Month: December 2019

Categories
History of Economics Johns Hopkins Reprints

Johns Hopkins. Links to Reprints of Economic Tracts. Hollander, ed.

Economics in the Rear-View Mirror provides links to scans of important works of economics up to 1900 and from the twentieth century. This post begins a series of links to reprints of important economics texts.

Jacob Hollander of the Johns Hopkins University was, like E. R. A. Seligman of Columbia University, a great collector of old and rare economics books and pamphlets. Elsie A. G. Marsh compiled a catalogue of Hollander’s economic library (addenda).

Below you will find links to early collections of letters of David Ricardo edited by Hollander that are followed by links to a dozen tracts edited and published by Hollander.

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Selections of Letters by David Ricardo, edited by Hollander

J. H. Hollander (ed.). Letters of David Ricardo to John Ramsay McCulloch, 1816-1823. Publications of the American Economic Association, Vol. X, No. 5-6 (September and November, 1895).

James Bonar and J. H. Hollander (eds.). Letters of David Ricardo to Hutches Trower and Others, 1811-1823. Oxford, 1899.

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Reprints of Economic Tracts

Edited by Jacob H. Hollander

Asgill, John. Several Assertions Proved. London, 1690.

Barbon, Nicholas. A Discourse of Trade. London, 1690.

Berkeley, George. Several Queries Proposed to the Public. Dublin, 1735-37.

Fauquier, Francis. An Essay on Ways and Means for Raising Money for the Support of the Present War, &tc. London, 1756.

Fortrey, Samuel. England’s Interest and Improvement. Cambridge, 1663.

Longe, Francis Davy. A Refutation of the Wage-Fund Theory. London, 1866.

Malthus, Thomas Robert. An Inquiry into the Nature and Progress of Rent. (London, 1815)

Massie, Joseph. An Essay on the Governing Causes of the Natural Rate of Interest. London, 1750.

North, Sir Dudley. Discourses upon Trade. London, 1691.

Ricardo, David. Three Letters on the Price of Gold. London, 1815.

Vanderlint, Jacob. Money Answers All Things. London, 1734.

West, Sir Edward. Essay on the Application of Capital to Land. London, 1815.

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Image Source:  Jacob Harry Hollander (ca. 1918) from Johns Hopkins University, Sheridan Libraries’ graphic and pictorial collection.

Categories
AEA Bibliography Economists Johns Hopkins

Johns Hopkins. Life and career of economics Ph.D. (1901) alumnus, George Ernest Barnett

 

The economist George E. Barnett (b. 19 February 1873; d. 17 June 1938) was briefly glimpsed in the previous post as one of three colleagues who covered the undergraduate course offerings in economics at the Johns Hopkins University in 1919-20. Unlike many an economics professor who has gone on to relative obscurity, Barnett actually served a term as President of the American Economic Association (1932) that should have been sufficient to double the half-life of his afterlife. Barnett even served on an advisory committee for the director of the national census.

To partially fill in the historical blank, today’s post provides a local obituary that reported Barnett’s suicide, presumably related to a severe, chronic illness. Links to books mentioned in his obituary and a Johns Hopkins’ bibiliography up through 1913 have been included as well. Apparently a more complete bibliography was prepared in 1938.

___________________________

J.H.U. Teacher Dies of Wound; Had Been Ill
Dr. George E. Barnett Is Found In Apartment, Pistol Near By
Succumbs at Hospital. Was Expert on Labor Problems, Statistics

Dr. George Ernest Barnett, 65 years old, professor of statistics at the Johns Hopkins University and an international authority on labor problems, was found fatally wounded in the bathroom of his third-floor apartment at 827 Park avenue early today. A .38-caliber revolver lay on the floor near by.

An ambulance was summoned and he was taken to the Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Found by Friend

The wounded professor was found by a friend, Dr. Lucien Brun, a dentist with offices on the first floor of the apartment building, and the latter’s secretary. Dr. Brun told Sergt. Lawrence Stevens, Central district officer who investigated the case, that he knew Dr. Barnett had been ill for some time.

The dentist said when he heard a shot from upstairs he and his secretary rushed up to find Dr. Barnett slumped on the floor, a bullet wound in his temple.

Born in Cambridge, Md.

A native of Cambridge, Md., Dr. Barnett graduated from Randolph-Macon College in 1891 with his bachelor’s degree, and was presented with his doctorate by the Johns Hopkins University in 1902 [sic, 1901 appears correct] after teaching school for some years in North Carolina.

He served as instructor, associate and associate professor in economics from 1901 to 1911. Made a full professor in 1911, he has made a special study of labor problems since that time. His studies of labor in the Antipodes were undertaken because he felt the federation type of government in these two countries was so similar to that of the United States that such studies would be appropriate and helpful.

Member of Faculty 37 Years

Dr. Barnett had been a member of the Hopkins faculty for thirty-seven years and had lived for many years at the Park avenue address. His brilliant conversational abilities and his amiable personality had won him hundreds of friends among students, colleagues and a wide circle of Baltimoreans.

His specialization in the field of labor, unionism, arbitration and other labor problems had made him widely known as a scholar and led to his final assignment—a trip to New Zealand and Australia to study the labor arbitration court systems in use in the antipodes.

Granted a year’s leave of absence from the university, he went to New Zealand to begin his studies. He was stricken with a fever, however, and upon medical advice returned to Baltimore to undergo treatment. He remained at the Hopkins Hospital for a time, then moved back into his apartment.

His portly figure was a familiar one as he walked along North Charles street between his residence, the University Club, and the Johns Hopkins University. For many years it was his custom to walk the distance daily, often stopping to talk to a wide range of acquaintances.

Active in Club’s Affairs

For many years, too, he had been a member of the University Club, having his meals there and taking an active part in the affairs of the club.

He was a member of the Hopkins Faculty Club, and the Academic Council of the university.

Dr. Barnett is survived by two brothers, D’Arcy Barnett, of Caldwell, N. J., and Charles Barnett, of Cambridge, Md.

A member of the American Economic Association, the American Statistical Association and the American Association for Labor Legislation, Dr. Barnett has published numerous books in his field.

Wrote Numerous Books

He was the author of “State Banking in the United States,” in 1902; “The Printers,” in 1909; “State Banks and Trust Companies,” in 1911; “Mediation, Investigation and Arbitration in Industrial Disputes,” in 1916, with D. A. McCabe, and “Machinery and Labor,” in 1926.

He also edited “A Trial Bibliography of American Trade Union Publications” in 1904 and was coeditor of “Studies in American Trade Unionism” in 1906. He was a member of the University Club.

Source: The Evening Sun (Baltimore, MD), June 17, 1938

___________________________

 

Barnett, George Ernest.
Bibliography through 1913

A. B., Randolph-Macon College, 1891; fellow in political economy, Johns Hopkins, 1899-1900; instructor in political economy, 1900-1904; Ph. D., 1902 [sic, 1901 appears to be the correct year]; associate in political economy, 1904-1907; associate professor of political economy, 1907-1911; professor of statistics, 1911 —; co-editor of Johns Hopkins Studies, 1908 —. Marshall Prize, Johns Hopkins, 1910.

State Banking in the United States since the Passage of the National Bank Act (J. H. U. Studies, ser. xx, nos. 2-3).

A Method of Determining the Jewish Population of Large Cities in the United States (Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, 1902, no. 10, pp. 37-45).

The Jewish Population of Maryland (American Jewish Year Book, 1902-1903, pp. 46-62).

The Economic Position of Germany (J. H. U. Circular, p. 80, June, 1902).

The Maryland Workmen’s Compensation Act (Quarterly Journal of Economics, xvi, 591-594, August, 1902).

A Working Bibliography of Trade Unions (J. H. U. Circular, pp. 36-37, April, 1903).

Editor, A Trial Bibliography of American Trade-Union Publications (J. H. U. Studies, ser. xxii, nos. 1-2. Second edition, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press. 1907. Pp.139).

Shop Rules of the International Typographical Union ( J. H. U. Circular, pp. 3-8, May, 1904).

The Introduction of the Linotype (Yale Review, xiii, 251-273, November, 1904).

