Category: Syllabus

Tufts/Fletcher. International Economics, Readings and Final Exam. Samuelson, 1944

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2017-11-13

During the mid-1940s Paul Samuelson regularly taught courses at Tufts University in international economics and policy. Transcribed below are two reading lists and a final exam from the second term of the 1943-44 academic year. All the material comes from a single folder but at least the sections of the reading lists match well the exam questions for international economics so we can be reasonably sure that they belong together for Samuelson’s course at the Fletcher School. Unlike international economics courses today that typically start with real trade theory and commercial policy and then move on to international monetary/macroeconomics, the sequence in this course was clearly reversed. Also interesting to note that the first reading list here is nearly identical to that from M.I.T. from February 1943.

___________________________

READING LIST
January, 1944
P. A. Samuelson

Asterisks indicate required reading, other items suggested reading.

NATIONAL INCOME, EMPLOYMENT & PRODUCTION

M. Gilbert, “War Expenditures & National Production,” Survey of Current Business, March, 1942.
S. S. Kuznets, National Income & Its Composition, 1919-1938, Vol. I.
W. L. Crum, J. F. Fennelly, L. J. Seltzer, Fiscal Planning for Total War.
S. Fabricant, Productivity of American Manufacturing Industries.
Federal Reserve Board Bulletin, August & September, 1940.
R. A. Nixon & P. A. Samuelson, “Estimates of Unemployment in the U. S.,” Review of Economic Statistics, August, 1940.

NATURE OF BUSINESS CYCLE

(*) A. H. Hansen, Fiscal Policy & Business Cycles, Ch. 1-4.
(*) Wesley C. Mitchell, Business Cycles, 1941 Reprint of 1913 Edition, Ch. V, Part I.
(*) J. P. Wernette, The Control of Business Cycles, pp. 3-23 and Conclusion.
(*) J. R. Meade & H. Hitch, Economic Analysis & Policy, Ch. I.
(*) G. Haberler, Prosperity & Depression, Ch. IX, I & II.
(*) S. H. Slichter, Towards Stability, Ch. I.
A. H. Hansen, Business Cycle Theory, Chs. I, II, IV, & VI.
S. H. Slichter, Towards Stability, Chs. II & IV.
G. Haberler, Prosperity & Depression, any part, especially Ch. 8.
S. Harris, Postwar Economic Problems, Chs. by Hansen, Samuelson, Bissell and Kindleberger.

SAVING AND INVESMENT

(*) Joan Robinson, Introduction to the Theory of Employment.
(*) T.N.E.C. testimony of Hansen and Currie.
(*) A. H. Hansen, Fiscal Policy, Chs. 11, 12, 15 & 24.
(*) L. V. Chandler, Introduction to Monetary Theory, Chs. VI & VII.
O. Altman, T.N.E.C. Monograph #37, Saving & Investment.

THE PROPENSITY TO IMPORT & THE FOREIGN TRADE MULTIPLIER

(*) R. F. Harrod, International Economics, (Rev. Ed.) Ch. 6, 7, (8 & 9 optional).
(*) W. A. Salant, “Foreign Trade Policy in the Business Cycle,” in Public Policy II (editor E. S. Mason).
(*) J. M. Keynes, General Theory, Preface, Chs. 23 & 24.
(*) F. Machlup, International Trade & the National Income Multiplier, Chs. I-IV, IX.
I. DeVegh, Review of Economic Statistics, 1940.
C. Clark & J. Crawford, National Income of Australia.
L. Metzler, Journal of Political Economy, 1942.

INTERNATIONAL PROPAGATION OF BUSINESS CYCLES

(*) G. Haberler, Prosperity & Depression, Ch. XII, pp. 455-473.
(*) J. Viner, Studies, pp. 432-436.
(*) League of Nations, Annual Survey, 1939-40.
(*) Sir A. Salter, Recovery, pp. 27-66, (101-195 optional).
R. Bennett, National Bureau, manuscript.
P. Einzig, Bankers, Statesmen & Economists.
League of Nations, B. Ohlin, Course & Phases of the World Economic Depression, especially pp. 116-215.
O. Morgenstern, Journal of Political Economy, August, 1943, “On the International Spread of Business Cycles.”

___________________________

[Handwritten note: “Fletcher”]

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
Reading List
March, 1944

Mercantilism

Viner, Studies, Chs. I and II.
E. F. Heckscher, Mercantilism, Vol. I, Introduction, Vol. II, Chs. I and II of Part II.
A. Smith, Wealth of Nations, Book IV, Chs. I and II, Introduction, and glance through Ch. VIII.

Tariffs and Import Quotas

G. Haberler, Theory of International Trade, pp. 169-174, and Chs. XV, XVI, XVII, XX, XXI.
F.W. Taussig, Some Aspects of the Tariff Question, Part I and one other part of your own choosing.
Sir W. Beveridge and others, Tariffs: The Case Examined, Chs. II-XI.
H. Heuser, Control of International Trade, Chs. I, II, V, VII, VIII, IX, X, XII, and pp. 150-151, 155-156, 158-159, 161-162.

Exchange Control and Trade Agreements

P. Einzig, Exchange Control, Chs. I, II, VII, X, XI, XII, XIII, XVIII.
P. Einzig, Economic Warfare, Chs. VI, IX, X, XI.
H. S. Ellis, Exchange Control in Central Europe, Chs. I, IV, V.
Hearings before the Ways and Means Committee on Extension of Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act, 76^th Congress, 3^rd Session, H.J. Res. 407 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1940), Vol. I. Go through testimony of Hull (4-15, 31-33), Wallace (116-122, 125, 142-143), Noble (169-171), Fox (491-503), Grady (713-750, 899-910) and anything else that interests you.

___________________________

ECONOMICS 1
Final Examination
May 18, 1944
Professor Samuelson

3 hours
Answer 3 out of 4 questions

To what extent has the business cycle been international? Discuss the mechanisms whereby the cycle may be transmitted between countries.
Analyze the pros and cons of one of the advantages claimed for the tariff, with specific reference to some American industry.
Describe the successive steps by which a country extends exchange control. What problems is each designed to meet?
Bring to bear the tools of analysis developed in this course upon some anticipated postwar problem of international economic relations.

Source: Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Economists’ Papers Archive. Paul Samuelson Papers, 1930s-2009, Box 33, Folder “Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, 1944-1947”.

Image Source: Paul Samuelson faculty photo in MIT Technique 1950.

Tags Samuelson

Exam Questions M.I.T. Suggested Reading Syllabus

M.I.T. Reading assignments and final exam for Business Cycles. Samuelson, 1948

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2017-11-09

The reading list and final exam questions for Paul Samuelson’s course on business cycles at M.I.T. that he taught during the second term of 1942-43 were posted earlier. In this posting I provide transcriptions for the reading list and final exam for the same course offered five years later. I have included a carbon copy of the first two questions that are different from the first two questions in the mimeographed copy. Maybe the carbon copy was preliminary, perhaps undergraduates and graduates received different questions. In any event the questions are different and clearly identified for the same examination date and same course. Note the tease in his illustration for Question 3 where he lists “in order of importance” “sunspots” and “anti-Keynesian” as Samuelson’s personal main theories.

_____________________________

Reading Assignment, Economics 26
Spring Term 1948

The student should buy J. M. Keynes, General Theory of Employment, Money and Interest; and if possible, G. Haberler, Prosperity and Depression (3^rd revised edition).
As background reading, the student may wish to consult J. A. Estey or E. Bratt on Business Cycles [James Arthur Estey, Business Cycles, New York: Prentice-Hall, 1941; Elmer Clark Bratt, Business Cycles and Forecasting, 3^rd 1949] and Joan Robinson, Introduction to the Theory of Employment.

