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United States. Courses of Study of Political Economy. 1876 and 1892-93.

 

The first article in the inaugural issue of The Journal of Political Economy, “Courses of Study in Political Economy in the United States in 1876 and in 1892-93,” was written by the founding head of the University of Chicago’s department of political economy, J. Laurence Laughlin. This post provides Laughlin’s appendix that provided information about economics courses taught in 65 colleges/universities in the United States during the last quarter of the 19th century. The bottom line of the table is that “aggregate hours of instruction in 1892-3 [were] more than six times the hours of instruction given in 1876”.

__________________________

“How little Political Economy and Finance were taught only fifteen years ago, as compared with the teaching of to-day, must be surprising even to those who have lived and taught in the subject during that period…. At the close of the war courses of economic study had practically no existence in the university curriculum; in short, the studious pursuit of economics in our universities is scarcely twenty years old. These considerations alone might be reasons why economic teaching has not yet been able to color the thinking of our more than sixty millions of people. But about the close of the first century of our national existence it may be said that the study of Political Economy entered upon a new and striking development. This is certainly the marked characteristic of the study of Political Economy in the last fifteen years. How great this has been may be seen from the tables giving the courses of study, respectively, in about 60 institutions in the year 1876 and in 1892-3. (See Appendix I.) The aggregate hours of instruction in 1892-3 are more than six times the hours of instruction given in 1876.” [Laughlin, p. 4]

__________________________

Courses of Study in Political Economy in the United States in 1876 and in 1892-93.

Note: Returns could not be obtained from Johns Hopkins University, Amherst College, and some other institutions.

Institution.

Description of Courses.

1876.

1892-3.

No. hours per week.

 No. weeks in year. No. hours per week.

No. weeks in year.
University of Alabama.

Text Book and Lectures, Senior Year

Finance and Taxation

—

—

 —

—

 4

2

36

36
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 216
Boston University. Principles of Political Economy — — 3 20
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 60
Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine.

Elementary (Required)

Advanced (Elective)

5

—

 14

—

 4

4

12

10
[Total hours of instruction per year] 70 88
Brown University, Providence, R. I.

Elementary

History of Econ. Thought

Advanced Course

[2nd] Advanced Course

Seminary of History, Pol. Sci., and Pol. Econ.

2½

—

—

—

—

 16-17

—

—

—

—

 3

3

3

3

2

33-34

11-12

11

11

23
[Total hours of instruction per year] 40-42½ 242-250
University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. 1.     Introductory Political Economy

2.     Descriptive Political Economy

3.     Advanced Political Economy

4.     Industrial and Economic History

5.     Scope and Method

6.     History of Political Economy

7.     Unsettled Problems

8.     Socialism

9.     Social Economics

10.   Practical Economics

11.   Statistics

12.   Railway Transportation

13.   Tariff History of U.S.

14.   Financial History of U.S.

15.   Taxation

16.   Public Debts

17.   Seminary

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 —

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 5

4

5

4

4

5

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

12

12

12

24

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

36
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 996
Colby University, Waterville, Maine.

Elementary [1st]

Elementary [2nd]

Theoretical

Historical

5

—

—

—

 7

—

—

—

 2

2

4

4

13

10

13

10
[Total hours of instruction per year] 35 138
Columbia College (School of Political Science, New York City. 1.     Principles of Political Economy (Element.)

2.     Historical Practical Political Economy (Advanced)

3.     History of Economic Theory (Advanced)

4.     Public Finance (Adv.)

5.     Railroad Problems (Adv.)

6.     Finan. History of U.S. (Adv.)

7.     Tariff History of U.S. (Adv.)

8.     Science of Statistics (Adv.)

9.     Communism and Socialism (Adv.)

10.   Taxation and Distribution (Adv.)

11.   Seminarium in Political Economy (Element.)

12.   Seminarium in Public Finance and Economy (Adv.)

13.   Law of Taxation (Adv.)

3 and 5, 6 and 7, 8 and 9
given in alternate years.

2

 

—

—

 

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 

—

—

 17

 

—

—

 

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 

—

—

 2

 

3

2

 

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

 

 

2

2

17

 

34

34

 

34

25

34

17

34

34

17

34

 

34

17
[Total hours of instruction per year] 34 764
Columbian University, Washington, D.C. Elements of Political Economy — — 5 8
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 40
Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. 1.     Elementary Political Economy

2.     Advanced Political Economy

3.     Finance

4.     Financial History

5.     Railroad Problems

6.     Currency and Banking

7.     Economic History

8.     Statistics

2

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 11

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 3

2

2

2

2

2

2

1

34

34

34

13

11

10

34

34
[Total hours of instruction per year] 22 408
Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H. 1.     Elementary

2.     Advanced

3.     Advanced Finance and Tariff

6

—

—

 6

—

—

 6

6

6

6 2/3

4 1/6

3 1/3
[Total hours of instruction per year] 36 85
University of Denver, Col. 1.     Ely’s Introduction

2.     Ingram’s History

3.     Gilman’s Profit-Sharing

4.     Ely, Labor Movement in America

5.     Kirkup’s and Rae’s Socialism

6.     Finance and Taxation

7.     International Commerce

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 —

—

—

—

—

—

—

 2

1

1

2

2

4

2

15

5

5

5

5

5

5
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 90
DePauw University, Greencastle, Ind.

Economics (Elementary)

Seminarium (Advanced)

4

—

12

—

4

2

18

36
[Total hours of instruction per year] 48 144
Drury College, Springfield, Mo. Elementary Course 5 6 5 12
[Total hours of instruction per year] 30 60
Emory College, Oxford, Ga. Jevons’ Text, and Lectures. — — 5 12
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 60
Franklin and Marshall College. Political Economy, (Walker’s) 2 15 2 20
[Total hours of instruction per year] 30 40
Georgetown College, Ky. 1.     General Economics

2.     Special Topics

5

—

 15

—

 3

3

 20

20
[Total hours of instruction per year] 75 120
Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. 1.     Introductory

2.     Theory (Advanced)

3.     Economic History from 1763

4.     Railway Transportation

5.     Tariff History of U.S.

6.     Taxation and Public Debts

7.     Financial Hist. of U.S.

8.     Condition of Workingmen

9.     Economic Hist. to 1763

10.   History of Theory to Adam Smith

Seminary

3

3

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 30

30

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 3

3

3

3

2

3

2

3

3

2

2

30

30

30

15

15

30

15

30

30

15

30
[Total hours of instruction per year] 180 735
Haverford College, Pa. Economic Theory — — 2 40
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 80
Howard University, Washington, D. C. Elementary 5 10 5 10
[Total hours of instruction per year] 50 50
Illinois College and Whipple Academy, Jacksonville, Ill. Newcomb’s Polit. Economy, Seniors — — 5 15
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 75
University of Illinois, Champaign, Ill. Senior Class 5 11 5 11
[Total hours of instruction per year] 55 55
Iowa College, Grinnell, Iowa.

Political Economy

Taxation

Railroad Problems

Socialism

5

—

—

—

 10

—

—

—

 3

3

3

3

37

14

12

11
[Total hours of instruction per year] 50 222
State University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.

Elements of Economics

Currency and Banking

Industrial Revolutions of 18th Century

Recent Econ. History and Theory

Railroads, Pub. Regulation of

Seminary in Polit. Econ.

5

—

—

 

—

—

—

 14

—

—

 

—

—

—

 5

5

2

 

2

2

1

 14

11

14

 

11

10

35
[Total hours of instruction per year] 70 230
Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kan. Elementary, 4th year 5 8 5 11
[Total hours of instruction per year] 40 55
Kansas State University, Lawrence, Kansas. 1.     Elements of Political Economy

2.     Applied Economics

3.     Statistics

4.     Land Tenures

5.     Finance

5

—

—

—

—

 19

—

—

—

—

 5

3

2

2

2

 19

19

19

19

19
[Total hours of instruction per year] 95 266
Lake Forest University, Lake Forest, Ill. 1.     Elementary

2.     Advanced

3

—

 11

—

 3

3

 16

13
[Total hours of instruction per year] 33 87
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass. 1.     Political Economy, Elem., Junior Year

2.     Financial Hist. of U.S., Jun. and Sen. Year

3.     Taxation, Junior and Senior Year

4.     History of Commerce

5.     History of Industry, Junior and Senior Year.

6.     Socialism, etc. (Option), Jun. and Sen. Year

7.     History of Economic Theory (Opt.), Senior

8.     Statistics and Graphic Methods, Junior

9.     Statistics and Sociology (Option) Senior

2

—

 

—

—

—

 

—

—

 

—

—

 15

—

 

—

—

—

 

—

—

 

—

—

 3

3

 

3

3

—

 

3

2

 

2

3

 15

15

 

15

15

—

 

15

15

 

15

15
[Total hours of instruction per year] 30 375
Michigan Agricultural College. Primary Course — — 5 12
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 60
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. 1.     Elements of Political Economy

2.     Elements of Political Economy

3.     Hist. Devel. of Industr. Society

4.     Finance

5.     Problems in Pol. Econ

6.     Transportation Problem

7.     Land Tenure and Agrarian Movements

8.     Socialism and Communism

9.     Currency and Banking

10.   Tariff History of U.S.

11.   Indust. and Comm. Develop. of U.S.

12.   History of Pol. Econ.

13.   Statistics

15.   Economic Thought

16.   Labor and Monopoly Problems

17.   Seminary in Finance

18.   Seminary in Economics

20.   Social Philosophy with Economic Relations

21.   Current Econ. Legislation and Literature

2½

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 

—

 18

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 

—

 3

4

3

4

4

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

1

1

1

2

2

1

 

2

18

18

18

18

18

18

18

18

18

18

18

18

18

18

18

18

18

18

 

18
[Total hours of instruction per year] 45 756
Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont. 1.     Elementary (Junior Class)

2.     Advanced (Senior Class)

3.     Finance (Senior Class)

4.     Seminary

4

4

—

—

 10

10

—

—

 3

2

2

1

 35

21

14

21
[Total hours of instruction per year] 80 196
University of Minnesota. 1.     Elementary

2.     Advanced

3.     Am. Pub. Economy

4.     Undergraduate Seminary

5.     Graduate Seminary

5

—

—

—

—

 13

—

—

—

—

 4

4

4

2

1

 13

13

10

23

36
[Total hours of instruction per year] 65 226
University of Mississippi, University, Miss. Advanced — — 5 30
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 150
Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, Mass.

Polit. Econ. (General)

Polit. Econ. Seminary

—

—

 —

—

 4

2

 12

12
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 72
College of New Jersey at Princeton.

Pol. Econ. (Elem., Elective)

Pol. Econ. (Elem., Required)

Finance (Elective)

Historics—Econ. Semin.