________ and J. H. Hollander, editors. The Economic Seminary, 1904-1905, 1905-1906, 1906-1907, 1907-1908, 1908-1909, 1909-1910, 1910-1911 (J. H. U. Circular, June, 1905, March, 1906, April, 1907, May, 1908, April, 1909, April, 1910, April, 1911).

The End of the Maryland Workmen’s Compensation Act (Quarterly Journal of Economics, xix, 320-322, February, 1905).

The Origin of the Constitution of the Typographical Union (J. H. U. Circular, pp. 3-6, June, 1905). and J. H. Hollander, editors. Studies in American Trade Unionism (New York: H. Holt and Co. 1906. Pp. v, 380).

The Government of the Typographical Union (Studies in American Trade Unionism, pp. 13-41).

Collective Bargaining in the Typographical Union (Studies in American Trade Unionism, pp. 153-182).

The Standard Wage as a Bargaining Device (J. H. U. Circular, pp. 7-11, March, 1906).

The Budget of the Typographical Union (J. H. U. Circular, pp. 9-12, April, 1907).

Territorial Jurisdiction of the International Typographical Union (J. H. U. Circular, pp. 11-18, May, 1908).

The Printers; A Study in American Trade Unionism (American Economic Association Quarterly, third ser., vol. x, no. 3. Pp. vii, 387. Marshall Prize).

Labor Organization in the South (The South in the Building of the Nation, v, 144-146, vi, 36-40. Richmond, Va.: The Southern Historical Publication Society. [c1909-1913] ).

The State Finances of North Carolina (The South in the Building of the Nation, v, 529-532, vi, 507-511).

Economic Statistics in the South (The South in the Building of the Nation, v, 563-564, vi, 542-545).

The Piece System of Remuneration in the Printing Trade (J. H. U. Circular, pp. 5-11, April, 1909 ).

The Growth of State Banks and Trust Companies (Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, xxxvi, 613-625, November, 1910).

The “One Man Office” and the Typographical Union (J. H. U. Circular, pp. 8-15, April, 1910).

State Banks and Trust Companies since the Passage of the National Bank Act (Publications of National Monetary Commission. 61st Cong., 3d sess. Sen. Doc. No. 659. Pp.366).

Recent Tendencies in State Banking Legislation (Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science in the City of New York, i, 270-284).

The Breaking Down of the Distinctions between the Classes of Banks in the United States (J. H. U. Circular, pp. 8-12, April, 1911).

National and District Systems of Collective Bargaining in the United States (Quarterly Journal of Economics, xxvi, 425-443, May, 1912).

A Documentary History of American Labor (Political Science Quarterly, xxvii, 298-304, June, 1912).

The Dominance of the National Union in American Labor Organization (Quarterly Journal of Economics, xxvii, 455-481, May, 1913).

 

Source: Publications of Members and Graduates of the Departments of History, Political Economy, and Political Science, 1901-1915 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1915), pp. 9-11.

Note: [have not consulted yet]
Lavarello, Angela. Bibliography of the writings of George E. Barnett (Baltimore: Typescript (7 leaves), 1938).  Copy at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.

Image Source: From a portrait of George Ernest Barnett at Johns Hopkins University graphic and pictorial collection.

Categories
Exam Questions Johns Hopkins Undergraduate

Johns Hopkins. Undergraduate Economics Exams, 1920

Barnett, Weyforth, Mitchell

 

Even at the Johns Hopkins University, one of the pioneers in academic economics in the United States, there were only six semesters worth of undergraduate economics actually offered in 1919-20. This post provides transcriptions of the six semester final examinations for that year.

The final examinations for the 1922-23 academic year have been transcribed for an earlier post.

Note:

Political Economy 2(b) Money and Banking was scheduled to be taught by Professor Barnett in 1919-20. However in the announcement for 1920-21 Dr. Weyforth was listed as course instructor which is consistent with the ex post report for 1919-20 for instruction in the department of political economy.

Political Economic 4(b) was scheduled as Public Finance to be taught by Professor Hollander in 1919-20, but from the exam below it is clear that the course matches “Corporation Finance” found in the course announcements for 1920-21 which was taught by Professor Barnett.

___________________

Instructors of Undergraduate Courses
1919-20

George Ernest Barnett, Ph.D., Professor of Statistics.
A. B., Randolph-Macon College, 1891; Fellow, Johns Hopkins University, 1899-1900, and Ph.D., 1901.
Appointment to professor, 1911.

Broadus Mitchell, Ph.D., Instructor in Political Economy.
A.B., University of South Carolina, 1913; Fellow, Johns Hopkins University, 1916-17, and Ph. D., 1918. Appointment to instructor, 1919.

William Oswald Weyforth, Ph.D., Associate in Political Economy.
A. B., Johns Hopkins University, 1912, and Ph.D., 1915; Instructor, Western Reserve University, 1915-17. Appointment to instructor, 1919.

___________________

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
1919-20

  1. (a) Economic History.
    The economic development of England and the industrial experience of the United States are studied.
    Three hours weekly, first half-year. Weyforth and Dr. Mitchell.
    (b) Elements of Economics.
    Particular attention is given to the theory of distribution and its application to leading economic problems.
    Three hours weekly, second half-year. Dr. Weyforth and Dr. Mitchell.
  2. (a) Statistical Methods.
    After a preliminary study of the value and place of statistics as an instrument of investigation, attention is directed to the chief methods used in statistical inquiry.
    Three hours weekly, first half-year. Professor Barnett.
    (b) Money and Banking.
    The principles of monetary science are taught with reference to practical conditions in modern systems of currency, banking, and credit.
    Three hours weekly, second half-year. Dr. Weyforth.
  3. (a) Insurance.
    The principles of insurance are taught with reference to existing systems of property, personal, and social insurance.
    Three hours weekly, first half-year.
    (b) Transportation.
    The history and theory of transportation are taught with particular reference to conditions in the United States.
    Three hours weekly, second half-year.
    [Course 3 will not be given in 1919-1920.]
  4. (a) Labor Problems.
    The problems growing out of modern industrial employment will be studied.
    Three hours weekly, first half-year. Dr. Mitchell.
    (b) Corporation Finance.
    The theory and practice of corporation finance are considered, with particular reference to the problems presented in the United States.
    Three hours weekly, second half-year. Professor Barnett.

NOTE—Undergraduate Course 2 is open only to such students as have completed or are pursuing Course 1: Courses 3, 4, and 5 only to students who have completed 1 and 2.

 

Sources: Johns Hopkins University, University Register 1918-1919 with Announcements for 1919-20. Circular, Vol. 38, No. 314, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, April 1919), p.222.

Johns Hopkins University, Annual Report of the President 1919-20, Circular, Vol. 39, No. 327, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, April 1919), p. 66.

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THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
POLITICAL ECONOMY I
[Economic history]

February 5, 1920, 9 – 12 A.M.

  1. Describe the manor system.
  2. How were the gilds organized, and what were the circumstances of their dissolution? What were the economic consequences of the Black Death?
  3. Discuss the Industrial Revolution, giving its causes and main effects. What results did it have for the manual worker in England?
  4. What is the doctrine of laissez faire, and how did it come to have such vogue, particularly in the first years of the 19th century?
  5. Discuss the Factory Acts. What tendency in social thinking did they represent?
  6. What are chief social and economic advantages and disadvantages of the division of labor?
  7. Do you think our present method of securing entrepreneurs a good one? How might it be improved?

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
POLITICAL ECONOMY I
[Elements of economics]

June 3, 1920, 9 A.M. – 12 M.

  1. Name and discuss as many theories of wages as you know.
  2. Explain, with the assistance of a diagram, the differential principle of rent. How does the argument of the Single Tax rest on this law?
  3. What is the distinction between interest and profits? Explain the economic justification of each.
  4. Describe the functions of credit. Show how the Federal Reserve System has remedied defects in the National Bank System.
  5. Comment upon the following statement: “We are coming to be more interested in promoting the health of nations than the wealth of nations. The aim of political economy is humanistic.”
  6. Using your economic knowledge, supplemented by conversation with a man of affairs, give an estimate of the present financial and business situation.
  7. What are the theoretical foundations and practical proposals of socialism?
  8. What advantage have you gained from studying political economy?