Reading Assignments
A

Wesley C. Mitchell, Business Cycles: The Problem and its Setting (1927), Chapters 1, 4.
A. H. Hansen, Fiscal Policy and Business Cycles, Chapters 1, 2
Wm. H. Beveridge, Full Employment in a Free Society, Appendix A.
J. A. Schumpeter, Business Cycles (1939), Chapters 4, 7C, 15G
S. Kuznets, National Income and its Composition, Vol. 1, Chapter 1
G. Haberler, Prosperity and Depression, Chapters 1, 9

Optional:

A. F. Burns and W. C. Mitchell, Measuring Business Cycles.

B

G. Haberler, op cit, Ch. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
A. H. Hansen, Business Cycle Theory, 1, 2, 4, 8
K. Wicksell, Interest and Prices, Introduction, Ch. 5, 7, 8, 11.

C

J. M. Keynes, General Theory
P. Samuelson, Ch. 13 on Savings and Investment in Economics
A. H. Hansen, Fiscal Policy, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
G. Haberler, Ch. 8, Part III
S. E. Harris, Postwar Economic Problems, Ch. 2, 5
S. E. Harris, Economic Reconstruction, Ch. 5
Selected Readings on Business Cycles, [Probably: American Economic Association. Gottfried Haberler, chairman of the selection committee. Readings in Business Cycle Theory. Philadelphia: Blakiston, 1944.] Lange, Clark, Tinbergen papers.

D

Financing American Prosperity. [Financing American prosperity : a symposium of economists. Editors: Paul T. Homan and Fritz Machlup. New York : The Twentieth Century Fund, 1945.] Read Ch. 1 and any other two
Federal Reserve Monograph No. 3. First Musgrave Article and Comments.

_____________________________

Business Cycles
Ec 26 Examination
May 27, 1948
[from mimeographed copy]

20 minutes

What postwar public policies should be followed in connection with business cycles? (If none, justify your answer.)

15 minutes

Define in a paragraph or less:

acceleration principle
Say’s Law
marginal propensity to invest
“foreign trade multiplier”
Juglar cycle

15 minutes

Next to each of the following writers fill in the appropriate letter and number (or numbers if more than one is called for).

Thus the correct answer for Samuelson might be as indicated:

Samuelson A 2 9

if his principal contribution occurred in the last 20 years; and if the theories of the cycle for which he is best known were (in order of importance) “sunspots” and “anti-Keynesian.”

Time of Principal Contribution	Main Theory or Theories
A. Last 20 years	1. monetary
B. Early 20^th century (1900-27)	2. sunspots and weather
C. 19^th century or earlier	3. underconsumption
	4. self-generating, endogenous
	5. exogenous investment fluctuation
	6. Say’s Law of Markets
	7. eclectic (some truth in most theories)
	8. overinvestment
	9. anti-Keynesian

	Time of Principal Contribution	Main Theory or Theories
Cassel	_____	_____; _____
Catchings	_____	_____
Dewey and Dakin	_____	_____
Fisher (I.)	_____	_____
Foster	_____	_____
Haberler	_____	_____
Hawtrey	_____	_____
Hansen	_____	_____; _____
Hobson	_____	_____
Hayek	_____	_____; _____
Jevons	_____	_____
Anderson	_____	_____; _____
Keynes	_____	_____; _____
Pigou	_____	_____
Lauderdale	_____	_____
Mitchell	_____	_____; _____
Mises	_____	_____; _____
Malthus	_____	_____
Spiethoff	_____	_____
Ricardo	_____	_____
Tugan-Baranowsky	_____	_____; _____
Schumpeter	_____	_____

_____________________________

Business Cycles
Ec 26 Examination
May 27, 1948
[from carbon copy]

20 minutes

In retrospect what public policies seemed called for in the period between the two world wars in connection with “business cycles”?

15 minutes

Define or describe in a paragraph:

natural rate of interest vs. real rate of interest
open market purchase
Kondratieff cycle
marginal efficiency of capital

Source: David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. Paul A. Samuelson Papers: Box 33, Folder “14.451 Business Cycles, 1943-1955”.

Image Source: From the slideshow at the MIT Memorial Service for Paul A. Samuelson held on April 10, 2010.

Tags Samuelson

Exam Questions Harvard Suggested Reading Syllabus

Harvard. Graduate Core Economic Theory, Readings and Exams. Schumpeter, 1936-37

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2017-11-07

The reading lists and exams for Schumpeter’s graduate economic theory course in 1935-36 have been posted earlier (the year Paul Samuelson took the course). It is worth noting that Keynes and the General Theory (at least Chapters 11, 13-16) were added to the readings for the second term of 1936-37.

__________________________

Course Announcement, 1936-37

Economics 101 (formerly 11). Economic Theory

Mon., Wed., Fri., at 2. Professor Schumpeter.

Source: Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences during 1936-37 (first edition). Official Register of Harvard University, Vol. XXXIII, No. 5 (March 2, 1936), p. 142.

__________________________

Course Enrollment, 1936-37

Primarily for Graduates:

[Economics] 101. (formerly 11). Professor Schumpeter.–Economic Theory.

Total 36: 30 Graduates, 3 Seniors, 3 Radcliffe.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College for 1936-1937, p. 93.

__________________________

Economics 101

Following is a list of some of the most important works in English dealing with problems outside the range of perfect competition. They are not all assigned, but assigned reading is taken altogether from this list.

Pigou, A. C., Economics of Welfare, 3^rd Edition.
Chamberlin, E. H., The Theory of Monopolistic Competition.
Chamberlin, E. H., On Imperfect Competition, in the March, 1934 Supplement of The American Economic Review, pp. 23-27.
Robinson, Joan, Economics of Imperfect Competition.
Robinson, Joan, What is Perfect Competition, Q. J. E., Nov. 1934.
Zeuthen, F., Problems of Monopoly and Economic Warfare.
Cournot, A. A., Mathematical Principles of the Theory of Wealth.
Edgeworth, F. Y., The Pure Theory of Monopoly (Papers, Vol. I)
Hotelling, Harold, Stability in Competition, E. J., March 1929.
Shove, G. F., The Imperfection of the Market, E. J., March 1933.
Harrod, R. F., Doctrines of Imperfect Competition, Q. J. E., May 1934.
Hicks, J. R., The Theory of Monopoly, Econometrica, Jan. 1935.

The subjects, in the order in which they will be taken up, together with the assigned reading, are given below.

I. The Technique and the Background.

Pigou, Part II, Ch. XIV.
Robinson, Chs. 1, 2.
Chamberlin, Chs. 1, 2.

V. Monopolistic Competition

Chamberlin, Chs. 4, 5, 6, 7.
Robinson, Ch. 7. Q.J.E., Nov. ‘34
Shove, E.J., March ’33.
Harrod, Q.J.E., May ’34.

II. Simple Monopoly.

Pigou, Part II, Ch. XVI.
Robinson, Chs. 3, 4, 5.

VI. Discrimination.

Pigou, Chs. XVII, XVIII (Part II).
Robinson, Chs. 15, 16.

III. Duopoly and Oligopoly

Pigou, Part II, Ch. XV.
Chamberlin, Ch. 3.

IV. Bilateral Monopoly.

Hicks, Sect. 3.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Joseph Schumpeter Papers. Lecture Notes. Box 9, Folder “Ec 11, Fall 1936”.

