Category: Harvard

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Exam Questions Harvard Public Finance Suggested Reading Syllabus

Harvard. Public Investment. Description, enrollment, exam. Marglin et al. 1966-1967

The scope of this interdisciplinary course from the mid-1960s is genuinely breathtaking. With his Harvard Ph.D. (1965) still fresh [Thesis: “Decentralized Resources Allocation With a Modicum of Increasing Returns.”], Stephen Marglin was on his famed meteoric rise to tenured professorship when he co-taught the following course on public investmen with political scientists and civil engineers.

For a later observation on his intellectual journey, see the brief profile article in The Harvard Crimson (14 November 2019) on “The Black Sheep of Harvard Economics” from which the image above has been clipped. He’s come a long way.

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Course Announcement

Economics 112 (formerly Government 257a). Public Investment: Techniques for Relating Economic Objectives, Engineering Analysis, and Government Planning (Offered Jointly with the Graduate School of Public Administration)

Half course (fall term). Th., 2-4, and a two-hour meeting to be arranged.
Assistant Professor S. Marglin and Professors Arthur Maass and H. A. Thomas.

New methods of economic, engineering, and governmental analysis in public investment planning. Techniques include those for converting broad community objectives into specific criteria used to design public projects. Emphasis on systems analysis.

Source:  Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Courses of Instruction for Harvard and Radcliffe, 1966-1967, p. 110.

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Course Instructors

Stephen Alan Marglin (1938- ) Assistant Professor of Economics.

Arthur Aaron Maass (1917-2004), Frank G. Thomson Professor of Government.

Harold A. Thomas, Jr. (1913-2002), Gordon McKay Professor of Civil and Sanitary Engineering.

Peter P. Rogers (1937-2018) (Ph.D. in Engineering 1966) Lecturer in Systems Analysis in the Graduate School of Design and a research associate in the Center for Population Studies.

George Herman Quester (1936-2023), Instructor of Government.

Henry D. Jacoby (1935-), Harvard economics Ph.D. 1967. Instructor of Economics.

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Fall Term
1966-67

Economics 112

PUBLIC INVESTMENT: TECHNIQUES FOR RELATING ECONOMIC OBJECTIVES, ENGINEERING ANALYSIS, AND GOVERNMENT PLANNING.

Assistant Professor S. Marglin, Professors A. Maass and H. A. Thomas, Drs. P. Rogers and G. Quester, and Mr. H. Jacoby.

Course Outline

A.    Formulating Public Investment Criteria Date
1. Introduction SM Sep. 29
2. Production and the Theory of the Firm HJ Oct. 4
Objectives: National Income and Its Distribution SM Oct. 6
3. Consumption and the Theory of the Household HJ Oct. 11
Selection of the Unit of Analysis and the Definition of Benefits and Costs HJ Oct. 13
4. Intertemporal Criteria HJ Oct. 18
Interest Rates and Uncertainty SM Oct. 20
5. Markets, Economic Efficiency and Welfare HJ Oct. 25
The Design Process: Methods of Analysis and Problems of Measurement HJ Oct. 27
B.     Objectives of Public Investment
1. Alternative Concepts of the Public Interest GQ Nov. 1
Multiple Objectives in Public Investment Programs AM Nov. 3
2. Concepts of Decision Making GQ Nov. 8
The Weighting of Objectives in the Political Process AM Nov. 10
C.     Applying Criteria in Project Design
1. The Mathematics of Optimization PR Nov. 15
Mathematical Models: Deterministic Models HAT Nov. 17
2. The Techniques of Systems Analysis PR Nov. 22
(To be announced) Nov. 29
Mathematical Models: Stochastic Models HAT Dec. 1
3. Computation Laboratory PR Dec. 6
Simulation HAT Dec. 8
(To be announced) Dec. 13
D.    Summary and Conclusions All Dec. 15
Problem Sets

Problem set #1 is due on November 1.
Problem set #2 is due on December 1.
Problem set #3 is due on January 12.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003, Box 9, Folder “Economics, 1966-1967”.

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Fall Term
1966-67

Economics 112

PUBLIC INVESTMENT:
TECHNIQUES FOR RELATING ECONOMIC OBJECTIVES, ENGINEERING ANALYSIS, AND GOVERNMENT PLANNING.

Reading List

Recommended for purchase:

Maass, Hufschmidt, Dorfman, Thomas, Marglin, Fair, Design of Water-Resource Systems (1962).

All other readings on Reserve at Littauer or Lamont Libraries
Optional readings are starred

Readings for October 4:

P. Samuelson, Economics (4th or 5th edition), Chapters 24 & 26 (including appendices).

R. Dorfman, The Price System, Chapters 1 & 2 (1964).

Readings for October 6:

K. Boulding, “The Economist and the Engineer: Economic Dynamics of Water Resource Development,” in S. Smith and E. Castle (eds.) Economics and Public Policy in Water Resource Development (1964).

W. Heller, “Reflections on Public Expenditure Theory,” in Edmund Phelps, ed., Private Wants and Public Needs(1962).

J. Krutilla and O. Eckstein, Multiple Purpose River Development, Chapter 2 (1958).

J. Krutilla, “Welfare Aspects of Benefit-Cost Analysis,” 69 Journal of Political Economy 226-235 (1961).

S. Marglin, Public Investment Criteria, pp. 1-36 (1965).

Readings for October 11:

R. Dorfman, The Price System, Chapter 3 (1964).

T. Scitovsky, Welfare and Competition, Chapter IV, pp. 51-65 (1951).

Readings for October 13:

S. Marglin, Public Investment Criteria, pp. 37-46, 91-100 (1965).

R. Haveman, Water Resource Investment and the Public Interest, Chapters 3, 4, 5 (1965).

J. Tinbergen, The Design of Development, pp. 36-41, 76-87 (1958).

*Maass, Hufschmidt, et. al., Design of Water-Resource Systems, pp. 40-87 (1962).

Readings for October 18:

P. Samuelson, Economics (4th or 5th edition), Chapter 29 (including appendix).

I. Fisher, The Theory of Interest, Chapters V & VI (1930).

H. Bierman and S. Smidt, The Capital Budgeting Decision, Chapters 2 & 3 (1960).

Readings for October 20:

S. Marglin, Public Investment Criteria, pp. 46-77 (1965).

J. Krutilla and O. Eckstein, Multiple Purpose River Development, Chapter 2, pp. 32-40, and Chapter 4 (1958).

R. McKean, Efficiency in Government Through Systems Analysis, Chapter 4 (1958).

Maass, Hufschmidt, et. al., Design of Water-Resource Systems, pp. 129-158 (1962).

J. Hirshleifer, “Efficient Allocation of Capital in an Uncertain World,” 54 AER 77-85 (1964), and comment by P. Samuelson, 95-96.

*J. Hirshleifer, “Investment Decision Under Uncertainty — Choice-Theoretic Approaches,” 79 QJE 509-536 (1965).

*J. Hirshleifer, “Investment Decisions Under Uncertainty: Applications of the State-Preference Approach,” 80 QJE 252-277 (1966).

Readings for October 25:

P. Samuelson, Economics (4th or 5th edition), pp. 678-689.

R. Dorfman, The Price System, Chapters 4-6 (1964).

J. Graaff, Theoretical Welfare Economics, Chapters 1-3 (1957).

Readings for October 27:

Maass, Hufschmidt, et. al., Design of Water-Resource Systems, Chapter 3, pp. 88-118, and Chapter 5 (1962).

J. Rothenberg, “Urban Renewal Programs” in R. Dorfman, ed., Measuring Benefits of Government Investments(1965). Also skim the other articles in this collection.

Readings for November 1:

C. Friedrich, Constitutional Government and Democracy, Chapter 14.

R. Dahl and C. Lindblom, Politics, Economics and Welfare, pp. 25-56.

A. Downs, An Economic Theory of Democracy, pp. 3-74, 279-300.

Madison, The Federalist, No. 10.

D. Truman, The Governmental Process, Chapters 1, 2, 12 & 16.

Readings for November 3:

Maass, “Benefit-Cost Analysis: Its Relevance to Public Investment Decisions,” 80 QJE 208-226 (1966). Readpp. 208-218.

R. Musgrave, “The Public Interest: Efficiency in the Creation and Maintenance of Material Welfare,” Chapter 9 in Nomos 5: The Public Interest, C. Friedrich, ed. (1962).