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
POLITICAL ECONOMY II
[Statistical methods]

February 2, 1920, 2 – 5 P.M.

  1. Explain how a “refined” death rate is calculated. Illustrate.
  2. What kinds of questions can not properly be asked in taking a census?
  3. Define “average” and “measure of dispersion.”
  4. Discuss the significance of different averages.
  5. Calculate Pearson’s coefficient of correlation, the probable error, and the ratio of variation for the following:

X

 Y
1

2

2

5

3

3

4

 8
5

7
  1. Define an index number.
  2. Discuss the relative advantages of the “aggregate” and the “relative” methods of computing index numbers.
  3. Under what conditions is “weighting” necessary?

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
POLITICAL ECONOMY II
[Money and banking]

TUESDAY June 1, 1920, 2 – 5 P.M.

  1. Describe the various forms of money in use in the United States.
  2. What are the essential features of a system of bimetallism? Explain the advantages and disadvantages of such a system.
  3. Give a brief history of the greenbacks.
  4. What is a bill of exchange? An acceptance? A promissory note? What are the advantages of trade acceptances?
  5. What are the principal ways in which deposits originate in commercial banks? Explain the connection between loans and deposits.
  6. Describe the defects of the old national banking system.
  7. Outline the organization of the Federal Reserve System.
  8. Explain the quantity theory of money, showing the effect of both money and deposits on prices.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
POLITICAL ECONOMY IV
[Labor problems]

February 3, 1920, 2 – 5 P.M.

  1. Did trade unionism in England originate in the gilds? Did the American labor movement grow out of gild organizations? Give reasons for your answer.
  2. How did the Industrial Revolution affect British working-men?
  3. Discuss the Combination Acts. Who was Francis Place and what part did he play in the labor movement?
  4. What facts as to the Knights of Labor are indicated by the motto “an injury to one is the concern of all”?
  5. Discuss the closed shop.
  6. Is there any justification for the policy of restriction of output as employed by unions? By employers?
  7. What are the chief causes of strikes? How have unions affected the causes of strikes?
  8. What did you learn from the steel strike and the coal strike?

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
POLITICAL ECONOMY IV
[Corporation finance]

June 2, 1920, 2 – 5 P.M.

  1. Discuss the relative advantages of the various legal forms of the business unit.
  2. Trace briefly the history of the corporation.
  3. Define “preferred stock” and describe the varieties of such stock.
  4. Why are ordinary business corporations frequently over-capitalized? Is this justifiable?
  5. State the principles of capitalization adopted by public service commissions.
  6. Explain the difference between “treasury stock” and “authorized but not issued” stock.
  7. Discuss the legal relations of the persons participating in a syndicate.
  8. How are corporate securities usually marketed? Why?
  9. Explain and discuss the principle of “trading on the equity” as applied in the capitalization of corporations.
  10. Under what conditions would the issue of common stock only be desirable?

Source: Johns Hopkins University. The Ferdinand Hamburger, Jr. Archives, Eisenhower Library. Department of Political Economy, Series 5/6. Box: 6/1. Folder: Department of Political Economy, Exams, 1907-1924.

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Image Sources: Johns Hopkins University graphic and pictorial collection.

George Ernest Barnett (1873-1938), ca 52 years of age
William Oswald Weyforth (1889-1983), ca 36 years of age
John Broadus Mitchell (1892-1988), ca 30 years of age

 

 

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Suggested Reading Syllabus

Harvard. Graduate core economic theory, Syllabus and Exams. Chamberlin, 1941-42.

 

Reading assignments in the first year core economic theory course taught by Edward Chamberlin at Harvard University in 1941-42 included some of the golden ‘oldies of David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, John Elliott Cairnes, John Bates Clark, and Alfred Marshall. Works by Joan Robinson, John Hicks and, of course, Chamberlin himself provided modern accents to the economic theory taught in the course.

Edward Chamberlin’s syllabus and final year-end exam for his 1938-39 version of core economic theory were posted earlier as have been the syllabus and both semester final exams for 1946-47.

___________________________

Economic Theory.
Edward Hastings Chamberlin

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 101. Professor Chamberlin. – Economic Theory.

Total 53: 9 Graduates, 7 Radcliffe, 8 School of Public Administration.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1941-42, p. 63.

___________________________

Course Description

[Economics] 101. – Economic Theory.

This course aims to provide a general background in economic theory. Leading problems in value and distribution will be discussed with some reference to particular writers and schools of thought, but with the main objective of training the student in economic analysis. Active participation in the class discussions is expected.

Source: Identical descriptions in the Division of History, Government, and Economics announcements for 1940-41 and 1942-43.

___________________________

Economics 101

1941-42

First Semester

I.     Mill – Principles, Book II, chapter 4; Book III, chapters 1, 2.

Chamberlin – Monopolistic Competition, chapters 1, 2.

Mill – Principles, Book III, chapters 3, 5, 6.

Marshall – Principles, pp. 348-50; p. 806 note.

Mill – Principles, Book III, chapter 4.

Suggested Reading:

Introduction to the Ashley ed. of Mill, or

Mill’s Autobiography

Ricardo – Political Economy (Gonner edition), chapter 1.

II.   Boehm-Bawerk – Positive Theory of Capital, Books III, IV.

Marshall – Principles, Appendix I.

Wicksell – Lectures on Political Economy, chapter 1.

Suggested Reading:

Jevons – Theory of Political Economy, chapters 3, 4.

Phelps-Brown– The Framework of the Pricing System, chapter 2.

III.  Hicks – Value and Capital, chapters 1, 2.

IV. Marshall – Principles, Book V, chapters 1-5; Book IV, chapter 13; Book V, chapters 8, 9, 10, 12; Appendix H.

Knight, F. H. – “Cost of Production and Price over Long and Short Periods”, Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 29, p. 304 (1921). (Reprinted in Knight, The Ethics of Competition and Other Essays, Chapter 8).

Viner – “Cost Curves and Supply Curves,” Zeitschrift für Nationalökonomie, 1931.

Chamberlin – Monopolistic Competition, Appendix B.

Suggested Reading:

Additional reading in Marshall.

Keynes – “Alfred Marshall” – Economic Journal, September 1924. (Also in Keynes, Essays in Biography.)

Sraffa – “The Laws of Returns under Competitive Conditions,” Economic Journal, Vol. 36, p. 535 (1926).

Taussig, F. W. –  “Price Fixing as Seen by a Price Fixer,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 33, p. 205.

V.  Chamberlin – Monopolistic Competition, chapter 3.

Abramovitz – “Monopolistic Selling in a Changing Economy”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 52, p. 191 (1938).

Suggested Reading:

Zeuthen – Problems of Monopoly, chapter 2.

Monopolistic Competition, Appendix A.Problems of Monopoly and Economic Warfare

VI.   Robinson – Imperfect Competition, Introduction, and chapters 1,2,3.

Chamberlin – Monopolistic Competition, chapters 4, 5; Appendices D, E.

Chamberlin – “Monopolistic or Imperfect Competition?”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, August, 1937.

Sweezy, P. M. – “On the Definition of Monopoly”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 51, p. 362 (1937)

Cassels, J. M. – “Excess Capacity and Monopolistic Competition”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 51, p. 426. (1937)

Suggested Reading:

Kaldor – “Professor Chamberlin on Monopolistic and Imperfect Competition”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, May, 1938: and Reply.

Robinson – Imperfect Competition, chapters 4, 5, 6, 7.

VII. Chamberlin – Monopolistic Competition, Appendix C.

Alsberg, C. L. – “Economic Aspects of Adulteration and Imitation”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 46, p. 1 (1931).

Suggested Reading:

Hotelling, H. “Stability in Competition”, Economic Journal, Vol. 39, p. 41 (1929)

Lerner, A. P. and Singer, H.W. – “Some Notes on Duopoly and Spatial Competition”, Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 45, p. 145 (1937)

Burns, A.R. – The Decline of Competition, chapter VIII, “Non-Price Competition”.

 

Source:  Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, Course Outlines and ReadingLists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 2, Folder, “Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1941-42.”

___________________________

1941-42
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 101
Mid-year examination, 1942.