__________________________

[Hand-written notes, neat, presumably to be typed]

On Substitution

Marshall, V., Chs. 4, 8; VI, Ch.1.
Hicks, Theory of Wages, Ch. 6.
Robinson, Imperfect Competition, Ch. 22.
Machlup, “Commonsense of the Elast. of Subst.”, Rev. Econ. Stud., Vol II, No. 3. (on Econ. 1 shelf)

More Advanced

Hicks, Appendix.
Various notes on elast. of subs. In Vols I and II, Rev. Econ. Stud., by Hicks, Lerner, Kahn, Tarshis etc.
Hicks, Rev. Econ. Stud. Oct., 1936.
Pigou, Econ. Journal, June, 1934.

On Period of Production

Böhm-Bawerk, E., Positive Theory of Capital, Bk II, Ch. 2, 3.
Knight, F. H., “Capital, Time + the Interest Rate,” Economica, August 1934 (on Econ. 151 shelf)
Hayek, F. A., Q. J. E., Feb., ‘36
Machlup, F. “Professor Knight + the Period of Production,” J. P. E., Oct. 1935.

More Advanced

Gifford, C.H.P., Econometrica, April 1935 (in Econ. 102 shelf).

Source: Harvard University Archives. Joseph Schumpeter Papers. Lecture Notes. Box 9, Folder “Ec 11, Fall 1936”.

__________________________

1936-37
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 101

(Answer any FIVE questions)

What meaning can be attributed to
1. Positively inclined demand curves?
2. Negatively inclined long-run average cost curves?
Define arc elasticity of demand and explain the usefulness or otherwise of the concept.
From given demand curves for consumers’ goods we derive demand curves for the producers’ goods or factors of production. From these in turn we derive the prices of factors and hence incomes. And these incomes determine the demand curves for consumers’ goods. Does this involve circular reasoning?
Why is the explanation of market price by means of the theory of marginal utility superior to the explanation of market price by means of the Ricardian theory of quantity of labor?
Consider a commodity A which is the product of two factors of production B and C. Then “an increase in the supply of A raises the demand for B in terms of money if the elasticity of the demand for A is greater than the elasticity of substitution.” Prove.
Show why and in what sense price is determinate in the case of bilateral monopoly.
“Perfect competition exists to such a negligible extent in the modern economy that all theorizing based on this assumption must be regarded as sheer waste of time.” What have you to say to this?
“The key to problems of imperfect competition lies in the conditions of demand. But it is precisely when we come to problems of imperfect competition that the ordinary demand curve apparatus ceases to have any clear meaning.” Comment.

Mid-Year. 1937.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Joseph Schumpeter Papers. Lecture Notes. Box 9, Folder “Ec 11, Fall 1936”.

__________________________

ECONOMICS 101 [“37” is handwritten here]

The first month of the second term will be devoted to a study of the principles underlying the theory of distribution, with special emphasis on wages.

Substitution and Relative Shares
1. Hicks, J. R., The Theory of Wages, Ch. VI.
2. Machlup, Fritz, “The Common Sense of the Elasticity of Substitution”, Review of Economic Studies, June, 1935.
3. Hicks, J. R., “Distribution and Economic Progress: A Revised Version”, Review of Economic Studies, October, 1936.
4. Also notes and articles on substitution and relative shares in Review of Economic Studies, Vol. I, Nos. 1 and 2, though not required reading, may be consulted.
Theory of Wages and Marginal Productivity
1. Marshall, Bk. VI, especially Ch. I.
2. Hicks, J. R., Theory of Wages, Ch. I.
3. ——-, Marginal Productivity and the Principle of Variation,” Economica, February, 1932.
4. Schultz, Henry and Hicks, J. R., “Marginal Productivity and the Lausanne School: “A Reply” and “A Rejoinder”, Economica, August, 1932.
5. Robertson, D. H., “Wage Grumbles” in the volume of essays entitled Economic Fragments.
6. Chamberlin, E. H., On distribution under Imperfect Competition, pp. 23-27 of the Supplement to the American Economic Review, March, 1934.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Joseph Schumpeter Papers. Lecture Notes. Box 10, Folder “Ec 11, Spring 1937”.

__________________________

ECONOMICS 101

The next two or three weeks will be devoted to the discussion of capital and interest. A select bibliography and the assigned reading are listed below.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Böhm-Bawerk, E., Capital and Interest (a history of interest theories) [: and] The Positive Theory of Capital (the third edition, available only in German, containing the polemical Excursi, is to be preferred to the English translation)
Marx, Karl, Capital (especially Vol. I, Parts III and VII; Vol. II, Part III; Vol. III, Parts II and III)
Wicksell, Knut, Über Wert, Kapital und Rente [, and] Lectures on Political Economy, Vol. I
Fisher, Irving, The Rate of Interest (1907) [; and] The Theory of Interest (1930) (a rewriting of the earlier work)
Taussig, F.W., Wages and Capital
Knight, F.H., “Interest”, article in The Encyc. of Soc. Science
For a rather complete list of the numerous recent articles on capital, interest and the structure of production, Cf. Machlup, Fritz, “Professor Knight and the Period of Production”, Journal of Political Economy, 1935, first footnote.
For an exposition of Böhm-Bawerk, Wicksell and the later work along the same lines done in Sweden, particularly by Gustav Akerman, Cf. Kirchmann, Hans, Studien zur Grenzproduktivitätstheorie des Kapitalzinses.
Keynes, J. M., General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money.

ASSIGNED READING

Fisher, The Rate of Interest, Part I, Chs. 1,2,3; Part III, Ch. 10
Böhm-Bawerk, Positive Theory, Book I, Ch. 2; Book II, Chs. 2,4,5; Book V, Chs. 1,2,3,4,5; Book VI, Chs. 5,6,7; Book VII, Chs. 1,2,3.
Wicksell, Lectures, Vol. I, pp. 144-171; 185-195.
Keynes, J. M., General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Joseph Schumpeter Papers. Lecture Notes. Box 10, Folder “Ec 11, Spring 1937”.

__________________________

1936-37
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 101

Answer FIVE questions. Arrange your answers in the order of the questions.

Saving, by increasing the quantity of capital, will tend to increase its absolute and relative share. At the same time saving will tend to reduce the rate of interest and thereby to decrease capital’s absolute and relative share. State the conditions on which the net effect of saving on the absolute and relative share will depend. What do you think the actual effect is in practice?
Classical economists spoke of a net benefit accruing from free trade. Have we any means to measure that benefit and to determine how it is divided between the trading nations?
Which of the theories of interest which you have studied seems to you most acceptable and why?
What warrant is there for the statement that in perfect competition and perfect equilibrium every firm will produce that quantity which corresponds to the point of minimum average cost?
Discuss the problem of inequality of incomes from the following points of view: (a) measurement, (b) economic effects, (c) relation to welfare.
Could unemployment exist with perfect competition?
What do you regard as the most desirable railroad rate policy? State clearly and justify your criteria of desirability, and show how the policy selected meets these criteria.

Final. 1937.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Joseph Schumpeter Papers. Lecture Notes. Box 10, Folder “Ec 11, Spring 1937”.

Image Source: Harvard University Archives. HUGBS 276.90p(43) Irving Fisher and J. A. Schumpeter (May 12, 1934).

