University of Manitoba
Department of Economics
ECON 4410 HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT
COURSE OUTLINE
2010-2011
F. Baragar
Term 1: Section A01 CRN#10752
Term 2: Section A01 CRN# 20677
Slot 25 Wednesdays 2:30pm – 5:20pm
Room 107 Isbister
Office: 506 Fletcher Argue Building
Tel: (204) 474-9005
Email: Fletcher_Baragar@umanitoba.ca
Office Hours: Term1 Tuesday 10:30am – 11:20am
Wednesday 10:30am - 11:30am
or by appointment
Term 2 to be announced
This is a full 6-credit hour course that spans both the Fall and the Winter Terms of the 2010-11 academic year.
Course Requirements:
Term 1: Essay Due: December 8, 2010 25%
December Exam 25%
Term 2: Essay Due March 30, 2011 25%
April Exam 25%
Exams will be scheduled during the University of Manitoba's examination periods (December 10-22, 2010 and April 11-26, 2011. Exams will be 3 hours in duration.
Essays and exams will be assigned letter grades (A+, A, B+, B, C+,C, D, F).
On each exam, students will be required to answer 3 essay-type question. Each answer will be given a letter grade. The overall grade for the exam will be the highest of the 3 letter grades received, subject to the condition that the lowest of the 3 grades is a C+ or better. If the lowest grade is only a C then the overall grade for the exam will be reduced by one category (e.g., from and "A" to a "B+"). If the lowest grade is a "D" then the overall grade for the exam will be reduced by 2 categories (e.g., from an "A" to a "B"). If the lowest grade is an "F", then the overall grade for the exam will be reduced by 3 categories (e.g., from an "A" to a "C+").
The first term grade will be an average of the first term essay grade and the final exam grade. If there is no clear average, the final exam grade will be used to determine whether the grade is in the higher grade category or the lower grade category. (E.g.#1: Essay A, Exam B, Term Grade = B+
e.g., # 2 Essay A, Exam B+, Term Grade = B+
e.g., #3 Essay A, Exam C+, Term Grade = B)
The second term grades will be calculated according to the same principle.
The final grade will be the average of the 2 term grades. If there is no clear average, the 2nd term grades will be used to determine whether the grade is in the higher or lower category.
(E.g., #1: Term 1 grade B, Term 2 grade A: Final Grade = B+
E.g. #2: Term 1 grade B+, Term 2 grade A: Final Grade = A)
Students will not be permitted to write makeup exams or hand in essays late, except for documented medical or compassionate reasons.
Students appealing any term work whether it be an informal or formal appeal must appeal their term work within 10 days of receiving their mark.
Any term work that has not been claimed by students will be held for 4 months from the end of the final examination period for the term in which the work was assigned. At the conclusion of this time, all unclaimed term work will be destroyed according to FIPPA guidelines.
Note that Friday March 18, 2011 is the final date for voluntary withdrawal without academic penalty for full courses. Evaluative feedback will be provided before this final withdrawal date.
Students are advised to familiarize themselves with the university’s policy on “Plagiarism and Cheating” as described on pages 27-28 of the University of Manitoba’s 2010/2011 Undergraduate Calendar.
Recommended Textbooks:
Backhouse, Roger, The Ordinary Business of Life: A History of Economics from the
Ancient World to the Twenty-First Century. Princeton and Oxford, Princeton University Press, 2002.
Smith, Adam, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations 2
Volumes. Edited by R. H. Campbell and A. S. Skinner. Indianapolis, IN: The Liberty Fund, 1981.
Marx, Karl, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy Volume 1. New York: International Publishers, 1967.
Keynes, John Maynard, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
Seminars and Readings: First Term
September 15 1. Introduction
September 22 2A. Ancient and Medieval Economic Thought
Required readings:
- Backhouse, Chapters 1 and 2.
Suggested readings:
- Plato, The Republic. Translated by Benjamin Jowett. New York, Vintage Books, n.d..
Bk.II, sections 367-75.
- Aristotle, The Politics, Bk.I and The Nicomachean Ethics, Bk.V. Reprinted in Arthur Eli Monroe, ed., Early Economic Thought: Selections From Economic Literature Prior to Adam Smith. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1945. Pp.1-29.