G. Colm, “The Public Interest: Essential Key to Public Policy,” Chapter 10 in Nomos 5 (1962).

Maass, Hufschmidt, et. al., Design of Water-Resource Systems, Chapter 15 (1962).

C. Lindblom, “Decision-Making in Taxation and Expenditures” and Comments by A. Bergson and G. Colm, in Public Finances: Needs, Sources and Utilization (NBER Conference) pp. 295-336 (1961).

Readings for November 8:

R. Dahl and C. Lindblom, Politics, Economics, and Welfare, pp. 57-88, 294-368.

A. Downs, An Economic Theory of Democracy, pp. 114-163, 260-276.

E. Banfield, Political Influence, Chapter 12.

Readings for November 10:

A. Maass, “Benefit-Cost Analysis: Its Relevance to Public Investment Decisions,” 80 QJE 208-226. Read pp. 218-226.

D. Major, Decision Making for Public Investment in Water Resources Development, Chapters 2 & 6 (1965).

S. Dola, Passaic Valley Flood Control, mimeo (1965).

Readings for November 15:

R. Dorfman, “Mathematical or ‘Linear’ Programming: A Non-Mathematical Exposition,” 43 AER 797-825 (1953).

G. Hadley, Linear Programming, Chapter 1, pp. 1-21 (1962).

S. Gass, Linear Programming (2nd edition), Chapter 1, pp. 3-19 (1964).

*J. Henderson and R. Quandt, Microeconomic Theory, Appendices A2 & A3 (1958).

*P. Rogers, “A Note on Maximization,” mimeo (1964).

Readings for November 17:

H. A. Thomas and R. Revelle, “On the Efficient Use of High Aswan Dam for Hydropower and Irrigation,” in Management Science, Vol. 12, No. 8 (1966).

R. Dorfman, “Mathematical Analysis: Design of the Simple Valley Project,” in G. S. Tolley and F. E. Riggs (eds.) Economics of Watershed Planning (1960).

D. Kendrick, “Programming Investment with Interdependent Projects,” Center for International Studies, M.I.T., mimeo, pp. 1-16 (Jan. 1966).

Readings for November 22:

Maass, Hufschmidt, et. al., Design of Water-Resource Systems, Chapter 3, re-read pp. 129-158, and Chapter 12 (1962).

J. Kemeny and J. Snell, Mathematical Models in the Social Sciences, Appendix C, pp. 128-131.

*G. Hadley, Nonlinear and Dynamic Programming, Chapter 10, pp. 350-375 (1964).

*J.D.C. Little, “The Use of Water Storage in a Hydroelectric System,” J. Oper. Res. Soc. Am. 187 (1955).

*P. Massé, Optimal Investment Decisions, Chapter 7, pp. 320-335 (1962).

Readings for December 1:

Maass, Hufschmidt, et. al., Design of Water-Resource Systems, Chapter 13, pp. 524-539, and Chapter 14 (1962).

M. B. Fiering, “The Nature of the Storage-Yield Relationship,” Symposium on Streamflow Regulation for Quality Control, U.S.D.H.E.W., pp. 243-253 (June 1965).

Readings for December 6:

R. Fano and F. Corbató, “Time Sharing on Computers,” in Scientific American, Sept. 1966, pp. 128-148. Also flip through other articles in this issue.

Readings for December 18:

Maass, Hufschmidt, et. al., Design of Water-Resource Systems, Chapter 10 (1962).

G. Orcutt, “Simulation: A Symposium,” 50 AER 893-907 (1960).

G. Orcutt et. al., Microanalysis of Socioeconomic Systems, Chapters 1, 2 & 14 (1961).

M. Hufschmidt and M. B Fiering, Simulation Techniques for Design of Water-Resource Systems, Chapter 2 (1966).

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003, Box 9, Folder “Economics, 1966-1967”.

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

Final Examination
Economics 112

February 1, 1967

Answer any four of the following six questions.  All questions are of equal weight.  Please place each of your answers in a separate bluebook, and put your name on the cover of each book.

  1. “If lump sum transfers were administratively feasible, governments would be well advised to plan all investments to maximize profits, counting profits in the same way that private enterprise does.”
    Comment in the light of income redistribution and merit-want objectives, market imperfections (such as monopoly) and other considerations you think relevant.
  1. “If the government’s social rate of interest based on time preference differs from the marginal productivity of investment in the private sector, it is wrong to use the social rate of interest to plan public investment. The error arises from the fact that using the social rate of interest precludes the government from taking into account the value of private alternatives to public investment.”
    Comment.
  1. The problem is to compare and evaluate two ways of designing and authorizing public works projects:

(1) There are no useful legislated standards, so that engineers must use their engineering judgment for design. Projects so designed are then considered by policy makers (President and Congress) for inclusion in omnibus authorizing bills.

(2) Policy makers initiate, debate, and adopt standards for design of projects.  Engineers design them, and any projects that conform to the standards are considered to be authorized.

Assume that partisan mutual adjustment is the criterion for comparing and evaluating the two design methods — i.e., that “bargaining is at the heart of the governmental process.”  Compare and evaluate the design methods using the criterion given.

Evaluate the utility of partisan mutual adjustment as the evaluative criterion for this specific problem.

  1. Economists assume that the individual behaves selfishly on issues relevant to his monetary income; yet they ask political scientists to define an explicit public interest function as if such a function were of more than academic significance for participants in the legislative process.Is this inconsistent, or is there some political value to specifying an explicit public interest to be contrasted with the personal preferences of individuals?
  1. “Simulation methods are more useful for the planning of large scale public investment projects than the analytic methods of mathematical programming.”
    Discuss this statement and give your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with it.
  1. The following simple model of a water resource system involves two reservoirs and two uses.One use is for domestic water supply for which no monetary benefit function is available but a water requirement is specified; the other use is one for which there is a direct market value.

The two reservoirs are shown in the sketch together with outflow vectors.  The outflow from Reservoir A can only be used for meeting the water supply requirement.  The outflow from Reservoir B can be routed to either or both uses.  All flows are assumed to be non-stochastic.  The following cost and benefit functions are assumed:

cost function for reservoir A                C1 = a+x2 dollars,

cost function for reservoir B                C2 = b+½(y+z)2 dollars,

benefit function for other use               B = pz dollars,

where

x = safe yield of reservoir A,

y = portion of safe yield of reservoir B diverted to municipal supply,

z = portion of safe yield of reservoir B diverted to other use,

p = price per unit of flow to other use, and

a,b = the given constants.

The municipal water requirement is

R = x+y .

The problem is to find the sizes of x, y and z which maximize the net economic benefits of the system subject to the water supply constraint.  Write the Lagrangean function for the constrained optimization and indicate how you could find the optimal design of the system and the marginal imputed value of municipal water supply.

Would the design be different if we merely asked for a least cost design?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers Printed for Mid-Year Examinations. History, History of Religions, Government, Economics, …. January 1967.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Methodology

Harvard. Graduate Economic Theory, Scope and Methods. Carver, 1912-1913

He who can, does; he who cannot, teaches; he who cannot do or teach, teaches methodology. Just kidding…Professor Thomas Nixon Carver taught just about everything in the Harvard economics department except for economic history, money and banking, public finance, and international trade. Economic theory, agricultural economics, distribution, social policy, sociology, and scope/methods were all in his teaching portfolio.

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Links to previous Harvard exams methods and scope of economics
1895-96 to 1907-08.

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Economics 12
Course Description
1912-13

[Economics] 12 1hf. (formerly 13). Scope and Methods of Economic Investigation. Half-course (first half-year). Hours to be arranged with the instructor. Professor Carver.

Course 12 will examine the methods by which the leading writers of modern times have approached economic questions, and the range which they have given their inquiries; and will consider the advantage of different methods, and the expediency of a wider or narrower field of investigation. Methods of reasoning, methods of investigation, and methods of exposition will be considered separately. Selected passages from the works of a considerable number of writers will be studied, with a view to analyzing the nature and scope of their reasoning.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912–13, p. 64.

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Economics 12
Course Enrollment
1912-13

Economics 12 lhf (formerly 13). Professor Carver. Scope and Methods of Economic Investigation.

Total 3: 2 Graduates, 1 Radcliffe.

Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College, 1912-13, p. 57.