2

—

—

—

 13

—

—

—

 —

2

2

2

 —

16

16

15
[Total hours of instruction per year] 26 94
College of the City of New York. — — — 16
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 48*
New Hampshire College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Hanover, N. H. Elementary—Perry or Walker 4 10-12 5 10
[Total hours of instruction per year] 48 50
Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio. 1.     Elementary Polit. Econ.

2.     Advanced Polit. Econ.

3.     Finance

4.     History Econ. Thought

5.     Economic and Social Problems

6.     “Money,” etc.

5

—

—

—

—

—

 12

—

—

—

—

—

 5

5

3

3

3

2

 11

12

25

13

12

36
[Total hours of instruction per year] 60 337
Ohio State University.

Elementary

Advanced

Finance

Seminary (Indust. History)

—

—

—

—

 —

—

—

—

 2

2

2

2

 38

26

12

38
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 228
Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio. 4 12 4 12
[Total hours of instruction per year] 48 48
Penn. Military Academy, Chester, Penn. Elementary — — 5 13
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 65
University of Pennsylvania, Wharton, School of Finance and Economy, Philadelphia, Penn. 1.     Grad. Course in Finance

2.     Grad. Course in Theoretical Polit. Econ.

3.     Grad. Course in Statistics

4.     Elem. Course in Finance

5.     Elem. Course in Theoret. Polit. Econ.

6.     Elem. Course in Statistics

7.     Elem. Course in Practical Polit. Econ.

8.     Course in Money

9.     Course in Banking

10.   Advanced Course in Political Economy

11.   Economic History of Europe

12.   Grad. Course in Practical Polit. Econ.

13.   Econ. and Fin. History of U.S.

14.   Grad. Econ. History of the U.S.

15.   Grad. English Econ. History from 13th to 17th century

16.   Modern Econ. History.

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 

—

—

 —

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 

—

—

 1

2

3

3

2

2

2

2

1

2

3

2

2

4

 

3

3

 30

30

30

30

30

15

15

15

30

30

30

30

30

30

 

30

30
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 1020
Purdue University, Lafayette, Ind. Elementary Course — — 3 19
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 57
Randolph Macon College, Ashland, Va. Elementary 2 32 2 32
[Total hours of instruction per year] 64 64
University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y.

Elementary

Econ. Polit. History U.S.

5

—

 14

—

 5

1

 14

20
[Total hours of instruction per year] 70 90
Rutger’s College. Polit. Econ. (Elementary) 3 12 4 22
[Total hours of instruction per year] 36 88
Smith College, Northampton, Mass.

Elementary Course

Adv. Course in Theory

Seminarium

Practical Studies

3

—

—

—

 12

—

—

—

 3

3

2

2

 14

14

10

12
[Total hours of instruction per year] 36 128
South Carolina College, Columbia, S.C.

Polit. Econ. Senior Class

Applied Polit. Econ.

—

—

 —

—

 2

2

 40

20
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 120
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Penn.

Polit. Econ. (Walker)

Finance

Protection and Free Trade

Money and Banking

History of Econ. Theories

—

—

—

—

—

 —

—

—

—

—

 4

4

4

4

4

 20

10

10

10

10
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 240
Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.

Elementary

Finance

Industrial Development since 1850

Seminary

—

—

—

—

 —

—

—

—

 3

2

2

2

 14

10

12

38
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 162
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.

Elementary

Advanced (Post-Graduate)

—

—

 —

—

 3

2

 20

Varies
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 100?
University of Texas, Austin, Texas. General — — 3 36
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 108
Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut.

Elementary

Advanced

Finance

4

—

—

 13

—

—

 3

4

2

 17

17

17
[Total hours of instruction per year] 52 153
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.

Political Economy, Elementary

Political Economy, Advanced

3

—

 36

—

 3

3

 36

36
[Total hours of instruction per year] 108 216
Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York.

Principles of Economics

Economic History

Railroads, Trusts, and Relation of State to Monopolies

Labor Problem and Socialism

Seminary

—

—

—

 

—

—

 —

—

—

 

—

—

 3

3

2

 

2

2

 18

18

18

 

18

18
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 216
University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont.

Elementary

Advanced

—

—

 —

—

 3

2

 20

20
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 100
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.

Theory of Economics

Science of Society

3

—

 26

—

 3

2½

 16

16
[Total hours of instruction per year] 78 88
Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pa. Political Economy 3 11 3 16
[Total hours of instruction per year] 33 48
Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.

Elementary

Advanced

—

—

 —

—

 3

3

 14

26
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 120
Washington University, St. Louis. Prescribed Course 3 20 3 20
[Total hours of instruction per year] 60 60
Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.

Industrial History

Economic Theory

Statistics (Seminary)

Socialism (Seminary)

—

—

—

—

 —

—

—

—

 3

3

3

3

 18

18

18

18
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 216
Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut.

General Introductory (Sen.)

General Introductory (Jun.)

Economic Problems

 1½

—

—

 36

—

—

 2

3

2

 36

18

36
[Total hours of instruction per year] 54 198
West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Elementary Pol. Economy

Advanced Pol. Economy

—

—

 —

—

 2

2

 14

36
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 100
Williams College, Williamstown, Mass. Political Economy 6 14 3 15
[Total hours of instruction per year] 84 45
University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.

Econ. Seminary

Distribution of Wealth

History of Pol. Econ.

Money

Public Finance

Statistics

Recent Econ. Theories

Synoptical Lectures

Outlines of Economics

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 —

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 2

5

5

5

3

3

3

1

4

 37

14½

12

10½

37

12

14½

15

37
[Total hours of instruction per year] — 612½
Yale University, New Haven, Conn.

Pol. Econ.**—Elem. (2)

Pol. Econ.—Adv. (3)

Economic History (2)

Finance, Public (2)

Finance, Corporate (2)

Mathematical Theory (1)

Seminary Instruction (2)

3

2

 

—

—

—

—

 36

36

36

—

—

—

—

 4

3

4

2

3

1

1

 36

36

36

36

36

36

36
[Total hours of instruction per year] 180 648

* [College of the City of New York] A few hours additional are given in the work of the Department of Philosophy; the whole number amounting to some 52 or 53.

** [Yale University] Figures in brackets represent numbers of courses under each head.

Source:  Appendix I to “The Study of Political Economy in the United States” by J. Laurence Laughlin, The Journal of Political Economy, vol. 1, no. 1 (December, 1892), pp. 143-151.

Image Source:  J. Laurence Laughlin drawn in the University of Chicago yearbook Cap and Gown (1907), p. 208.

 

 

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U.S. Bureau of Education. Contributions to American Educational History, Herbert B. Adams (ed.), 1887-1903

 

I stumbled across this series while I was preparing the previous post on the political economy questions for the Harvard Examination for Women (1874). I figured it would be handy for me to keep a list of links to the monographs on the history of higher education in 35 of the United States at the end of the nineteenth century. Maybe this collection will help you too.

Contributions to American Educational History, edited by Herbert B. Adams

  1. The College of William and Mary. Herbert B. Adams (1887)
  2. Thomas Jefferson and the University of Virginia. Herbert B. Adams (1888)
  3. History of Education in North Carolina. Charles L. Smith (1888)
  4. History of Higher Education in South Carolina. C. Meriwether (1889)
  5. Education in Georgia. Charles Edgeworth Jones (1889)
  6. Education in Florida. George Gary Bush (1889)
  7. Higher Education in Wisconsin. William F. Allen and David E. Spencer (1889)
  8. History of Education in Alabama. Willis G. Clark (1890).
  9. History of Federal and State Aid to Higher Education. Frank W. Blackmar (1890)
  10. Higher Education in Indiana. James Albert Woodburn (1891).
  11. Higher Education in Michigan. Andrew C. McLaughlin. (1891)
  12. History of Higher Education in Ohio. George W. Knight and John R. Commons (1891)
  13. History of Higher Education in Massachusetts. George Gary Bush (1891)
  14. The History of Education in Connecticut. Bernard C. Steiner (1893)
  15. The History of Education in Delaware. Lyman P. Powell (1893)
  16. Higher Education in Tennessee. Lucius Salisbury Merriam (1893)
  17. Higher Education in Iowa. Leonard F. Parker (1893)
  18. History of Higher Education in Rhode Island. William Howe Tolman (1894)
  19. History of Education in Maryland. Bernard C. Steiner (1894).
  20. History of Education in Lousiana. Edwin Whitfield Fay (1898).
  21. Higher Education in Missouri. Marshall S. Snow (1898)
  22. History of Education in New Hampshire. George Gary Bush (1898)
  23. History of Education in New Jersey. David Murray (1899).
  24. History of Education in Mississippi. Edward Mayes (1899)
  25. History of Higher Education in Kentucky. Alvin Fayette Lewis (1899)
  26. History of Education in Arkansas. Josiah H. Shinn (1900)
  27. Higher Education in Kansas. Frank W. Blackmar (1900)
  28. The University of the State of New York. History of Higher Education in the State of New York. Sidney Sherwood (1900)
  29. History of Education in Vermont. George Gary Bush (1900)
  30. History of Education in West Virginia. A. R. Whitehill (1902)
  31. The History of Education in Minnesota. John N. Greer (1902)
  32. Education in Nebraska. Howard W. Caldwell (1902)
  33. A History of Higher Education in Pennsylvania. Charles H. Haskins and William I. Hull (1902)
  34. History of Higher Education in Colorado. James Edward Le Rossignol (1903)
  35. History of Higher Education in Texas. J. J. Lane (1903)
  36. History of Higher Education in Maine. Edward W. Hall (1903)

Image Source: Cropped from portrait of Herbert Baxter Adams ca. 1890s. Johns Hopkins University graphic and pictorial collection.

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Harvard. Economics Ph.D. alumnus, Richard Abel-Musgrave, 1937

 

The German-born economist Richard Abel-Musgrave was one of many German/Austrian educated economists who came to the United States in the 1930s, much to the enrichment of economics. He was one of the many truly outstanding economists to have left Harvard in the 1930s with an economics Ph.D. Richard Musgrave wrote a principal textbook for the field of public finance.  More biographical information can be found in Hans-Werner Sinn’s lecture “Please Bring Me the New York Times: On the European Roots of Richard Abel Musgrave” (2007).

A Musgrave-artifact posted earlier at Economics in the Rear-view Mirror: 

External examination questions for honors A.B. at Swarthmore College, 1946.

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Harvard Ph.D.

RICHARD ABEL-Musgrave, DIPLOM-VOLKSWIRT (Univ. of Heidelberg, Germany) 1933, A.M. (Harvard Univ.) 1935.

Subject, Economics. Special Field, Public Finance. Thesis, “The Theory of Public Finance and the Concept of ‘Burden of Taxation.’” Instructor in Economics and Tutor in the Division of History, Government, and Economics.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1937-38, p. 155.