Answer question 2 and any five of the others (six in all).

  1. What parts of Mill’s theory of value would be acceptable and what parts not acceptable to economic theory today?
  2. Answer either (a) or (b).
    1. What does utility theory contribute to our understanding of the economic process, and how useful do you think it is to the economist of 1942? Answer the same question for the indifference curve analysis.
    2. Discuss the following proposition: “An individual will maximize his total satisfaction or utility, if the marginal utilities of all commodities are equalized.”
  3. Distinguish between a supply curve and a cost curve. Under what conditions is it possible for either or both to fall from left to right? What are the consequences of such a phenomenon?
  4. Write a critical appraisal of Professor Viner’s article “Cost Curves and Supply Curves,” confining yourself to the subjects which seem to you most important. Compare his views where possible with those of other writers and with your own.
  5. What types of industries, if any, would you expect to find operating under conditions of increasing cost? Constant cost? Decreasing cost? Compare your own views with those of other writers with whom you are familiar.
  6. Discuss the difficulties involved in constructing a demand curve for the product of an individual firm where oligopolistic influences are important.
  7. What has monopolistic competition in common with pure competition? With monopoly? Discuss fully.
  8. Answer either (a) or (b).
    1. Discuss any aspect of the experimental market problem worked out in class which you think interesting or important.
    2. “With respect to quality there appears to be a sort of ‘Gresham’s Law’ for commodities: the inferior products tend to drive the better ones from the market.” Discuss.

Source:  Harvard University Archives.  Harvard University, Mid-year examinations 1852-1943. Box 15, Papers Printed for Mid-Year Examinations: History, History of Religions,…, Economics, …, Military Science, Naval Science. January-February, 1942.

___________________________

Economics 101

1941-42

Second Semester

I.    Selling Costs:

Monopolistic Competition, Chapters 6, 7.

Braithwaite, Dorothea, “The Economic Effects of Advertisement,” Economic Journal, Vol. 38, p. 16 (1928). Reprinted as Chapter VII in Braithwaite and Dobbs, the Distribution of Consumable Goods.

II.   Distribution – General:

Marshall, Principles, Book VI, Chapters 1-5.

Clark, J. B., Distribution of Wealth, Chapter 8.

Knight, Risk, Uncertainty and Profit, Chapter 4.

Chamberlin, Monopolistic Competition, Chapter 8.

Suggested Reading:

Garver & Hansen, Principles, Chapter 5.

Kahn, “Some Notes on Ideal Output” (last half) Economic Journal.

III. Wages:

Hicks, Theory of Wages, Chapters 1-7; 9; 10, section 1; 11, section 5.

Taussig, Principles, 3rd revised edition Chapter 47.

Robertson, Economic Fragments, Chapter on “Wage Grumbles.”

Suggested Reading:

Machlup,  “The Common Sense of Elasticity of Substitution,” Review of Economic Studies, Vol. II, Page 202.

Cairnes, Leading Principles, Chapter 3.

IV.  Interest:

Böhm-Bawerk, Positive Theory, Book I, chapter 2; Book II; Book V; Book VI, chapters 5, 6, 7; Book VII, chapters 1, 2, 3.

Fisher, Theory of Interest, pp. 473-85.

Marshall, Principles, Book IV, chapter 7; Book VI, chapter 1, sections 8, 9, 10, chapter 2, section 4, chapter 6.

Wicksell, Lectures, Vol. I, pages 144-171, 185-195, 207-218.

Clark, J. B., Distribution of Wealth, chapters 9, 20.

Schumpeter, Theory of Economic Development, chapters 1-5.

V.    Rent:

Ricardo, Chapter 2.

Marshall, Book V, chapters 8, 9, 10, 11.

Robinson, Imperfect Competition, chapters 8, 9.

VI.   Profits:

Marshall, Book VI, chapter 5, section 7; chapters 7, 8.

Taussig, Principles, 3rd revised edition, Vol. II, chapter 50, section 1.

Henderson, Supply & Demand, chapter 7.

Chamberlin, Monopolistic Competition, chapter 5, section 6; chapter 7, section 6; Appendices D, E.

Schumpeter, (see under Interest)

Berle and Means, The Modern Corporation, Book IV.

Gordon, R.A., “Enterprise, Profits and the Modern Corporation,” in “Explorations in Economics,” p. 306.

Suggested Reading:

Knight, Risk, Uncertainty and Profit.

VII. General:

Knight, The Ethics of Competition, Essay No. 11: “Economic Theory and Nationalism.”

 

Source:  Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, Course Outlines and Reading Lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 2, Folder, “Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1941-42.”

___________________________

1941-42
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 101
Final examination, 1942.

Write on FIVE questions altogether, four from Part A and one from Part B. Be careful to divide your time about evenly between the questions.

A
Write on FOUR questions from this group.

  1. What conflicts and harmonies of interest do you find between labor and the rest of society in the matter of wages, technical progress and efficiency? Discuss the issues involved with some reference to the economic theory of the subject.
  2. Describe and contrast the several most important types of interest theory which you have found in your reading, identifying them where possible with particular writers. State and defend your own theory of interest.
  3. The rent of land has been variously described as a scarcity return, a differential return, a surplus and a monopoly income. Discuss the issues presented by each of these terms and give your own conclusions.
  4. To what extent, if at all, do you believe it possible to explain profits in terms of the marginal productivity of the entrepreneurial factor? Discuss with some reference to issues raised in your reading on the subject of profits.
  5. What various meanings have been or may be given to the concept of “marginal productivity,” and under what conditions would each meaning be relevant? Discuss the circumstances under which all factors may be remunerated according to their marginal products without deficit or surplus.

B
Write on FOUR questions from this group.

  1. “Both prices and monopoly profits are necessarily increased by the presence of advertising.” Do you agree? Discuss critically.
  2. “From this it will appear that the law of increasing or decreasing economy of large-scale production, while sufficiently distinct from that of increasing or diminishing returns to warrant a difference of name, is yet very much like it.” (From Carver’s Distribution of Wealth) Discuss, giving your own conclusions on this set of issues.
  3. Discuss critically Knight’s essay on “Economic Theory and Nationalism” or any part or phase of it which interested you in particular.

Source:  Harvard University Archives.  Harvard University, Final examinations 1853-2001. Box 6, Papers Printed for Final Examinations: History, History of Religions,…, Economics, …, Military Science, Naval Science. June, 1942.

Image Source: Edward Chamberlin in Harvard Class Album, 1939.

Categories
Funny Business Gender M.I.T. Policy Popular Economics

M.I.T. Washington Post op-ed by Samuelson on Sound Debt Policy, 1963

 

Source: Paul A. Samuelson, “We can have sound debt policy” from the Washington Post, included with Extention of remarks of Hon. Jeffery Cohelan of California in the House of Representatives, Friday, May 31, 1963 in Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates. Volume 109, part 25—Appendix, May 31, 1963, p. A3510

Also found as a mimeographed copy in Harvard University Archives. Papers of Alvin Harvey Hansen, Box 1, Folder “Business Cycles.”

Image Source:  Samuelson Memorial Information Page/Photos from Memorial Service.  Accessed via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

Categories
Bryn Mawr Columbia Economists Gender

Columbia. Economics Ph.D. alumna. Mildred B. Northrop, 1938

 

For this post I have put together a timeline for the life and career of the Columbia University economics Ph.D (1938), Mildred Benedict Northrop. Other than her dissertation (cited below), I could find little of substantive research by her. Nonetheless she did attract an obituary notice by the New York Times (see below) and I was able to find an instance of Congressional testimony given by her in 1948:

United States Senate. Eightieth Congress, Second Session. Extending Authority to Negotiate Trade Agreements. Hearings before the Committee on Finance on H. R. 6566. Washington, D.C.: June 1-5, 1948. [Incidentally Alger Hiss testified at those hearings.]

During the twenty-five years that she was on the faculty at Bryn Mawr College, Northrop taught a broad portfolio of courses that included industrial organization, Keynesian macroeconomics, international economics, comparative economic organization, history of economic thought, and development of underdeveloped areas.

