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
- Explain verbally, and show by means of an outline, the relation between private and public economics and the main subdivisions of each.
- 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.
- 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?
- 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.)
- 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.
- 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?
- 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.
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).