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Short Bio from Harvard Law School Yearbook

Richard Musgrave
H. N. Burbank Professor of Political Economy

Born: Königstein, Germany, 1910; Education: Diplom Volkswirt (Economics) U. of Heidelberg 1930, M.A. (Economics) Harvard 1936, Ph.D. (Economics) Harvard 1937; Subsequent Experience; 1941-8 Economist on the Federal Reserve Board, 1948-58 Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan, 1958-62 Professor of Economics at Johns Hopkins, 1962-5 Professor of Economics at Princeton; Married: 1964 to the former Peggy Brewer, one child; Joined the Faculty; 1965; Subjects: Federal Tax Policy, Economics for Lawyers, Taxation and Economic Development; Publications: Fiscal Systems (1969), The Theory of Public Finance (1958), Public Finance in Theory and Practice (1974); Extra-legal Activites: Consultant to the U.S. Treasury, the Council of Economic Advisers, and Foreign Missions; President, Tax Reform Commission for Columbia (1969), director, Fiscal Reform Project, Bolivia; Editor Quarterly Journal of Economics. (1968-75), President, International Seminar in Public Economics.

Source: Harvard Law School Yearbook 1979, p. 63.

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Obituary from UC Santa Cruz

Musgrave, renowned pioneer of public finance, dies at 96

January 16, 2007
By Jennifer McNulty, Staff Writer

SANTA CRUZ, CA–Richard A. Musgrave, widely regarded as the founder of modern public finance and an adviser on fiscal policy and taxation to governments from Washington to Bogota to Tokyo, died Monday, Jan. 15.

Musgrave, 96, was an adjunct professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and professor emeritus of economics at Harvard University. His wife, Peggy Boswell [sic, “Brewer” was her maiden name] Musgrave, said Musgrave died of natural causes.

A staunch believer that government can play a positive and constructive role in society, Musgrave also believed deeply that economists can contribute to making government work well, thereby contributing to a better society. His work on public finance has been described as his “attempt to marry the theory and practice of good government.”

“Richard Musgrave transformed economics in the 1950s and 1960s from a descriptive and institutional subject to one that used the tools of microeconomics and Keynesian macroeconomics to understand the effects of taxes,” says Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard and president of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

“Richard Musgrave was a giant – a towering figure who transformed the field of public economics,” adds David M. Cutler, Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics and dean for the social sciences in Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

An academic economist for the last 60 years, Musgrave mixed his university work with a wide range of public service and consultation. Starting in the 1940s, he advised governments in Colombia, Chile, Myanmar, Japan, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and Taiwan on taxation and fiscal policy, and led tax reform commissions in Colombia and Bolivia.

Similarly, domestic agencies and congressional committees repeatedly sought Musgrave’s advice on public finance policy questions. He worked with or as a consultant to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Treasury, the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the World Bank.

Musgrave described the setting of tax policy as a delicate orchestration of factors including employment, inflation, economic growth, and the fair distribution of the tax burden – with the latter generally assigned outsize importance, in Musgrave’s view.

“Clearly, tax policy is not simply a matter of raising revenue in an equitable fashion,” he and his wife, then an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote in the Boston Globe in 1978. “The entire performance of the economy must be allowed for as well, though this should be done with least damage to the fairness of the tax system.”

Two of Musgrave’s books became classics in their field: The Theory of Public Finance: A Study in Public Economy (1958) and Public Finance in Theory and Practice, coauthored with Peggy Musgrave (1973).

“Intelligent conduct of government is at the heart of democracy,” Musgrave wrote in the introduction to The Theory of Public Finance. “It requires an understanding of the economic relations involved; and the economist, by aiding in this understanding, may hope to contribute to a better society. This is why the field of public finance has seemed of particular interest to me; and this is why my interest in the field has been motivated by a search for the good society, no less than by scientific curiosity.”

The Theory of Public Finance transformed the study of public finance to a discipline in which questions are analyzed in general equilibrium terms, where changes in tax policy take into account the resulting changes in the economy. Musgrave’s many intellectual contributions included studies on tax incidence, tax progressivity, public goods, fiscal federalism, the effects of taxation on risk taking, and the role of fiscal policy in stabilizing the economy.

Musgrave’s influence endured throughout his lengthy career. In 1998, he was invited by the University of Munich to join his “archrival” in the study of political economy, James M. Buchanan, in a five-day debate. The results were published in 1999 as Public Finance and Public Choice: Two Contrasting Visions of the State. [At the CESifo Mediathek one can find videos from this five day conference. Search “Two visions” or “Buchanan” or “Musgrave”]

“Two towering pillars of 20th-century public economics examine the deep foundations of their own thought and their common subject,” economist Robert M. Solow of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wrote of the work. “Who could resist the chance to eavesdrop on their reflections? Certainly not anyone who cares about the role of government in modern society.”

Born Dec. 14, 1910, in Koenigstein, Germany, Richard Abel Musgrave studied at the University of Munich, Exeter College, and the University of Heidelberg, where he received his Diplom Volkswirt (the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree) in 1933. He continued his studies at the University of Rochester and at Harvard, where he received an A.M. degree in 1936 and a Ph.D. in 1937.

Musgrave was an instructor in economics at Harvard until 1941, when he became an economist at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, a position he held until 1947. He taught economics at Swarthmore College from 1947 to 1948, following which he was an economics professor at the University of Michigan from 1948 to 1958; at Johns Hopkins University from 1958 to 1961; and at Princeton University from 1962 to 1965.

In 1965 Musgrave joined Harvard as professor of economics in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and at Harvard Law School. He was named H. H. Burbank Professor of Economics in 1969, when he also became chair of Harvard’s standing committee on Afro-American studies. In 1981 he was named professor emeritus at Harvard and became an adjunct professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, remaining affiliated with that campus through 2004.

Among his numerous awards and honors, Musgrave was a Fulbright professor in Germany in 1956 and held a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1959. He was named honorary president of the International Institute of Public Finance in 1978, the same year he was elected a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economics Association. He received the Frank E. Seidman Distinguished Award in Political Economy in 1981. In 1983, 50 years to the day after he received his Diplom Volkswirt, Musgrave was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Heidelberg, his alma mater. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1986, and in 1994, he received the Daniel M. Holland Medal from the National Tax Association.

Musgrave is survived by his wife, Peggy Boswell [sic,  “Brewer” was her maiden name] Musgrave, and three stepchildren: Pamela Clyne of New Jersey, Roger Richmond [sic, “Richman” is correct] of California, and Thomas Richmond [sic, “Richman” is correct] of Colorado. He is also survived by numerous nephews and nieces, including Harry Krause, the Max L. Rowe Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois College of Law. Details regarding a memorial service have not been finalized.

Source:  UC Santa Cruz. University News. January 16, 2007.

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Harvard Crimson Obituary

Renowned Economist Musgrave Dead at 96
Former professor ‘transformed’ public sector economics

By Tina Wang, Crimson Staff Writer
January 19, 2007

During the lifetimes of most Harvard undergraduates, Richard A. Musgrave—a founder of modern public sector economics—was in retirement.

Musgrave, who died Monday at age 96, also came from an era preceding current economics faculty. But his ideas about the state’s role in the economy left a lasting impact felt by Harvard faculty and alums today.

Having taught public finance at Harvard for about two decades, Musgrave had been an emeritus professor since 1981.

“The training I received well after he had retired was different because he was around,” said Dean for the Social Sciences David M. Cutler ’87.

Concerned with the government’s equitable and efficient distribution and redistribution of resources through taxation and spending, “he transformed the whole way people thought about public economics,” said one of Musgrave’s former students, James M. Poterba ’80, who now chairs the economics department at MIT.

Born in 1910 in Germany, Musgrave, who received a Ph.D in political economy from Harvard, taught here from 1937 until 1941, when he left for a post at the Federal Reserve.

After various teaching stints, including at Princeton, Musgrave returned to Harvard in 1965 with tenured appointments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and at Harvard Law School.

He also took prominent economic advising roles in Washington, as well as with foreign governments, from Colombia to South Korea.

Musgrave died in Santa Cruz, Calif., where he and his wife had moved to teach at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

‘THE MUSGRAVE TRICHOTOMY’

In his senior year of college—and the last year Musgrave taught at Harvard—Poterba audited Musgrave’s graduate course, co-taught with Baker Professor of Economics Martin S. Feldstein ’61.

“He didn’t just study the tax system or government policies in an abstract classroom, or in a theoretical way. He studied these questions because he believed they were incredibly important in making the lives of individual citizens better,” Poterba said.

The ground-breaking “Musgrave trichotomy” identified three separate roles of government—redistributing income, allocating resources, and stabilizing the macroeconomy, Cutler and Poterba said.

“Everything that’s taught in public economics now is completely different than what was taught from before,” said Cutler, who co-teaches Economics 1410, “Public Sector Economics.” “You look at textbooks before him and you wouldn’t even recognize them.”

Cutler said that when he teaches his students to think about questions of efficiency and redistribution in public sector economics separately, “all of that comes from Musgrave.”

“Generations of students who used his textbook [The Theory of Public Finance] think about the world very differently,” Cutler said.

Musgrave strove for much of his life to find ways for the state to play a positive role in the economy, which entailed understanding the trade-offs between allowing the government to provide some goods versus allowing the private sector to provide them.

As a student who came to Harvard in the mid-1930s during the Great Depression, when Keynesian views about the benefits of government intervention in the economy were starting to enter economic discourse, “Musgrave was always very deeply of the view that the government could make things better,” Poterba said.

ECONOMIC OUTLIER

Musgrave’s economic principles, particularly with their focus on social equity, did not always square perfectly with mainstream thinking in his field.

“He was probably a little bit frustrated that the profession has moved as far as it has toward the efficiency direction,” said Cutler. “Although I think it would’ve moved even farther had he not been around.”

An emphasis on equity may have eroded in conventional economics discourse, partially because “it’s really hard to say how equitable should things be,” Cutler said. “You’re saying, ‘gee, what’s the right distribution of income.’”

Contrary to trends in his field, Musgrave “probably moved a bit in the direction of thinking there was an activist role of government,” Poterba said.

The German school of thought— “thinking about the whole community almost as though it was one actor”—was another influence that Musgrave brought to bear on U.S. economic thinking, Poterba said.

“That was a perspective that was somewhat different from what most U.S. economists were using,” Poterba said.

Concerned with questions of how to set up an equitable tax system, Musgrave was a vocal critic of President Reagan’s conservative economic program.

In 1982, Musgrave, with 33 other economists, sent a letter to the White House criticizing Reagan’s economic policy as “extremely regressive in its impact on our society, redistributing wealth and power from the middle-class and poor to the rich,” The Crimson reported.

