Category: Exam Questions

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Exam Questions Harvard Public Finance

Harvard. Municipal Finance. Course description, enrollments, final exam. Huse, 1910-1911

Meet Charles Phillips Huse

1883. Born March 3 in Worcester, MA. Attended Springfield High School. Springfield, MA.

1904. A.B. Harvard.

1905. A.M. Harvard.

1907. Ph.D. Harvard. Thesis: The Financial History of Boston from 1822 to 1859.

1908-09. Instructor in Economics, Dartmouth College.

1909-11. Instructor in Economics at Harvard.

1911-14. Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Missouri.

1914-20. Assistant Professor of Economics, Boston University.

1920-53. Professor of Economics, Boston University.

1958. Died July 13 in Belmont, MA.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Professor Huse economizes on our nerves as he never did on ice cream or time. His peculiar humor relieves a mental struggle with Gresham’s Law, and his unchanging method nets a return of old quiz questions yearly rejuvenated on each anniversary of their first propounding. This holds true in the long run. That will be all for this time.

Source: Boston University Yearbook, The Hub 1924, p. 32.

One of the greatest and most worth while experiences in Dr. Huse’s life came in 1910 when he went to Washington to aid the National Monetary Commission. His task was to read the volumes written by the Commission and, as each volume was published, to prepare press statements for the newspapers. Partly as a result of the work of this Commission, the Federal Reserve Act was passed. While he was in Washington he had the opportunity of seeing the public buildings and of taking trips into the surrounding country to places of interest.

Source: Boston University Yearbook, The Hub 1927, p. 18.

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 17 2hf. Dr. Huse. — Municipal Finance.

Total 21: 3 Graduates, 11 Seniors, 5 Juniors, 1 Sophomore, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 50.

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Course Announcement and Description
1910-11

[Economics] 17 2hf.  Municipal Finance. Half-course (second half-year). Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 10. Dr. Huse.

In this course the expenditures, revenues, and debts of American municipalities will be considered. A comparative study of the financial policies of various cities will be made and consideration given to the views of writers on public finance for the purpose of ascertaining, as far as possible, the principles which should govern municipal administration. Every member of the course will be expected to make a study, under the guidance of the instructor, of the finances of his own city, and will give to the class the results of his work.

This course is open only to those students who have had Economics 7 or 16.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VII No. 23 (June 21, 1910), p. 60.

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ECONOMICS 17
Year-End Examination, 1910-11

Questions 3 and 4 each count one-third. 
  1. Would the acquirement of the right to tax the property of Harvard University be for the best interests of Cambridge?
  2. What are the provisions limiting the tax rate and the amount of indebtedness in Massachusetts cities and towns? What has been their effect? What can be said for and against their retention?
  3. Write upon two of the following topics: —
    1. The effect of Boston’s incorporation upon its finances.
    2. The state’s control of Boston’s finances.
    3. The finances of the Metropolitan Water District.
    4. The Tweed ring.
    5. The reasons for the proposed union of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda, New York.
  4. The following figures relating to the finances of Gloucester, Mass. are taken from the 1907 report on the Statistics of Municipal Finances (Mass.).

RECEIPTS
Revenue

$515,018.71
General

$388,286.05
(Taxes, property and poll

333,368.41)
Commercial

126,732.66
(Water

90,176.38)
Non-Revenue

512,755.54
Offsets to outlays

3,197.42
Municipal indebtedness

444,350.39
Loans, general purposes

$71,000.00
Loans, public service enterprises

40,000.00
Temporary loans, including tax loans

320,000.00
Premiums

1,002.50
Unpaid warrants or orders, current year

12,347.89
Agency and Trust

65,207.73

Total receipts

$1,027,774.25

Balance on hand,
beginning of year

44,081.43

Grand Total

$1,071,855.68

PAYMENTS
Maintenance

$435,983.66
Departmental

$394,447.38
Public service enterprises

40,787.48
(Water

40,767.48)
Cemeteries

748.80
Interest

81,915.13
Loans, general purposes

40,705.96
Loans, public service enterprises

41,209.17
Outlays

61,829.86
Departmental

50,805.79
Public service enterprises (water)

11,024.07
Municipal indebtedness

413,997.72
From revenue

110,428.89
Temporary loans, including tax loans

295,000.00
Warrants or orders, previous years

8,568.83
Agency and Trust

64,437.88

Total payments

$1,058,164.25

Balance on hand,
end of year

13,691.43

Grand Total

$1,071,855.68
Outstanding indebtedness classified by character of obligation,
Loans for general purposes

$642,225.00
Loans for public service enterprises

1,137,000.00
Temporary tax loans

200,000.00
Warrants or orders

12,347.89

$1,991,572.89

Valuation $22,083,852, Population 26,011.