- Aquinas, St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, Questions LXXVII and LXXVIII. Reprinted in Arthur Eli Monroe, ed. Early Economic Thought: Selections From Economic Literature Prior to Adam Smith. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1945. Pp.53-77.
2B. Mercantilism
Required readings:
- Backhouse, Chapters 3 and 4.
Suggested readings:
- Mun, Thomas, England’s Treasure by Forraign Trade. Ch. 2,3,4,and 10. Reprinted in Arthur Eli Monroe, ed., Early Economic Thought: Selections From Economic Literature Prior to Adam Smith. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1945. Pp. 171-87.
- Bodin, Jean, Reply to the Paradoxes of Malestroit Concerning the Dearness of all Things and the Means of Remedying It. Excerpts reprinted in K. William Kapp and Lore L. Kapp, eds, History of Economic Thought: A Book of Readings. 2nd ed. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1963. Pp.34-47.
- von Hornick, Phillip W., Austria Over All if Only She Will. Excerpts reprinted in K. William Kapp and Lore L. Kapp, eds. History of Economic Thought: A Book of Readings. 2nd ed. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1963. Pp.47-62.
September 29 3. The Eighteenth Century and Harbingers of Adam Smith
Required readings:
- Backhouse, Ch. 5 and Ch.6, pp.110-121.
- Mandeville, Bernard, “The Grumbling Hive: or, Knaves Turned Honest,” in The Fable of the Bees.
- Hume, David, “Of Money,” and “Of Interest,” in Eugene Rotwein, ed. David Hume: Writings on Economics. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1970. Pp. 33-59.
Suggested readings:
- Hume, David, “Of Commerce,” “Of the Balance of Trade,” and “Of the Jealousy of Trade,” in Eugene Rotwein, ed. David Hume: Writings on Economics. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1970. Pp. 3-18, 60-82.
- Quesnay, François, Tableau Économique. Excerpt Reprinted in Arthur Eli Monroe, ed., Early Economic Thought: Selections from Economic Literature Prior to Adam Smith. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1945. Pp. 341-8.
October 6 4. Adam Smith I: Value Theory
Required readings:
- Smith, Adam, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Book I: Chapters 1 – 7.
October 13 5. Adam Smith II: Growth and Income Distribution
Required readings:
- Smith, Adam, The Wealth of Nations. Book I: Chapters 8, 9, and10. Chapter 11, Introduction and Conclusion. Book II: Introduction, Chapters 1, 3, 4, and 5.
October 20 6. Adam Smith III: Political Economy and Ideology
Required readings:
- Smith, Adam, The Wealth of Nations. Book III: Chapters 1 and 3. Book IV: Introduction, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, pp.452-459, Chapter 3, Part I, pp. 473-79 and Part II, Chapters 8 and 9. Book V: Chapter 1, Part III, Article 2d, pp.780-788.
October 27 7. Malthus and Ricardo I: Population and Scarcity
Required readings:
- Malthus, Thomas Robert, Population: The First Essay. London: Macmillan, and New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1966. Chapters 1-5, 9, 10, 16, and 17.
November 3 8. Malthus and Ricardo II: The Theory of Value and Distribution
Required readings:
- Ricardo, David, On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation. Ed. By Piero Sraffa with the collaboration of M. H. Dobb. Vol.I of the Works and Correspondence of David Ricardo. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1951. Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 20.
November 10 9. Malthus and Ricardo III: Accumulation and Gluts
Required readings:
- Ricardo, David, On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation. Chapters 21, 30
and 31.
- Ricardo, David. Correspondence: Selected Letters.
November 17 10. Political Economy after Ricardo
Required readings:
- Dobb, Maurice, Theories of Value and Distribution since Adam Smith: Ideology and
Economic Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973. Chapters 4 and 5.
- Landreth, Harry and David C. Colander, History of Economic Thought, 4th edition.
Boston and Toronto: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Ch. 6.
- Backhouse, Ch.7, pp.141-156.
November 24 11. Karl Marx I: Introduction and Value Theory
Required readings:
- Marx, Karl, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Vol. I. New York: International Publishers, 1967. Preface to the first German edition, Afterward to the second German edition, Chapter 1, sec.1 and 2, sec.3, pp.54-9, sec.4. Chapters 2, 4, 6 and 7.
