4. Recurrent crises
      4. Explanatory concepts and ideas
        1. The repudiation of Say’s Law
        2. Reproduction scheme [9] Appendix, [10]
  3. Practical politics
    1. Class struggle [1]
    2. Blueprint—“socialism to communism” [11]
    3. Road to socialism [12] [13]

 

[1] K. Marx and F. Engels, The Communist Manifesto

[2] F. Engels, Socialism, from Utopian to Scientific

[3] J. A. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, 3rd ed., 1950

[4] W. Leontief, “The Significance of Marxian Economics for the Present-Day Economic Theory,” American Economic Review, Supplement, March 1938

[5] M. M. Bober, Karl Marx’s Interpretation of History

[6] P. M. Sweezy, The Present as History, 1953

[7] M. Dobb, On Economic Theory and Socialism, 1955

[8] R. L. Meek, Studies in the Labor Theory of Value, 1956

[9] P. M. Sweezy, The Theory of Capitalist Development, 1942

[10] S. Tsuru, Essays on Marxian Economics, 1956

[11] K. Marx, Critique of the Gotha Programme

[12] K. Marx, Civil War in France

[13] N. Lenin, State and Revolution

*   *   *   *

Economic Characteristics of Socialism

  1. Can we speak of economic characteristics of socialism?
    1. In popular usage of the term [1] [2]
    2. In doctrinal discussion
      1. A few representative definitions
        1. W. G. Sumner [3]
        2. James Bonar [4]
        3. Indian Planning Commission [5]
      2. Earlier orthodox Marxist discussion [6] Ch. 1, [7], [8] Vol. 2, p. 52
        1. Public ownership of the means of production
        2. Centralized planning
        3. Corollaries
          1. conscious spelling out of social goals of production
          2. no class antagonism
      3. Official Soviet discussion
        1. “Basic economic characteristics” of Soviet socialism [9] Ch. 24
        2. Characteristics of people’s democracy [9] Chs. 41, 42
      4. More recent re-appraisal
        1. Background in both capitalist and socialist economies
        2. A standpoint which is increasingly supported by many…that economically socialism and capitalism shade into each other.
  2. Economic characteristics of socialism reconsidered
    1. Pivotal significance of the disposal of the surplus
      1. technical aspect of the surplus
      2. significant questions to be asked
    2. The form of the surplus
    3. The size of the surplus
      1. the incentive aspect
      2. Does the form affect the size? [10] [11]
    4. The manner of disposal of the surplus
      1. the interrelation between the form and the manner of disposal [12]
      2. the interrelation between the size and the manner of disposal
    5. Concluding remarks
      1. John Strachey’s position [13] Ch. 9
      2. What still remains of the economic distinction between socialism and capitalism
      3. Possibility under capitalism of ameliorating undesirable aspects through the action of the state [14] [15] Ch. 13, 19
  3. Secondary distinctions
    1. Insulation of wage-as-cost from wage-as-demand
      1. their unity under capitalism and its consequences
      2. the degree of freedom which exists under socialism and its consequences
      3. modifications which are now feasible under capitalism
    2. Full employment and the problem of cycles
      1. Cycles as characteristics of capitalism [16] Ch. 2
      2. Full employment under socialism
      3. Modifications which are now feasible under capitalism
    3. The role of money and the rate of interest
      1. Early discussions of the subject [8] Vol. 1, Ch. 3; [17]
      2. Different significance of money under capitalism and socialism
      3. The place of interest rate under socialism [18]
    4. The question of incentives
      1. Incentives geared to money return under capitalism vs. incentives geared to targets of limited specifications under socialism
      2. Attempt under socialism to substitute impersonal criteria in the case of firms
      3. Attempt under socialism to introduce more of monetary incentives in the case of individuals [19]
    5. Technological development and the price level
      1. Introduction of technological innovations [20] Ch. 7
      2. Possibility of lowering price level [21]

 

[1] Fortune, Feb. 1957, “The Crisis of Soviet Capitalism”, pp. 102ff.