Make a critical study of the finances of Gloucester as revealed by these figures.

Source: Papers set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, …, Landscape Architecture, Music in Harvard College. June 1911, pp. 52-54. In Harvard University Archives, Examination papers, 1873-1915 (HUC 7000.25). Box 9. Examination Papers, 1910-11.

Image Source: Boston University yearbook, 1927.

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Exam Questions Harvard Public Finance

Harvard. Public Finance. Course description, enrollment, semester exams. Bullock, 1910-1911

It is not only inquisitorial; but public morality forbids that the taxpayer should be forced to do any more hard swearing than he already does.

The field of public finance, especially with regard to issues of taxation, was covered at Harvard in the early decades of the 20th century by Professor Charles Jesse Bullock. 

From 1906: Selected Readings in Public Finance edited by Charles Jesse Bullock (Boston: Inn & Company).

From 1910: Short bibliography on public finance “for serious minded students” by Bullock

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Earlier versions of the course
by year and instructor

1906-07

https://www.irwincollier.com/harvard-public-finance-and-taxation-enrollments-and-final-exams-bullock-1906-1907/

1907-08

https://www.irwincollier.com/harvard-public-finance-and-taxation-exams-bullock-1907-1908/

1908-09

https://www.irwincollier.com/harvard-examinations-in-public-finance-especially-taxation-bullock-1908-1909/

1909-10 (half-course, American Taxation)

https://www.irwincollier.com/harvard-american-taxation-course-description-enrollment-and-final-exam-bullock-and-huse-1909-1910/

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Course Announcement and Description
1910-11

[Economics] 16 Public Finance (advanced course). Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Professor Bullock.

This course is designed for graduate students and for undergraduates who are especially interested in public finance. It cannot be elected by students who have taken Economics 7 [Public Finance course exclusively offered to undergraduates], except by express consent of the instructor.

The course is devoted to the examination of the financial institutions of the principal modern countries, in the light of both theory and history. One or more reports calling for independent investigation will ordinarily be required. Special emphasis will be placed upon questions of American finance.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VII No. 23 (June 21, 1910), pp. 60.

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 16. Professor Bullock. — Public Finance (advanced course).

Total 7: 5 Graduates, 1 Senior, 1 Junior.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 49.

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ECONOMICS 16
Mid-year Examination, 1910-11

  1. Discuss briefly the classifications of public revenues offered by Smith, Cohn, Bastable, and Seligman.
  2. Discuss the course of development of three classes of public expenditures in the nineteenth century.
  3. Analyze the effects of non-commercial expenditures, with a view to supplying the data necessary for judging of the legitimacy of such expenditures.
  4. What policy should a modern state pursue with respect to public ownership of arable land, forests, and mines?
  5. What fiscal policy would you favor for the following public industries: the post office, railroads, water works, gas works?
  6. What has been the position of commercial revenues in national and local budgets since 1850?
  7. In what departments of public service and to what extent should fees be used by a modern state?
  8. Discuss the relation of taxation to benefits.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers, Mid-Years, 1910-11.

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ECONOMICS 16
Year-End Examination, 1910-11

  1. Discuss double taxation in the United States.
  2. Discus the taxation of incomes in Switzerland and the United States.
  3. Discuss the past and present status of the property tax in Europe.
  4. Discuss the past and present status of the property tax in the United States.
  5. Discuss briefly the history of excise taxation in Europe during the nineteenth century.
  6. Discuss the present custom revenues of Great Britain, France, and Germany.
  7. Discuss the incidence of taxes on mortgages in the American states.
  8. Discuss state supervision of the assessment of property in the American states.

Source: Papers set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, …, Landscape Architecture, Music in Harvard College. June 1911, p. 52. In Harvard University Archives, Examination papers, 1873-1915 (HUC 7000.25). Box 9. Examination Papers, 1910-11, p. 52.

Image Source:  No Income Tax! by Charles Jay Taylor illustrator on the cover of Puck (24 January 1894).   “Print shows a scene at the ‘Income Tax Office’ with a crowd clamoring at the door where a notice states ‘One at a Time’; inside, a wealthy man is standing by a desk, on the floor at his feet, in his hat, are papers labeled ‘Personal Property Tax Sworn Off’, ‘Tax on Capital Sworn Off’, and ‘Tax on Investments’, he kisses the Bible while a government official sits at the desk with his right hand raised.” Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

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Exam Questions Harvard History of Economics

Harvard. Exams for the history of economics up to 1848. Bullock, 1910-1911

Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot

Six Harvard graduate students were led through economic thought from the Ancient Greeks through the Scottish Enlightenment by Professor Charles Jesse Bullock in 1910-11. That material could have been covered in the General Examination in economic theory that at that time included the history of economic ideas.