December 1 12. Karl Marx II: Exploitation and Accumulation
Required readings:
- Marx, Karl, Capital. Vol.I, Chapter 9, sec. 1, Chapter 10, sec.1, Chapters 11, 12 , 13, 16,
25, sec.1-4. Chapters 26, 31 and 32.
December 8 13. Karl Marx III: Prices, Profits and Falling Profit Rates
Required readings:
- Marx , Karl, Capital. Vol.III, Chapters 1, 2, 8, 9, 13, 14, and 15.
Essay Topics: First Term
The essays topics for the first term embrace selected issues and aspects of economic thought before 1870. As part of their research for the essay, students are expected to make use of selected primary sources. Some primary sources especially relevant for the respective essay topics are listed on the list below.
1. The significance of Hobbes and Locke for the development of economic thought in the 17th and 18th centuries.
- Hobbes, Leviathan
- Locke, Second Treatise of Government, Ch.V.
2. Smith, Cantillon, Paley, and Malthus on Population
-Smith, Wealth of Nations, Bk.I Ch.VIII.
-Cantillon, Essai, Part I, Ch. XV.
-Paley, Moral and Political Philosophy, Part VI, Ch.XI.
-Malthus, Essay (1798), Ch. 1-VIII.
3. Oresme, Galiani, Cantillon, Hume and Smith on Money
-Oresme, Traictie de la Premiere Invention des Monnoies, in Monroe, ed., Early Economic Thought, Ch.IV.
-Galiani, Della Moneta, in Monroe, ed. Early Economic Thought, Ch.XII
-Cantillon, Essai, in Monroe, ed. Early Economic Thought, Ch.XI..
-Hume, “On Money”. In E. Rotwin ed. David Hume Writings on Economics. Pp.33-46.
-Smith, Wealth of Nations, Bk.I, Ch.IV.
4. Smith, Ricardo, Wakefield, J.S. Mill and Marx on Colonies
-Smith, Wealth of Nations, Bk.IV, Ch VII.
-Ricardo, Principles of Political Economy, Ch.25.
-Wakefield, “A Letter From Sydney,”
-Mill, Principles of Political Economy, Book V, Ch.XI, par.14.
-Marx, Capital, Vol.I, Ch.33.
5. Utilitariansim and Economics: From Bentham to J.S. Mill
- Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
- Bastiat, Economic Harmonies
- Mill, J.S., Utilitarianism
6. Productive and Unproductive Labour in Classical Economics
-Smith, Wealth of Nations
-Say, J.B., Treatise on Political Economy, trans. C. R. Prinsep, (reprinted by A.M. Kelly,
New York , 1964. Pp. 119-127.
-Malthus, Principles of Political Economy
-Mill, J.S., Principles of Political Economy, Book I, Chapters I – III.
7. Political Economy and the Critique of Capitalism
-Sismondi, “New Principles of Political Economy,” in Kapp and Kapp, eds. History of Economic Thought: A Book of Readings, No.22.
-Hodgskin, Thomas, Labour Defended Against the Claims of Capital. New York: Augustus M. Kelly, 1963.
-Rodbertus, “Overproduction and Crises,” in Kapp and Kapp, eds, History of Economic Thought: A Book of Readings. No.23.
8. Hume, Ricardo and Mill on Trade
-Hume, David, “Of the Balance of Trade.” In E. Rotwein, ed. David Hume Writings on
Economics. Pp. 60-77.
-Ricardo, David, Principles of Political Economy, Ch.7.
-Mill, J.S., Principles of Political Economy, Ch.XVII-XX.
9. Smith and Ricardo on Taxation
-Smith, Wealth of Nations, Bk.IV, Ch.2.
-Ricardo, Principles of Political Economy, Ch.VIII-XVIII.
10. Who Produced the Theory of Differential Rent? A Critical Assessment of the
Contributions of Smith, Anderson, West, Malthus, Ricardo and J.S. Mill.