[2] Sutton and others, The American Business Creed, 1956

[3] C. H. Page, Class and American Sociology: From Ward to Roos, p. 103

[4] Encyclopaedia Britannica, 13th ed. “Socialism”

[5] A. K. Dasgupta, “Socialistic Patterns of Society and the Second Five Year Plan,” The Economic Weekly (Bombay), January 1957, pp. 91-2

[6] P. M. Sweezy, Socialism, 1949

[7] P. M. Sweezy, “Marxian Socialism,” Monthly Review, November 1956

[8] K. Marx, Das Kapital

[9] Political Economy: Textbook (in Russian), Rev. ed., 1955

[10] Joan Robinson, Marx, Marshall & Keynes, (Tokyo) 1956

[11] P. M. Sweezy, The Present as History, Ch. 32, “A crucial difference between capitalism and socialism”

[12] S. Tsuru, “On the Soviet Concept of National Income,” The Annals of Hitotsubashi Academy, October 1954

[13] John Strachey, Contemporary Capitalism, 1956

[14] S. W. Moore, The Critique of Capitalist Democracy, 1957

[15] P. M. Sweezy, The Theory of Capitalist Development, 1942

[16] S. Tsuru, Essays on Marxian Economics, 1956

[17] N. Lenin, Collected Works (Russian ed.), Vol. 29, pp. 329-38

[18] G. Grossman, “Scarce Capital and Soviet Doctrine,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, February 1953

[19] O. Lange, “Sans du nouveau programme économique,” Cahiers Internationaux, Sept.-Oct. 1956, pp. 72-81

[20] John K. Galbraith, American Capitalism, revised ed., 1956

[21] N. M. Kaplan and E. S. Wainstein, “A comparison of Soviet and American Retail Prices in 1950,” Journal of Political Economy, December 1956

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 6, Folder “Economics, 1956-1957 (2 of 2)”.

Image Source: Jan Tinbergen from Dutch National Archives (February 25, 1966 photograph by Joost Evers).  Tsuru Shigeto from Eumed.net website, webpage: “Economistas”. Shigeto Tsuru (1912-2006).

 

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Policy Suggested Reading Syllabus

Harvard. Economic Analysis and Public Policy, Readings and Exams. Baldwin, 1955-56

 

While Harvard archive’s collection of old course syllabi and reading lists offers a treasure chest of material, there still are plenty of “missing observations” and lost pages between us and a complete record. Fortunately there is often significant inertia in the actual syllabi so that interpolation is less hazardous than one might expect in filling the gaps. The next several posts will be dedicated to the graduate course taught for graduate students of economics and of public administration “Economic Analysis and Public Policy”. Robert Baldwin’s spring term syllabus for 1955-56 gives us a valuable clue as to the likely content of a missing page in the syllabus for the course as taught in 1956-57.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Arthur Smithies’ syllabus for this course as taught in 1949-50 has been transcribed and posted.

Biographical information along with the reading list for Robert Baldwin’s course “Theories and Problems of Economic Development” taught in 1955 have been posted earlier.

_______________________

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 206 Economic Analysis and Public Policy. Assistant Professor Baldwin. Full course.

(F) Total 36: 10 Graduates, 22 Other Graduates, 2 Seniors, 1 Radcliffe, 1 Other.

(S) Total 34: 10 Graduates, 21 Other Graduates, 2 Seniors, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1955-56, p. 78.

_______________________

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

Economics 206
[Baldwin, Fall Term, 1955-56]

Baumol, W. J., Economic Dynamics, Chapters 2, 3, and 4.

Bober, M. M., Karl Marx’s Interpretation of History.

Cassel, Gustav, The Theory of Social Economy, Chapter 4.

Domar, E., “Expansion and Employment,” American Economic Review, March 1947.

Dillard, Dudley, The Economics of J. M. Keynes.

Gray, Alexander, The Development of Economic Doctrine, Chapters 5, 6, 11.

Hansen, A. H., Business Cycles and National Income, Parts II and III.

Hansen, A. H., A Guide to Keynes.

Harris, S. E. The New Economics, Chapters 12, 13, 14, 16, 39.

Harris, S. E., Schumpeter, Social Scientist.

Harrod, Roy, The Life of J. M. Keynes.

Heilbroner, R. L., The Worldly Philosophers.

Jevons, W. Stanley, The Theory of Political Economy, Introduction.

Keynes, J. M., The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.

Klein, L. R., The Keynesian Revolution, Chapters 3 and 4.

Malthus, T. R., Essay on Population.

Marshall, A., Principles of Economics, Book V.

Marx, Karl, Communist Manifesto.

Mill, J. S., Principles of Political Economy, Book 4, Chapters 1-4.

Ricardo, David, Principles of Political Economy, Chapters 1-6, 21.

Ricardo, David, Notes on Malthus, Chapter 7.

Robinson, Joan, Essay on Marxian Economics.

Schumpeter, J. A., The Theory of Economic Development.

Schumpeter, J.A., Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy.

Schumpeter, J. A., Ten Great Economists, Chapters 1, 4, 10.