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Earlier versions of the course
by year and instructor

1899-1900. The History and Literature of Economics to the close of the Eighteenth Century. [William James Ashley]

1901-02. History and Literature of Economics, to the opening of the Nineteenth Century. [Charles Whitney Mixter]

1903-04. History and Literature of Economics to the opening of the Nineteenth Century [Charles Jesse Bullock]

1904-05. History and Literature of Economics to the year 1848. [Charles Jesse Bullock]

1905-06. History and Literature of Economics to the year 1848. [Charles Jesse Bullock]

1906-07. History and Literature of Economics to the year 1848 [Charles Jesse Bullock]

1907-08. History and Literature of Economics to the year 1848 [Charles Jesse Bullock]

1908-09. History and Literature of Economics to the year 1848 [Charles Jesse Bullock]

1909-10. History and Literature of Economics to the year 1848 [Charles Jesse Bullock]

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Course Announcement and Description
1910-11

[Economics] 15. History and Literature of Economics to the year 1848. Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 11. Professor Bullock.

            The purpose of this course is to trace the development of economic thought from classical antiquity to the middle of the nineteenth century. Emphasis is placed upon the relation of economics to philosophical and political theories, as well as to political and industrial conditions.

            A considerable amount of reading of prominent writers will be assigned, and opportunity given for the preparation of theses. Much of the instruction is necessarily given by means of lectures.

            No undergraduates will be admitted to the course who are not candidates for honors in economics.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VII No. 23 (June 21, 1910), p. 54.

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 15. Professor Bullock. — History and Literature of Economics to the year 1848.

Total 6: 6 Graduates.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 49.

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ECONOMICS 15
Mid-year Examination, 1910-11

  1. How did Aristotle classify the various branches of the art of acquisition?
  2. What ideas concerning value are found in the works of the leading Greek and Roman writers?
  3. Discuss Aristotle’s criticism of Plato’s communism.
  4. Discuss the economic opinions of Xenophon.
  5. What views concerning commerce were held by Aristotle, Xenophon, and Thomas Aquinas?
  6. What traces of the influence of Aristotle do you find in the theories of the Schoolmen concerning just price and usury?
  7. Discuss Ashley’s views of the Scholastic doctrine of usury.
  8. Discuss the change that occurred in the doctrine of usury between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers, Mid-Years, 1910-11.

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ECONOMICS 15
Year-End Examination, 1910-11 

  1. Discuss briefly the development of theories of interest from Aquinas to Turgot.
  2. Discuss the economic opinions of John Hales.
  3. Discuss the relation of mercantilism to the economic thought of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
  4. Discuss the economic opinions of Mun and Davenant.
  5. Discuss the theories of Boisguilbert and Cantillon.
  6. Compare English mercantilism with French and Italian.
  7. Discuss critically Ingram’s treatment of mercantilism.
  8. Discuss Adam Smith’s relation to earlier ethical and political thought; his relation to mercantilist writers; his indebtedness to the physiocrats. How far can his work claim originality?

Source: Papers set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, …, Landscape Architecture, Music in Harvard College. June 1911, p. 44. In Harvard University Archives, Examination papers, 1873-1915 (HUC 7000.25). Box 9. Examination Papers, 1910-11, p. 51.

Image Source: Chateau de Versailles. Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, intendant et ministre des Finances (1727-1781).

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Socialism

Harvard. Methods of Social Reform. Course description, enrollment, final exam. Carver, 1910-1911

Seeds of Socialism

In this post you find the final exam, course description, and enrollment figures for the eighth iteration of Thomas Nixon Carver’s course that dealt with schemes of social reform, socialism/communism/single-tax. The economics of socialism was offered in some form or other throughout the first half of the twentieth century. 1910-11 was still a long-way from the great debates about the desirability/feasibility of central planning. 

Links to earlier and selected later versions of the course.

Brief bibliography by Carver for serious students on the economics of socialism (1910)

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Course Announcement and Description
1910-11

14b 2hf. Methods of Social Reform. — Socialism, Communism, the Single Tax. Half-course (second half-year). Tu., Th., at 1.30. Professor Carver.