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ECONOMICS 12
Mid-year Examination
1912-13

  1. Explain verbally, and show by means of an outline, the relation between private and public economics and the main subdivisions of each.
  2. Into what main departments would you subdivide the subject of economics if you were going to write a general text book for college classes. Give your reasons.
  3. What are the characteristic methods of reasoning, methods of collecting information, and methods of exposition in economics? Mention examples, or give illustrations of each. What are the special advantages of each? To what class of problems is each especially adapted?
  4. Comment upon the following: —

“The economist may thus be considered at the outset of his researches as already in possession of those ultimate principles governing the phenomena which form the subject of his study, the discovery of which in the case of physical investigation constitutes for the inquirer his most arduous task; but, on the other hand, he is excluded from the use of experiment.” (Cairnes, pp. 89-90.)

  1. What, according to Warner, are the characteristic methods of determining the causes of poverty? What are the merits and defects of each method? Give illustrations.
  2. Comment upon the statement that “political economy depends more upon reasoning than on observation.” Is this the same as saying that the greatest present need is for sound reasoners rather than for close observers? Would either statement apply to all possible conditions and to all classes of problems?
  3. Discuss Clark’s reasons for describing capital as a sum of money.

Source: Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 9, bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1912-13.  Also published in: Harvard University Examinations. Papers set for final examinations in history, history of science, government, economics, philosophy, social ethics, education, fine arts, music in Harvard College(June 1913), p. 53.

Image Source: Portrait of Thomas Nixon Carver (colorized by Economics in the Rear-view mirror) from The Harvard Album 1913.

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Exams from other years

Economics 13 (Scope and Methods) in 1895-96, Taussig.

Economics 13 (Scope and Methods) in 1896-97, Not Offered.

Economics 13 (Scope and Methods) in 1897-98, Ashley.

Economics 13 (Methods) in 1898-99, Taussig.

Economics 13 (Methods) in 1899-1900, Not Offered.

Economics 13 (Methods) in 1900-01, Carver.

Economics 13 (Methods) in 1902-03, Carver.

Economics 13 (Methods) in 1903-04, Carver.

Economics 13 (Methods) in 1904-05, Carver.

Economics 13 (Methods) in 1905-06, Not Offered.

Economics 13 (Methods) in 1906-07, Not Offered.

Economics 13 (Methods) in 1907-08, Carver.

Economics 13 (Methods) in 1908-09, Not Offered.

Economics 13 (Methods) in 1909-10, Not Offered.

Economics 13 (Methods) in 1910-11, Not Offered.

Economics 13 (Methods) in 1911-12, Carver (Exam not found).

Economics 12 (Scope and Methods) in 1914-15. Carver.

Categories
Accounting Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Principles of Accounting. Description, Enrollment, Final Exams. W. M. Cole, 1912-1913

16th century tapestry, a representation of the liberal art of "numbers, which explains the proportions of things."

A highly popular vocational course offering for Harvard undergraduates was William M. Cole’s principles of accounting. This post provides us with the course description, enrollment figures, and semester exams for the 1912-13 academic year.

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Principles of Accounting
pre-1912/13

Links to earlier course material for Principles of Accounting from Harvard, 1900-01 through 1911-12.

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William M. Cole
His Textbook

Accounts. Their Construction and Interpretation for Business Men and Students of Affairs. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1908.

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Economics 9
Course Description
1912-13

[Economics] 9 (formerly 18). Principles of Accounting. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 11. Asst. Professor Cole, assisted by Messrs. —— and ——.

This course is designed to show the processes by which the earnings and values of business properties are computed. It is not intended primarily to afford practice in book-keeping; but since intelligent construction and interpretation of accounts is impossible without a knowledge of certain main types of book-keeping, practice sufficient to give the student familiarity with elementary technique will form an important part of the work of the course. The chief work, however, will be a study of the principles that underlie the determination of profit, cost, and valuation. These will be considered as they appear in several types of business enterprise. Published accounts of corporations will be examined, and practice in interpretation will be afforded. The instruction will be chiefly by assigned readings, discussions, and written work.

Course 9 is not open to students before their last year of undergraduate work. For men completing their work at the end of the first half-year, it will be counted as a half-course. It is regularly open only to Seniors and to Graduates who have passed in Economics 1. Students intending to enter the Graduate School of Business Administration are expected to take this course in preparation for the advanced courses in accounting.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912-13, p. 63.

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Economics 9
Course Enrollment
1912-13

Economics 9. Principles of Accounting. Asst. Professor Cole, assisted by Mr. Eliot Jones.

Total 276: 7 Graduates, 8 Graduates of Applied Sciences, 62 Graduates of Business School, 147 Seniors, 50 Juniors, 2 Sophomores.

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ECONOMICS 9
Mid-year Examination
1912-13

  1. Indicate, in the form of journal entries, what should be debited and what credited, on your books, for the following:—
    1. You sell goods ($500 net selling price), and receive in exact payment a note bearing interest, at 6%, dated two months ago.
    2. You buy stationery (price $100), and give in return a draft which has been sent to you and has been already accepted by those upon whom it was drawn.
    3. You sell goods to Dombey & Son for $1,000, terms 6% — 10 ds., 5% — 30 ds., net — 60 ds., and to Stalky & Co. for $2,000, on the same terms.
    4. You discount at a bank a note receivable, face $1,500, for $1,492.50.
    5. Dombey & Son pay their bill, taking the discount at 5%.
    6. Stalky & Co., fail to pay their bill when due, but agree to pay 6% interest for the delayed time, and you send them a new bill with interest for 60 days.
    7. Stalky & Co. go into bankruptcy and pay 50 cents on the dollar. You collect your share.
    8. You receive subscriptions, payable in two instalments of $25,000 each, for capital stock to be issued at par.
    9. You issue $25,000 of capital stock for $30,000 in cash.
      Show the trial balance for these transactions.
  2. Explain the purpose of each of the following, and tell how that purpose is accomplished:—
    1. a special column in a book of original entry.
    2. a controlling account.
    3. a six-column statement.
    4. accomplished.
    5. an amortisation table.
  3. The profit and loss account for a year is as follows:—

PROFIT AND LOSS

Rent

$7,000

 Interest

$50
Wages

40,000

 Commission

1,500
Taxes

500

 Merchandise

78,000
Stationery

300
Advertising

700
Expense

500
Allowance for Bad Debts

1,500
Reserve for Bad Debts

5,000
Dividends

5,000
Permanent Surplus

19,050

How many of these items affect the balance sheet, and how?

  1. The annual wear and tear on a certain piece of property is estimated at $2,000. In 1910, $1,500 was spent for maintenance, in 1911, $2,000, in 1912, $2,500. What are the consequences of these facts on the income sheet and on the balance sheet for each of the three years. (Show actual figures in tabular form.)
  2. Would the following appear on the income sheet or on the balance sheet? Under what name in either case?
    1. Cost of a patent bought.
    2. Rent for storage of new machinery ordered from different firms and delivered at different times, but to be installed together, as soon as all arrives, in a new shop.
    3. Author’s royalty on a copyrighted story printed and distributed in an extended advertising campaign.
    4. Cost of heating during permanent interior decoration of a new store.
  3. How far are the following statements true?
    1. A balance sheet is a statement of resources and liabilities.
    2. An income sheet is a statement of earnings and expenses.
    3. A trial balance is a summary statement of the business.

If any of these statements need amendment, illustrate your amendment by concrete items.

  1. Two clerks in an office, A and B, were asked to find the value of a $10,000 bond, payable in 3 years, bearing interest at 5%, on a market basis of 4.67%. A obtained a figure of $10,090.42; B, of $10,089.86. They both used interest tables showing the following present worths and the following amounts.

Present worth of $1.00

Payable in

4.67%

5%

1 year

.955384

.952381

2 years

.912758

.907029

3 years

.872026

.863838

Amount of $1.00

In

 4.67%

5%

1 year

1.046700

1.050000

2 years

1.095580

1.102500

3 years

1.140828

1.157625
    1. Was either right? If so, which? Show your figuring.
    2. Show the amortisation table.

Source: Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 9, bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1912-13.

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ECONOMICS 9
Year-end Examination
1912-13

Save one hour for the last question. It will count as one-third of the paper.