Schumpeter, J. A., History of Economic Analysis.

Smith, Adam, The Wealth of Nations, Bk. I, Chs. 1-9; bk. II, Ch. 3; Bk. IV, Ch. 2.

Smithies, Arthur, “Reflections on the Work and Influence of J.M. Keynes,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, November 1951.

Smithies, Arthur, “Joseph Alois Schumpeter,” American Economic Review, Sept. 1950.

Stephen, Leslie, The English Utilitarians, Volume 2, Chapter 5.

Sweezy, Paul, The Theory of Capitalist Development, Chapters 4, 5, 6, 8, 9.

Walras, L.,  Elements of Pure Economics, Part I.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 6, Folder: “Economics, 1955-1956 (2 of 2).

Reading Period Assignment:

No additional assignment

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 6, Folder: “Economics, 1955-1956 (1 of 2).

_______________________

1955-56
HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Economics 206
Mid-year Examination
January, 1956

(Three Hours)

Answer four (4) of the following six questions.

  1. Some economists have advocated a flexible money wage rate policy to ensure full employment. Discuss and contrast the effects of a cut in money wage rates on aggregate employment in the Keynesian and in the Classical (or neo-Classical) systems.
  2. Both Marx and Schumpeter believe that capitalism is doomed, but their reasons for this conclusion are quite different. Explain and criticize the analysis of each in regard to this point.
  3. According to Keynes, the habit of thrift may be a vice instead of a virtue. In Classical and neo-Classical thought, however, thrift is invariably regarded as a virtue. Explain the reasons for this difference in viewpoint.
  4. Discuss and appraise the analyses of Smith, Ricardo, and Marx concerning their view that the long-run rate of profit will decline.
  5. What is wrong with the labor theory of value as an explanation of how relative prices are determined? How did the neo-Classical theorists solve the problem of how relative prices are determined?
  6. In the Ricardian and Marxian theories of growth, labor fails to share in the fruits of long-run progress (in the sense of receiving a higher per capita income). However, according to Schumpeter and the neo-Classsical writers, this is not a necessary (and, indeed, is an unlikely) result. Why do these writers disagree on this matter?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Final examinations, 1853-2001. Box 23, Volume: Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, …, Economics, …, Naval Science, Air Science, January 1956.

_______________________

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

Economics 206
[Baldwin, Spring Term, 1955-56]

Part I (cont.) The Post-Keynesian Growth Theorists

Readings:

Domar, “Expansion and Employment,” A.E.R., March 1947.

Baumol, Economic Dynamics, Ch. 4

Part II. The Changing Structure of the U.S. Economy

  1. “Real” Factors
  2. Institutional Conditions

Readings:

Dewhurst and Associates, America’s Needs and Resources, A New Survey, Chs. 4, 18, 28.

Galbraith, American Capitalism, Chs. 1, 4-10.

Kaysen, “Looking Around—Books About Competition,” Harvard Business Review, May-June, 1954.

Lilienthal, Big Business: A New Era

Slichter, The American Economy, Ch. 2.

Part III. Public Policy and Economic Goals

  1. Full Employment
  2. Price Stability
  3. Equitable Income Distribution
  4. Efficient Resource Allocation
  5. Economic Growth
  6. International Equilibrium

Readings:

A.E.A. Committee, “The Problem of Economic Instability,” American Economic Review, Sept., 1950.

Economic Report of the President, January 1956.

Elliot, The Political Economy of American Foreign Policy, Part II.

Galbraith, “Farm Policy: The Current Position,” Journal of Farm Economics, May, 1955.

Hansen, Business Cycles and National Income, Part III.

Hearings before the Joint Committee, January 1955 Economic Report of the President, Statements by Professors Hansen (p. 491) and Harris (p. 291).

Knight, “Economic Objectives in a Changing World,” in Economics and Public Policy, Brookings Institution

McDonald, “The Sherman Act and ‘Workable Competition’,” No. 28 in Readings in Economics, Samuelson, Bishop, and Coleman.

Mason, “Prices, Costs, and Profits,” in Money, Trade, and Economic Growth: Essays in Honor of J.H. Williams.

Maxwell, Fiscal Policy

Report of the Joint Committee on the Economic Report, Foreign Economic Policy, January, 1956.

Smithies, “Economic Welfare and Economic Policy,” in Economics and Public Policy.

Smithies, “Full Employment at Whatever Cost: A Comment,” Q.J.E., November, 1950.