Tags Schumpeter

M.I.T. Suggested Reading Syllabus

M.I.T. First term core macro. National income and employment. Readings and Exams. Domar, 1965

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2017-11-04

For the previous posting I transcribed Robert Solow’s reading list and mid-term exam for M.I.T.’s second term of graduate core macroeconomics. That course reading list was lean, short & sweet. Today we turn to my Doktorvater, Evsey D. Domar, who taught the first term of that graduate sequence. Both my obligation to friends of Economics in the Rear-view Mirror and my profound doctor-filial piety were needed to motivate me to transcribe Domar’s entire fourteen page course reading list. I am delighted to say I was able to find the midterm and final exams for the year and include them here.

___________________

THEORY OF NATIONAL INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT

E. D. Domar 14.451 Fall Term 1965-66
READING LIST

The purpose of this list is to suggest to the student the sources in which the more important topics of the course are discussed from several points of view. His objectives should be the understanding of these topics and not the memorization of opinions and details.

There now exists a good textbook on macroeconomics—Gardner Ackley, Macroeconomic Theory (The Macmillan Company, New York, 1961). Its knowledge is necessary but not sufficient for passing the course. While several copies are on reserve at Dewey, the acquisition of private copies is recommended.

It is also convenient to acquire the two National Income volumes published by the U.S. Department of Commerce and listed in Section I.

I. NATIONAL INCOME AND RELATED ITEMS
(September 21 – October 14)

REQUIRED

Ackley, Chapters 1-4.
Kuznets, S., National Income and Its Composition, Vol. I (New York, 1941). [handwritten note: Chap. 1]
National Income 1954 Edition, A Supplement to the Survey of Current Business, U.S. Department of Commerce (Washington, D.C., 1954), pp. 27-60, 153-58.
U.S. Income and Output, A Supplement to the Survey of Current Business, U.S. Department of Commerce (Washington, D. C., 1958), pp. 50-105. Browse through the statistical tables of both volumes to know what is available where.
Leontief, W. W., “Output, Employment, Consumption and Investment,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 58 (February, 1944), pp. 290-314.
Leontief, Studies in the Structure of the American Economy (New York, 1953), pp. 27-35.
Dorfman, R., “The Nature and Significance of Input-Output,” Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 36 (May, 1954), pp. 121-33.
Kendrick, J. W., Productivity Trends in the United States (Princeton, 1961), pp. xxxv-lii, 20-77.
Domar, E. D., “On Total Productivity and All That,” The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 70 (December, 1962), pp. 597-608. [This is a review of Kendrick’s book; several reprints are available in Dewey.]
Domar, E. D., “On the Measurement of Technological Change,” The Economic Journal, Vol. 71 (December, 1961), pp. 709-29. [Read only pp. 709-14, 726-29.]
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Industrial Production 1959 Revision (Washington, 1960), pp. iii-41. [Look for the method, not for statistical details.]
Sigel, S. J., “A Comparison of the Structures of Three Social Accounting Systems,” National Bureau of Economic Research, Input-Output Analysis: An Appraisal, The Conference on Research in Income and Wealth, Studies in Income and Wealth, Vol. 18 (Princeton, 1955), pp. 253-89.

ADDITIONAL READINGS:

Jaszi, G., “The Statistical Foundations of the GNP,” Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 38 (May, 1956), pp. 205-14.
Domar, E. D., “An Index-Number Tournament,” mult., 1963. [Several copies are available in Dewey; your comments will be appreciated.]
Griliches, Zvi, “Notes on the Measurement of Price and Quality Changes,” and comments by Jaszi, Denison and Grove, in Conference on Research in Income and Wealth, Models of Income Determination (Princeton, 1964), Vol. 28, pp. 381-418.
Lewis, Wilfred, Jr., “The Federal Sector in National Income Models,” and comments by Hickman and Pechman, in Conference on Research in Income and Wealth, Models of Income Determination (Princeton, 1964), Vol. 28, pp. 233-78.
Bailey, M. J., National Income and the Price Level (New York, 1962), pp. 269-300.
Kuznets, S., National Income and Its Composition (New York, 1941).
Ruggles, R. and N., National Income Accounts and Income Analysis (New York, 1956).
Ruggles, “The U.S. National Accounts,” American Economic Review, Vol. 49, (March, 1959), pp. 85-95.
National Bureau of Economic Research, The National Economic Accounts of the United States, Review, Appraisal and Recommendations, General Series 64, (Washington, 1958).
Organization for European Economic Cooperation, A Standardised System of National Accounts, (Paris, 1952).
Gilbert, M. and I. B. Kravis, An International Comparison of National Products and the Purchasing Power of Currencies, A Study of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy, Organization for European Economic Cooperation (Paris, 1954).
Gilbert, M., Comparative National Products and Price Levels, A Study of Western Europe and the United States, Organization of European Economic Cooperation, (Paris, 1958).
United Nations, Yearbook of National Accounts Statistics, the latest issue.
United Nations, National Income Statistics, the latest issue.
United Nations, World Economic Survey and other Economic Surveys.
Studenski, The Income of Nations. Theory, Measurement, and Analysis: Past and Present (New York, 1958). [A wealth of information, particularly of historical character.]
Nove, A., “The United States National Income A La Russe,” Economica, Vol. 23, 1956.
Bergson, A. The Real National Income of Soviet Russia Since 1928 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1961).
Kravis, I. B., “Relative Income Shares in Fact and Theory,” American Economic Review, Vol. 49 (December, 1959), pp. 917-49.
Samuelson, P. A., “Evaluation of Real National Income,” Oxford Economic Papers (New Series), 1950, pp. 1-29.
Samuelson, “The Evaluation of ‘Social Income’: Capital Formation and Wealth,” in F. A. Lutz and D. C. Hague, editors, The Theory of Capital (London, 1961).
Leontief, W. W., The Structure of American Economy (New York, 1941).
Leontief, Studies in the Structure of the American Economy (New York, 1953).
Taskier, C. E., Input-Output Bibliography 1955-1960, United Nations (New York, 1961).
Evans, W. D., and M. Hoffenberg, “The Interindustry Relations Study for 1947,” Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 34, (May, 1952), pp. 97-142.
Stewart, I. G., “The Practical Uses of Input-Output Analysis,” Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 5, (February, 1958).
Dosser, D. and A. T. Peacock, “Input-Output Analysis in an Under-Developed Country: A Case Study,” Review of Economic Studies, Vol. 25 (October, 1957).
Input-Output Analysis: An Appraisal, Studies in Income and Wealth by the Conference on research in Income and Wealth, Vol. 18 (Princeton, 1955).
Solow, R. M. “Technical Change and the Aggregate Production Function,” Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 39 (August, 1957), pp. 312-20.
Abramovitz, M., “Resources and Output in the United States Since 1870,” American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, Vol. 46 (May, 1956), pp. 5-23, reprinted as National Bureau of Economic Research, Occasional Paper 52 (New York, 1956).
Kendrick, J. W., Productivity Trends in the United States (Princeton, 1961).
Denison, E. F., Sources of Economic Growth in the United States and the Alternatives Before Us (New York, 1962).
Abramovitz, M., “Economic Growth in the United States,” American Economic Review, Vol. 52 (September, 1962), pp. 762-82. [This is a review of Denison’s Book.]
Moorsteen, R. H., “On Measuring Productive Potential and Relative Efficiency,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 75 (August, 1961), pp. 451-67.
Fabricant, S., The Output of Manufacturing Industries, 1899-1937 (New York, 1940), particularly Chapter 1.
United Nations, Statistical Office, Index Numbers of Industrial Production, St/Stat/ Ser/ F1 (New York, 1950).
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Flow of Funds in the United States 1939-53 (Washington, D. C., 1955).
Powelson, J. P., National Income and Flow-Of-Funds Analysis (New York, 1960).
Measuring the Nation’s Wealth, National Bureau of Economic Research, Studies in Income and Wealth, Vol. 29 (Washington, D. C., 1964).