  1. Show by journal entries what should be debited and what credited for the following transactions:
    1. Granting a discount to a customer, for early payment of a bill, so that, though the amount of the bill was $100, he pays but $95.
    2. Paying a lawyer $50 for trying to collect a bill that proves uncollectible, and writing off the debt ($250) as bad.
    3. Collecting $75 as full payment, including interest to the amount of $17, for a debt previously written off as bad.
    4. Giving a friend whose credit at banks is not very good, because he is a new-comer in town, and for whom, therefore, you do not wish to endorse notes, your own note for $1000, with the understanding that he will discount it at a bank, and taking in exchange your friend’s note (for the same amount and time) which you intend to keep until maturity.
    5. Discounting at a bank your friend’s note mentioned in (d), because you find his credit has improved in the public mind and you need the money. [Discount $7.]
    6. Returning to the manufacturers, as unsatisfactory, goods billed at $500 and bought to be sold at $650.
    7. Delivering goods from the store as part payment of clerks’ wages, and allowing 5% discount to clerks. [Retail price $50, clerks’ price $47.50.]
    8. Issuing a stock dividend of $50,000.
    9. Selling a new $2,000,000 issue of stock for $2,100,000. [Corporation’s books.]
  2. A bond table gives the value of $10,000 of bonds for January 1 as $10,366.27, and for July 1 as $10,323.60. On the latter day you collect $250 interest. What entry shall you make for the interest?
    Assuming that the valuation of the bonds was determined on a 4% basis, how could you prove the correctness of the July 1 valuation if you knew that the valuation for January 1 was correct?
  3. Define and discuss the purpose of the following: —
    1. a machine rate,
    2. a life-insurance reserve,
    3. a national-bank redemption fund,
    4. a stores ledger,
    5. a machine ledger,
    6. a controlling account.
  4. Would expense burden enter into a plan of cost accounting for (a) a department store, (b) a hospital, (c) a college, (d) a gas company? Explain briefly how, or why not, in each case.

Remember in solving problems that time and confusion are often saved by the use of journal entries as guides in determining which accounts are affected.

  1. The balance sheet a year ago was as follows: —
Plant $125,000 Capital Stock $140,000
Accounts Receivable 33,000 Bills Payable 10,000
Merchandise 19,000 Accounts Payable 24,000
Cash 5,000 Surplus 8,000
$182,000 $182,000

An abbreviated tentative income sheet for the year just closing gave the following figures: —

Wages $85,000 Other Expenses $71,000
Materials 54,000 Gross Income 240,000

No items relating to the care of property were included in the “other expenses,” and they are now to be provided for. Such items are found on the debit side of the trial balance as follows:—

Depreciation $5,000 Replacement $4,000
Repairs 8,000 Additions 12,000

Supposing the only changes in the balance sheet are those caused by the items shown above (profit or loss and care of property) and that cash absorbs the net effect of changes not otherwise indicated, show the income sheet and the balance sheet for the new year.

  1. Prepare such a tabular statement or statements as an accountant should give to his employers or clients for a business yielding the following figures on three trial balances (of ledger balances) taken at the times indicated.
Trial balance at the opening of business, Jan. 1, 1912 Trial balance, Dec. 31, 1912, before the books are closed Trial balance at the opening of business, Jan. 1, 1913
Dr. Cr. Dr. Cr. Dr. Cr.
Capital Stock $200,000 $200,000 $200,000
Bills Payable 30,000 40,000 40,000
Accounts Payable 35,000 37,500 37,500
Surplus 7,000 7,000 9,000
Dividends declared 10,000 10,000
Real Estate and Plant $135,000 $137,500 $137,000
Accounts Receivable 88,200 80,200 80,200
Goods in process 17,000 17,000 20,000
Finished Goods 25,000 25,000 23,000
Raw Materials Inventory 15,000 15,000 35,000
Raw Materials 57,000
Wages 7,000 52,000 2,000
Taxes 200 2,300 200
Insurance 1,000 2,200 1,000
General Expenses 7,500
Sales 113,200
Cash 8,000 2,000 2,000
$289,200 $289,200 $397,700 $397,700 $298,700 $298,700

If you give more than one statement, prepare one at a time, and leave the reconciliation between statements until all are complete.

Categories
Harvard

Harvard. Report of Economics Department Visiting Committee. 1961

The Harvard economics department’s rocky relationship with its visiting committee chairman in 1950 has been documented in earlier posts. The friction continued for at least a decade as can be seen from the not-so-gentle reminder from 1961. The business folks on the visiting committee still thought they had an obligation to lobby for more business-friendly instruction from “their” economics department. It is pretty clear that the economics department had a pair of deaf ears with respect to this ideological nagging. For those who can hear (and read), does this seem familiar?

_________________________

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE
TO VISIT THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

To the Board of Overseers of Harvard College:

It should be stated at the beginning that this report expresses the views of the Chairman of the Committee and does not reflect the unanimous opinion of every member of the Committee. The Committee meetings have not been well attended, and there have been divergent and often opposite views stated by those committee members who have been at the meetings.

The situation in the Economics Department has been the subject of controversy in the more distant past, but during the last decade the two more important points of criticism mentioned in the written reports of the Committee Chairmen were (a) the lack of balance in the viewpoints of the members of the Department, and (b) the need for senior members of the Department giving more attention to teaching the undergraduates. These reports were written by Clarence B. Randall, Chairman, in November 1950, and by Frederick C. Crawford, Chairman, in June 1956.

With regard to the lack of balance in the Department, it would seem appropriate to quote from these reports. The last paragraph of Mr. Randall’s 1950 report states: —

This problem of balance within the Department will not be solved by the ad hoc committees. There only the qualifications of the particular man are under consideration. It is not the function of such a committee to determine whether the man’s appointment will restore balance or add to the lack of balance. That delicate question can be solved only through leadership by the President, the Provost, and the Chairman. We have confidence that they share our concern and we hope that this statement of our apprehensions will be helpful to them.

The President (Mr. Conant) did study this matter and discussed it with the Chairman of the Department (Mr. Smithies). The latter agreed that the Department’s balance “could be improved if we had at least one member whose major interest was what we might call the economics of enterprise. We believe that this is a field of growing importance but it is one that has not been widely cultivated in economics departments. An additional member of the Department who could give an undergraduate course in the Economics of Enterprise and a graduate seminar on the same lines would contribute to a better balance of the Department.” To do this the President recommended to the Governing Boards (who approved) in January 1952 that a full Professor of Economics be named holding an appointment on three faculties — the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business Administration, and the School of Public Administration. The directive to the nominating committee was as follows: —

to submit one or more names of men of character, high scholarly distinction and first-rate teaching ability who have an understanding of business as it is actually operated. To that end, the man in question should have had contact as a scholarly investigator or consultant with the operations of industry and commerce; he should have an awareness of the positive role of business enterprise in a changing and developing economy. His teaching would be directed towards presenting to Harvard College students a realistic view of business management and its relation to the total economy.

Mr. Crawford’s 1956 report had this to say on the subject: —

Although considerable effort was expended in seeking a man qualified for this interesting post, the matter was later dropped. The present Committee believes that the best interest of the Department would be well served by the addition of a professor of “The Economics of Enterprise,” and strongly recommends that the proposal made in 1950 by the Department and the President be carried out.

*      *      *

Dynamic Economics: Important as were the reasons given in 1950 for the appointment of a professor of “The Economics of Enterprise” there are today other reasons of even greater importance:

    1. The United States is in a period of great economic expansion.
    2. Ever expanding frontiers of science offer endless opportunity.
    3. Increasing productivity brings constant economic change.
    4. An evolution is taking place in business management’s sense of responsibility.

*      *      *

A professor of “The Economics of Enterprise”: The Committee strongly recommends the appointment of a professor of “The Economics of Enterprise” for the positive reasons stated above.

This subject has been discussed several times with the Chairman of the Department and at Committee meetings, and has been mentioned in verbal reports of the Chairman of the Visiting Committee. In the opinion of the Visiting Committee Chairman it is important, because the economy of this country is based on business (speaking broadly) which has developed this nation into the most powerful in the world economically and with the highest over-all standard of living for individual citizens. This has been the result of business operating under the capitalistic, competitive, private enterprise, profit and loss system which has provided the incentives for individuals to take risks in the hope of rewards. It would seem proper and important that the role and contribution of business, of private capitalism and free enterprise, and of profits in our economy be set forth clearly, forcefully, and interestingly to students in economics at Harvard. This would be a balance to the views of those who favor an expansion of the so-called public sector of the economy and a continuation of the trends of recent decades towards more Federal Government intervention into the lives of individuals and into business activities.