-Smith, Wealth of Nations
-Anderson, James, An Inquiry into the Nature of the Corn Laws
-Ricardo, An Essay on the Influence of a low Price of Corn on the Profits of Stock
-Malthus, Inquiry into the Nature and Progress of Rent
-West, Edward, Essay on the application of Capital to Land
- Torrens, Robert, Essay on the External Corn Trade
11. The Ricardian Socialists: Are they Ricardian? Are they Socialist?
-Gray, John, A Lecture on Human Happiness.
-Bray, John, Labour’s Wrongs and Labour’s Remedy. Preface, Introduction, Ch.1-6.
-Thompson, William, Labour Rewarded. Pp. 1-41. 51-59, 75-88.
12. On Slavery
-Steuart, J., An Inquiry into the Principle of Political Economy, Vol.I, Ch.7.
-Smith, Wealth of Nations, Bk.I, Ch.8, p.98-99. Book III,Ch.2., Bk IV, Ch.9, pp. 683-4.
-Tucker, George, Political Economy for the People. 1859. Ch.8.
-Mill, J.S., Principles of Political Economy, Book II, ChV.
-Marx, Pre-Capitalist Economic Formations. (or, alternatively, in the Grundrisse.
Translated by Martin Nicolaus. New York: Vintage, 1973. Pp. 471-514.)
13. Is there anything in Marx’s early writings (pre-1848) for Economists?
-Marx, Early Writings, ed. by Quintin Hoare
-Marx, The Poverty of Philosophy
-Marx, The German Ideology
14. Historicism and the Methodological Critique of Classical Economics
-Comte, “The System of Positive Philosophy,” in Kapp and Kapp, eds., History of Economic Thought: A Book of Readings. No.18.
-Jones, “The Distribution of Wealth,” in Kapp and Kapp, eds. No.19.
-von Schmoller, “Political Economy and its Methods,” in Kapp and Kapp, eds. No.20.
-Toynbee, “Ricardo and the Old Political Economy,” in A. Toynbee, Toynbee’s Industrial Revolution. New York: A.M. Kelly, 1969. Pp.1-26.
15. Economists and the Economics of the Poor Laws
- Bentham, J., Essays on the Poor Laws of 1796
- Malthus, T.R., First Essay on Population
- Malthus, T.R., Second Essay on Population
- Townsend, Dissertation of the Poor Laws
- Ricardo, Principles of Political Economy, Ch.V
- Senior, Nassau, Three Lectures on the Rate of Wages
Rules for Submitting Essays: First Term
1. Topic should be chosen, in consultation with the instructor, by October 6, 2010.
2. A first draft of the essay should be delivered to the instructor by November 10, 2010. As soon as possible thereafter, the instructor will discuss the draft with the author, and may offer suggestions for revision. If a draft is not delivered by November 10, there will be no opportunity to submit a second draft.
3. All essays, whether revised or not, must be delivered by December 8, 2010.
4. Essays should be typed. The body of the text, excluding notes and references, must not exceed 4000 words. Longer essays will be returned, ungraded, for abbreviation.
5. Essays must be carefully checked to eliminate all spelling, grammatical and typographical errors. All quotations must be clearly identified, and all statements based on a secondary source must be vouched for by reference to that source. An essay that does not meet these requirements will be returned, ungraded, for re-writing.
5. It is recommended that students keep an extra copy of their final draft for their own files.
Seminars and Readings: Second Term
January 5 1. The Marginal Revolution and Neoclassical Economics
Required readings:
- Backhouse, Ch.8.
- Dobb, M. Theories of Value and Distribution Since Adam Smith: Ideology and Economic Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973. Ch.7.
Supplementary readings:
- Backhouse, R. A History of Modern Economic Analysis. Oxford, UK and Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell, 1985. Ch. 10 and 13.
January 12 2. General Equilibrium and Welfare Economics
Required readings:
- Backhouse, Ch.12.
- Screpanti, Ernesto, and Stefano Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought. Translated by David Field. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995. Ch.10.1.
- Sen, Amartya, “The Possibility of Social Choice,” American Economic Review 89:3 (June 1999): 349-78.
Supplementary readings:
- Backhouse, R. A History of Modern Economic Analysis. Ch. 24.
- Hahn, Frank, “General Equilibrium Theory,” in Bell Daniel and Irving Kristol, eds., The Crisis in Economic Theory. New York: Basic Books, 1981. Pp.123-38.