II. GENERAL AGGREGATIVE SYSTEMS
(October 19 – October 28).

REQUIRED:

Ackley, Parts II and III.
Keynes, J. M., The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (London and New York, 1936). [Omit the appendixes to Chapters 6 and 19.]
Note: Neither book is arranged in the order of this reading list. Hence these two assignments apply to other sections of it as well.
Wells, P., “Keynes’ Aggregate Supply Function: A Suggested Interpretation,” The Economic Journal, Vol. 70 (September, 1960), pp. 536-42.
Johnson, H. G. and the discussants, “The General Theory After Twenty-five Years,” American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, Vol. 60 (May, 1961), pp. 1-25.
Klein, L. R., “The Empirical Foundations of Keynesian Economics,” in K. K. Kurihara, ed., Post Keynesian Economics (New Brunswick, N. J., 1954), pp. 277-319.

ADDITIONAL READINGS:

Lekachman, Robert, Keynes’ General Theory: Reports of Three Decades, (New York and London, 1964).
Patinkin, D., Money, Interest, and Prices, Second Edition, (New York, 1965).
American Economic Association, Readings in Business Cycle Theory (Philadelphia, 1944), Essays 5, 7, 8.
American Economic Association, Readings in the Theory of Income Distribution (Philadelphia, 1946), Essay 24.
Metzler, “Three Lags in the Circular Flow of Income,” in Income, Employment and Public Policy, Essays in Honor of Alvin H. Hansen (New York, 1948), pp. 11-32.
Harris, S. E., The New Economics (New York, 1947), Essays 8-19, 31-33, 38-46.
Lerner, A. P., Economics of Control (New York, 1944), Chapters 21-23, 25.K
Kurihara, K. K., Post Keynesian Economics (New Brunswick, N. J., 1954).
Klein, L. R., The Keynesian Revolution, (New York, 1947), Chapters 3-5.
Ellis, H. S., A Survey of Contemporary Economics, Vol. 1, (Philadelphia, 1948), Chapter 2.
Burns, A. F., “Economic Research and the Keynesian Thinking of Our Times,” in his The Frontiers of Economic Knowledge, (Princeton, 1954), or in the Twenty-Sixth Annual Report of the National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. (New York, 1946). See also the discussion by Hansen and Burns in the Review of Economic Statistics (November, 1947).
Dillard, D., “The Influence of Keynesian Economics on Contemporary Thought,” American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, 1957.
Hutt, W. H., Keynesianism: Retrospect and Prospect (Chicago, 1963).
Friedman, Milton, and G. S. Becker, “A Statistical Illusion on Judging Keynesian Models,” Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 55 (February, 1957), pp. 64-75.

III. PRICE FLEXIBILITY AND EMPLOYMENT
(November 2-11)

REQUIRED:

Patinkin, D., Money, Interest, and Prices, Second ed., (New York, 1965), Chapters 9-11.
Pigou, A. C., “The Classical Stationary State,” Economic Journal (December, 1943).
Power, J. H., “Price Expectations, Money Illusion and the Real Balance Effect,” Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 67 (April, 1959).
Mayer, T., “The Empirical Significance of the Real Balance Effect,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 73 (May, 1959).

ADDITIONAL READINGS:

Readings in Monetary Theory, Essay 13.
Schelling, T. C., “The Dynamics of Price Flexibility,” American Economic Review (September, 1949).
Lange, O., Price Flexibility and Employment (Bloomington, Indiana, 1944). [Get the main idea and omit the details.]
Friedman, M., “Lange on Price Flexibility and Employment,” American Economic Review (September, 1946).
Patinkin, D., Money, Interest, and Prices (Evanston, Illinois, 1956).
Hicks, J. R., “A Rehabilitation of ‘Classical Economics’,” Economic Journal, Vol. 47, (June, 1957).

IV. THEORY OF INTEREST
(November 16-25)

REQUIRED:

Hicks, J. R., Value and Capital (Oxford, 1957), Chapters 11 & 12.
Lydall, H., “Income, Assets, and the Demand for Money,” Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 40 (February, 1958), pp. 1-14.
Gurley, J. G., and E. S. Shaw, “Financial Aspects of Economic Development,” American Economic Review, Vol. 65 (September, 1955), pp. 515-38.

ADDITIONAL READINGS:

Patinkin, the rest of his excellent book.
Gurley, J. G., and E. S. Shaw, Money in a Theory of Finance (Washington, 1960).
Tobin, J., “Liquidity Preference as Behavior Towards Risk,” The Review of Economic Studies, Vol. 25 (February, 1958), pp. 65-86.
Hart, A. G., and P. B. Kenen, Money, Debt and Economic Activity, Third Ed., (Englewood Cliffs, N. J., 1961).
American Economic Association, Readings in the Theory of Income Distribution (Philadelphia, 1946), Essays 22, 23, 26.
American Economic Association, Readings in Monetary Theory, (New York, 1951), Essays 6, 11, 15.
Patinkin, D., “Liquidity Preference and Loanable Funds: Stock and Flow Analysis,” Economica, Vol. 25 (November, 1958).
Lutz, F. A., “The Interest Rate and Investment in a Dynamic Economy,” American Economic Review, (December, 1945).
Wright, A. L., “The Rate of Interest in a Dynamic Model,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 72 (August, 1958), pp. 327-50.
Matthews, R. C. O., “Liquidity Preference and the Multiplier,” Economica, Vol. 28 (February, 1961), pp. 37-52.
Supplement to the Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 45 (February, 1963) on “The State of Monetary Economics.”
Friedman, M. and A. J. Schwartz, A Monetary History of the United States 1867-1960 (Princeton, N. J., 1963).
Friedman, M., ed., Studies in the Quantity Theory of Money (Chicago, 1956).

V. CONSUMPTION AND SAVING
(November 30- December 9)

REQUIRED:

Crockett, Jean, “Income and Asset Effects on Consumption: Aggregate and Cross Section,” and comments by D. B. Suits, in Conference on Research in Income and Wealth, Models of Income Determination (Princeton, 1964), Vol. 23, pp. 97-136.
Duesenberry, J. S., Income, Saving, and the Theory of Consumer Behavior (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1949). Omit the details and get the main points.
Friedman, M., A Theory of the Consumption Function (Princeton, 1957), Chapter 9.
Friend, I., and I. B. Kravis, “Entrepreneurial Income, Saving and Investment,” American Economic Review, Vol. 47 (June, 1957), pp. 269-301.
Tobin, J., “On the Predictive Value of Consumer Intentions and Attitudes,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 41 (February, 1959), pp. 1-11.
Farrell, M. J., “The New Theories of the Consumption Function,” The Economic Journal, Vol. 69 (December, 1959), pp. 678-96.
Dobrovolsky, S. P., Corporate Income Retention 1915-43 (New York, 1951). [Omit the details.]
Lintner, J. and discussants, “Distribution of Income of Corporations Among Dividends, Retained Earnings, and Taxes,” American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, Vol. 46 (May, 1956), pp. 97-118.
Gordon, M. J., “The Optimum Dividend Rate,” presented at the 6^th Annual International Meeting of the Institute of Management Sciences (Paris, September, 1959). [On library reserve.]
Domar, E. D., Essays in the Theory of Economic Growth (New York, 1957), pp. 154-67, 195-201.