A study of those plans of social amelioration which involve either a reorganization of society, or a considerable extension of the functions of the state. The course begins with a critical examination of the theories of the leading socialistic writers, with a view to getting a clear understanding of the reasoning which lies back of socialistic movements, and of the economic conditions which tend to make this reasoning acceptable. A similar study will be made of the Single Tax Movement, of State Socialism and the public ownership of monopolistic enterprises, and of Christian Socialism, so called.

This course is open only to those who have passed satisfactorily in Course 14a.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VII No. 23 (June 21, 1910), pp. 53-54.

_______________________

Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 14b 2hf. Professor Carver. — Methods of Social Reform. Socialism, Communism, the Single Tax, etc.

Total 73: 6 Graduates, 20 Seniors, 32 Juniors, 7 Sophomore, 1 Freshman, 7 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 49.

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ECONOMICS 14b
Year-End Examination, 1910-11

Give as full and complete answers
as possible in the time allowed.
Allow about thirty minutes to each question.
  1. In what respects are socialism and anarchism alike and in what respects are they unlike?
  2. Comment briefly upon the leading points in the creed of “orthodox socialism.”
  3. Compare the views of the socialist and the economist as to the source of interest.
  4. Compare economic competition with political competition as a means of selecting men to manage the productive resources of a country.
  5. Discuss the question: Is it better that the income derived from the rent of land should go to private individuals to be expended by them, or that it should go into the public treasury to be expended by public officials?
  6. Discuss the question: Would the single tax eliminate poverty?

Source: Papers set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, …, Landscape Architecture, Music in Harvard College. June 1911, p. 44. In Harvard University Archives, Examination papers, 1873-1915 (HUC 7000.25). Box 9. Examination Papers, 1910-11, p. 51.

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Earlier Course Materials

Pre-Carver
Carver’s courses
Post-Carver:

 

Image Source:  Udo J. Keppler, “The Seeds of Socialism” from Puck (12 February 1908). Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

A gigantic boar wearing a crown with “$” and a shawl labeled “Plutocratic Greed” and holding the U.S. Capitol dome labeled “Special Privilege”, inverted to form a bucket from which it is sowing seeds labeled “Abuse of Power, Arrogance, [and] Contempt of Law”onto a field sprouting “Socialist votes”. It is stepping on an American flag and a Liberty cap.

Categories
Distribution Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Income Distribution. Course description, enrollment, final exam. Carver, 1910-11

The Crabbed Millionaire's Puzzle

This course by Thomas Nixon Carver on the distribution of wealth, appears from the exam questions and the course description to have been a course on the theory of the functional distribution of income. 

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From earlier semesters

1904-05
1905-06
1907-08
1908-09
1909-10

’The course content is undoubtedly captured in Carver’s 1904 book The Distribution of Wealth which was reprinted several times during his lifetime.

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Course Announcement and Description
1910-11

14a 1hf. The Distribution of Wealth. Half-course (first half-year). Tu., Th., at 1.30. Professor Carver.

This course begins with an analysis of the theory of value. The attempt is then made to formulate a positive theory of distribution helpful in explaining the actual incomes of the various classes of producers. Finally the question of justice in distribution is considered.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VII No. 23 (June 21, 1910), p. 53.

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 14a 1hf. Professor Carver. — The Distribution of Wealth.

Total 86: 6 Graduates, 28 Seniors, 36 Juniors, 9 Sophomores, 2 Freshmen, 5 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 49.

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ECONOMICS 14a1
Mid-year Examination, 1910-11

  1. What is meant by the margin of cultivation?
  2. What would you suggest as a method of raising wages?
  3. Are wages “drawn from” capital or from product? Explain clearly the meaning which you give to the words “drawn from.”
  4. Discuss the question: Does the rent of land enter into the price of products?
  5. Do laborers as a class, or capitalists as a class, gain more from inventions and improvements in production? Give your reasons.
  6. What is the relation of risk to profits?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers, Mid-Years, 1910-11.

Image Source: The Crabbed Millionaire’s Puzzle by J. S. Pughe. Puck (7 August 1901). Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.

Categories
Business Cycles Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Commercial Crises and Trade Cycles. Description, enrollment, final exam. Day, 1910-11

After a year gap, a business cycle course was offered in 1910-11 with a new instructor, Edmund Ezra Day. One-third of the exam was devoted to “‘barometers’ or indices of general business conditions”.

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About Edmund Ezra Day

https://www.irwincollier.com/harvard-1909-phd-alumnus-edmund-ezra-day-cornell-memorial-minute-1951/

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Earlier Exams 

1902/03-1907/08. Commercial Crises and Trade Cycles (A.P. Andrew)

1908/09. Commercial Crises and Trade Cycles (Wesley Clair Mitchell)

1909/10. Not offered.