For a backgrounder on women researchers at Bryn Mawr before Mildred Northrop, see:

Mary Ann Dzuback. Women and Social Research at Bryn Mawr College, 1915-40. History of Education Quarterly,  Vol. 33, No. 4, Special Issue on the History of Women and Education (Winter, 1993), pp. 579-608.

___________________

Mildred Benedict Northrop, life and career

1899. July 12. Born in Kansas City, Missouri.

1922. A.B. University of Missouri

From University of Missouri yearbook: 1922 Savitar, p. 55.

1923. A.M. University of Missouri

1923-26. Executive Secretary of the Social Service League, Easton, Pennsylvania

1926-31. Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Economics and Sociology, Hood College

1931-34. Instructor in Economics, Hunter College

1934-35. Fellow of The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C.

1935-38. Division of Research and Statistics, United States Treasury Department

1938. Ph.D., Columbia University. Thesis adviser: James W. Angell

Published Ph.D. dissertation Control Policies of the Reichsbank, 1924-1933 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1938).

1938-39. Lecturer in Economics, Bryn Mawr College

1939-41. Assistant Professor in Economics, Bryn Mawr College

1941. Associate Professor (elect), Bryn Mawr College

War service: chief of export-import branch of the War Production Board; Foreign Economic Administration

1945-46. Adviser to State Department’s Office of Finance and Development Policy

1946-47. Acting Director of the Carola Woerishoffer Graduate Department of Social Economy and Social Research, Bryn Mawr College

1948-49. Professor (elect), Bryn Mawr College

1949-. Professor, Bryn Mawr College

1949-50. Leave of absence.

1963. November 19. Died in Bryn Mawr. According to the coroner’s report (November 20, 1963), the immediate cause of death was pneumonia that was due to burns to over 30% of her body resulting from a fire from smoking in bed.

___________________

Mildred Benedict Northrop, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Associate Professor-elect of Economics.

A.B. University of Missouri 1922 and M.A. 1923; Ph.D. Columbia University 1938. Executive Secretary of the Social Service League, Easton, Pennsylvania, 1923-26; Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Economics and Sociology, Hood College, 1926-31; Instructor in Economics, Hunter College, 1931-34; Fellow of The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., 1934-35; Division of Research and Statistics, United States Treasury Department, 1935-38. Lecturer in Economics, Bryn Mawr College, 1938-39, Assistant Professor, 1939-41 and Associate Professor-elect 1941.

Source: Bryn Mawr College Catalogue and Calendar, 1941-1943, p. 20.

___________________

Northrop’s entry in the AEA Handbook, 1956

NORTHROP, Mildred Benedict, Bryn Mawr Col., Bryn Mawr, Pa. (1942) Bryn Mawr Col. Prof., teach., dept. head, res.; b. 1899; A.B., 1922, M.A., 1923, Missouri; Ph.D., 1938, Columbia. Fields 9ab, 3b, 2c. Doc. Dis. Control policies of the Reichsbank, 1924-33 (Columbia Univ. Press, 1938). Dir. Amer. Men of Sci., III, Dir. Of Amer. Schol.

Source: Handbook of the American Economic Association in American Economic Review, Vol. 47, No. 4 (July, 1956), p. 220.

___________________

Obituary. New York Times.

Dr. Mildred B. Northrop, Economist at Bryn Mawr.

Bryn Mawr, Pa., Nov. 19—Dr. Mildred B. Northrop, chairman of the department of economics at Bryn Mawr College, died today in Bryn Mawr Hospital after a brief illness.

Dr. Northrop joined the Bryn Mawr faculty in 1938. She taught previously at Hood and Hunter Colleges.

She was born in Kansas City, Mo., and was graduated from the University of Missouri in 1922. The following year she earned a master’s degree there. She received her doctorate from Columbia University in 1938.

During World War II, Dr. Northrop was chief of the export-import branch of the War Production Board and an adviser to the Foreign Economic Administration. In 1945 and 1946 she was adviser to the State Department’s Office of Finance and Development Policy.

Dr. Northrop is survived by a brother Eugene S. Northrop, of Darien, Conn., and a sister, Mrs. Robert D. Ayars of Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Source: New York Times (November 20, 1963), p. 43.

Image Source: Bryn Mawr Yearbook 1942.

Categories
Chicago Economists Policy Race Socialism

Chicago. Laughlin’s anti-bank-deposit-insurance talk, 1908

 

There are two things that I have not been able to figure out about the following report of a talk given by the founding head of the University of Chicago’s Department of Political Economy, J. Laurence Laughlin, against the bank-deposit guarantees promised in the 1908 Democratic Party Platform: (1) what was the point of his joke about the black man and the razor and (2) does “Shivers” refer to a person’s name or does it refer to the physical “shivers” of nervous bank depositors? William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic candidate in the Presidential election of 1908, is clearly Laughlin’s target.

Image Source: From the election of 1908.  Davenport, Homer, 1867-1912, “William Jennings Bryan, bank deposits, political cartoon,” Nebraska U, accessed December 16, 2019.

__________________

Shivers Bryan Bank Plank
Chicago University Financial Expert Declares It Chimerical.
Points Out Its Injustice

Guaranty of Deposits Is Described as a Socialistic Scheme.

Prof. J. Laurence Laughlin, head of the department of political economy of the University of Chicago, who is a national authority on monetary matters, took another hard rap yesterday at the democratic plank for the guaranty of bank deposits.

In concluding his statements, which were made in Cobb hall at the university, the economist declared his opinion about the democratic plank was epitomized by the story of a negro who went into a shop to buy a razor.

“The negro,” said Prof. Laughlin, “was asked if he wished a common razor or a safety razor. “

‘No, sah,’ returned the negro, ‘I just want one for social purposes.’ There you have the bank deposits guaranty idea.

“No one,” continued the speaker, “is so senseless to promote an immediate fund to secure all deposits. It is purely chimerical. Immediate redemption in cash is impossible, especially in any serious crisis since there is no ready money.

Would Work in Insane Asylum.

“The 1907 panic would have spread far and wide if this guaranty of deposits had been in effect then. This guaranty would have been a mere bagatelle. The proposal shows mere ignorance in asking absolute security—just as if any one in this world could give absolute security.

“It is just as well to ask a clergyman on becoming a pastor of a church to guarantee that every member of his flock will not tell a lie, be guilty of any misconduct or go to everlasting damnation,

“It is like A robbing B and going up on the hill to rob C so that B could be reimbursed. In this way C would have to pay for all the deviltry in town. Yes; the bank deposits guaranty would work perfectly-in an insane asylum.

Safety in Bank’s Integrity.

“Do these advocates really know what they are talking about? Good banks can’t prevent bad banks from making poor loans. They can’t stop the initial loans. Why, it would be worse than a disease.”

 

Source: Chicago Tribune, 7 October 1908, p. 5.

Image Source:  Caricature of J. Laurence Laughlin in the University of Chicago yearbook, Cap and Gown, 1907.

.

 

 

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Commercial crises and trade cycles, final exams. Andrew, 1903-1908

 

 

A course on commercial and financial crises has been offered at Harvard nearly every year during the first half of the 20th century. The course was first offered by A. Piatt Andrew (Harvard Ph.D., 1900) who taught at Harvard until 1908. He went on to National Monetary Commission fame and later served in the U.S. Congress during the last fifteen years of his life.

Economics in the Rear-view Mirror has a biographical page for A. Piatt Andrew. Also available is the reading list for A. Piatt Andrew’s money course, Economics 8, from 1901-02.

_______________________

Warren Samuels reported on the 1905-06 course “Commercial Crises and Cycles of Trade” (Economics 12b):

Samuels, Warren J.  The Teaching of Business Cycles in 1905-6: Insight into the Development of Macroeconomic Theory. History of Political Economy, vol. 4 (Spring 1972), pp. 140-62.   Based on 177 pages of notes by Harvard senior Robert Lee Hale.

_______________________

Pro-tip: student lecture notes for Andrew’s financial crises course, 1905

Robert Lee Hale Papers at Columbia University Archives.

According to finding aid, the notes are in Box 5, Folder 67 “Lecture notes, Economics 12b, fall 1905”.