ADDITIONAL READINGS:

Ferber, R., “The Accuracy of Aggregate Savings Functions in the Post-War Years,” Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 37 (May, 1955), pp. 134-48.
Friedman, the rest of his book.
Brown, E. C., Solow, R. M., Ando, A., and J. Karekan, “Lags in Fiscal and Monetary Policy,” in Commission on Money and Credit, Stabilization Policies (Englewood Cliffs, N. J., 1963), pp. 1-165.
Modigliani, F., and R. Brumberg, “Utility Analysis and the Consumption Function: An Interpretation of Cross-Section Data,” in Kurihara, K. K., ed., Post Keynesian Economics (New Brunswick, N. J., 1954), pp. 388-436.
See also its discussion by Brown, B., and F. M. Fisher, “Negro-White Savings Differentials and the Modigliani-Brumberg Hypothesis,” Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 40 (February, 1958), pp. 79-81.
Friend, I., and S. Schor, “Who Saves?,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 41 (May, 1959), pp. 213-45.
Zellner, Arnold, “The Short-Run Consumption Function,” Econometrica, (October, 1957).
Dennison, E. F., “A Note on Private Saving,” Review of Economics and Statistics, (August, 1958).
Friedman, M., and G. Becker, “A Statistical Illusion in Judging Keynesian Models,” Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 65 (February, 1957).
Klein, L. R., “The Friedman-Becker Illusion,” Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 66 (December, 1958).
Morgan, J. N., Consumer Economics (New York, 1955).
Katona, G., and E. Mueller, Consumer Expectations 1953-56 (Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1956).
Bailey, M. J., “Saving and the Rate of Interest,” Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 45 (August, 1957), pp. 279-305. Reprinted in Landmarks in Political Economy, edited by E. J. Hamilton, A. Rees, and Johnson, H. G., (Chicago, 1962), pp. 583-622.
Klein, L. R., ed., Contributions of Survey Methods to Economics (New York, 1954).
Goldsmith, R. W., A Study of Saving in the United States, Three volumes (Princeton, 1952).
Heller, W. W., Boddy, F. M., and C. L. Nelson, Savings in the Modern Economy, a Symposium (Minneapolis, 1953).
Mincer, J., “Employment and Consumption,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 42 (February, 1960), pp. 20-26.

VI. INVESTMENT DECISIONS
(December 14 – January 6)

REQUIRED:

Ackley, Chapter 17.
Solomon, E., ed., The Management of Corporate Capital (Glencoe, Ill., 1959), pp. 48-55, 67-73.
White, W. H., “Interest Inelasticity of Investment Demand—The Case from Business Attitude Surveys Re-examined,” American Economic Review, Vol. 46 (September, 1956), pp. 565-587.
Meyer, J. R., and E. Kuh, The Investment Decision (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1957), Chapter 12.
Penrose, E., “Limits to the Growth and Size of Firms,” American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, Vol. 45 (May, 1955), pp. 531-43.
Foss, M. F., and Natrella, V., “Ten Years’ Experience with Business Investment Anticipations,” Survey of Current Business (January, 1957).
Schultz, T. W., “Capital Formation by Education,” The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 68 (December, 1960), pp. 571-83.

ADDITIONAL READINGS:

Lerner, A. P., “On the Marginal Product of Capital and the Marginal Efficiency of Investment,” Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 51 (February, 1953), pp. 1-14. Reprinted in Landmarks in Political Economy edited by E. J. Hamilton, Rees, A., and H. G. Johnson (Chicago, 1962), pp. 538-58.
Pitchford, J. D. and A. J. Hagger, “A Note on the Marginal Efficiency of Capital,” The Economic Journal, Vol. 48 (September, 1958), pp. 597-600.
Duesenberry, J., Business Cycles and Economic Growth (New York, 1958), Chapters 4-7.
Meyer and Kuh, the rest of the book.
Hirschleifer, J., “On the Theory of Optimal Investment Decision,” The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 66 (August, 1958), pp. 329-352. [An excellent but difficult paper.]
James, E., A Reconsideration of the Theoretical Criteria for Optimum Investment Planning (M.I.T. doct. diss., 1961). [A good survey of the literature.]
Lovell, M. C., “Determinants of Inventory Investment,” in Conference on Research in Income and Wealth, Models of Income Determination (Princeton, 1964), Vol. 28, pp. 177-232.
Penrose, E. T., The Theory of the Growth of the Firm (Oxford, 1959).
The Quality and Economic Significance of Anticipations Data, A Conference of the Universities—National Bureau Committee for Economic Research (Princeton, 1960).
Foss, M. F., “Investment Plans and Realizations—Reasons for Differences in Individual Cases,” Survey of Current Business (June, 1957).
Foss, M. F., “Manufacturers’ Inventory and Sales Expectations—A Progress Report on a New Survey,” Survey of Current Business (August, 1961).
Robinson, J., The Accumulation of Capital (London, 1956). [Wish we had time for it.]
Lutz, F. A., and V., the Theory of Investment of the Firm (Princeton, 1951).
Heller, W. W., “The Anatomy of Investment Decisions,” Harvard Business Review, (March, 1951), pp. 95-103.
Meade, J. E., and P. W. S. Andrews, “Summary of Replies to Questions on Effects of Interest Rates,” and “Further Inquiry into the Effects of Rates of Interest,” Oxford Economic Papers, No. 1, 1938 and No. 3, 1940.
Ebersole, J. F., “The Influence of Interest Rates,” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 17, 1938, pp. 35-39.
Henderson, H. D., “The Significance of the Rate of Interest,” Oxford Economic Papers (October, 1938), pp. 1-13.
Andrews, P. W. S., “Further Inquiry into the Effects of Rates of Interest,” Oxford Economic Papers, (February, 1940), pp. 32-73.
Sayers, R. S., “Business Men and the Terms of Borrowing,” Oxford Economic Papers (February, 1940), pp. 23-31.
Brockie, M. D., and A. L. Grey, “The Marginal Efficiency of Capital and Investment Programming,” Economic Journal, Vol. 46 (December, 1956).
White, W. H., “The Rate of Interest, the Marginal Efficiency of Capital, and Investment Programming,” Economic Journal, Vol. 48 (March, 1958).
Grey, A. L., and M. D. Brockie, “The Rate of Interest, Marginal Efficiency of Captial and Net Investment Programming: A Rejoinder,” Economic Journal (June, 1959).
Spiro, A., “Empirical Research and the Rate of Interest,” Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 40 (February, 1958).
Cunningham, N. J., “Business Investment and the Marginal Cost of Funds,” Metroeconomica, Vol. 10 (August, 1958).
Cunningham, N. J., “Business Investment and the Marginal Cost of Funds,” Part II, Metroeconomica (December, 1958).
Wilson, T., “Cyclical and Autonomous Inducements to Invest,” Oxford Economic Papers, Vol. 5, 1953.
Lydall, H. F., “The Impact of the Credit Squeeze on Small and Medium Sized Manufacturing Firms,” Economic Journal, Vol. 47 (September, 1957).
Friend, I., and J. Bronfenbrenner, “Business Investment Programs and Their Realization,” Survey of Current Business (December, 1950).
Schultz, T. W., “Investment in Human Capital,” American Economic Review, Vol. 60 (March, 1961) pp. 1-17.
Houthakker, H. S., “Education and Income,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 41 (February, 1959), pp. 24-28.
Eckhaus, R. S., “On the Comparison of Human Capital,” Center for International Studies, M.I.T., mult.
Becker, G. S., Human Capital: a Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education (New York, 1964).