“One never knows if this will have any effect on the President, but we felt it was important to speak out,” Musgrave told The Crimson at the time.

‘DEEPLY COMMITTED’

Cutler said he first met Musgrave in the early 1990s when Musgrave was on the East Coast and had contacted him, saying he had heard Cutler had joined the Harvard faculty and wanted to meet him.

They met about every other year through much of the 1990s to chat about economics research and the goings-on of the department, according to Cutler, who joined the Harvard economics faculty in 1991.

“Every time after meeting him, I would think, ‘I hope I’m in as good a shape at 40 as he is at 80,’ ” Cutler said.

“Even though Musgrave was in his 80s and 90s at the time, he kept very well up-to-date…not very many people will do that,” he said.

He was still “very interested in the world of economics and how it could be used in policy areas,” he said.

Poterba has fond memories of Musgrave’s energy as well.

In Musgrave’s class, “even at that stage, one of his last years at Harvard, he was incredibly energetic and enthusiastic about the whole study of government and taxation, deeply committed to training students, and maintained long connections and ties to students,” Poterba said.

A stone in Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge will bear Musgrave’s name, his wife, Peggy Brewer Musgrave, told The Boston Globe.

Source:  Tina Wang. Renowned Economist Musgrave Dead at 96. Harvard Crimson(January 19, 2007).

Image Source: Harvard Law School Yearbook 1970, p. 31.

 

Categories
Columbia Economists NBER Swarthmore

Columbia. Economics PhD alumnus, Joseph David Coppock. 1940

 

 

In the previous post several external examiners for the honors B.A. degree at Swarthmore College in the 1940s were identified. That list included several prominent names, such as Paul Samuelson (MIT), Lloyd Metzler (Federal Reserve), Friedrich Lutz (Princeton), but also a repeat examiner was one Joseph David Coppock, considerably less prominent in the great sweep of 20th century economics. Never having heard of Coppock myself, I decided to dedicate this post to the academic and professional career of this Swarthmore alumnus (A.B., 1933) and Columbia University Ph.D. (1940).

His academic arc began with an instructorship in economics at his Swarthmore alma mater while completing his Columbia University doctoral degree and ended at Penn State University. Government service, including work as a civilian in uniform with the Office of Strategic Services during the Second World War, provided years of economic-policy experience. A link to a very interesting oral interview with Coppock at the Truman Presidential Library covering his government experience is included below.

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AEA Biographical Listing, 1969

Coppock, Joseph David, academic, government; b. Peru, Ind., 1909; A.B., Swarthmore Coll., 1933; M.A., Columbia, 1934, Ph.D., 1940. DOC. DIS. Government Agencies of Consumer Installment Credit, 1940. FIELDS 5, 1ab, 2d. PUB. International Economic Instability, 1962; Economics of the Business Firm, 1959; Foreign Trade of the Middle East, 1966. RES. International Economic Relations. Econ. Adv., U.S. Dept. State, 1945-53, 1961-62; prof. econs., Earlham Coll. [Richmond, Indiana], 1953-63, American U. Beirut, 1963-65, Pa. State U. Since 1965.

Source: Biographical Listings of Members [American Economic Association], American Economic Review, Vol. 59, No. 6 (1969). Handbook of the American Economic Association (Jan., 1970), p. 86.

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Joseph David Coppock
Books

Joseph D. Coppock, Government Agencies of Consumer Instalment Credit.  Research Program of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Studies in Consumer Instalment Financing: Number Five (1940), p. xii.

From the author’s acknowledgment to doctoral dissertation published by NBER

Finally, I wish to thank Swarthmore College for granting me a leave of absence to participate in the National Bureau’s investigation of consumer instalment financing.

Joseph D. Coppock
Financial Research Staff
(National Bureau of Economic Research)
and
University of California

_____________, International Economic Instability: The Experience After World War 2(McGraw-Hill, 1962).

_____________, Economics of the Business Firm: Economics of Decision Making in the Business Enterprise(McGraw-Hill, 1959).

_____________, Foreign Trade of the Middle East: Instability and Growth, 1946-1962 (Economic Research Institute, American University of Beirut, 1966).

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From the Finding Aid to the Joseph D. Coppock Papers at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum

The papers of Joseph D. Coppock relate primarily to his work with the U. S. Department of State, the Office of Price Administration, the War Production Board, and the National War College. International trade was the main focus of his work at the Department of State and the War Production Board. Most of the documents are memoranda and correspondence involving foreign trade, along with financial records, handwritten notes, reports, speech drafts, and a transcript of a debate. The papers also contain the syllabi used by Coppock during his tenure as a visiting professor at the National War College.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1909 (February 10), Born in Peru, Indiana

1933                A.B., Swarthmore College

1940                Ph.D., Columbia University

1941                Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture

1942                Special Assistant to Vice Chairman, War Production Board

1943                Price Executive, Chemical and Drugs Division, Office of Price Administration

1945-1953      Economic Adviser, Office of International Trade Policy, U.S. Department of State

1946-1952      Member of U.S. delegation to Economic and Social Council of the United Nations: New York, Geneva, and Santiago

1951-1953      Visiting Professor, National War College

1965                Became professor of economics at Penn State University

2000 (July 31) Died in Redmond, Washington

Coppock took a position as a visiting professor at the National War College in 1951. While there, he served as the chairman of the Civilian Faculty. After his term at the National War College, Coppock worked as a visiting professor at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, and as a professor of economics at Earlham College in Indiana and at Pennsylvania State University.

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Research Tip:
Oral History Interview
Covering Coppock’s extensive experience as an economist in government

Oral History Interview with Joseph D. Coppock (July 29, 1974) by Richard D. McKinzie. Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum (Independence, Missouri).

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Image Source: Swarthmore College yearbook, Halcyon 1940, p. 11.

 

Categories
Exam Questions Swarthmore Undergraduate

Swarthmore. B.A. Honors Examination in Economic Theory. External Examiner, Lloyd Metzler, 1943-45

 

Wolfgang Stolper taught at Swarthmore College from 1941-1949. In his papers at Duke University’s Economists’ Papers Archive one finds copies of  the following economic theory examination questions prepared by Swarthmore’s external examiners:

Jan/May 1942 (James G. Smith)
Jan 1943 (Paul Samuelson)
May 1943 (Paul Samuelson)
October 1943 (Lloyd Metzler) [transcribed below]
Feb 1944 (Joseph D. Coppock)
June 1944 (Friedrich Lutz)
Oct 1944 (Lloyd Metzler) [transcribed below]
Jun 1945 (Joseph D. Coppock)
Jun 1946 (Richard Musgrave)
Jan 1947 (Joseph D. Coppock)
Undated (Lloyd Metzler) [transcribed below]

The above list has led me to an interpolative guess of either February or October 1945 for the undated Metzler honors examination. Links are provided to the previously posted transcriptions of the examinations by Samuelson and Musgrave.

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Swarthmore College
Division of the Social Sciences
Department of Economics
October 20, 1943

Economic Theory
Honors Examination
Mr. Metzler

ANSWER ONE QUESTION FROM EACH PART

PART I
Write a one-hour essay on one of the following topics:

  1. The relation between cost curves and supply curves, and the conditions of equilibrium in a purely competitive industry, both in the long run and in the short run.
  2. A comparison of monopolistic competition and pure competition, including a contrast of the equilibrium position of the firm and the number of firms in the “industry” under monopolistic competition, with the equilibrium conditions and number of firms under pure competition.
  3. The marginal productivity theory in its original form, and the changes made necessary by the theory of monopolistic competition.
  4. Determinants of the level of employment and income.
  5. A careful analysis of the population problem in the United States, including both regional distribution problems and the problem of the size of the total population.
  6. Monetary versus “real” theories of the rate of interest.

 

Part II

  1. How was the cost controversy related to the development of the theory of monopolistic competition?
  2. A tax of $1 per unit is imposed upon the production of a certain commodity which is produced under conditions of pure competition. Assuming that the industry is initially in equilibrium, show how this tax affects he price, output, profits, and the number of firms in the industry, both in the short run and in the long run.
  3. Discuss the principles of price discrimination in a monopolized industry.
  4. Suppose there are only two firms producing a standardized product. Describe the determination of price and output in this industry, pointing out the difficulties which arise in such a case.

 

Part III

  1. Suppose a particular industry X produces its commodity with only two factors, labor and land, which may be used in variable proportions. An increased supply of this particular type of labor causes the wage rate to decline. Assuming no change in the demand for the product, analyze the effect of the wage reduction on (a) employment of labor, (b) employment of land, (c) price of the product, (d) output of the product, and (e) labor’s relative share in the total distribution.
  2. Describe Malthus’ theory of population. Can you present a more sophisticated version in the light of modern theories of production and distribution?
  3. “The rate of interest is the result of a race between accumulation and invention.” Discuss.
  4. Discuss the relation of the modern corporation to the theory of profits.

 

Part IV

  1. What types of cyclical fluctuation may be found in statistics of employment, income, production, and prices? How do you explain each type of cycle?
  2. What measures would you suggest for the control of employment after the war? Explain each carefully.
  3. In the period of the twenties, economists believed that business cycles could be controlled by monetary measures (i.e., movement of interest rates, bank reserve ratios, etc.). Account for the failure of such measures to control the depression of the thirties.
  4. Explain carefully the relation between investment and the level of employment, relating the analysis to Schumpeter’s “circular flow”.

Source: Duke University. David M. Rubinstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Economists’ Papers Archives. Wolfgang F. Stolper Papers, Box 22, Folder 1.

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Swarthmore College
Division of the Social Sciences
Department of Economics
October 16, 1944

Economic Theory
Honors Examination
Dr. Lloyd A. Metzler
Federal Reserve Board
Washington, D.C.

ANSWER FIVE QUESTIONS, INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE FROM EACH PART.
I

  1. “The conditions which determine the prices charged by a local clothing store are quite unlike those which govern the price of wheat or corn.” Explain carefully.
  2. After the war, expenditures of the federal government will be considerably higher than in the pre-war period. To meet part of these expenditures, two kinds of business taxes are proposed: (1) a tax on corporate profits, similar to our present tax, but with lower rates; (2) taxes on the sales of certain luxury items, such as cigarettes, tobacco, and liquor. It is sometimes said that the first type of tax falls upon the corporations themselves, whereas the second falls upon the consumers of the taxed items. Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?
  3. “Imperfectly competitive markets involve an inevitable waste. Each firm produces less than its optimum output, and charges a higher price than might otherwise be necessary.” Evaluate this statement. If such wastes exist, how can they be eliminated?
  4. Suppose a particular industry produces a standardized product, such as steel, but there are only four or five producers in the whole industry. What determines the price of the product?
  5. Compare the effects of a tax on output in a perfectly competitive industry with those of a similar tax on a monopolistic output, both in the short run in the long run.