_______________________

1902-03

Course as Coming Attraction

It is expected that Professor Taussig will conduct his courses in economics next year. The subject mater of course 8 has been divided into three parts: 8a. on money by Dr. Andrew; 8b on banking by Dr. Sprague; and 12a on international trade and payments by Dr. Sprague. A new half-course has been added on the history and theory of commercial crises by Dr. Andrew. Courses 10 and 11 which were formerly given by Professor Ashley as full courses in alternate years will both be given in 1902-03 as half-courses by Mr. Gay. Course 5 on railways etc. will be given as a half-course. Economics 14 on methods of Social reform will be made a full course; 9 and 9a are combined into a full course on labor and industrial organization and will be given by Professor Ripley who has recently been appointed a full professor in the department.

Source: The Harvard Crimson. Changes in Courses for 1902-03. May 24, 1902.

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Course Enrollment, 1902-03

[Economics] 12b 2hf. Dr. Andrew.— History and Theory of Commercial Crises.

Total 37: 2 Graduates, 9 Seniors, 19 Juniors, 5 Sophomores, 2 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1902-03, p. 68.

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Course Announcement and Description, 1902-03

[Economics] 12b2 hf. History and Theory of Commercial Crises. Half-course (second half-year). Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 9. Dr. Andrew.

Course 12b will be devoted to the study of the more important crises of the past two hundred years. The phenomena of these crises will be described, and the record of events before and after will be examined with the object of disentangling their contributory causes and their consequences. The influence upon commercial fluctuations of the present organization of industry, of government finance, of foreign trade, of the money supply, of speculation, of banking methods, and of other credit institutions will be considered, as well as questions with regard to periodicity, over-production and over-investment. In connection with these subjects attention will be given to the methods actually employed in dealing with crises, and to proposed reforms designed to prevent or relieve them.

Subjects will be assigned for special reports, and these reports will be presented for discussion in class.

Course 12b is open to students who have passed satisfactorily in Course 1.

Source: Harvard University. University Publications, New Series, No. 55. Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Division of History and Political Science comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1902-03, pp. 48-49.

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 12b
Final Examination. 1903.

Omit one question.

  1. “The crisis is practically of nineteenth century origin, and it is an acute malady to which business appears to be increasingly subject.”
    Give your opinion of these statements.
  2. In what respects was the English crisis of 1866 peculiar?
  3. “Commercial crises of the earlier type now belong only to history in England.”
    Discuss this statement and explain the situation to which it refers.
  4. Compare the American crises of 1884 and 1893 as regards antecedent conditions, course of events and consequences.
  5. Describe in their mututal connections the fluctuations in exports and imports of commodities, in gold shipments, and in prices which occur in a normal trade cycle.
    Discuss DeLaveleye’s theory of crises.
  6. (a) How far did Jeveons succeed in proving a relation between crises and agricultural conditions?
    (b) To what extent can a connection be traced in the United States between trade cycles and crop conditions?
    (c) In the case of which crop is the connection closest?
  7. Explain and discuss Professor Laughlin’s theory as to the relations between “normal” and “abnormal” credit and price movements.
  8. Explain and discuss Rodbertus’ theory of crises.
  9. Explain and discuss Professor Carver’s theory of industrial depressions.

Source:  Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 6: Bound volume for 1902-03, Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics,… (June 1903), p. 30.

_______________________

1903-04

Course Enrollment, 1903-04

[Economics] 12b 1hf. Ass’t. Professor Andrew. History and Theory of Commercial Crises.

Total 39: 5 Graduates, 15 Seniors, 10 Juniors, 5 Sophomores, 4 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1903-04, p. 67.

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 12b
Mid-Year Examination. 1904.

Omit one question.

  1. Discuss the merits and limitations of each of the following sorts of statistics as measures of industrial prosperity:—

Bank clearings, wages, cotton, copper, chemicals, iron and steel, railway net earnings, railway gross earnings.

  1. Explain the usual relation during a trade cycle,—
    1. between the number of failures and their liabilities.
    2. between banking and commercial failures.
  2. Explain and show the significance of any general differences between the price fluctuations,
    1. of raw and finished commodities.
    2. of securities and commodities.
  3. Compare industrial, political, and financial conditions in the United States in 1903 with those of 1873, 1883, and 1893.
  4. In what respects have the trade cycles of England differed from those of the United States during the past thirty years?
    What is your opinion is the explanation?
  5. Explain what the British government did to restore confidence in 1793, 1825, 1847, 1857, 1866, 1890?
  6. Upon what occasions within the past twenty years, and by what means, has the American Secretary of the treasury helped to relieve a stringency in the financial centres?
  7. The following are abstracted statements of the New York City clearing house banks.

 

Aug. 5 ‘93
(1)		 Feb. 3, ‘94
(2)		 May 20, ‘99
(3)		 May 23, ‘03
(4)
Loans 409 420 763 923
Deposits 373 552 902 914
Capital 129 133 134 224
Circulation 6 13 16 44
Reserve 79 250 260 238

Compare 1 with 2, and 3 with 4, explaining in each case the change in the relations (a) between loans and deposits (b) between deposits and reserve.

  1. Explain what in your opinion are remediable defects in the American banking regulations, and the best remedies therefor.
  2. To what extent in your opinion is there periodicity in trade reactions, and to what conditions is it attributable?

 

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, Mid-Years. 1903-04. (HUC 70000.55). Box 7.

_______________________

1904-05

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 12b 1hf. Ass’t. Professor Andrew. Commercial Crises and Cycles of Trade.

Total 41: 2 Graduates, 24 Seniors, 6 Juniors, 6 Sophomores, 3 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1904-05, p. 75.

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 12b
Mid-Year Exam. 1905.

Omit one question.

  1. State briefly the geographical range of the various crises of the 19th
  2. Compare industrial and financial conditions in the United States in 1903 with those of 1873, 1883, and 1893.
  3. Explain Juglar’s theory as to the movements of bank loans and reserve, and state how far it is confirmed by American experience.
  4. What reasons are there for believing that a rise in the value of money will check the production of wealth? And what reasons for believing that it will not do so?
  5. How far in your opinion are trade conditions likely to be affected
    1. by the trust movement,
    2. by stock-exchange regulations like the German bourse law,
    3. by better facilities for storing staple products,
    4. by the maintenance of a large army and navy?
  6. How far in your opinion are trade reactions due to
    1. the waste or destruction of capital,
    2. the excessive creation of capital?
  7. “There are reasons, other than psychological, why an investor’s market must be more unstable than a consumer’s market.” What are they?
  8. Discuss three different methods of making our currency system more responsive to trade needs.
  9. What groups in a community are injured by a crisis? What groups are benefitted?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, Mid-Years. 1904-05. (HUC 70000.55). Box 7.

_______________________

1905-06

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 12b 1hf. Ass’t. Professor Andrew. Commercial Crises and Cycles of Trade.

Total 55: 9 Graduates, 20 Seniors, 20 Juniors, 5 Sophomores, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1905-06, p. 72.

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 12b
Mid-Year Exam. 1906.

  1. Compare as regards recent cycles of trade,—
    1. the number and liabilities of failed firms.
    2. banking and commercial failures.
    3. railway and commercial failures.
  2. To what extent have changes in the clearings of the New York banks registered changes in general business?
  3. Explain Juglar’s theory as to the movements of bank loans and reserves, and state how far it is confirmed by American experience.
  4. Explain what was done by the Bank of England to relieve apprehension in 1825, 1847, 1857, 1866, 1890.
  5. Explain and discuss Rodbertus’ theory of crises.
  6. Upon what occasions within the past thirty-five years and by what means, have the American Secretaries of the Treasury helped to relieve a stringency in the financial centres?
  7. In what ways is business affected by the condition of the crops? Within what limitations? In the case of which crops is the connection closest?
  8. What part does “credit” play in the explanation of crises,—
    1. according to Laughlin,
    2. according to Chevalier,
    3. in your own opinion?
  9. In what ways and to what extent are trade conditions apt to be affected,—
    1. by the increasing gold supply,
    2. by the trust movement,
    3. by increasing armies and navies,
    4. by the present agricultural situation?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, Mid-Years. 1905-06. (HUC 70000.55). Box 7.

_______________________

1906-07

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 12b 1hf. Ass’t. Professor Andrew. Commercial Crises and Cycles of Trade.