See also THEORY OF INTEREST and MULTIPLIER AND ACCELERATOR

VII. MULTIPLIER AND ACCELERATOR
(January 11 – 18)

REQUIRED:

Kahn, R. F., “The Relation of Home Investment to Unemployment,” Economic Journal, 1931. Republished in Hansen and Clemence, Readings in Business Cycles and National Income (New York, 1953), Essay 15.
Readings in Business Cycle Theory, Essays 9-12.
Haavelmo, T., “Multiplier Effects of a Balanced Budget,” Econometrica, 1945, reprinted in Readings in Fiscal Policy, pp. 335-343.
Salant, William A., “Taxes, Income Determination, and the Balanced Budget Theorem,” The Review of Economics and Statistics (May, 1957).
Tsiang, S. C., “Accelerator, Theory of the Firm, and the Business Cycle,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 65, 1951.

ADDITIONAL READINGS:

Tinbergen, “Statistical Evidence on the Acceleration Principle,” Economica, Vol. 5, 1938.
Eisner, R., “Capital Expenditures, Profits, and the Acceleration Principle,” and comments by G. H. Hickman, in Conference on Research in Income and Wealth, Models of Income Determination, (Princeton, 1964), Vol. 28, pp. 137-176.
Peston, M. H., “Generalizing the Balanced Budget Multiplier,” and “Comment” by W. A. Salant, The Review of Economics and Statistics (August, 1958).
Bowen, W. G., “The Balanced-Budget Multiplier: A Suggestion for a More General Formulation,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, (May, 1957).
Goodwin, R. M., “The Multiplier” in Seymour E. Harris, ed., The New Economics (New York, 1947), pp. 482-99.
Chenery, H. B., “Overcapacity and the Acceleration Principle,” Econometrica, Vol. 20 (January, 1952), pp. 1-28.
Caff, J. T., “A Generalization of the Multiplier-Accelerator Model,” The Economic Journal, Vol. 69 (March, 1961), pp. 36-52.
Kuznets, S., “Relation Between Capital Goods and Finished Products in the Business Cycle,” in Economic Essays in Honor of Wesley Clair Mitchell, (New York, 1935).
Knox, A. D. “The Acceleration Principle and the Theory of Investment: A Survey,” Economica, Vol. 19, 1952.
Harrod, R. F., Towards a Dynamic Economics (London, 1948).
Hicks, J. R., A Contribution to the Theory of the Trade Cycle (Oxford, 1950).
Goodwin, R. M., “Problems of Trend and Cycle,” Yorkshire Bulletin, Vol. 5 (August, 1953).
Ott, A. E., “The Relation Between the Accelerator and the Capital Output Ratio,” Review of Economic Studies, Vol. 25, (June, 1958).
Minsky, H., “Monetary Systems and Accelerator Models,” American Economic Review, Vol. 47, 1957.
Friedman, M. and D. Meiselman, “The Relative Stability of Monetary Velocity and the Investment Multiplier in the United States, 1897-1958,” Stabilization Policies, Commission on Money and Credit, (New Jersey, 1963), pp. 165-268.
Hester, D. D., “Keynes and the Quantity Theory: a Comment on the Friedman-Meiselman CMC Paper,” the reply by Friedman and Meiselman, and the rejoinder by Hester, The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. XLVI (November, 1964), pp. 364-377.

See also INVESTMENT DECISIONS.
This subject will also be discussed in Economics 14.452.

VIII. MISCELLANEOUS (If time permits)

Ackley, Chapters 16, 20.
Mincer, Jacob, “Investment in Human Capital and Personal Income Distribution,” The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 66 (August, 1958), pp. 281-302.
Goldsmith, Selma F., “Size Distribution of Personal Income, 1956-59,” Survey of Current Business (April, 1960).
Liebenberg, M., and J. M. Fitzwilliams, “Size Distribution of Personal Income, 1957-60,” Survey of Current Business (May, 1961).

A few other sources may be added from time to time.

Source: Duke University, David M. Rubenstein Library. Economists’ Papers Archives. Papers of Evsey D. Domar, Box 15, Folder “Macroeconomics, Old Reading Lists”.

___________________

MIDTERM EXAMINATION
(One hour and twenty minutes)

THEORY OF INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT
E. D. Domar ….. 14.451 ….. December 9, 1965

Please answer all questions. Use a separate book for each question.

[25%] The economy consists of carrots, rabbits and dogs. Rabbits cultivate and eat carrots, while dogs breed and eat rabbits.
You are asked to compute the national income and product for this economy from the point of view of:

(a) The rabbits
(b) The dogs

Explain your methods carefully and indicate the basic philosophy underlying them. [handwritten note: Too easy]

[25%] “Existing methods of national product computations exaggerate the rate of growth of real product over time in a given country, and overstate the ratio between the real product of highly developed and of underdeveloped countries.”
Comment fully and critically. [handwritten note: explain better in class]
[30%] Write a comprehensive essay on the subject of “Keynes and Patinkin on the Relation between the Quantity of Money on the one hand, and Interest Rate, Price Level and National Income on the other.”
[20%] Discuss the treatment of intermediate products in several indexes of industrial productions. Give examples.

Source: Duke University, David M. Rubenstein Library. Economists’ Papers Archives. Papers of Evsey D. Domar, Box 15, Folder “Examinations (1 of 3)”.

___________________

FINAL EXAMINATION
Three Hours

E. D. Domar ….. 14.451 ….. January 26, 1966

Please answer any FIVE questions out of six. Whenever you feel that the questions do not provide sufficient information for you to answer, add the necessary assumptions and state them clearly. Read each question through before answering any part of it.

(a) “The best cure against inflation is a balanced budget.”
(b) “The more each individual or corporation tries to save, the smaller will be the total savings for the economy as a whole.”

Comment on each statement separately.

“The best cure against inflation is increased production.”

Comment fully. Assume that there are unemployed resources to allow for increased production. (Hint: production of what?)
In the light of your answer, do you think a prolonged strike in some industry is inflationary or deflationary? Explain your position.

(a) Explain the several definitions of MONEY used in Price Flexibility and Employment discussions. In each case indicate the specific reasons for that particular definition.
(b) For each definition of money given by you in (a), examine the effects on the stock of money of central bank purchases of (i) government securities, (ii) private securities, (iii) gold from the public.

Comment on your results.

(a) Explain the meaning of PRODUCTIVITY from a private and from a social point of view.
(b) In the light of your explanation given in (a), comment on the productivity of the following persons and on the treatment of their incomes in the national income and product accounts:

(i) A public relations employee of a private corporation

(ii) A public relations employee of the U.S. Department of Defense

(iii) A recipient of interest from the General Electric Company. (You happen to know that he has inherited his bonds from his great uncle who was a great swindler.)

(iv) A recipient of interest on U.S bonds issued in order to finance aid to schools.

(v) A lawyer defending a bookmaker in court

(vi) A nasty professor whose course was a complete waste of time.

Look over your answers and try to generalize (unless you have already said all you want to say in part (a)).

Applying (a) such consumption theories as you know, and (b) your own common sense and empirical knowledge, discuss the effects on consumer spending of the following measures. Assume that the amounts of tax reduction in the first three cases and the amount of dividend in the fourth are all equal in a given year.

(i) A reduction in the Federal income tax (Specify the kind of reduction.)

(ii) A reduction in the Federal capital gains tax

(iii) A reduction in the Federal estate (inheritance) tax

(iv) A declaration of a national dividend (specify the kind) for a given year

(v) A redistribution of income from the rich to the poor

(vi) A redistribution of income from landlords to businessmen (in some underdeveloped country).

Any generalizations?

(a) “Technological progress raises the level of income and employment by making existing assets obsolete and thus shortening their economic life.”