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Course Announcement and Description
1910-11

12 1hf. Commercial Crises and Cycles of Trade. Half-course (first half-year). Mon., Wed., Fri., at 10. Dr. Day.

            Course 12 begins with a brief review of the more important crises occurring before 1870. This is followed by an intensive study of the cycles of trade culminating in the crises of 1873, 1893, and 1907. The influence upon commercial fluctuations of the present organization of industry, of government finance, of foreign trade, of agricultural conditions, of the money supply, of speculation, of banking methods, and of other such factors is discussed. The so-called barometers of trade are examined. Finally some consideration is given to the theory of economic crises, to the methods which have been employed in different countries for relieving crises, and to proposed reforms designed to prevent them.

            Written work, in the preparation of short papers on assigned topics, will be required of all students.

            The course is open only to those who have passed satisfactorily in Economics 1.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VII No. 23 (June 21, 1910), p. 59.

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 12 1hf. Dr. E.E. Day. — Commercial Crises and Cycles of Trade.

Total 99: 1 Graduate, 40 Seniors, 43Juniors, 10 Sophomores, 2 Freshmen, 3 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 49.

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ECONOMICS 12
Mid-year Examination, 1910-11

Give at least one-third of your time to Part II.
I
  1. “The real cause of the crisis of 1893 was the bungling and incompetent legislation of our Federal Government.” Was this so? If so, why? If not, why not?
  2. In what particulars were the conditions in the United States prior to the crisis of 1857 similar to those before 1907? In what respects were the conditions different?
  3. Describe accurately the relation between:—
    1. (1) Changes in the price level and (2) merchandise imports and exports.
    2. (1) Merchandise imports and exports and (2) international gold movements.
    3. (1) International gold movements and (2) banking reserves.
  4. In the theory of crises what is meant by overproduction? To what different causes may this overproduction be assigned?

II

  1. Arrange in the order of importance the following “barometers” or indices of general business conditions: —
    1. Wheat production.
    2. Cotton production.
    3. Railroad construction.
    4. Price of pig iron.
    5. New York bank clearings.
    6. Business failures.

Analyze the value and limitations of each of these indices. 

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers, Mid-Years, 1910-11.

Image Source: “A dangerous bubble” by J.S. Pughe. Illustration published in Puck (22 October 1902). Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

Categories
Economic History Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Modern Economic History of Europe. Description, Enrollment, Exams. Gay, 1910-1911

Facciata di Palazzo San Giorgio visto dal Bigo - Genova

European and U.S. economic history were charter subjects within the discipline of economics (née political economy) from its earliest days. This post adds Edwin F. Gay’s exam questions for his course on modern European economic history taught at Harvard 1910-11. 

Bonus material:

Links to earlier course material for European Economic History from Harvard, 1883-84 through 1909-10.

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Course Announcement and Description
1910-11

  1. Modern Economic History of Europe. Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 10. Professor Gay and Dr. Gray.
    [note the enrollment figures only has Professor Gay as the course instructor]

At the outset a survey will be made of economic and social conditions in the chief European countries at the close of the Middle Ages. The history of agriculture, industry, and commerce in the succeeding periods down to the beginning of the nineteenth century will then be treated in some detail. England will receive the emphasis due to its increasing importance during this period.

Course 11 is open to students who have taken Economics 1 or History 1.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VI,I No. 23 (June 21, 1910), pp. 56.

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 11. Professor Gay. — Modern Economic History of Europe.

Total 9: 6 Graduates, 2 Seniors, 1 Junior.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 49.

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ECONOMICS 11
Mid-year Examination, 1910-11

  1. Trace the history of copyhold tenure in England to the time of Sir Edward Coke.
  2. Describe the agrarian development of different parts of Germany from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries.
Answer three of the following questions.
  1. Compare the development and organization of the woolen industry in the Rhine valley, in Florence, and in England.
  2. Upon what sources are based modern studies of population and wealth in mediaeval towns? What definite results have been reached? To what extent was the mediaeval merchant a wholesale trader?
  3. State Unwin’s views regarding the differentiation of classes within English crafts, and examine the evidence adduced.
  4. …“we are led to the principle that the work of townsmen should yield them a sufficient satisfaction of the necessities of life … since only the well-being of individuals was the aim … it was necessary to see to it that there be the greatest possible equality in the division of output among individual producers … hence free competition was excluded.” Discuss this view of the purpose of the craft gild, illustrating from any special study of your own.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers, Mid-Years, 1910-11.