The Chairman and several members of the Visiting Committee believe that a real effort should be made to find and appoint a Professor of Economics of Enterprise. It is only fair to say, however, that other Committee members feel that such a professor would tend to defeat his own purposes as he would be considered a propagandist; also, as the role of business enterprise in the economy is integral to any understanding of economics, the self-evident characteristics of its importance can be brought out more forcefully in a broad handling of the subject of economics rather than through the channels of special instruction.

Whatever the approach, there seems to be a real need to provide ways of more fully informing the Harvard undergraduate about the role of business in the economy. One way would be through adequate instruction in the Economics Department by a Professor of the Economics of Enterprise. Other suggestions have been made — (a) to have a course of lectures on various aspects of business given by several outstanding business men who have been teachers of or trained in economics, or to have such men give some lectures in Economics I, (b) to invite as visiting lecturers for a year from other universities professors of economics who have the viewpoint of a Professor of the Economics of Enterprises to give such a course or courses, (c) to utilize more fully professors from the Harvard Business School, and (d) to institute a program of talks by business men in the Houses.

The Visiting Committee Chairman believes that the Administration and the incoming Chairman of the Economics Department should give serious thought to this problem to find an early and suitable solution in which members of the Visiting Committee would endeavor to be helpful.

The need for improving the teaching of undergraduates by the Economics Department was mentioned in the 1950 and 1956 written reports of the Visiting Committee. Recognizing that the continuing decline in the number of Economics concentrators strongly suggested the need for reconsideration of the undergraduate program, an Economics Department Committee on Undergraduate Instruction made up of key senior and junior members carefully studied this matter. Pursuant to this study the Economics Department in 1960 adopted a revision of its courses and its teaching to improve undergraduate instruction, taking effect in the academic year 1960–61. The revisions were designed to orient undergraduate study around the student who does not plan a career in Economics, and to clearly differentiate undergraduate study from the graduate program. It is an endeavor to attract more undergraduates into the field of economics and to introduce more flexibility into the curriculum by using many more half courses and entering some new areas. It does not alter total course requirements for concentrators and it increases the amount of time which the senior staff devotes to undergraduate instruction. It would seem to the Visiting Committee Chairman that this revision is sound and intelligent in its principles. The hope is expressed that the Economics Department Committee on Undergraduate Instruction will continue to appraise this program in the light of actual practice and be prepared for further revisions based on experience.

DWIGHT P. ROBINSON, JR.
Chairman

June 15, 1961

Source:  Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Economists’ Papers Archive. Edward H. Chamberlin Papers. Box 17, Folder “Economics Department 1960-62”.

Image Source: June 1, 1959 Time Magazine cover of Dwight P. Robinson, Jr.

Categories
Distribution Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Distribution Theories and Distributive Justice. Description, enrollment, exams. Carver, 1912-1913

J. S. Pughe: The socialists' theory, and how it would work out

As was the case for Charles Jesse Bullock’s two semester sequence of public finance and taxation courses being merged into a single two semester course, two of Thomas Nixon Carvers’s semester courses were merged into a single one year course starting in the academic year 1912-13.

_______________________

Links to previous Harvard exams on distribution and
schemes for distributive justice
1904-05 to 1911-12.

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ECONOMICS 7
Course Description
1912-13

[Economics] 7 (formerly 14a and 14b). Theories of Distribution and Distributive Justice. Tu., Th., Sat., at 10. Professor Carver, assisted by Mr. ——.

Course 7 undertakes an analysis of the laws of value, as applied to consumable goods and to agents of production, and an examination of the relation of the laws of value to the problem of social adjustment; also a critical reading of various works on the distribution of wealth, on socialism, on the single tax, and other special schemes for attaining the ideals of economic justice.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912–13, p. 62.

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ECONOMICS 7
Course Enrollment
1912-13

Economics 7. (formerly 14a and 14b). Professor Carver. Theories of Distribution and Distributive Justice.

Total 25: 3 Graduates, 7 Seniors, 13 Juniors, 1 Sophomore, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College, 1912-13, p. 57.

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ECONOMICS 7
Mid-year Examination
1912-13

Consider the questions very carefully. Make your answers accurate and complete. Beware of omitting important points.

  1. Define goods, utility, economy, scarcity, productivity, capital, property, wealth.
  2. Why are prices determined by the law of demand and supply, (a) in the case of consumers’ goods; (b) in the case of producers’ goods.
  3. What, precisely, is self interest? How would you describe a benevolent as contrasted with a selfish person?
  4. Why are wages high in some occupations and low in others?
  5. Compare the Ricardian law of rent with the theory that the rent of a given piece of land is equal to its specific productivity.
  6. Why does a piece of capital normally return to its owner more than enough to repay the cost of producing it?

Source: Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 9, bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1912-13.

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ECONOMICS 7
Year-end Examination
1912-13

  1. Explain and illustrate the principle of marginal utility and its relation to the value of consumers’ goods.
  2. Explain and illustrate the law of variable proportions and its relation to the value of the factors of production.
  3. Discuss the various criteria of justice in the distribution of wealth.
  4. Explain and illustrate exactly what you understand by self-interest.
  5. How would the single tax probably affect the demand for labor? Would its effect probably be stronger on unskilled than on skilled labor? On skilled labor than on business talent?
  6. How do mechanical inventions affect the demand for capital and for different grades of labor?
  7. Describe one communistic society, giving some account of its origin, the causes of its success if it succeeded and of its failure if it failed.
  8. Outline a program for raising the wages of all the lower grades of labor.

Source: Harvard University Examinations. Papers set for final examinations in history, history of science, government, economics, philosophy, social ethics, education, fine arts, music in Harvard College (June 1913), p. 47.

Image Source: J. S. Pughe, The socialists’ theory, and how it would work out. Centerfold in Puck, vol. 45, No. 1162 (14 June 1899). Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

Uncle Sam, on the left, giving a bag of money to a man labeled “Socialist” and a bag of money to a man labeled “Businessman”, he tells them “Gentlemen, I have divided the wealth of the country equally among all the people. Here are your shares, now go ahead and be happy!” At center, “The Start”, the two men part ways with the socialist taking the path “To Idleness and Extravagance” and the businessman taking the path “To Industry and Thrift”. On the right, at “The Finish”, the two men again stand before Uncle Sam, this time the businessman is holding two bags of money and the dejected socialist is showing that his pockets are now empty.

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From Earlier Income Distribution Courses

1904-05
1905-06
1907-08
1908-09
1909-10
1910-11
1911-12

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

From  Earlier Social Reform Courses

Pre-Carver
Carver’s courses
Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Sociology

Harvard. Principles of Sociology. Course description, enrollment, final exams. Carver, 1912-1913

Mary Boyle O'Reilly. Not Carver's type of sociology.

I confess to being rather tired of re-using portraits of Professor Thomas Nixon Carver so I decided to look for another face of sociology for this post. The portrait above is one of the Boston social reformer and later journalist, Mary Boyle O’Reilly, identified as a “writer, lecturer on sociology” by the Library of Congress prints and photographs division. For my money, she led a more interesting life than Carver…but I digress…

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About the course teaching assistant, Lucius Moody Bristol (Harvard PhD 1913).

Carver lists sixteen items in his chapter on sociology in A guide to reading in social ethics and allied subjects (1910), by Francis G. Peabody et al.

In 1905 Carver published a book of 35 readings: Sociology and Social Progress: A Handbook for Students of Sociology.

________________________

Previously taught
courses in sociology

Links to earlier course material for principles of sociology at Harvard, 1892-93 through 1911-12.

_________________________

Economics 8
Course Description
1912-13

[Economics] 8 (formerly 3). Principles of Sociology. — Theories of Social Progress. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 10. Professor Carver, assisted by Mr. ——.

An analytical study of social life and of the factors and forces which hold society together and give it an orderly development. The leading social institutions will also be studied with a view to finding out their relation to social well-being and progress.

The reading will be selected from various writers who have treated the problems of human progress and social adjustment.

Course 8 is open only to students who have passed in Economics 1.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912–13, pp.62-63.

_______________________

Economics 8
Course Enrollment
1912-13

Economics 8. Principles of Sociology. Professor Carver.

Total 147: 10 Graduates, 41 Seniors, 74 Juniors, 18 Sophomores, 4 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College, 1912-13, p. 57.