Total 26: 4 Graduates, 11 Seniors, 9 Juniors, 2 Sophomores.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1906-07, p. 71.

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 12
Mid-Year Exam. 1907.

  1. “The crisis is practically of nineteenth century origin, and it is an acute malady to which business appears to be increasingly subject.” How far does your study confirm this statement?
  2. Name any occasions in the nineteenth century when crises have occurred either in England or America without occurring in both countries. Explain the variation in conditions as between the two countries in each case.
  3. What seem to you the main causes of the American crisis of 1893? In what respects did the movement which culminated in that year differ from the movement before the panic of 1884?
  4. Show briefly in what respects conditions in America in 1857 and in the years just preceding resembled those of 1907 and the years through which we have just passed? Show also the contrasting conditions.
  5. To what causes were crises attributed by (a) De Laveleye, (b) Rodbertus, (c) Jevons? Explain and criticize their theories.
  6. What contributions to the explanation of crises have you found in reading (a) Walker, (b) Selden, (c) Carver?
  7. What reasons are there for believing that an appreciating standard of value will hamper industry? And what reasons for believing that it will not do so?
  8. Under what circumstances and by what means have the following Secretaries of the Treasury helped to relieve disturbances in the New York money market? (a) Richardson, (b) Fairchild, (c) Gage, (d) Shaw.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, Mid-Years. 1906-07. (HUC 70000.55). Box 7.

_______________________

1907-08

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 12b 1hf. Ass’t. Professor Andrew. Commercial Crises and Cycles of Trade.

Total 62: 1 Graduate, 17 Seniors, 29 Juniors, 13 Sophomores, 2 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1907-08, p. 67.

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 12
Mid-Year Exam. 1908.

  1. When did stock speculation begin in England? Name the principal crises in England of the 18th century.
  2. To what extent have banks in this country suspended payment in successive panics since 1800? To what extent in England? To what extent in France?
  3. Describe the methods of relief pursued by Secretary Cobb in the panic of 1857? By Secretary Boutwell in the panic of 1873? By Secretary Shaw in the stringencies of 1902, 1903, and 1906? By Secretary Cortelyou in the panic of 1907?
  4. In your opinion does the emergence of loans above deposits in the New York banks necessarily betoken a condition of danger? Has it always done so in the past? Why, or why not?
  5. In what ways do crop conditions affect business in the United States? Are any recent changes in their influence to be noted?
  6. Enumerate briefly as many points of resemblance and of contrast as possible between the panics of 1893 and 1907 and their antecedent conditions.
  7. “The farther removed the producer’s goods are from some consumable product and the more remotely their value is derived from that of some consumable product, the more violent the fluctuations in value tend to be?”
    Explain and criticize this statement in its relation to the theory of crises.
  8. Suppose everybody resolved to consume productively only, what would be the result?
  9. What explanations of crises were offered by J. S. Mill? By de Laveleye? By F. A. Walker?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, Mid-Years. 1907-08. (HUC 70000.55). Box 8. Copy also available at Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers 1908-09 (HUC 7000.25), p. 36.

Image Source: A. Piatt Andrew at Red Roof, his home in Gloucester, Massachusetts, 1910.  Hoover Institution Archives. Papers of A. Piatt Andrew.(Box 47, folder 9).

Categories
Exam Questions M.I.T.

M.I.T. General Examination in Advanced Economic Theory. Sept 1962 and May 1963

 

 

Edwin Burmeister received an M.A. from Cornell in September 1962 before going on to M.I.T. to complete his Ph.D. in economics in 1965. His papers at the Duke Economists’ Papers Archive include a folder of advanced economic theory general examinations at M.I.T. (May and September 1962; May 1963). The copy of the May 1962 exam has been transcribed and posted earlier. This post adds the remaining two exams to the collection of artifacts. Pro-tip:  Burmeister’s papers includes his solutions to the September 21, 1962 exam, most likely prepared during his preparation for the May 1963 exam.

I should mention that on none of the three exams is “M.I.T.” actually written. However, since Samuelson and Solow’s names are typed on the copy of the Sept 1962 exam and since Burmeister was a M.I.T. graduate student  for certainly the May 1963 examination (and, like many before and after him, cast an eye on previous exam questions), it is pretty obvious where the exam questions must have come from.

________________________

General Examination
Advanced Economic Theory

Professors P. A. Samuelson and R. M. Solow
Friday, September 21, 1962

Do as many problems as you have time.

  1. Derive the demand function, Xi = Di(I, p1, …, pn) ≥ 0 for a consumer with income I and having positive prices and having respectively preferences satisfying the following utility functions:
      1. U = k1 log X1 + … + kn log Xn
      2. U = mX0 +logX1 [Be careful!]
      3. U = a1X1 + a2X2 + … + anXn [where] ai≥0

Extra credit

      1. U = Min (X1/b1, X2/b2, …, Xn/bn)
  1. A firm owning some fixed and non-transferable “capital” has a production function

Q = f(labor, land) = 20L.5T.25

It sells in a competitive market at $Pq. It rents labor in a competitive factor market at $W and rents land at $R.
What are its demand relations for factors, and its supply relation for output? What are its “profits” or “quasi-rents to owned capital.”
It will suffice for you to write down all the relations that define these desired functions and describe how they could be solved. (In other words, you don’t have to do the explicit solving.)

  1. In a Hicksian general equilibrium model all income effects turn out to be negligible. Comment decisively on its

(a) Property of dynamic stability (or possible instability)
(b) Property of imperfect stability (or possible instability)
(c) Property of perfect stability (or possible instability)

  1. Let H(X,y) be a function of non-negative vectors X(of dimension m) and y (of dimension n). Define X*, y* as a saddle point of H if

H(X*,y) ≥ H(X*,y*) ≥H(X,y*)

For all non-negative (X,y).
Prove that X* and y* are optimal vectors for a pair of dual linear programs if and only if they provide a saddle point for the function

H(X,y) = C’X+b’y – y’AX.

Show that a simple Leontief model is capable of producing any positive vector final demands (given enough labor) if and only if (I-A)-1 is non-negative.

  1. Consider the von-Neumann model with 3 activities and 4 commodities and with input matrix

\text{A}=\left[ \begin{matrix} 0 & 1 & 0 \\ 1 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 1 \\ 0 & 1 & 0 \\ \end{matrix} \right] and output matrix \text{B}=\left[ \begin{matrix} 1 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 1 \\ 0 & 2 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 1 \\ \end{matrix} \right]

Find the optimal activity and price vectors in the von-Neumann sense, and the associated expansion rate.

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General Examination in Advanced Economic Theory: May 1963

Answer any 4 questions.

  1. Suppose all of the N people in a market have identical indifference maps, that are homothetic (i.e., with unitary income elasticities everywhere). Let each jth man have his endowment

\left( \bar{Q}_{1}^{j},\bar{Q}_{2}^{j},\ldots ,\bar{Q}_{r}^{j} \right)

      1. Show that the final equilibrium of exchange is quite independent of the distribution among men of the fixed totals

    \begin{array}{l}\bar{Q}_{1}^{1}+\bar{Q}_{1}^{2}+\ldots +\bar{Q}_{1}^{N}={{A}_{1}}\\...................................\\\bar{Q}_{r}^{1}+\bar{Q}_{r}^{2}+\ldots +\bar{Q}_{r}^{N}={{A}_{r}}\end{array}

    1. Show that the equilibrium prices can be found by treating any man as the single Robinson-Crusoe living under autarky.
    2. What can you, therefore, state about the i) Imperfect, ii) Perfect, and iii) Dynamic stability of the equilibrium?
  2. A Kaldor-Goodwin model defines[sic]
    \text{a}\frac{\text{dK}}{\text{dt}}=\beta \text{Y}-\text{K, }\left( \text{a,b,}\beta \right)>0
    \text{b}\frac{\text{dY}}{\text{dt}}=\frac{\text{dK}}{\text{dt}}-\text{S}\left( \text{Y} \right)
    (i) Explain the meaning of each equation. (ii) Give an equation for its stationary equilibrium solution. (iii) What does its local stability and oscillation depend on? (iv) What shape for the only arbitrary function will give rise to unique-amplitude oscillation?
  3. In Mitopia
    \text{C}+\frac{\text{dK}}{\text{dt}}=\sqrt{\text{KL}}\text{ and L = }{{\text{L}}_{0}}{{\text{e}}^{\text{gt}}}.
    How must K(t) grow if C/L, per capita consumption, is to remain at a maximum constant level? What will then be the interest rate, and the relative share of labor?
  4. A machine with a length of life T costs $f(T). The machine is known with certainty to yield a net income stream of $a per year steadily throughout its lifetime. Find the equation determining the optimal length of life of a machine under each of the following assumptions.
    1. The instantaneous rate of interest in a perfect capital market is r; the length of life is chosen to maximize the present value of net cash flow (including initial cost).
    2. The interest rate r is used to discount net income, and durability is chosen to maximize the capital value of a new machine per dollar of initial cost.
    3. The internal rate of return (i.e. the discount rate that equates capital value and initial cost) is maximized.