 

II

  1. “In a perfectly competitive industry, every worker gets just what he is worth, but in monopoly industries the workers are always exploited.” Present your own opinion on this subject.
  2. Define “elasticity of substitution” and explain type of problem in which the concept is useful.
  3. An industry in which there is only a single producer is unionized, and a standard wage is set which is higher than the prevailing wage. Analyze the effects of this action upon (a) the number of workers employed, (b) the output of the industry, (c) the price of the product, and (d) the total wage bill.
  4. Answer (3), assuming that the industry is perfectly competitive.

 

III

  1. One frequently encounters two statements about the return to land: (a) “Rent is the difference between the productivity of a given plot of land and the productivity of land which it is just worthwhile to cultivate.”(b) “Rents would exist even if all land were uniformly productive; it is a surplus which arises from the fact that additional units of labour applied to a given plot of land have diminishing productivity.” Are these two statements contradictory? Explain your answer.
  2. “The law of diminishing returns is indispensable to the existence of rent. Unless this law were true, the entire world’s supply of wheat could be grown in a flower pot.” Comment.
  3. “Rent, like the reward of any other factor of production, is determined by conditions of supply and demand. From this point of view, rent differs from wages mainly in respective conditions of supply.” Do you regard this is an important difference? Why or why not? Contrast the long-run effects of a tax on rents with the long-run effects of a tax on wages, assuming that wages initially are near the subsistence level.
  4. “The equilibrium rate of interest is the rate which makes the supply of savings equal to demand. The supply of savings is the schedule of amounts which individuals wish to save at various interest rates, while the demand is the schedule of amounts which business men wish to invest. Thus, when the rate of interest is in equilibrium, savings are equal to investment. But if the rate of interest exceeds the equilibrium rate, investment falls short of savings.” Evaluate this statement.
  5. Compare Böhm-Bawerk’s theory of interest with the monetary theory.
  6. “In the long run, profits of the competitive industry tend toward zero.” Does this mean that the accountant’s reports of the small enterprise owned by a single individual will also attend toward zero? Explain your answer.

 

IV

  1. Present a program for maintaining full employment in the United States after the war.
  2. “Since national income is equal to consumption plus net investment, and savings are simply the difference between income and consumption, it follows that savings for any given period are always equal to investment, by definition. For this reason, a business cycle theory which attributes changes in income and employment to a disparity between savings and investment must be fallacious.” Comment.
  3. Explain carefully how income is related to the level of net investment.
  4. During the first world war, a high interest rate was regarded as one of the important means of curbing inflation. In the present war, on the other hand, a conscious attempt has been made to keep interest rates at a very low level. Explain the relation between interest rates and prices in an economy where full employment prevails. Why do you suppose high interest rates were abandoned as an anti-inflation measure in the present war?
  5. It is sometimes said that unemployment exists because workers are unwilling to accept the wage which corresponds to their productivity. According to this view, if workers were willing to accept a reduction of wage rates, business men would find it profitable to hire more workers and unemployment would thereby be reduced. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer.

 

Source: Duke University. David M. Rubinstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Economists’ Papers Archives. Wolfgang F. Stolper Papers, Box 22, Folder 1.

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Swarthmore College
Division of the Social Sciences
Department of Economics
[No date–1945?]

ECONOMIC THEORY
Honors Examination
Dr. Lloyd A. Metzler
Washington, D.C.

ANSWER FOUR QUESTIONS, INCLUDING ONE FROM EACH PART.
I

Write an essay (about one hour) on one of the following topics:

  1. The theory of interest, from Böhm-Bawerk to Keynes.
  2. Monopolistic competition and the theory of distribution.
  3. The theory of discriminating monopoly.
  4. A comparison of perfect competition with monopolistic competition.
  5. Factors which determine the level of employment.
  6. The relation of wage rates to employment.
  7. The theory of the duopoly.
  8. The relation between wates [sic, “wage rates”?] and rent.
  9. The law of variable proportions and theory of distribution.

 

II

  1. As a result of a technological change, the cost of producing a particular commodity, X, is reduced for all firms. Assuming that the industry is perfectly competitive, the effects of this change upon output, price and profits in both the short run in the long run.
  2. Explain the relations between marginal costs, average costs, and supply curves in a perfectly-competitive industry.
  3. “In a perfectly-competitive industry, the tax on sales is always born by consumers, whereas in a monopoly industry, the monopolists bears a part of the added costs.” Evaluate this statement, considering both the short-run in the long-run.
  4. Explain the meaning of “excess capacity” in the theory of monopolistic competition, and show how it is related to other concepts of capacity.

 

III

  1. It is sometimes said that unions can improve the position of workers only to a very limited extent, since wages are governed by productivity, over which unions have little control. Evaluate this statement.
  2. Discuss the relations between inventions, wage rates, and the total wage bill.
  3. Contrast the theory of wages presented by Hicks with that of Ricardo.
  4. Show how Keynes’ monetary theory of interest evolved from Marshall’s “supply and demand” theory.
  5. Economic conditions in a particular country are disturbed by a rise in the propensity to consume. Explain the repercussions upon the rate of interest, assuming that the amount of money remains unchanged.
  6. Compare the theories of profit of Marshall and Schumpeter.

 

IV

  1. Describe the analytical problems which arise in attempting to measure business cycles.
  2. Show how the demand for producers’ goods is related to the demand for consumers’ goods, and explain the relevance of this relationship to business cycle theory.
  3. Present a brief description of the problem of unemployment which will face the United States at the close of the war, and suggest measures for solving this problem.
  4. Compare Schumpeter’s theory of business cycles with the theory of employment developed by Keynes.

 

Source: Duke University. David M. Rubinstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Economists’ Papers Archives. Wolfgang F. Stolper Papers, Box 22, Folder 1.

Image Source: “From family album, taken while Lloyd Metzler was a student at Harvard.”
“Lloyd A. Metzler” by Margiemetz – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons.

Categories
Exam Questions Johns Hopkins Swarthmore Undergraduate

Swarthmore. Honors Examinations. Economic Theory and Social Economics, 1934.

 

It is not quite clear whether the following exams that had been prepared for Swarthmore College’s honors economics degree were simply misfiled with Johns Hopkins’ political economy department exams or whether those exams had been been recycled expressly for examining Johns Hopkins’ economics majors. In any event we can add Broadus Mitchell’s two exams for Swarthmore here to those of later external examiners  Paul Samuelson (1943), Wolfgang Stolper (1944), and Richard Musgrave (1946).   The Swarthmore department exam for 1931 was also posted earlier.

A 90 page transcript of an oral history interview with Broadus Mitchell from August 14 and 15, 1977 can be found in the Southern Oral History Program Collection at the website Documenting the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Selections from that oral history will be added later.

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Abstract from the Oral History Interview with Broadus Mitchell
August 14 and 15, 1977

John Broadus Mitchell was born in Georgetown, Kentucky, in 1892 into a family with roots in religion and education. Mitchell describes his upbringing and the strong influence of both his parents. Mitchell discusses his father’s education and career as a professor of history, his parents’ liberal political leanings, and their community involvement. Mitchell also describes his perceptions of race while growing up in Kentucky, Virginia, and South Carolina. Mitchell became an economic historian; he describes in detail how the textile industry shifted its base of power from New England to the southern states in the late nineteenth century, and he talks at length about the impact of industrialization on southern communities. Mitchell became particularly interested in the politics of labor and race. He explains the purposes of labor education programs—notably the Summer School for Women Workers at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and the Southern Summer School for Women Workers in North Carolina—and his participation in those endeavors. In the 1920s, Mitchell moved to Baltimore to teach at Johns Hopkins University. In the 1930s, he came under the administration’s scrutiny when he publicly spoke out about a lynching in Salisbury, Maryland, advocated for the admittance of an African American graduate student to the university, and began to embrace socialist politics. He resigned in 1939. During the years of World War II, he worked briefly at Occidental College and New York University before finding a tenured position in the economics department at Rutgers University. Mitchell continued to be involved in leftist politics during the 1940s, and in the 1950s he participated in a movement at Rutgers to combat McCarthyism in academia. Throughout this interview, Mitchell emphasizes the influence of his upbringing on his political beliefs, and he relates his own experiences to those of his siblings who also were engaged in activism related to labor and race. Towards the end of the interview, Mitchell’s wife, Louise, joins the interview and discusses her career in teaching, her own community involvement, and her efforts to balance the demands of work and family.

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Swarthmore College
DIVISION OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
HONORS EXAMINATION: ECONOMIC THEORY
May 17, 1934 at 8:30

Examiner: Professor Broadus Mitchell, Johns Hopkins

Please answer any five.

  1. What are the relative importances today of production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of wealth?
  2. “The business cycle is inherent in the capitalist economic system.” Discuss this statement.
  3. How do “pure profits” arise? Under what circumstances did the enterpriser, as a distinct functionary, enter economic life? What are some of the means of avoiding economic risk?
  4. Under what economic circumstances was the differential or Ricardian theory of rent announced? Explain the use made of this theory by Henry George.
  5. Discuss as many theories of interest as you can, indicating which seems to you to be the most reasonable.
  6. Explain (with the use of schedules and diagrams if you choose) how market price is determined under conditions of perfect competition. Discuss briefly monopoly price and class price.
  7. What was the Wage Fund Theory and why was it abandoned?
  8. Discuss the relationship between the Malthusian theory of population and socialism.
  9. Give your definition of money.
  10. What are the main arguments for and against fiat money inflation?
  11. How would you provide a cure for “technological unemployment”?
  12. What are some of the limitations upon conscious economic planning within the capitalist system as these have appeared during the present depression?

 

Swarthmore College
DIVISION OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
HONORS EXAMINATION: SOCIAL ECONOMICS
May 18, 1934

Examiner: Professor Broadus Mitchell, Johns Hopkins

Answer the questions marked with an asterisk and any four (4) others.

  1. *What do you consider to be the chief economic desire of the mass of the people of the United States? Explain.
  2. What would you say is the major thesis of the majority of text books in the principles of political economy? Is it accurate to say that these books are practically invalidated by the events of the past four or five years?
  3. Make an argument for the continuance of capitalism.
  4. Indicate the chief wastes of the competitive system.
  5. What is R.H. Tawney’s criticism of an acquisitive society?
  6. From the standpoint of probable future change, what have been the principal economic and political tendencies in the United States?
  7. *Discuss the effect of the present business depression upon the problem of economic reform in the United States.
  8. Give your judgment of the sufficiency of the single tax as a scheme of social reform.
  9. *Distinguish between “utopian” and “scientific” socialism.
  10. What are some of the relative advantages in compulsory unemployment insurance of the “company reserve” plan and the “pooled fund” plan?
  11. In your opinion, is widespread organization of labor indispensable to radical social reorganization in this country?
  12. If you consider that there is a theory of social reform running through the recovery measures of the present Administration, give your critical appraisal of it.
  13. *What would you recommend as next steps in the “New Deal”.
  14. In what respects can the experiment of Soviet Russia be taken as a guide for the United States? In what respects is it not a guide for us?
  15. *What book in the College library, no matter what the character or subject, has interested you most? Why?