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ECONOMICS 8
Mid-year Examination
1912-13

  1. Describe the four leading forms of adaptation.
  2. What is the relation of economic scarcity to the problems of adaptation?
  3. Have modern developments of biological theory tended to increase or to decrease the importance of selection as a factor in race improvement? Explain.
  4. Discuss warfare as a means of selection.
  5. Discuss charity as a factor in selection.
  6. What is the distinction between economic competition and the primordial struggle for existence? Where does the latter show itself in human affairs?
  7. What is meant by the statement that morality and religion are as truly weapons for waging the struggle for existence as are teeth and claws, horns and hoofs?
  8. Discuss the economic test of fitness for survival (a) as to its validity, (b) as to its practicability.
  9. Compare the views of Buckle and Kidd as to the importance of religion as a factor in social progress.
  10. How, according to Fiske, does the prolongation of infancy affect the character and stability of the family?
  11. How do variation and selection show themselves as factors in the improvement of morals? Is there any parallelism between the processes of moral and biological evolution?
  12. “The mores are always right.” What is meant by the word ” right” in this quotation?

Source: Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 9, bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1912-13.

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ECONOMICS 8
Year-end Examination
1912-13

  1. What, in your opinion, is the ultimate test of progress? Give your reasons.
  2. Compare the views of Buckle and Peschel as to the influence of geographical surroundings on religion.
  3. What is the relation between the institution of the family and the institution of property?
  4. What place has the genius in social progress? Give your own opinion and state the views on this question of authors whom you have read.
  5. Outline the leading forms of waste labor and of waste land, giving briefly the reasons why each form of waste exists at the present time.
  6. Compare the views of Mill and Ross as to the limits of social control.
  7. What, according to Ross, is the relation of resentment to social order?
  8. What are the reasons for the existence of the ballot? How far would these reasons justify the extension of the ballot?

Source: Harvard University Examinations. Papers set for final examinations in history, history of science, government, economics, philosophy, social ethics, education, fine arts, music in Harvard College (June 1913), pp. 47-48.

Image Source: Mary Boyle O’Reilly, writer, lecturer on sociology (1913). From the Harris & Ewing photograph collection  at the ibrary of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

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Sociology exams from earlier years.

1892-93 (taught by E. Cummings)
1893-94 (taught by E. Cummings)
1894-95 (taught by E. Cummings)
1895-96 (taught by E. Cummings)
1896-97 (taught by E. Cummings)
1897-98 (taught by E. Cummings)
1898-99 (taught by E. Cummings)
1899-1900 (taught by E. Cummings)
1901-02 (taught by T. N. Carver)
1902-03 (taught by T. N. Carver and W. Z. Ripley)
1903-04 (taught by T. N. Carver)
1904-05 (taught by T. N. Carver and J. A. Field) Includes the reading list for the course and additional biographical information.
1905-06 (taught by T. N. Carver)
1906-07 (taught by J. A. Field)
1907-08 (taught by T. N. Carver)
1908-09 (taught by T. N. Carver and C. W. Thompson)
1909-10 (taught by T. N. Carver and J. S. Davis)
1910-11 (taught by T. N. Carver and L. M. Bristol)
1911-12 (taught by T. N. Carver and L. M. Bristol)

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Public Finance

Harvard. Public finance. Description, enrollment and final exams. Bullock, 1912-1913

"The Free American Citizen." Republic Tariff Taxes Make his "Freedom" a Mockery.

 

The two half-courses in public finance were merged into a two semester sequence at Harvard in 1912-13. Still at the helm, Charles Jesse Bullock.

________________________

Public Finance pre-1912/13

Links to earlier course material for Public Finance from Harvard, 1883-84 through 1911-12.

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ECONOMICS 5
Course Description
1912-13

[Economics] 5 (formerly 7a and 7b). Public Finance, including the Theory and Methods of Taxation. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Professor Bullock.

This course covers the entire field of public finance, but emphasizes the subject of taxation. After a brief survey of the history of finance, attention is given to public expenditures, commercial revenues, administrative revenues, and taxation, with consideration both of theory and of the practice of various countries. Public credit is then studied, and financial legislation and administration are briefly treated.

Systematic reading is prescribed, and most of the exercises are conducted by the method of informal discussion. Candidates for distinction will be given an opportunity to write theses.

Graduate students are advised to elect Economics 31.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912–13, p. 61.

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ECONOMICS 5
Course Enrollment
1912-13

Economics 5. Professor Bullock. Public Finance, including the Theory and Methods of Taxation.

Total 25: 6 Seniors, 14 Juniors, 4 Sophomores, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College, 1912-13, p. 57.

_______________________

ECONOMICS 5
Mid-year Examination
1912-13

  1. In two countries the total public expenditure is, respectively, $18 and $16 per capita. In the former the local expenditure is one-third of the total, in the latter it is one half. The composition of the revenues, national and local, is assumed to be practically the same in the two countries. What conclusions do these data justify concerning the comparative pressure exerted by public expenditures in the two countries, and what further data would be necessary for a complete estimate of such pressure?
  2. What methods can you suggest for reducing public expenditures in any or all of their branches?
  3. Compare the views of Smith, Rau, and Bastable concerning revenue from domains.
  4. Discuss the proposition that income is the normal source of taxation.
  5. Discuss fully the proportion [sic] that public expenditure is unproductive.
  6. Discuss fully the incidence of customs duties.
  7. Discuss fully the incidence of a general tax on interest.
  8. To what extent is the weight of national or local taxation in the United States likely to be reduced by revenue from other sources.

Source: Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 9, bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1912-13.

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ECONOMICS 5
Year-end Examination
1912-13

  1. Explain and discuss critically the methods employed in the taxation of land in Germany, France, Great Britain, Australia, and the United States.
  2. Compare the general property tax with the general income tax, considering both the theory and the practical operation of these taxes.
  3. Compare the French, Prussian, and British systems of direct taxation.
  4. Compare the British system of indirect taxation with those of France and the United States.
  5. Discuss the taxation of mortgages in the United States.
  6. What changes in the taxation of personal property have recently occurred in the United States?
  7. Compare the British, Prussian, and Italian income taxes.
  8. Outline what you consider a satisfactory theory of the just apportionment of public charges.

Source: Harvard University Examinations. Papers set for final examinations in history, history of science, government, economics, philosophy, social ethics, education, fine arts, music in Harvard College (June 1913), p. 44.

Image Source: J. Norman Lynd’s “The Free American Citizen” on the cover of Puck, v. 72, no. 1856 (1912 September 25). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.

Illustration shows an American citizen sitting at a table, eating a meal; every item on the table and almost every item in the dining room and kitchen in the background, has a tag on it indicating at what percent that item has been taxed, for instance, the tag on the salt and pepper shakers states “Tax 33 per cent”, the tag on a potato or the fork he is using to eat it with states “Tax 40 per cent”, the tag on the table cloth states “Tax 45 per cent”, the tag on a teapot on the stove in the kitchen states “Tax 45 per cent”, and an insert shows a tombstone with a tag that states “Tax 50 per cent”.

________________________

Earlier public finance exams
at Harvard

1883-84. Political Economy 7. Comparison of the financial systems of France, England, Germany, and the U.S. Taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1884-85. Political Economy 7. Comparison of the Financial Systems of France, England, Germany, and the U.S. [Omitted 1884-85].

1884-85. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1885-86. Political Economy 8. Financial history of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1886-87. Political Economy 7. Public finance and banking taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1886-87. Political Economy 8. Financial history of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar [Exams not (yet) found]

1887-88. Political Economy 7. Taxation, public debts, and banking taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1887-88. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1888-89. Political Economy 7. Taxation, public debts, and banking taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1888-89. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1889-90. Political Economy 7. Public Finance and Banking. Omitted.

1889-90. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Adolph Caspar Miller

1890-91. Political Economy 7. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1890-91. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by William Morse Cole.

1891-92. Political Economy 71. Theory and methods of taxation  taught by Charles F. Dunbar [Mid-year examination not found]

1891-92. Political Economy 8. History of fnancial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1892-93. Economics 71. Theory and methods of txation taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1892-93. Economics 72. Financial administration and public Debts taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1893-94. Economics 8. History of financial legislation of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1894-95. Economics 7. Theory and methods of taxation (first semester) and financial administration and public debts (second semester) taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1895-96. Economics 7. Financial administration and public Debts taught by John Cummings.