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ECONOMICS 11
Year-end Examination, 1910-11

  1. Comment on the following statement, giving illustrations:
    “The whole internal history of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is summed up in the opposition of the economic policy of the state to that of the town, the district, and the several estates. [Both in domestic and foreign policy] questions of political power were at issue, which were, at the same time, questions of economic organization.”
  2. Criticise the following statement: “the domestic system existed in England from the earliest times till it was superseded by capitalism; … craft gilds were a form of industrial organization which was appropriate to the domestic rather than to the capitalist system.”
  3. —
    1. Outline the history of English commerce from Elizabeth to the younger Pitt.
    2. It is stated that the total value of exports and imports for England and France was as follows for the years here given: —

England
£

France
livres

1613

 4,628,586
1750 20,471,120 1750

355,202,357

1800

 62,639,398 1789

758,104,000

Are these figures of equal statistical value? What conclusions may be drawn from a comparison of English and French commercial statistics during this period?

  1. —
    1. Describe briefly the price movement of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, its extent, character, causes, and results.
    2. What are the difficulties in comparing the purchasing power of a shilling in 1450, 1550, and 1911?
  2. What connection exists between: —
    1. the Casa di San Giorgio and modern banking?
    2. the “lettre de foire” and the bill of exchange?
    3. the Statute of Artificers and changes in the gild system?
    4. the Navigation Acts and the decline of Holland?

Source: Papers set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, …, Landscape Architecture, Music in Harvard College. June 1911, p. 44. In Harvard University Archives, Examination papers, 1873-1915 (HUC 7000.25). Box 9. Examination Papers, 1910-11, pp. 48-49.

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Links to earlier course material for
European Economic History.
Harvard 1883-84 through 1909-10

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

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Image Source: Facciata di Palazzo San Giorgio visto dal Bigo – Genova by Sidvis from Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons license.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Labor

Harvard. Problems of Labor. Course description, enrollment and exam. Ripley, 1910-1911

New York City, Labor Day Parade (1909)

For the institutional economist William Zebina Ripley at Harvard, trade unions and corporations were central for an understanding of the economy. In the 1910-11 academic year his course, Problems of Labor, completed its ninth iteration.

Beginning with this post on Harvard labor economics, Economics in the Rear-view Mirror will provide links to all previous labor course material transcribed and posted:

Links to previous Harvard labor exams 1892-93 to 1909-10.

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Labor Bibliographies
Prepared by Ripley

Short Bibliography of Trade Unionism, 1910.

Short Bibliography of Strikes and Boycotts, 1910.

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Course Announcement, Description
1910-11

9a 1hf. Problems of Labor. Half-course (first half-year); Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 1.30. Professor Ripley, assisted by Mr. [Ralph Cahoon] Whitnack.

This course will deal mainly with the economic and social relations of employer and employed, with especial reference to legislation. Among the topics included will be, — collective bargaining; labor organizations; factory legislation in the United States and Europe; strikes, strike legislation and legal decisions; conciliation and arbitration; employers’ liability and compulsory compensation; compulsory insurance with particular reference to European experience; the problem of the unemployed; apprenticeship, and trade and technical education.

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

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VII No. 23 (June 21, 1910), pp. 58-59.

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 9a 1hf. Professor Ripley, assisted by Mr. [Ralph Cahoon] Whitnack. — Problems of Labor.

Total 64: 6 Graduates, 17 Seniors, 29 Juniors, 8 Sophomores, 1 Freshman, 3 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 49.

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ECONOMICS 9a1
Mid-Year Examination, 1910-11

  1. Under the compulsory German insurance laws, who pays the premiums for (a) accident, (b) sickness, (c) old age, insurance, respectively?
  2. What are some of the abuses of private employment offices in the United States? What is alleged to be one of the main objections to the establishment of public employment offices? What has been the experience in Germany and the United States in this regard?
  3. As contrasted with English conditions, what is the main dificulty to be considered in the proposed adoption of “workmen’s compensation” legislation in Massachusetts?
  4. What is the one great advantage from the employers’ standpoint of the German over the English system in respect of accident insurance?
  5. New Zealand provided by law for both conciliation boards and courts of arbitration for labor disputes. What has been the experience with the former?
  6. The western locomotive engineers have recently endeavored to secure the adoption of a wage scale granting much higher wages to drivers of compound Mallet engines; not simply because more labor was needed to handle them, but largely because they could haul twice the tonnage of freight. What would be the engineers’ probable motive? Is this anything in principle like a premium plan of paying for labor? Discuss it.
  7. Explain the nature of an injunction. What was its origin in law, and how did it become applicable to the prosecution of labor disputes?
  8. What English statute resulted from the Taff Vale decision in England? Have we any law or, in your judgment, need of such a law in the United States?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers, Mid-Years, 1910-11.