Source:  Johns Hopkins University.  The Ferdinand Hamburger, Jr. Archives. Department of Political Economy Records.Series 6, Curricular Materials and Exams, Box 2, Folder “Exams, 1930-35”.

Image Source:  Broadus Mitchell in his office, ca. 1938. From the Johns Hopkins university graphic and pictorial collection.

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Economists Harvard Suggested Reading Swarthmore UCLA Wisconsin

Harvard. Syllabus for Economic Development taught by Robert Baldwin (Econ PhD 1950), 1956

 

The sequence I followed for preparing this post was that I first decided to transcribe the outline and readings for a course dealing with economic development (Economics 108) taught at Harvard in the spring term, 1956. To figure out who the instructor was, I then turned to the annual report of the president of Harvard College that provides enrollment figures as well as names of course instructors. Once I found the last name of the instructor “Baldwin”, I looked to see if perhaps there was a recent Harvard economics Ph.D. with that name since the course had been taught by an assistant professor. Bingo, Robert Edward Baldwin, a rising star in international economics at the time appeared indeed to be our man. I confirmed that he was on the faculty of Harvard at the time from his ca. 1997 c.v. at the NBER. Finally my search of the internet pulled up the Robert E. Baldwin’s obituary that I have copied and pasted as the last item below.

The post would not be complete without links to his offspring who have gone off on their own economics careers (Jean Grossman in Princeton and Richard Baldwin in Geneva). 

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Course Enrollment

[Economics] 108. Theories and Problems of Economic Development. Assistant Professor Baldwin. Half course. [Spring]

Total 42: 13 Graduates, 13 Seniors, 6 Juniors, 2 Sophomores, 4 Radcliffe, 1 Special

Source:  Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1955-1956, p. 76.

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Course Outline and Readings

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics
Spring Term, 1955-1956

Economics 108

  1. Theories of Economic Development
    1. Smith and Ricardo

Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Book I, chs. 1-9; Book II, ch. 3.
David Ricardo, Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, chs. 2-6, 21.

    1. Marx

Karl Marx, A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, Preface.
M. M. Bober, Karl Marx’s Interpretation of History, chs. 1-3
OR
H. B. MAYO, Democracy and Marxism, chs. 2,3.
M. M. Bober, op. cit., chs. 9-13
OR
Joan Robinson, An Essay on Marxian Economics.

    1. The Neo-Classical System

Alfred Marshall, Principles of Economics, chs. 11-13.
Knut Wicksell, Lectures on Political Economy, Vol. 1, Part III.
Gustav Cassel, The Theory of Social Economy, ch. 1, Sections 4-6.

    1. Schumpeter

J. A. Schumpeter, Business Cycles, Vol. 1, chs. 3, 4.
J. A. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, Part II, chs. 11-14.

    1. The Stagnationists and the Post-Keynesian Growth Theorists

Alvin Hansen, “Economic Progress and Declining Population Growth,” American Economic Review, March 1939.
J. A. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, ch. 10.
Evsey Domar, “Expansion and Employment,” American Economic Review, March 1947.
W. J. Baumol, Economic Dynamics, ch. 4.

    1. A Survey of other Socio-Economic Theories

J. J. Spengler, “Theories of Socio-Economic Growth,” Problems in the Study of Economic Growth, National Bureau of Economic Research.

    1. A Comparison of Development Theories
  1. Accelerating Development in Poor Countries
    1. Basic Characteristics of Poor Countries
    2. Obstacles to Development
    3. General Requirements of Development
    4. Domestic and International Policy Issues

Required Reading

Buchanan and Ellis, Approaches to Economic Development, Part I and Part III.
W. Arthur Lewis, The Theory of Economic Growth, chs. 3-7

Suggested Reading

Baran, P., “On the Political Economy of Backwardness,” The Manchester School, January 1952.
Duesenberry, J., “Some Aspects of the Theory of Economic Development,” Explorations in Entrepreneurial History, December 1950.
M. Fleming, “External Economics and Doctrine of Balanced Growth,” Economic Journal, June 1955.
Frankel, S. H., The Economic Impact on Underdeveloped Societies, ch. 2.
Hoselitz, B. F., “Social Structure and Economic Growth,” Economia Internazionale, Vol. 6, No. 1, 1953.
Lewis, W. A., “Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labour,” The Manchester School, May 1954.
E. S. Mason, Promoting Economic Development, chs. 2, 3.
Meier, G. M., “The Problem of Limited Economic Development,” Economia Internazionale, Vol. 6, No. 1, 1953.
Mikesell, R.F., “Economic Doctrines Reflected in U.N. Reports,” American Economic Review, Proceedings, May 1954.
Myint, H., “An Interpretation of Economic Backwardness,” Oxford Economic Papers, June 1954.
Nurkse, R., Problems of Capital Formation in Underdeveloped Countries
Singer, H., “The Distribution of Gains Between Investing and Borrowing Countries,” American Economic Review, Proceedings, May 1950.
Spengler, J. J., “Population Obstacles to Economic Betterment,” American Economic Review, Proceedings, May 1951.
Sweezy, P., “Duesenberry on Economic Development.” Explorations in Entrepreneurial History, Volume 3, February 1951.
United Nations Department of Economic Affairs, Measures for the Economic Development of Under-Developed Countries
Viner, J., International Trade and Economic Development, Ch. 3

  1. Maintaining Development in Rich Countries—the U.S. as an Illustration
    1. Continued Economic Growth as a Goal of U.S. Economic Policy
    2. The Changing Structure of the American Economy
    3. The Institutionalization of Economic Growth
    4. Possible Barriers to Continued Growth

Economic Report of the President, January 1956.
Galbraith, J. K., American Capitalism, ch. 1, 4-10
Hansen, A., “Growth or Stagnation in the American Economy,” Review of Economics and Statistics, November 1954.
Kaysen, C., “Looking Around—Book About Competition,” Harvard Business Review, May-June 1954.
Kuznets, S., Economic Change, chs. 9, 10.
Schumpeter, J. A., Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, Part II, chs. 28.
Slichter, S., The American Economy
Wright, D. M., Democracy and Progress, chs. 5-7, 12.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003, Box 6, Folder “Economics, 1955-1956 (1 of 2)”.

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Mid-year and Course Final examinations

Posted here.

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Harvard Economics Ph.D. 1950

Robert Edward Baldwin, A.B. (Univ. of Buffalo) 1945, A.M. (Harvard Univ.) 1949.

Subject, Economics. Special Field, International Trade.
Thesis, “The Economics of Internal Migration in the United States, 1870-1940.”

 

Source:Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1949-50, p. 195.

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Robert E. Baldwin
Education and Positions

1945: A.B., University of Buffalo
1945-46: Instructor, University of Buffalo
1950: Ph.D., Harvard University
1950-52: Instructor, Harvard University
1952-57: Assistant Professor, Harvard University
1957-62: Associate Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
1962-64: Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
1964-present: Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
1975-78: Chairman, Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin
1974-: F.W. Taussig Research Professor, University of Wisconsin
1960-61: Ford Foundation Foreign Area Training Fellowship, Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
1963-64: Chief Economist, Office of Special Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President, Washington, D.C.
1967-68: Research Professor, The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C.
1969-70: Ford Faculty Research Fellowship
1974-75: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor, Washington, D.C., Research Contract
1975 (Summer): United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Geneva, Switzerland, Consultant
1978-79: Consultant, World Bank, Washington, D.C.
1982-: Hilldale Professorship, University of Wisconsin-Madison
1982-: Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research
1986-1989: Chair, Social Systems Research Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison
1988 (Summer): Shelby Cullom and Katheryn Davis Visiting Professor, The Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva
1994-: Research Associate, Centre for Economic Policy Research
1995-: Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Science

Source:  Robert Baldwin’s NBER c.v. that also included a list of publications to date (ca. 1997).

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Robert Edward Baldwin (1924-2011)
Obituary

Robert Edward Baldwin, born in Buffalo New York on July 17, 1924, died in Madison on April 7, 2011. He was Hilldale Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A lifelong academic, Baldwin was one of the world’s most influential thinkers on international trade, an adviser to governments and international organizations, and an inspiring teacher much beloved by generations of students who carry forward his light as renowned scholars in their own right.

Graduating from the University of Buffalo, he enrolled in the Harvard and received his doctorate in 1950. In Cambridge, he married his lifelong soul mate, Janice Murphy, mother of his four children, two of whom were born while he was an Assistant Professor at Harvard. During this time, he published his best-known theoretical contribution – the “Baldwin Envelope” [“Equilibrium in International Trade: A Diagrammatic Analysis,” Quarterly Journal of Economics 62(5), (November, 1948), pp. 748-762.] – which has been taught widely for six decades and remains part of trade economists’ training even today. After Harvard, he moved to UCLA as an Associate Professor where his third and fourth children were born.

In 1960, he took the whole family for a year to Salisbury Rhodesia (now Harare Zimbabwe) while he worked on his theory of trade and development (published as the book “Economic Development and Export Growth: A Study of Northern Rhodesia, 1920-1960”). Soon after returning to UCLA, President Kennedy appointed him as Chief Economist of the newly formed Office of the Special Trade Representative. The family moved to Washington while he worked in the White House helping the US prepare for the GATT trade negotiations known as the Kennedy Round.

After his White House stint, he was appointed professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a position that he held till his death (Emeritus since 1997). He was appointed Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1995, the same year he was elected President of the Midwest Economics Association.

Baldwin was author or editor of 22 books (last one in December 2008) and over a hundred academic articles (the last one in December 2010). [list through ca 1997] His early contributions were mostly to mathematical trade theory, but he also made important contributions to the profession’s empirical understanding of global trade patterns. After his time in the Kennedy White House, he wrote several books and many articles on trade policy and trade politics. Throughout his professional life, his interest in trade was interwoven with an interest in and research on developing nations, with a special emphasis on the development-inhibiting effects of tropical diseases.