1895-96. Economics 8. History of financial legislation of the U.S. taught by J. A. Hill.

1896-97. Economics 16. Topics in the financial legislation of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1897-98. Economics 71. Theory and Methods of Taxation taught by Frank William Taussig, Readings, Exams.

1898-99. Economics 16. Topics in the financial legislation of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1899-1900. Economics 7a. Financial administration and public Debts taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1899-1900. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation taught by Frank William Taussig.

1900-01. Economics 7a and 7b. Not offered.

1901-02. Economics 7a and 7b. Financial administration; taxation [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1902-03. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation with reference to local taxation [undergraduate] taught by Edward Dana Durand, Readings, Exam and Durand biography.

1902-03. Economics 16. Financial history of the United States taught by Prof Henry Brayton Gardner of Brown University.

1903-04. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation taught by Frank William Taussig.

1903-04. Economics 16.  Financial history of the United States taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 7a. Introduction to public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 16. Financial history of the United States taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1905-06 Economics 7.  Public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1905-06 Economics 16. Public finance [advanced] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1906-07 Economics 16. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1907-08 Economics 16. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1908-09 Economics 7. Public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1908-09 Economics 16. Public finance [advanced course] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1909-10 Economics 7. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Phillips Huse [biographical information included]

1909-10 Economics 16. American taxation [advanced course] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock and Charles Phillips Huse.

1910-11 Economics 7 2hf. Public finance considered with special reference to the theory and methods of taxation. taught by Charles Phillips Huse, assisted by Wilfred] Eldred and Roscoe Russell Hess.

1910-11 Economics 16 Public finance (advanced course) taught by Charles Jesse Bullock.

1910-11 Economics 17 2hf.  Municipal finance taught by Charles Phillips Huse.

1911-12 Economics 7a 1hf. Introduction to Public Finance taught by Charles Jesse Bullock.

1911-12 Economics 7b 2hf. The Theory and Methods of Taxation taught by Charles Jesse Bullock.

1911-12 Economics 16. Public finance (advanced course) taught by Charles Jesse Bullock.

 

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Industrial Organization

Harvard. Economics of Corporations. Description, enrollment, final exam. Ripley, 1912-1913

An angry Uncle Sam holding up a lantern labeled “Congressional Legislation” to illuminate a rotund man wearing a crown labeled “Trusts” and a robe decorated with dollar signs, there is a ring with many keys hanging from a cord around his waist, and he is sitting on a stack of books that are labeled “Day Book, Ledger, Entry Book, Stock Book, [and] Cash Book”, he has his right hand on an open book. All the books are locked with padlocks.

 

Earlier Harvard courses
on Corporations

Links to earlier course material for Economics of Corporations taught at Harvard, 1902-1903 through 1911-12.

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ECONOMICS 4b
Course Description
1912-13

4b 2hf. (formerly 9b 2hf.). Economics of Corporations. Half-course (second half-year). Tu., Th., Sat., at 11. Professor Ripley, assisted by ——.

This course will treat of the fiscal and industrial organization of capital, especially in the corporate form. The principal topic considered will be industrial combination and the so-called trust problem. This will be broadly discussed, with comparative study of conditions in the United States and Europe. The development of corporate enterprise, promotion, and financing, accounting, liability of directors and underwriters, will be described, not in their legal but in their economic aspects; and the effects of industrial combination upon efficiency, profits, wages, prices, the development of export trade, and international competition will be considered in turn.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912–13, p. 61.

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ECONOMICS 4b
Course Enrollment
1912-13

Economics 4b 2hf. Professor Ripley, assisted by Mr. Crosgrave. Economics of Corporations.

Total 130: 6 Graduates, 20 Seniors, 86 Juniors, 15 Sophomores, 3 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College, 1912-13, p. 57.

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ECONOMICS 4b
Year-end Examination
1912-13

  1. Why was the dissolution of the “Tobacco Trust” more difficult than that of the Standard Oil Company? Explain fully.
  2. Indicate certain differences in the eye of the law between monopolization and restraint of trade.
  3. Herewith are two balance sheets of companies A and B respectively. Comment upon them, contrasting one with the other. Which apparently denotes the greater financial stability?

Co. A

Assets

Liabilities
Plant

$3,500,000

 Preferred Stock

$5,000,000
Merchandise

1,800,000

 Common Stock

15,000,000
Bills Receivable

700,000

 Accounts Payable

600,000
Cash

1,400,000

Good-will and Patents

13,200,000

$20,600,000

$20,600,000
 

Co. B

Assets

Liabilities
Factories

$15,000,000

 Capital Stock

$65,000,000
Securities owned

18,000,000

 Debentures

15,000,000
Merchandise

20,000,000

 Surplus

3,000,001
Accounts Receivable

30,000,000
Franchises and Good-will

1

$83,000,001

$83,000,001
  1. Name, with briefest possible description in each case, and in order of seriousness, at least five distinct forms of unfair competition in trade.
  2. Do all the foregoing forms of unfair competition affect the general public as well as direct competitors? Does this factor apparently influence the attitude of the courts?
  3. What was the essence of the U. S. Steel Bond Conversion plan? What became of it?
  4. Contrast administrative and judicial forms of controlling monopoly, pointing out the merits of each.
  5. Outline the plan of reorganization of the National Cordage Company. Was it typical of industrial reorganizations in general?
  6. What are the three leading objections to the so-called “holding company “?
  7. Outline what most appeals to you as a feasible plan for dealing with the existing trust problem. State concisely in definite propositions covering all points at issue.

Source: Harvard University Examinations. Papers set for final examinations in history, history of science, government, economics, philosophy, social ethics, education, fine arts, music in Harvard College (June 1913), pp. 43-44.

Image Source: “The kind of anti-trust legislation that is needed” by  J.S. Pughe. From Puck, 1902 February 5.

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Other Corporations/Industrial Organization Related Posts
for William Z. Ripley

Problems of Labor and Industrial Organization, 1902-1903.

Economics of Corporations, 1903-1904.

Economics of Corporations, 1904-05 (with Vanderveer Custis)

Economics of Corporations, 1906-07 (with Stuart Daggett)

Economics of Corporations, 1907-08 (with Stuart Daggett)

Economics of Corporations, 1908-09 (with Edmund Thornton Miller)

Economics of Corporations, 1909-10 (with Goepper and Whipple)

Economics of Corporations 1911-12 (with Arthur Stone Dewing)

Economics of Corporations, 1914-1915.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Labor

Harvard. Trade unionism and allied problems. Course description, enrollment, final exam. Ripley, 1912-1913

The tournament of today: a set-to between labor and monopoly

With a decade’s worth of experience teaching his labor course, William Zebina Ripley established his problems of labor as a staple applied offering in the Harvard economics department going into the second decade of the twentieth century.

Links to previous Harvard labor exams 1892-93 to 1911-12.

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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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Meet the Teaching Assistant:

Lloyd M. Crosgrave

BIRTH. 21 Apr 1887. Jamestown, Chautauqua County, New York, USA

DEATH. 19 Jun 1961 (aged 74). Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana, USA

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

LLOYD CROSGRAVE,
EX-UNIVERSITY PROF, DIES HERE

Lloyd M. Crosgrave, 74, 2320 S. Walnut St., died at home at 11:30 a.m. Monday after an extended illness. Crosgrave was born in Jamestown, N.Y., and moved to Muncie when he was five years old.

He attended Purdue University, received his bachelor’s degree at Indiana University and his master’s in economics at Harvard. He taught economics at Harvard, IU, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Pittsburgh.

He retired from teaching several years ago due to failing health. Since then he has owned and operated a greenhouse at his home where he grew house plants, specializing in the growing of African violets.

Crosgrave was a member of the Senior Citizens of Muncie.

He is survived by a sister, Miss Pearl G. Crosgrave, who resided at the same address.

Muncie Evening Press. Mon, Jun 19, 1961, p. 8

Source: Find-A-Grave webpage for Lloyd W. [sic] Crosgrave.

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ECONOMICS 6a
Course Description
1912-13

[Economics] 6a lhf. (formerly 9a lhf.). Trade Unionism and Allied Problems. Half-course (first half-year). Tu., Th., Sat., at 10. Professor Ripley, assisted by Mr. ——.