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Previous Labor Courses at Harvard

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

Image Source: Library of Congress, Prints & Phtographs Online. Women on float of the Women’s Auxiliary Typographical Union in New York City’s Labor Day parade, published 6 September 1909.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard International Economics

Harvard. Banking and Foreign Exchange. Course description, enrollment, and examination. Day, 1910-1911

Edmund Ezra Day was awarded his Harvard economics Ph.D. in 1909 and he was subsequently appointed assistant professor of economics in 1910-11. This was a transition year for monetary economics at Harvard. In 1911-12 Day consolidated the three half-courses Econ 8a (Money), Econ 8b (Banking and Foreign Exchange), and Econ 12 (Commerical Crises and Cycles of Trade)into the full course “Money, Banking, and Commercial Crises.”

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Exams from earlier years

1906-07. Banking and Foreign Exchange (A.P. Andrew)
1907-08. Banking and Foreign Exchange (A.P. Andrew)
1908-09. Banking and Foreign Exchange (W.C. Mitchell)
1909-10. Banking and Foreign Exchange (O.M.W. Sprague)

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Economics 8b
Course Description
1910-11

8b 2hf. Banking and Foreign Exchange. Half-course (second half-year). Mon., Wed., Fri., at 1.30. Dr. [Edmund Ezra] Day.

In Course 8b, after a summary view of early forms of the development, legislation, and present practice of banking in leading countries, — such as England, Scotland, France, Germany, and Canada, — are reviewed and contrasted. Particular attention is given to banking history and experience in this country: the two United States banks; the more important features of banking in the separate states before 1860; the beginnings, growth, operation, and proposed modification of the national banking system; and credit institutions outside that system, such as state banks and trust companies; and the growth and influence of the independent government treasury.

The peculiarities of the money markets of London, Paris, Berlin, and New York are examined, and the various factors, such as stock exchange dealings, and international exchange payments, which bring about fluctuations in the demand for loans, and the rate of discount in these markets will be considered.

Written work, in the preparation of short papers on assigned topics, and a regular course of prescribed reading will be required of all students.

The course is open to those who have taken Economics 1.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VI,I No. 23 (June 21, 1910), p. 58.

Economics 8b
Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 8b 2hf. Dr. E. E. Day. — Banking and Foreign Exchange.

Total 123: 1 Graduate, 26 Seniors, 55 Juniors, 27 Sophomores, 5 Freshmen, 9 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 49.

Economics 8b
Year-end Examination, 1910-11

  1. Carefully distinguish the clearing house certificate from the clearing house loan certificate. Describe the manner in which the loan certificate has been customarily issued.
    What is the primary function of the loan certificate? Explain Professor Sprague’s statement: “The result (from failure to equalize or pool reserves) has been to convert the clearing house loan certificate into an instrument which inevitably and immediately leads to the suspension of payments by the banks.”
    To what new uses was the loan certificate put in 1907? To what extent would you expect this practice of 1907 to be followed were another crisis to occur under our present banking laws?
  2. Describe the manner in which commercial banking in England arose from the business of the “new fashioned” goldsmiths.
  3. Contrast the banking systems prevailing in 1860 in New England and New York.
  4. In the English banking system, what are the functions of (1) the accepting house, (2) the bill-broker, (3) the discount house? What is the size and form of the English banking reserves? Are these reserves adequate? If so, why? If not, why not?
  5. Describe the following features of bank note issue in Canada: (1) number of issuing banks; (2) limitations upon issue; (3) security of notes; (4) current redemption of notes; (5) elasticity of issue.
  6. Describe the elasticity, from year to year, season to season, and during crises, of’ (1) gold coin, (2) bank notes, and (3) deposit currency, in the United States.
  7. Contrast Professor Sprague’s proposed central bank with the Reserve Association advocated by Senator Aldrich. Which, in your opinion, the better assures the banking reform needed in the United States? Why?

Source: Papers set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, …, Landscape Architecture, Music in Harvard College. June 1911, p. 44. In Harvard University Archives, Examination papers, 1873-1915 (HUC 7000.25). Box 9. Examination Papers, 1910-11, p. 47.