January 19 3. Critique and Alternatives I: Veblen and Innis
Required readings:
- Backhouse, Ch.9, pp.195-202.
- Veblen, Thorstein, “Why is Economics Not an Evolutionary Science?” The Quarterly Journal of Economics XII (July 1898): 56-81.
- Innis, H.A. “Conclusion,” to The Fur Trade in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1956. Pp. 383-402.
Supplementary readings:
- Veblen, Thorstein, The Theory of the Leisure Class. New York: Macmillan, 1899. Ch.8.
- Veblen, Thorstein, The Theory of the Business Enterprise. New York: Augustus M. Kelly, 1965. Ch.1 and 3.
- Innis, H.A, “The Canadian Economy and the Depression,” in Harold A. Innis, Essays in Canadian Economic History. Ed. by Mary Q. Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1956. Pp. 123-40.
- Innis, H.A. “On the Economic Significance of Cultural Factors,” in Daniel Drache, ed., Staples, Markets and Cultural Change: Selected Essays of Harold Innis. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1995. Ch. 21.
January 26 4. Pre-Keynesian Macro and Keynes’s General Theory I
Required readings:
- Backhouse, Ch.10.
- Keynes, John Maynard, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and
Money. London: Macmillan, 1936. Preface, Ch.1-3, Ch.5 and Ch.14.
February 2 5. Keynes’s General Theory II
Required readings:
- Keynes, John Maynard, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. London: Macmillan, 1936. Ch.10, Ch.11-13, 18, 22 and 24.
-Keynes, John Maynard, “The General Theory of Employment,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics, (February 1937).
-Keynes, John Maynard, “Alternative Theories of the Rate of Interest,” The Economic Journal, (June 1937).
Supplementary readings:
- Snowdon, Brian and Howard Vane, Modern Macroeconomics: Its Origins, Development and Current State. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar, 2005. Ch.2.
February 9 6. Macroeconomics after Keynes
Required readings:
- Hicks, J.R. “Mr. Keynes and the “Classics”: A Suggested Interpretation,” Econometrica (April, 1937).
- Friedman, Milton, “The Role of Monetary Policy,” The American Economic Review 58:1 (March 1968): 1-17.
- Modigliani, F. “The Monetarist Controversy, or Should We Forsake Stabilization Policies?” American Economic Review 67:2 (March 1977): 1-19.
- Tobin, James, “How Dead is Keynes?” Economic Inquiry 15:4 (October 1977): 459-68.
Supplementary readings:
- Hicks, J.R, “IS-LM- An Explanation,” Journal of Post Keynesian Economics (Winter 1980-81).
- Modigliani, F. “Liquidity Preference and the Theory of Interest and Money,” Econometrica, 12 (January 1944): 45-88.
- Galbraith, J.K., Economics in Perspective: A Critical History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987. Ch.18 and 20.
- Snowdon, Brian and Howard Vane, Modern Macroeconomics: Its Origins, Development and Current State. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar, 2005. Ch.3 and 4.
February 16 7. Critique and Alternatives II: Kalecki, Sraffa and Post-Keynesian Economics
Required readings:
-King, J.E., A History of Post Keynesian Economics since 1936. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar, 2002. Ch.2.
-Sraffa, P., Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities: Prelude to a Critique of Economic Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1960. Preface and Ch.1-3.
-Harcourt, G.C., “The Theoretical and Social Significance of the Cambridge Controversies in the Theory of Capital: An Evaluation” in J. Schwartz, ed. The Subtle Anatomy of Capitalism. Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear Publishing, 1977. Pp. 285-303.
Supplementary readings:
- Minsky, Hyman, John Maynard Keynes. New York: Columbia University Press, 1975. Ch.5.
- Robinson, Joan, What Are the Questions? And Other Essays: Further Contributions to Modern Economics. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1981. Ch. 1, 8, 11 and 15.
February 21-25 Mid-Term Break
March 2 8. Mathematics & Econometrics; Growth Theory
Required readings:
- Backhouse, Roger, Ch. 11.
- Pasinetti, L.L. “From Classical to Keynesian Economic Dynamics,” in L.L.Pasinetti Growth and Income Distribution: Essays in Economic Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1974. Ch.4.