This course will deal mainly with the economic and social relations of employer and employed. Among the topics included will be: the history of unionism; the policies of trade unions respecting wages, machinery, output, etc.; collective bargaining; strikes; employers’ liability and workmen’s compensation; efficiency management; unemployment.

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

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912–13, p. 62.

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ECONOMICS 6a
Course Enrollment
1912-13

Economics 6a lhf. Professor Ripley, assisted by Mr. Crosgrave. Trade-Unionism and Allied Problems.

Total 72: 3 Graduates, 44 Seniors, 19 Juniors, 4 Sophomores, 2 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College, 1912-13, p. 57.

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ECONOMICS 6a
Mid-year Examination
1912-13

Answer the first five briefly

  1. What is sabotage?
  2. What is the “extended” closed shop?
  3. What is the principal practical difficulty in the “general strike”?
  4. Is it met by the adoption of any positive policy in France by the “syndicates”?
  5. In the syndicalist programme what is to be the unit in the reorganized state?
  6. Contrast collective bargaining under sanction of the law with its adoption by private arrangement; (a) from the point of view of advantage to the employer; (b) from that of the workman.
  7. What are the four main features of the New Zealand legislation. (Each in a sentence.)
  8. What is the principal demonstrated weakness in the above legislation?
  9. What are three disabilities of the individual workmen in negotiating a wage contract?
  10. Wages for women in domestic service and in manufactures seem out of line with one another. What main difference helps to explain this?
  11. What is the present condition of affairs respecting the closed shop in the United States? Outline the course of events for two decades.
  12. How does the law of conspiracy enter into the decision by courts in labor disputes? How has Great Britain settled it?

Source: Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 9, bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1912-13.  Also in: Harvard University Examinations. Papers set for final examinations in history, history of science, government, economics, philosophy, social ethics, education, fine arts, music in Harvard College (June 1913), p. 45.

Image Source: “The tournament of today — a set-to between labor and monopoly” by Friedrich Graetz. Centerfold illustration in Puck, v. 13, no. 334, (1883 August 1). Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

A jousting tournament between an oversized knight riding horse-shaped armor labeled “Monopoly” over a locomotive, with a long plume labeled “Arrogance”, and carrying a shield labeled “Corruption of the Legislature” and a lance labeled “Subsidized Press”, and a barefoot man labeled “Labor” riding an emaciated horse labeled “Poverty”, and carrying a sledgehammer labeled “Strike”. On the left is seating “Reserved for Capitalists” where Cyrus W. Field, William H. Vanderbilt, John Roach, Jay Gould, and Russell Sage are sitting. On the right, behind the labor section, are telegraph lines flying monopoly banners that are labeled “Wall St., W.U.T. Co., [and] N.Y.C. RR”.

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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)
1910-11. Problems of Labor (W.Z. Ripley)
1911-12. Problems of Labor (W.Z. Ripley)

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Transportation

Harvard. Transportation Economics. Course description, enrollment, final exam. Ripley, 1912-1913

 

Links to earlier course material for Economics of Transportation from Harvard, 1887-88 through 1911-12.

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About the Teaching Assistant

Lloyd Morgan Crosgrave [PUT in LINK TO 1912-13 PRINCIPLES PAGE #Crosgrave]

General Examination in Economics, Wednesday, May 7, 1913.
General Subjects: 1. Economic Theory and its History. 2. Economic History since 1750. 3. Statistics. 4. Public Finance and Railroads. 5. Labor Problems, including Social Reforms. 6. History of American Institutions since 1789.
Committee: Professors Taussig (chairman), Ripley, Bullock, Fite, and Dr. Copeland.

Academic History: Indiana University, 1905-09; Harvard Graduate School, 1910-13. A.B., Indiana, 1909; A.M., Harvard, 1911. Teacher of History, Decatur High School, Ill., 1909-10; Instructor in Economics, Harvard, 1912-13.
Special Subject: Labor Problems.
Thesis Subject: “The American Glass Industry.” (With Professor Taussig.)

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examinations for the Ph.D. (HUC 7000.70), Folder “Examinations for the Ph.D., 1912-13”.

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ECONOMICS 4a
Course Description
1912-13

4a 1hf. (formerly 5 1hf.). Economics of Transportation. Half-course (first half-year). Tu., Th., Sat., at 11. Professor Ripley, assisted by ——.

A brief outline of the historical development of rail and water transportation in the United States will be followed by a description of the condition of transportation systems at the present time. The four main subdivisions of rates and rate-making, finance, traffic operation, and legislation will be considered in turn. The first deals with the relation of the railroad to shippers, comprehending an analysis of the theory and practice of rate-making. An outline will be given of the nature of railroad securities, the principles of capitalization, and the interpretation of railroad accounts. Railroad operation will deal with the practical problems of the traffic department, such as the collection and interpretation of statistics of operation, pro-rating, the apportionment of cost, depreciation and maintenance, etc. Under legislation, the course of state regulation and control in the United States and Europe will be traced.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912–13, pp. 60-61.

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Monographs/Books on Transportation by W. Z. Ripley

Transportation. Chapter from the Final report of the U.S. Industrial Commission (Vol. XIX) and privately issued by the author for the use of his students and others. Washington, D.C., 1902.

Railway Problems, edited with an introduction by William Z. Ripley (Boston: Ginn & Company, 1907).

Railroads: Rates and Regulation (New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1912).

Railroads: Finance & Organization (New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1915).

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ECONOMICS 4a
Course Enrollment
1912-13

Economics 4a 1hf. Professor Ripley, assisted by Mr. [Lloyd Morgan] Crosgrave. Economics of Transportation.

Total 156: 6 Graduates, 2 G.B., 36 Seniors, 85 Juniors, 24 Sophomores, 3 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College, 1912-13, p. 57.

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ECONOMICS 4a
Mid-year Examination
1912-13

  1. Compare the lease with stock ownership as a means of combination, stating the advantages and disadvantages of each.
  2. Show how recent interpretation of the Federal law may conceivably affect the status of railway traffic agreements.
  3. State very briefly the point raised in the following cases: —

(a) Portland Gateway.
(b) Illinois Central car supply.
(c) Alabama Midland (Troy).
(d) Orange Routing.

  1. Have any of the above points been since corrected by legislation; if so in what manner?
  2. Give reasons for the following differences in net capitalization per mile of line:
Union Pacific

$65,000

 Reading

$170,000
Pennsylvania

$86,000

 Erie

$170,000
  1. What particular circumstance materially affects the success of Government ownership and operation:

(a) In Germany?
(b) In Italy?
(c) In Switzerland?

  1. What is the present attitude of the Federal courts toward the proper basis to be used in the determination of reasonable rates?
  2. How effective practically has been the “Commodity Clause” of the law of 1906?
  3. To whom properly belongs the surplus earnings of a railroad over and above a rate of return requisite to provide an adequate supply of new capital for future development? State your own view, but set forth your reasons fully.

Source: Harvard University Examinations. Papers set for final examinations in history, history of science, government, economics, philosophy, social ethics, education, fine arts, music in Harvard College (June 1913), pp. 42-43.

Image Source: Monopoly game card for the Reading Railroad.

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Earlier exams etc. for Economics 5,
Pol Econ 9
(Economics of Transportation/ Railroads)

1887-88 (James Laurence Laughlin)
1888-89 (John Henry Gray)
1889-90 [Omitted]
1890-91 (Frank William Taussig)
1891-92 (Frank William Taussig)
1892-93 (Frank William Taussig)
1893-94 (Frank William Taussig)
1894-95 (George Ole Virtue)
1895-96 (Frank William Taussig)
1896-97 (Frank William Taussig)
1897-98 (Hugo Richard Meyer)
1898-99 (Hugo Richard Meyer
1899-1900 (Hugo Richard Meyer)
1900-01 (Hugo Richard Meyer)
1901-02 (Ripley with Hugo Richard Meyer)
1903-04 (Ripley alone)
1904-05 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett)
1905-06 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett)
1906-07 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett and Walter Wallace McLaren). Also with the Assignment of Reports.
1907-08 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett)
1908-09 (Ripley with Edmund Thorton Miller)
1909-10 (Ripley with Eliot Jones)
1910-11 (Ripley with Ralph Cahoon Whitnack)
1911-12 (Ripley with Arthur Stone Dewing)

….etc.

1906-07. Ec 17. Railroad Practice (Dr. Stuart Daggett)
1907-08. Ec 17. Railroad Practice (Dr. Stuart Daggett)