Paul Volcker’s entry into Economics in the Rear-view Mirror was celebrated as the 45th member of the tongue-in-cheek page “Economists Wearing Bowties”.
But seriously now, Paul Volcker’s biographer, William L. Silver (Volcker The Triumph of Persistence, New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2012), included an image of a hand-written copy of Paul Volcker’s Harvard University A.M. course transcript that I have transcribed into a digital artifact for this post. Two Volcker quotes from the book have been added to show the power of academic scribblers from a few years back (and not necessarily in a good way) to provoke frenzy in the minds of those in authority.
Incidentally, for a couple of the courses Economics in the Rear-view Mirror already provides copies of the course outlines, reading lists, and final exams (see below for links).
________________________
Too late for a tuition refund
(from Princeton)
“I don’t think I heard the name of John Maynard Keynes until I got to Harvard. At Princeton they taught the famous quantity theory of money as though they heard it directly from David Hume in 1750….Friedrich Lutz was about forty at the time, but from the perspective of an eighteen-year-old, he might as well have been two hundred and forty. He taught us that too much money created inflation.”
Source: William L. Silber, Volcker The Triumph of Persistence, New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2012, pp. 33-34.
________________________
But what if your detector is defective?
“Every man should have a built-in automatic crap detector operating inside him. It also should have a manual drill and a crank handle in case the machine breaks down.”
Ernest Hemingway 1954
* * * * * * * * * * *
Volcker recalling Roosa’s arranging a presidential appointment for him as deputy undersecretary of the treasury for monetary affairs so that he could serve as Treasury’s point man in confronting the [Kennedy Administration’s] CEA:
“It all sounded too easy. Push this button twice and out pops full employment. Equations do not work as well on people as they do on rocket. I remember sitting in class at Harvard listening to [the fiscal policy expert] Arthur Smithies say, ‘A little inflation is good for the economy.’ And all I can remember after that was a word flashing in my brain like a yellow caution sign: ‘Bullshit.’ I’m not sure exactly where that came from…but it’s a thought that never left me.”
Source: “William L. Silber, Volcker The Triumph of Persistence, New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2012, pp. 33-34.
________________________
Handwritten copy of Volcker’s
Harvard transcript:
Harvard University. Graduate School of Public Administration
Littauer Center, Cambridge, Mass.
July 26, 1951.
Transcript of Harvard Record of Paul Adolph Volcker
|
Course |
Grade | ||
| ½ Course |
Full Course |
||
| 1949-50 | |||
|
Ec. 201 |
Economic Theory | A | |
| Ec. 241 | Principles of Money and Banking |
A- |
|
|
Ec. 243a |
International Trade | A | |
|
Gov. 250a |
Govt. Admin. & Public Policy |
A |
|
|
Ec. 243b |
International Trade | A |
|
|
Gov. 250b |
Govt. Admin. & Public Policy | A- | |
| 1950-51 |
|
||
|
Gov. 106b |
History of Political Thought | A | |
| Ec 202 | Advanced Economic Theory |
Excused |
|
|
Ec. 251 |
Public Finance | A | |
| Ec. 350 | Reading & Research/half Prof. Hansen |
Satisfactory |
|
|
Gov. 300 |
Reading & Research/half Prof. Fainsod |
Satisfactory
|
|
| Gov. 300 | Reading & Research/half Prof. Neumanns |
Satisfactory |
|
Degree awarded: A.M., Harvard Univ., June 1951
The established grades are A, B, C, D, and E.
A grade of A, B, Credit, Satisfactory or Excused indicates that the course was passed with distinction. Only courses passed with distinction may be credited toward a higher degree.
Robert G. McCloskey
Secretary
Source: Image from William L. Silber, Volcker — The Triumph of Persistence, New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2012, p. 308.
________________________
Volcker’s Harvard Course Instructors
1949-50
Ec 201. Economic Theory. Professor Chamberlin.
Ec 241. Principles of Money and Banking. Professor J. H. Williams (Fall); Professor Hansen (Spring).
Ec 243a. International Trade. Professor Haberler.
Ec 243b. International Economic Policy. Professors Haberler and Smithies.
Gov 250a. Government Administration and Policy. Professor Fainsod.
Gov 250b. Government Administration and Policy. Professor Gaus.
1950-51
Ec 251. Public Finance. Professor Burbank.
Gov 106b. History of Political Thought II. Probably Prof. Friedrichs.
Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1949-1950. [Note: course enrollment information was not provided in the President’s Report for 1950-51.]
Image Source: 2020 Princeton Reunions Virtual Talk: Honoring the Remarkable Legacy of Paul Volcker ’49.