-Solow, R.M., “Growth Theory and After,” American Economic Review 78:3 (June 1988): 307-17.
Supplementary readings:
- Pasinetti, L.L., “Critique of the Neoclassical Theory of Growth and Distribution,” BNL Quarterly Review, no.215 (December 2000): 383-431.
March 9 9. Development Economics
Required readings:
- Adelman, Irma, "Fallacies in Development Theory and Their Implications for Policy." University of California at Berkeley, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Policy, Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources, Working Paper No. 887. May, 1999.
March 16 10. Marx after Marx
Required readings:
- Barratt Brown, Michael, The Economics of Imperialism. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1974. Ch.3.
- Baran, P.A., and Paul M. Sweezy, Monopoly Capital. NY: Monthly Review Press, 1966. Ch.1, 3, and 4.
-Gordon, David M., Richard Edwards and Michael Reich, Segmented Work, Divided Workers: The Historical Transformation of Labor in the United States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982. Ch.2.
-Roemer, John, “‘Rational Choice’ Marxism: Some Issues of Method and Substance,” in John Roemer, ed. Analytical Marxism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986. Pp.191-20.
Supplementary readings:
- Roemer, John, “New Directions in the Marxian Theory of Exploitation and Class,” in J. Roemer, ed., Analytical Marxism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986. Pp.81-113.
- Foley, Duncan, “Recent Developments in the Labour Theory of Value,” Review of Radical Political Economics 32:1(March 2000): 1-39.
March 23 11. Neoclassical Theory, the Economics of Information and Economic Imperialism
Required readings:
- Backhouse, Ch.14.
- Stiglitz, J., “The Contributions of the Economics of Information to Twentieth Century Economics,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics (November 2000): 1441-78.
- Fine, Ben, “A Question of Economics: Is It Colonizing the Social Sciences?” Economy & Society 28:3 (Aug. 1999): 403-425.
Supplementary readings:
- Lazear, Edward P., “Economic Imperialism,” Quarterly Journal of Economics 115:1 (February 2000): 99-146.
March 30 12.A Financial Economics (and the Crisis of 2007-09)
Required readings:
- Backhouse, Roger, The Puzzle of Modern Economics: Science or Ideology? Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Ch.5.
- Buiter, Willem, "The Unfortunate Uselessness of Most 'State of the Art' Academic Monetary Economics." March 3, 2009. Available at <http://blogs.ft.com/maverecon/2009/03/the-unfortunate-uselessness-of-most-state-of-the-art-academic-monetary-economics/#>.
- Cassidy, John, How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009 and Toronto: Viking Canada, 2009. Ch.7.
Supplementary readings:
- Hodgson, Geoffrey M., "The Great Crash of 2008 and the Reform of Economics," Cambridge Journal of Economics, 33:6 (November 2009): 1205-1221.
12.B Student Presentations
April 6 13. Student Presentations
Second Term Essays
Select an important book in economics that was initially published between 1900 and 1990. Discuss the contents of the book, considering its strength and weaknesses. Discuss also the reception of the book, especially by economists, upon its publication, and over the time that has since elapsed. Is it, or was it, controversial? Why or why not? Assess its position with respect to the evolution of 20th century economic thought. Indicate why, in your opinion, the book is an important contribution to economics.
There are some restrictions on your book selection. In addition to the requirement that the book be initially published between 1900 and 1990, it also cannot be a book which is listed on the reading list for this course (e.g., Keynes’s General Theory is not eligible).
The final draft of the essay will be due Wednesday, March 30, 2011. If you are able to provide a draft of the essay to me on or before Wednesday March 9, 2010, I will review it and provide you with some comments and feedback. Late papers will not be accepted except for documented medical or compassionate reasons.
Essays must be typed. The body of the text, excluding footnotes and references, must not exceed 4000 words. Essays must be carefully checked to eliminate spelling, grammatical and typographical errors. All quotations must be clearly identified, and all statements based on secondary sources must be vouched for by a reference to that source.
It is recommended that students keep an extra copy of their final draft for their own files.
Students will present their essays in class. Each presentation should be approximately 25 to 30 minutes in length.