Suppose that in cases (a) and (b) the interest rate is such that the capital value of the machine equals its initial cost. Show that all three solutions then coincide. Which is the “right” way to look at the problem?

  1. In a Leontief system with n commodities and one primary factor, labor, let Pi be the money price of commodity i, P0 the money wage, aoi the direct labor input per unit output of commodity i, Xi the output of commodity i, and Ci the final demand for commodity i. Show that the increase in Pj/P0 resulting from a unit increase in a0i equals the increase in Xi needed for a unit increase in Cj.
  2. Consider an individual whose life is divided into two periods, Present and Future. He is endowed with some physical good in each period.
    1. Show how to construct a supply curve relating the amount of saving he will do in the Present as a function of the rate of interest.
    2. Show that in a society of identical individuals with no time preference, the equilibrium rate of interest is zero if corresponding to each individual with endowment X in the Present and Y in the Future, there is another individual with endowment Y in the Present and X in the Future.

 

Source: Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Economists’ Papers Archive. Edwin Burmeister papers. Box 23, (unlabeled) Folder.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Final exams for international payments and specie flows. Dunbar and Meyer, 1894,1901

 

At Harvard around the turn of the twentieth century, international economics was taught as a sequence of two semester courses—one on the subject of trade and tariffs and one on payments and international financial flows, especially specie flows. This post provides enrollment data and final exam questions for the international payments course taught, respectively, by Charles Dunbar and later by Hugo Richard Meyer.

 

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Course enrollments

1893-94

[Economics] 122. Professor Dunbar.—International Payments and the Flow of the Precious Metals. 3 hours. 2d half-year.

Total 38: 12 Graduates, 18 Seniors, 7 Juniors, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1893-1894, p. 62.

[Not offered 1894-95; 1895-96]

1896-97

[Economics] 122. Professor Dunbar and Mr. Meyer.—International Payments and the Flow of the Precious Metals. Hf. 3 hours. 2d half-year.

Total 20: 9 Graduates, 2 Seniors, 6 Juniors, 3 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1896-1897, p. 66.

[Not offered 1897-1898; 1898-1899; 1899-1900]

1900-01

[Economics] 12a1 hf. Mr. Meyer.—International Payments and the Flow of the Precious Metals.

Total 16: 2 Graduates, 9 Seniors, 4 Juniors, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1900-1901, p. 64.

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1893-94
ECONOMICS 122.

  1. Goschen says that while a gold currency existed on both sides of the Atlantic the actual par of exchange between New York and London was about 109. What is the explanation of this method of stating the point of equilibrium?
  2. Is Clare justified in making the general statement that “the gold-points mark the highest level to which an exchange may rise, and the lowest to which it may fall?”
  3. What effect would the current rate of interest (as e.g. in a tight money market, either in the drawing or in the accepting country,) have on the rates for sixty-day bills as compared with cash bills?
  4. Clare makes the remark that “as the rate of exchange between two countries…must be fixed by the one who draws and negotiates the bill, it follows that the exchanges between England and most other countries are controlled from the other side, and that we in London have scarcely part or say in the matter.” Is the rate then a matter of indifference to those in London?
  5. Why is it that in certain trades bills are drawn chiefly, or even exclusively, in one direction, as g. by New York on London and not vice versa; and how is this practice made to answer the purpose of settling payments, which have to be made in one direction as well as the other?
  6. Goschen says that the primary cause which makes England the great banking centre of the world is “the stupendous and never-ceasing exports of England, which have for their effect that every country I the world, being in constant receipt of English manufactures, is under the necessity of making remittances to pay for them, either in bullion, in produce, or in bills.”
    Compare this statement with the fact that for ten years past the imports of merchandise into England have averaged about £400,000,000 annually, and the exports from England have averaged a little under £300,000,000.
  7. Suppose the exportation of specie from the United States to be prohibited (or, as has sometimes been suggested, to be slightly hindered,) what would be the effect on rates of exchange, and on prices of goods, either domestic or foreign? Would the country be a loser or not? [See Ricardo (McCulloch’s ed.) p. 139.]
  8. State Mr. Cairnes’s general doctrine as to the movement of prices which determines the normal flow of new supplies of gold from one country to another in the process of distribution over the commercial world.
  9. Cairnes argues that, as the effect of the cheapening of gold, “each country will endure a loss;” but that in particular cases “the primary loss may…be compensated, or even converted into a positive gain.” State and discuss the reasoning on which this proposition rests.
  10. Say, in his Report on the Indemnity, says:—
    La France a, en réalité, (1) fait passer à l’étranger le plus de capitaux possible, en prenant tous les changes qu’elle pouvait acquérir sur quelque pays que ce fût, et (2) a ensuite dirigé sur l’Allemagne tout ce qu’elle avait approvisionné ailleurs.

    1. What reason was there why France should prefer the course described in (1) rather than a direct transfer to Germany?
    2. What movements of trade or capital, of any sort, made the course described in (1) possible or easy?
    3. What movements of the same nature made (2) possible, or enable Germany to absorb the capital thus turned towards her?

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

  1. On either of the following topics, give an orderly and concise statement, as complete as you can make it in thirty minutes:—
    1. Sidgwick’s criticisms on Mill’s doctrine of international trade and their validity.
    2. The supply and distribution of the new gold from the United States and Australia, 1858-70.
    3. The action of the new gold in the banking countries.
    4. The absorption of new gold by the currency of France and the foreign trade of that country.
    5. The reasons for the varying ability of India to absorb silver?

Source:  Harvard University Archives. Final examinations, 1853-2001. Box 2, Papers set for Final Examinations in Philosophy, History, Government and Law, Economics, Fine Arts, and Music in Harvard College, June 1894, pp. 44-46.

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1900-01
ECONOMICS 12a1.
Mid-Year. 1901.

Observe strictly the order in which the questions are arranged.

  1. Sidgwick’s criticisms on Mill’s doctrine of international trade and their validity.
  2. What temporary changes in the general level of prices in this country should you expect to see, as the result of a large permanent withdrawal of foreign capital? What ultimate change of prices should you expect?
  3. Suppose the exportation of specie from the United States to be prohibited (or, as has sometimes been suggested, to be slightly hindered), what would be the effect on rates of exchange, and on prices of goods, either domestic or foreign? Would the country be a loser or not? [See Ricardo (McCulloch’s ed.), page 139.]
  4. The conditions which led to the flow of gold to the United States in the fiscal years 1880 and 1881?
  5. What economic conditions or events tended to make the year 1890 a turning point both in domestic and in international finance?

Alternative:

The reasons for the return flow from Europe of American securities in the years 1890-1900?

  1. What sort of wealth did France actually sacrifice in paying the indemnity? What was the process?
  2. Is Mr. Clare justified in making the general statement that “the gold-points mark the highest level to which an exchange may rise, and the lowest to which it may fall”?
  3. Why is it that certain trades bills are drawn chiefly, or even exclusively, in one direction, e.g. by New York on London and not vice versa; and how is this practice made to answer the purpose of settling payments which have to be made in one direction?

Alternative:

Why has England become the natural clearing-house for the world?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, Mid-Years: 1900-1901 (HUC 7000.55).

Image source: Harvard Gate, ca. 1899. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540.