In addition to his academic positions, Baldwin engaged actively in the policy world. He was on the External Advisory Panel to the General-Secretary of the WTO (2001-03), and in that capacity attended the Ministerial Meeting in Doha Qatar that launched the WTO’s ongoing trade negotiations. He often testified before US Senate and House Committees on trade matters, and spent time at the US Department of Labour, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Geneva), and the World Bank (Washington). In an effort to improve US trade statistics, he chaired the National Academy of Science’s Panel on Foreign Trade Statistics (1991-92). In his role as policy advisor, he was a member of the Council of Foreign Relations (1968-2011), the US Chamber of Commerce’s Committee for Economic Development and the Atlantic Council (1960s and 1970s), and more recently, the International Advisory Board for Ukraine’s Economics Education and Research Consortium (1999-2009).

He is survived by his wife Janice, his daughters Jean and Nancy, and his son Richard as well as grandchildren Shari, Dina, Leila, Elise, Robert, Ellen, Julia, and Nicky. He was predeceased by his oldest son, Robert, in 2007.

Baldwin was also an “academic father” to scores of students, inspiring them with his quiet but deeply held passion for combining academic rigor with real-world applicability. Many of his students have become professors in Universities across the world. His vocation is also carried on by his son Richard, and son-in-law Gene Grossman, both of whom are professors of economics specialising in international trade.

 

Source: Obituary for Robert E. Baldwin posted by the Cress Funeral Home, Madison, Wisconsin.

Image Source: Selection from photograph (ca. 1975) of Robert E. Baldwin from the University of Wisconsin Archives/The University of Wisconsin Collection/The UW-Madison Collection/UW-Madison Archives Images.

 

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Exam Questions Swarthmore Undergraduate

Swarthmore. Senior comprehensive economics exam, 1931

 

The two previous posts provided undergraduate comprehensive examinations for Harvard and Princeton from the early 1930s that were published in the Bulletin of the Association of American Colleges (December, 1933). The cross-section of comprehensive economics exams is now expanded with this post to include Swarthmore College’s economics department.

A decade later Swarthmore College brought in external examiners (many of whom recruited from Wolfgang Stolper’s network of Harvard graduate buddies), e.g.

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Senior Comprehensive Examination in Economics

Swarthmore College, 1931

  1. a. Why have railroads been subject to an unusual amount of regulation?
    b. Appraise reproduction cost as a basis for the valuation of public utilities.
    c. Explain the operation of the principle of joint costs in the determination of rates for specific services.
  2. Discuss:
    a. “One of the unions’ chief errors is restriction of output, which is always against the social interest and even fruitless for the workers.”
    b. “To the extent that employee representation seems to the worker to be just an employer’s weapon against trade unionism, it will be still less popular in the future than today and even its good points will be ignored.”
  3. Is it necessary to make goods in order to make money? Give the answers of T. N. Carver, S. & B. Webb, F. M. Taylor, T. Veblen, Adam Smith, R. H. Tawney, and Alfred Marshall. Why have these scholars come to such contrary conclusions after examining the facts? Is it possible that both groups are right; that neither one is right? How so? If not, which group is right and why?
  4. a. Since it is understood that all kinds of money in this country are to be maintained at a parity of value with standard money, would not inconvertible paper money issued by our government be quite as acceptable and useful as any kind? Explain.
    b. In the United States there are many kinds of money. What are they, and what is the security behind each one? Does Gresham’s Law operate? Why, or why not.
  5. a. It is said that the United States is evolving into a commission form of government; that the government set up by the Constitution is gradually delegating its duties to “expert commissions.” Bearing in mind the frailty of commissioners and their staffs, do you believe this is a wise movement? Why? Be specific.
    b. Giving generous reference to the history of governmental regulation in the United States, what do you believe will be the position of the government as a regulator of business twenty-five years hence?
  6. According to present estimates, the federal government will complete this fiscal year, June 30, 1931, with a deficit of nearly one billion dollars. Outline, in detail, the causes of this deficit. Suggest, with reasons, the fiscal program which the government should adopt, for the coming year, in view of this deficit.
  7. Philip Snowden, British Chancellor of the Exchequer, has proposed the imposition of a tax on the site value of land as a means of balancing the British budget. It is argued that such a tax would have less of a repressive effect upon industry than any other type of tax which might be imposed. Give in detail the reasoning which supports this position.
  8. Give an historical account of the currency agitation and legislation from the end of the Civil War to the end of the last century. What issues were involved and how did they arise? On the whole, do you think that our currency history of this period refutes or verifies the quantity theory of money?
  9. a. Imagine yourself a Congressman in the year of 1828 and make a brief argument for the high tariff policy adopted in that year. Would you argue in the same way today? If not, why not? Is your supposed speech that of a representative from South Carolina or Pennsylvania? Give reasons.
    b. Briefly comment upon what you regard as three important causes or factors in the present industrial depression.
  10. a. How important for price theory and for practical life are differences in the elasticity of demand for commodities? Illustrate, using diagrams.
    b. Translate, and if necessary, correct the following popular statements into the more exact language of economic theory:

(1) “We produce too much coal and people freeze to death; we raise too much cotton and people go naked.”
(2) “Great Britain’s foreign trade is in a bad way; she has an extremely unfavorable balance.”
(3) “The price of corn is low because you can buy good corn land so cheaply.”
(4) “Depressions are due to over-production, and by this I mean that more goods are produced than can be sold, for two reasons; rich people save too much, and the workers do not get high enough wages.”

(Answer five questions. Use the first half-hour to study and select your questions. Then devote about thirty minutes to answering each question.)

 

Source:  Edward S. Jones. Comprehensive Examinations in the Social Sciences, Supplement to the December, 1933 Bulletin of the Association of American Colleges, pp. 41-43.

Image Source: Parrish Hall, Swarthmore College  .

 

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Suggested Reading Swarthmore Syllabus

Swarthmore. Honors Economic Theory Seminar. Stolper, ca. 1944

 

This seminar reading list and reports was probably typed by Wolfgang Stolper himself and given to a (the?) departmental secretary for preparing 25 mimeographed copies to distribute. While this typed seminar outline has no date, at least judging from the last item to be reported on, William Beveridge’s Full Employment in a Free Society, the outline probably dates from the 1944-45 academic year.

The course description remained the same throughout Stolper’s years at Swarthmore.

Paul Samuelson was an honors examiner in 1943.

Richard Musgrave also served as an external examiner in 1946.

______________________

Course Description
(taught by Stolper 1941-42 through 1946-47, 1948-49)

The following seminars prepare for examinations for a degree with Honors:

[…]

  1. Economic Theory. Mr Stolper. Each semester.

An advanced analysis of the processes by which the prices of goods and services and the incomes of the factors of production are determined under various market condition. A study of theories of the business cycle. Directed reading and discussion, supplemented by reports on the theoretical problems raised by factual studies.

Source:  Swarthmore College Catalogue, 1941-42 p. 62.

______________________

Stolper
Economics Theory Seminar
25 copies

(1) First Week

Assigned:

Joan Robinson, Imperfect Competition, Bk. I
E.H. Chamberlin, Monopolistic Competition, Chs. 1,2
Ricardo, Principles, Ch. 1
Wicksell, Lectures, Vol. I, Introd. und Pt. I, Sec 1

Suggested:

J.St. Mill, Principles, Bk. III, except Ch. 5
J. Cassels, A Re-interpretation of Ricardo on Value, QJE, Vol. 49, p. 518

Topic:

Review of the Tools of Analysis

(2) Second Week

Assigned:

Wicksell, Lectures, Vol. I, Pt. I, pp. 29-100.  You may omit: p. 31 small print; p. 60-63 small print; p. 79, 2d last para- p. 81 top; p. 93-95, small print and diagram
J. Viner, Cost Curves and Supply curves
Marshall, Principles, Bk. V, Chs. 1-5, 8, 9, 13, 15

Topic:

Pure Competition. The Classical Statement of Value Theory

(3) Third Week

Assigned:

Marshall, op.cit. Bk. V., Chs. 12, 14
Chamberlin, op.cit., Chs. 3-6
Triffin, Monopolistic Competition and General Equilibrium Theory, Pt. I, secs. 1, 2,4; Pt. II complete

Suggested:

Triffin, op.cit. Pt. I, Secs. 3, 5, note

Topic:

Monopolistic Competition

Report:

TNEC Monograph 21, Competition and Monopoly in American Industry, by Clair Wilcox

(4) Fourth Week

Assigned:

Triffin, op.cit., Pt. III, secs. 1, 3, 5, 6, 7

Suggested:

Triffin, Monopoly in Particular Equilibrium…,Econometrica. Vol. IX, No. 2, p. 121
J. Robinson, What is Pure Competition? QJE Vol. 49, p. 104
F.Y. Edgeworth, Pure Theory of Monopoly
Cournot, Mathematical Theory of Wealth

Topic:

Criticisms of Monopolistic Competition

Reports:

(a) The Problem of Excess Capacity(See Bibliography in Chamberlin, op.cit.)
(b) Price Discrimination between Markets

G. Haberler, International Trade, Ch. on Dumping
J. Robinson, op.cit., Ch. XV
For illustrative facts refer to the following:
TNEC Monog. 41, Price Discrimination in Steel
TNEC Monog. 42, The Basing Point Problem

(c) Price Policy

TNEC Monog. 1, Price Behavior and Business Policy
Hall and Hitch, Oxford Economic Papers No. 2, pp. 12-45
Clive Saxton, The Economics of Price Determination
National Bureau of Economic Research, Cost Behavior and Price Policy

(d) F.P. Bishop, The Economics of Advertising

 (5) Fifth Week

Assigned:

Marshall, Bk. VI, Chs. 1, 2, 11
Wicksell, Pt. II, Sec. 1. You may omit: pp. 127-129, small print. Don’t worry about the mathematics on pp. 127-131, 139-40
Meyers, Elements of Modern Economics, Ch. XIII (old edition, Ch. XI)
J. Cassels, The Law of Variable Proportions, Explorations in Economics, pp. 223-228
Chamberlin, op.cit. Ch. VIII (also in Explorations, …., pp. 237-250)
Triffin, Pt. III, Sec. 2
Schumpeter, The Instability of Capitalism, Economic Journal, Vol 38 (1928)

Suggested:

Articles by Machlup, Hart, Smithies, and remainder of article of Cassels, in Explorations in Economics
G. Stigler, Production and Distribution Theories

 (6) Sixth Week

Assigned:

Marshall, Bk. VI, Chs. 3, 4, 5 Bk. IV, Ch. 4, 5
Ricardo, Ch. 5
Hicks, Theory of Wages, Complete

Suggested:

A. C. Pigou, Theory of Unemployment
J.T.Dunlop, Wage Determination under Trade Unions

Topic:

Wage Theory and Wage Problems

Reports:

(a) Colin Clark, The Conditions of Economic Progress, particularly, Chs. V-IX
(b) National Resources Planning Board, Problems of a Changing Population, pp. 1-138
Reddaway, Economics of a Declining Population
Malthus, Principles,
Myrdal, Population
Hansen, Economic Progress and Declining Population Growth, Readings in Business Cycle Theory, pp. 366-85