Subcommittee on Monetary, Credit, and Fiscal Policies of the Joint Committee on the Economic Report, Money, Credit, and Fiscal Policies, No. 2 in Gramp and Weiler, Readings in Political Economy.

United Nations, National and International Measures for Full Employment.

Viner, “Full Employment at Whatever Cost,” Q.J.E., August, 1950.

Wright, The Impact of the Union, Ch. 8, 10.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 6, Folder: “Economics, 1955-1956 (2 of 2).

_______________________

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

Economics 206
Final Examination
June, 1956

Answer four (4) of the following seven questions:

  1. What are the major problems facing American agriculture? Analyze the economic forces behind these problems, and suggest the kind of policies you would favor in order to mitigate the difficulties.
  2. “The strained relations between the Federal Reserve and Treasury since the end of World War II clearly indicate the undesirability of the existence of a semi-autonomous monetary authority in this country.” Discuss.
  3. Domar’s condition for the maintenance of continuous full employment is not unlike the Queen’s observation in Through the Looking Glass; “A slow sort of country. Now here, you see, it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that.”
    Explain and evaluate the requirements for full employment in Domar’s model.
  4. “The traditional view of anti-trust policy is based on a static conception of economic activity. What is needed is a revision of anti-trust policy which recognizes the dynamic nature of the American economy.” Discuss.
  5. Carefully explain and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of monetary policy versus fiscal policy as counter-cyclical weapons.
  6. Discuss the causes and attempted cures of the post-war dollar shortage.
  7. “The economist must attempt to formulate a compromise among various, and possibly conflicting, economic objectives. He must attempt to discuss the economic objectives of society, to remove contradictions among them, and to harmonize economic objectives with those that lie outside the economic field.” Do you agree? What are some of the possible conflicts among various economic objectives? Are there any policy changes which you would recommend “to remove contradictions” among various economic objectives?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Final examinations, 1853-2001. Box 24, Volume: Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, …, Economics, …, Naval Science, Air Science, June 1956.

Image Source: Selection from photograph (ca. 1975) of Robert E. Baldwin from the University of Wisconsin Archives/The University of Wisconsin Collection/The UW-Madison Collection/UW-Madison Archives Images.

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Exam Questions Harvard Policy

Harvard. Exams for Economic Analysis and Public Policy. Smithies, 1949-1950

Arthur Smithies’ 1949-50 graduate course “Economic Analysis and Public Policy” was the subject of an earlier post. There I transcribed the course syllabus, provided enrollment figures, and added the Harvard Crimson’s 1981 obituary for him.

Several years after that post, I was able to copy the course examinations during a research visit to the Harvard University archives. Transcriptions of those exams are included below.

_________________________

1949-50
HARVARD UNIVERSITY

ECONOMICS 206
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS AND PUBLIC POLICY
[Mid-year Examination, January 1950]

(Three Hours)

Answer all questions.

  1. Characterize various types of economic organization according to the degree of central planning and control and the methods by which control is exercised.
  2. Discuss the wage-price question that seems to confront most private enterprise economies. Is a wage-price spiral inherent in a full employment economy? Could it be eliminated by allowing a sufficiently large pool of unemployment? Are compulsory and widespread wage and price controls consistent with democratic government?
  3. Compare the relative merits of a free price system and a controlled price system from the point of view of optimum allocation of resources and optimum rate of economic progress. What, if anything, is meant by these terms?
  4. Define the multiplier with numerical illustrations.
  5. From your reading of the Reports of the Council of Economic Advisers, what do you conclude about the type of stabilization policy they favor?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Final Examinations, 1853-2001. Box 27. Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, …, Economics, …, Military Science, Naval Science, February 1950.

_________________________

1949-50
HARVARD UNIVERSITY

ECONOMICS 206
[Final Examination, June 1950]

  1. Discuss Schumpeter’s concept of the entrepreneur and innovation from the point of view of its value (a) in explaining capitalistic development in the past, (b) in explaining the present in the U.S.
  2. Discuss “functional finance” from the point of view of its feasibility and desirability as a guide to policy in the U.S. How do you think Marshall, Schumpeter, the Council of Economic Advisers, and the Anti-Trust Division would react to Lerner’s ideas?
  3. Is there a monopoly problem in the U.S.? If so, what ought to be done about it?
  4. The statement was made in class that the more we know about the operation of the economy the more difficult it becomes to operate it. How much nonsense and how much truth is there to this statement?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Final Examinations, 1853-2001. Box 27. Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, …, Economics, …, Military Science, Naval Science, June 1950.

Image Source: Arthur Smithies, Harvard Album 1952.