ECON 7540

ADVANCED HISTORY OF THOUGHT:

THE ECONOMICS OF J.M. KEYNES

 

Professor F. Baragar

2009-2010 Regular Session

Term 2

 

COURSE OUTLINE

 

Section A01

Mondays: 1:30pm - 4:20pm

Room 216 Tier

 

Text:   Keynes, John Maynard, Essays in Persuasion. Houndsmills, UK and New York: Palgrave                   Macmillan.

            Keynes, John Maynard, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.                                       Houndsmills, UK and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

 

Supplementary:

            Backhouse, Roger E. and Bradley W. Bateman, "Keynes, John Maynard (new                                      perspectives)," in Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume, eds., The New                            Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, Second Edition, 2008 Available at                                                 http://dictionary of economics.com>.

            Moggridge, D.E., Keynes. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1976.

            Patinkin, Don, "Keynes, John Maynard (1883-1946)," in Steven N. Durlauf and                                                Lawrence E. Blume, eds., The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, Second                                Edition, 2008 Available at <http://dictionary of economics.com>.

 

Other Sources:

            The definitive biography of Keynes is the 3 volume set by Robert Skidelsky:

                        John Maynard Keynes, vol.1: Hopes Betrayed, 1883-1920. London: Macmillan                                             1983.

                        John Maynard Keynes, vol. 2: The Economist as Saviour, 1920-1937. London,                                           Macmillan, 1992.

                        John Maynard Keynes, vol.3: Fighting for Britain, 1937-1946. London,                                                       Macmillan, 2000.

            A single volume condensed version of the Skidelsky trilogy is available:

                        John Maynard Keynes: 1883-1946: Economist, Philosopher, Statesman. London:                                       Macmillan 2003.

 

            Also good is D.E. Moggridge's biography:

                        Maynard Keynes: An Economist's Biography. London: Routledge, 1992.

 

Course Requirements:

            Essay                                                  45%

            Essay Presentation                            5%

            Final Exam                                         50%

 

The final exam will be held during the university's final examination period, which extends from April 12 to April 28, 2010. The exam will be of 3 hours duration.

Essay topics will be available next week. Essays are due April 7, 2010. Late essays will not be accepted except for documented medical and/or compassionate reasons.

Students will be asked to present their essay to the class during the last seminar of the term (April 7, 2010). Presentations should be about 20 minutes in length so as to allow time for subsequent discussion about the paper. 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 should acquaint themselves with the university's policy on plagiarism and cheating (see p.22 of the university's 2009/2010 Graduate Calendar. Note also the University's statement regarding the penalties for academic dishonesty, a copy of which is appended to this outline.

 

No evaluative feedback will be provided by the voluntary withdrawal date, which is March 19, 2010.  However, if students submit a draft of their essay to me on or before March 15, 2010, I will review it and provide some comments on the essay, and then return the draft to the student.

 

Students appealing any term work, whether it be an informal or formal appeal, must make the appeal within 10 working days of receiving their mark.

 

Term work (essays) will be returned to students after the work has been graded and the grades recorded. Term work that is unclaimed will be held by the instructor for four months following the end of the term (Note: The final day of the University's Final Examination period is considered the last day of the term). After that date, unclaimed term work will become the property of the Faculty of Arts and will be subject to confidential destruction.

 

Students should acquaint themselves with the University's policy on plagiarism and cheating and examination impersonation (see page 29 in the University of Manitoba's  2009/2010 Undergraduate Calendar). Note also the University's statement regarding the penalties for academic dishonesty, a copy of which is appended to this outline.

 

Grade Conversion:

Numerical grades will be converted to letter grades according to the following scale:

 

            A+       92-100                                     C+       61-68.5

            A         85-91.5                                    C         54-60.5

            B+       77-84.5                                    D         48-53.5

            B          69-76.5                                    F          below 48

 

Note: All final grades are subject to departmental approval.

 

 

Seminar Schedule

 

January 11      1. Introduction

 

January 18      NO CLASS

 

January 25      The Economic Consequences of the Peace

            Readings:          Keynes, J.M., Essays in Persuasion, Part 1.

 

February 1      Keynes and Economic Policy pre-General Theory

            Readings:          Keynes, J. M., Essays in Persuasion, Parts 2 and 3.

 

February 8      Towards the General Theory: Origins and Development

            Readings:          Keynes, J. M., A Treatise on Money 2 volumes (1930). Selected excerpts.

                                    Moggridge: D.E., Keynes, Ch. 4 and 5.

                                    Laidler, David, Fabricating the Keynesian Revolution: Studies of the                                    Inter-war Literature on Money, the Cycle and Unemployment. Cambridge, New                             York and Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Ch 6.

 

February 15    MID-TERM BREAK

 

February 22    The General Theory I

                        Readings:          Keynes, J.M., The General Theory, Books I and II.

 

March 1          The General Theory II

                        Readings:          The General Theory, Book III and Book IV, Chapters 11 and 12.

 

March 8          The General Theory III

                        Readings:          The General Theory, Book IV, Chapters 13-18.

 

March 15        The General Theory  IV

                        Readings:          The General Theory, Books V and VI.

 

March 22        The General Theory: Defence and Beyond

                        Readings;         Keynes, J. M., "Alternative Theories of the Rate of Interest," "The                                             Theory of the Rate of Interest," "The General Theory of Employment" and                                 other selections from The General Theory and After Part II: Defence and                                          Development, vol.XIV of the Collected Writings of John Maynard                                                     Keynes, Donald Moggridge, ed.. Macmillan and Cambridge University                                       Press, 1973.

 

March 29        The War and Bretton Woods

                        Readings:          TBA

 

April 7 Student Presentations