(c) P. Douglas, Theory of Wages
National Income of the US, Chs. 1-4

(d) TNEC Monog. 22, Technology in our Economy
TNEC Hearing on Technological Progress, selections
Consult for further readings

(e) J.T. Dunlop, op, cit., Chs. I-VI, IX, X
(f) TNEC Monog. 5, Industrial Wage Rates, Labor Costs and Price Policies

(7) Seventh Week

Assigned:

Ricardo, Ch. 2, 3
Mill, Bk. III, Ch. 5
Marshall, Bk. V, Ch. 10, 11, Bk. VI, Chs. o,10
Chamberlin, op.cit. Appendix D

Report:

H.W. Singer, Index of Urban Land Rents, Econometrica, Vol IX,

(8) Eighth Week

Assigned:

Schumpeter, Theory of Economic Development, Chs. 2, 3, 4
Triffin, op.cit., Pt. V, omitting B
Marshall, Bk, VI, Chs. 7, 8
R.A.Gordon, Explorations in Economics, pp. 306-317
Schumpeter, Development, Ch. 1
Wicksell, Pt. II, sec. 3

Reports:

(a) Berle and Means, The Modern Corporation and Private Property
TNEC Monograph 29, The Distribution of Ownership in the 200 largest non-financial Corporations
(b) W.L.Crum, Corporate Size and Earning Power

Topic:

Profits. General Summary of Value and Distribution

(9) Ninth Week

Assigned:

Wicksell, Pt. II, Sec. 2; Pt. III. You may omit: Sec D, pp. 172-184; pp. 203-5, small print; p. 216, 2d para—p. 217, 1stpara
Marshall, Bk, VI, Ch. 6
Schumpeter, Development, Ch. V, I
Keynes, General Theory, Chs. 13, 14
Higgins and Musgrave, Deficit Financing—The Case Examined, Public Policy Yearbook II, pp. 136-207
O. Lange, The Rate of Interest and the Optimum Propensity to Consume, Readings in Business Cycle Theory, No. 8

Suggested:

J.M. Keynes, General Theory
Readings…., Pt. II

Topic:

Interest Theory

Reports:

(a) E.v. Böhm-Bawerk, Positive Theory of Capital, Bks. I-III
(b) E.v. Böhm-Bawerk, Positive Theory, Bks. IV to end
(c) F.A.Lutz, The Structure of Interest Rates, Q.J.E., Vol. 55,

(10) Tenth Week

Assigned:

Haberler, Prosperity and Depression, 1939 ed. or later, Chs. 8, 9, 13
Hicks, Value and Capital, Ch. 24
Hicks, Social Framework, Chs. XI-XVI, Appendices E and F
and either
Schumpeter, Business Cycles, Ch. 4
Kuznets, Review of Schumpeter, AER
or
Mitchell, Business Cycles, Ch. III

Suggested:

Readings…., Pt. I

Topic:

Measurement and Separation of Cycles

Reports:

(a) Burns, Production Trends in the US since 1870
(b) Schumpeter, Business Cycles, Chs. 6, 7
Kondratieff, Readings…, pp. 20-42
(c) Schumpeter, Cycles, Vol. II, Chs. 14, 15
(d) The Cob Web Theorem

(11) Eleventh Week

Assigned:

Schumpeter, Development, Ch. 6
Haberler, Prosperity and Depression, Chs. 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13
P.A.Samuelson, Readings…. pp. 261-289

Suggested:

Readings, Pt. III, IV, V.
Tinbergen, Critical Remarks on Some Business Cycle Theories, Econometrica, Vol. 10, pp. 129 ff

Reports:

(a) A.H.Hansen, Fiscal Policy and Business Cycles, particularly Pts. I, III, IV
P.A.Samuelson, A Synthesis of the Principle of Acceleration and the Multiplier, JPE, 1939
_______________, Fiscal Policy and Income Determination QJE, August 1942
(b) Haberler, Prosperity and Depression, Chs. 4, 6, 7
Hansen, Business Cycle Theory
Readings, …., Pts. IV, V
(c) Wm. Beveridge, Full Employment in a Free Society

Topic:

Business Cycles, Theory and Theories

 

Source: Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Economist Papers’ Archive. Wolfgang F. Stolper Papers, Box 19, Folder “S miscellaneous (2 of 3) Swarthmore Theory outline”.

Image Source: Wolfgang F. Stolper from  John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (Fellow, 1947).

Categories
Economists Harvard Radcliffe Swarthmore

Harvard. Wolfgang Stolper describes his training in letter to Hobart College, 1941

 

This post provides Wolfgang Stolper‘s own description of his academic training, teaching and research interests as of early 1941 in a letter to the President of Hobart College regarding his application for an assistant professorship. Stolper’s Harvard coursework for 1934-37 was transcribed for an earlier post. He was on the job market for the 1941-42 academic year after having taught a wide range of courses at Harvard since completing his Ph.D. in 1938. 

Hobart’s offer ended up being only 73% of the offer he was to receive from  Swarthmore (and which he accepted). From the April 29, 1941 letter from President’s office at Swarthmore:  “I realize that the salary which we are offering you [$3300] is considerably under what you have been receiving this year. It is, however, the equivalent of your combined Harvard and Radcliffe salaries for the past two years…” A follow-up letter from the President of Swarthmore College dated May 7, 1941 confirmed the approval of Stolper’s appointment as Assistant Professor of Economics at Swarthmore for 1941-42 at a salary of $3300 ($900 higher than the Hobart offer).

Also of some interest is the rather casual/modest mention of what ultimately was to become Wolfgang Stolper’s greatest hit: “Right now I am finishing another article on Protection and Real Wages.”

________________

Carbon copy of Wolfgang Stolper’s letter
to President of Hobart College

Wolfgang F. Stolper

19 Ware Street
March 18, 1941

Mr. Brooks Otis
Hobart College
Geneva, N.Y.

 

Dear Mr. Otis,

I am writing this letter to you about my background and training, as you suggested at our meeting on March 17. If you think it desirable either you or I can ask the Harvard appointment office to send you all the documents concerning me.

First about my background. I was born in Vienna in May 1912. There I went to elementary school and through the first three years of high school. We then moved to Berlin where I finished high school (humanistisches Gymnasium) in 1930, and where I also studied law for three semesters. I then went to Bonn, where I studied law and economics in about the same proportions. My economics teachers were Professors Spiethoff, who is now retired, H. v. Beckerath, who is now at Chapel Hill, and Schumpeter who is now in Harvard. From Bonn I went to to Zürich where I wrote a thesis under Professor Eugen Grossmann on the reasons, economic and otherwise, which lead the various nations to defend different economic policies during the World Economic Conference in London in 1933.

In August 1934 I came to Harvard as a Holtzer fellow, and I held a University fellowship during the next year 1935/36. Since 1936 I have been teaching. I took somewhat more than the required eight courses, my main interests within the field of economics being: Theory, Money and Banking, Business Cycles, International Economic Relations, and Building.

In May, 1935 I took my M.A., and in May, 1938 I got my Ph.D.. My thesis was on the British housing boom from 1931-36, and its connection with monetary policy in the widest sense.

My teaching experience has been quite extensive, more so, I believe, than that of most of my colleagues. Besides the usual complement of tutees and the principles course I have been giving half of the lectures in the course on International Economic Relations [Econ 43a,  Report of the President of Harvard College 1938-39, p. 98;  Report of the President of Harvard College 1939-40, p. 99;  Report of the President of Harvard College 1940-41, p. 58,], and I am this year assisting Professors Haberler and Hansen in the course on Business Cycles [Econ 45a, Report of the President of Harvard College 1940-41, p. 58]. In Radcliffe College I am also giving a section of the course on principles, half of the course on International Economic Relations, and also half of the course on Business Cycles [Radcliffe College. Courses of Instruction 1940-41, pp. 43, 45.]. This year I was also asked to give a University Extension course on International Economic Relations [Report of the President of Harvard College 1940-41, p. 347].

The list of my publications does not look too impressive. I have published a number of short book reviews in the American Economic Review, a short theoretical article in the Quarterly Journal. My thesis which I have revised and brought up to date will be published by the Harvard University Press. I also just signed a contract with Blakiston Co. to write a text on International Trade together with my friend, Dr. H.K. Heuser who is Professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Right now I am finishing another article on Protection and Real Wages.

Perhaps I should add that I am married and have a ten-year old son.

I hope that this information is what you wanted. My teachers and senior colleagues will of course be glad to give you any information about me which you might want. I need hardly add that I am very interested in the position, and that I, therefore, hope very much to hear from you again in the not too distant future.

Yours very sincerely,

________________

Job Offer to Wolfgang Stolper from Hobart College

HOBART COLLEGE
Geneva, New York

April 29, 1941

The President

 

Mr. Wolfgang F. Stolper
19 Ware Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts

 

Dear Mr. Stolper:

I regret to think that more than a month has passed since I talked with you at Cambridge. Doubtless you have gathered that we had entirely lost interest in you in the interim. That is, however, by no means the case. Since we have to appoint three men at this time, a sociologist, a political scientist and an economist we have, necessarily, had to proceed rather slowly. Our major preoccupation so far has not been Economics simply because we have had to concentrate on one thing at a time. We have now, however, reached a point where the Economics appointment is directly concerning us.

I am writing this letter to you to find out more definitely what your expectations would be. The plain fact is that we find that we cannot offer the salary that we should like to. The best thing that we can do for next year in Economics is an Assistant Professorship at twenty-four hundred dollars ($2400.00). I might also add, as I think I said to you personally, that anyone appointed to this position would have considerable freedom in the choice of courses and in the teaching, and a considerable opportunity to influence the operation and planning of the whole Social Science curriculum here in cooperation with his colleagues in Sociology and Political Science,–that is, of course, if he cared to do so.

If it is not too much trouble, would you drop me a line stating whether you would still be interested in the job as outlined above?

Very truly yours,
[signed]
Brooks Otis

BO/bg

________________

Carbon copy of Stolper letter
declining Hobart offer

Wolfgang F. Stolper

19 Ware Street
May 2, 1941

Mr. Brooks Otis
Hobart College
Geneva, N.Y.

 

Dear Mr. Otis,

Thank you very much for your letter of April 29. I regret very much that I have to reject your offer to come to Hobart next year since I have just accepted a position as Assistant Professor at Swarthmore College.

I was very glad to have had a chance of meeting you, and I hope very much that this letter will not be the end of our relationship.

Very truly yours,

 

Source:Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Economists’ Papers Archive. Wolfgang F. Stolper Papers, Box 23, Folder “[illegibly marked]”

Image Source: Wolfgang F. Stolper from  John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (Fellow, 1947).