Image Source: Edmund Ezra Day in Harvard Class Album 1915. Colorized by Economics in the Rear-view Mirror.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Monetary economics Money and Banking

Harvard. Money. Course description, enrollment, final examination. Huse, 1910-1911

Before Abram Piatt Andrew began teaching a course on money, literally at the turn of the 20th century, the subject of money was treated jointly with national debt. That was how Charles F. Dunbar approached the subject. Charles Phillips Huse was the third instructor to fill the gap left by A. Piatt Andrew. In the following year “money” would merge with “banking and commercial crises”.

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Previous money course materials

1900-01(Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam)
1901-02 (Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam) Reading list for money 1901-02.
1902-03 (Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam)
1903-04 (Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam)
1904-05 (Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam)
1905-06 (Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam)
1906-07 (Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam)
1907-08 (Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam)
1908-09 (Wesley Clair Mitchell’s money exam)
1909-10 (Davis Rich Dewey’s money exam)

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Course Description
1910-11

8a 1hf. Money. — A general survey of currency legislation, experience, and theory in recent times. Half-course (first half-year). Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 1.30. Dr. [Charles Phillips] Huse.

This course aims to show how the existing monetary systems of the principal countries have come to be, and to analyze the more important currency problems. It begins with a brief history of the precious metals, which is connected, in so far as possible, with the history of prices and the development of monetary theory. The history of coinage legislation in England and Europe and the United States is traced, and leads to a consideration of various aspects of the bimetallic controversy. At convenient points, the experiences of various countries with paper money are reviewed and the influence of such issues upon wages, prices, and trade examined. Attention is also given to the non-monetary means of payment and the questions of monetary theory arising from their use. Among other subjects treated are the several methods of measuring exchange value, the explanation of price movements, the relations between prices and the rate of interest, the effects of appreciation and depreciation, the criteria of an ideal standard, and the reasons for divergences in the value of money as between different countries.

Course 8a is open to those only who have taken Course 1. 

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VI,I No. 23 (June 21, 1910), pp. 57-58.

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 8a 1hf. Dr. [Charles Phillips] Huse. — Money. A general survey of currency legislation, experience, and theory in recent times.

Total 108: 2 Graduates, 30 Seniors, 50 Juniors, 18 Sophomores, 2 Freshmen, 6 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 49.

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ECONOMICS 8a
Mid-year Examination, 1910-11

  1. Explain briefly: (1) bills of credit; (2) assignats; (3) fractional currency; (4) rupee; (5) “conant”; (6) balboa; (7) guinea.
  2. Trace briefly the changes in the output of gold and silver since 1492. Give the important changes in the market ratio.
  3. Trace the monetary history of the United States from 1792 to 1860. Briefly rewrite this history on the assumption that the United States had adopted the French mint ratio.
  4. Write a brief history of the American trade dollar, stating the circumstances which led to its issue and withdrawal.
  5. Compare the Bland-Allison and Sherman Acts as to their legal provisions and actual results.
  6. Suppose the United States should permit the free coinage of our present silver dollar. What would be the probable effect of this law upon (1) debtors; (2) the value of the dime; (3) the value of the silver certificate; (4) the value of the gold certificate; (5) the value of the greenback; (6) the gold price of silver; (7) prices in Holland; (8) prices in the Dutch East Indies?
  7. The monetary laws of a certain country permit the free coinage of a gold dollar containing 25 grains of pure gold, and of a silver dollar containing 700 grains of pure silver. Subsidiary silver is coined on government account at a ratio of 15 to 1. The necessities of war have, however, led to the issue of irredeemable legal tender paper. Assuming that the market ratio is 30 to 1, state what coins you would find in circulation (1) before the war; (2) when the paper dollar was worth 75 cents in gold; (3) when it was worth 60 cents in gold; (4) when it was worth 45 cents in gold. Devise a scheme for making the paper dollar and the gold dollar circulate at a parity. (Show the method by which your answers were obtained.)
  8. A certain Asiatic country permits at present the free coinage of a dollar containing 348.3 grains of pure silver. How much is this dollar worth in money of the United States, assuming the present price of silver to be 54 cents an ounce? Without changing the weight or fineness of the dollar, tell how you would give this country a monetary system that would prevent fluctuations in the gold value of its coins and insure an adequate supply of money, even though the market ratio should become 30 to 1. (Give exact figures.)

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers, Mid-Years, 1910-11.

Image Source:  “Money Talks” from the cover of Puck, Vol LX, No. 1541 (September 12, 1906). Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.  “William Randolph Hearst sitting with two large, animated, money bags resting on his lap, with arms and legs, and showing two large coins as heads; on the floor next to Hearst is a box labeled ‘WRH Ventriloquist’.”