Comment on this statement. Assume that the economy has unemployed resources.

(b) Alvin Hansen used to argue that one reason for the stagnation of the American economy in the nineteen-thirties and for the high level of UNEMPLOYMENT then existing consisted in the slow growth of population at the time.

Do you agree? Comment fully. Should an underemployed economy encourage immigration or emigration, or neither?

Source: Duke University, David M. Rubenstein Library. Economists’ Papers Archives. Papers of Evsey D. Domar, Box 16, Folder “Macroeconomics, Final Exams”.

Image Source: Evsey D. Domar at the MIT Museum.

Tags 14December 9, 1965, Domar

Exam Questions M.I.T. Suggested Reading Syllabus

M.I.T. Economic Growth and Fluctuations. Readings and Midterm Exam. Solow, 1966

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2017-11-03

The readings for the second term MIT graduate core course in macroeconomics “Economic Growth and Fluctuations” was taught by Robert Solow in 1966. The reading list and midterm questions transcribed for this posting come from his papers at the Duke Economists’ Papers Archive. Solow was indeed listed for this course in the internal report “Department of Economics, Teaching Responsibilities” dated March 4, 1966 in Box 3 of the Department of Economics Papers in the M.I.T. archives.

The first term course that academic year was taught by Evsey D. Domar. His 14-page reading list (!) together with the midterm and final examinations have been transcribed and posted as well.

________________________

Spring 1966

READING LIST 14.452

I. Economic Growth

Stylized Facts

Kendrick and Sato, “Factor Prices, Productivity and Growth”, AER, December 1963.
Bureau of the Census, Long-Term Economic Trends (This is a compendium of data. Spend an hour or two leafing through it.)

Aggregative Models

Hahn and Matthews, “The Theory of Economic Growth: A Survey”, Economic Journal, December 1964, Parts I, II, IV.
Modigliani, “Comment” in Behavior of Income Shares (NBER), pp. 39-50.
Tobin, “Money and Economic Growth”, Econometrica, October 1965.
Marty, “The Neoclassical Theorem”, AER, December 1964.
Diamond, “National Debt in a Neoclassical Growth Model”, AER, December 1965, pp. 1126-1135 only. Rest optional.
Findlay, “The Robinsonian Model…”, Economica, February 1963 and comments by Robinson and Findlay in Economica, November 1963.

Sources of Potential Output

Nelson, “Aggregate Production Functions” AER, September 1964
Denison, Sources of Economic Growth in the U.S. (Don’t read every word, but try to grasp content.)
Abramovitz, “Review of Denison”, AER, September 1962.
Phelps, “The New View of Investment”, QJE, November 1962.
David and van de Kliendert, “Biased Efficiency Growth in the U.S.”, AER, June 1965.

II. Short-Run Macrodynamics

Short-Run Movements in Productivity

Brechling: “The Relationship between Output and Employment…”, Review of Economic Studies, July 1965
Kuh, “Cyclical and Secular Labor Productivity…”, Review of Economics and Statistics, February 1965
Wilson and Eckstein, “Short-Run Productivity Behavior…”, Review of Economics and Statistics, February 1964.

Measuring Potential Output and the Gap

Thurow & Taylor, “The Interaction between Actual and Potential Rates of Growth in the U.S. Economy”, Mimeo.
Kuh, “The Measurement of Potential Output”, mimeo.

Cycles and Fluctuations

Samuelson, “Interaction between Multiplier Analysis and the Principle of Acceleration”, Review of Economics and Statistics, 1939, reprinted in AEA, Readings in Business Cycle Theory.
Metzler, “The Nature and Stability of Inventory Cycles”, Review of Economics and Statistics, 1941.
Kaldor, “A Model of the Trade Cycle”, EJ 1940, reprinted in Hansen and Clemence, Readings in Business Cycles and National Income.
DeLeeuw, “The Demand for Capital Goods by Manufacturers”, Econometrica, July 1962.
Eckstein, “Manufacturing Investment and Business Expectations”, Econometrica, April 1965.
Jorgenson, “Anticipations and Investment Behavior”, Ch. 2 in The Brookings Quarterly Econometric Model of the U.S., (optional).
Darling and Lovell, “Factors Influencing Investment in Inventories”, Ch. 4 in The Brookings Quarterly Econometric Model of the U.S.
Okun, Effects of the Tax Cut of 1964. To appear or else mimeo. [handwritten addition]

Integration of Growth & Effective Demand [handwritten addition, no items listed]

________________________

First Examination 14.452 April 13, 1966

Imagine a one-sector economy, satisfying all the standard simplifying assumptions, in a steady state with constant saving ratio, constant rate of population growth, and no technological change. Now let there be a sudden once-and-for-all shift in technology, with the property that output per man increases by 10% at each and every capital-per-man. There is no change in saving ratio or population growth.
1. What happens along the full-employment path?
2. In the new steady state, has capital per man increased by more or less than 10%? Has output per man increase by more or less than 10%?
3. Describe roughly how the competitively imputed real wage, rate of interest, and relative distribution of income might differ between the new steady-state and the old. (You will not always be able to settle the direction of change.)
In the same sort of economy, suppose that investment demand is such that businesses will quickly snap up all investment opportunities yielding at least some “target rate of return”, like 20%, but none yielding less. Discuss in terms of diagram or otherwise, whether the economy is likely to experience inadequate or excessive aggregate demand near the steady state. What effect would a sudden increase in the rate of population growth have (assuming that the saving ratio was not affected)?
Denison has been described as a pessimist with respect to the possibility of raising the U.S. rate of growth through deliberate policy. Is that a fair description? If so, what are the main sources of his pessimism? What do you gather from Nelson, Abramovitz and Phelps on this subject?

Source: Duke University, David M. Rubenstein Library. Economists’ Papers Archives. Papers of Robert M. Solow, Box 67, Folder “Exams”.

Image Source: Robert M. Solow (undated). MIT Museum .

Tags Solow

Economic History Harvard Syllabus Williams

Harvard. American Industrial History. Readings and Paper Topics. John E. Sawyer, 1949-51

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2017-10-28

Some instructors play only briefly a part in an economics department’s regular program. Today we have the Harvard assistant professor John Edward Sawyer who taught undergraduate American economic history for a few years at mid-20th century before going on to teach at Yale and ultimately becoming the president of his alma mater, Williams College. I have provided a memorial minute for some additional biographical information about Sawyer. The minute is followed by a list of topics and recommended reading for his American economic history course term paper as well as the required reading list.

An obituary for John Edward Sawyer by Henry B. Dewey was published at the American Antiquarian Society Proceedings of the Semiannual Meeting (April 22, 1995).

____________________________

Sawyer, John Edward (1917-1995)
Williams College President 1961-1973
By Prof. J. Hodge Markgraf (Williams Class of 1952)

In this nation, in this century, Jack Sawyer was a giant among leaders of higher education, among executives of philanthropic foundations, and among the pioneers in environmental studies. To all of these endeavors he brought high intelligence, wide knowledge, humanistic values and keen analysis.

It is his impact on this college that brought him national prominence and it is that leadership which this memorial minute celebrates. Jack’s involvement with Williams started early. He came to campus with his father, Class of ’08, and his brother, Class of ’37, before his own matriculation here as a freshman in September 1935. By the time he graduated magna cum laude with Highest Honors in History (he was the first thesis student of President James Phinney Baxter), he had joined a fraternity, been elected to Phi Beta Kappa, sung in the Glee Club, worked on the Gul , served as a Junior Advisor, and helped edit the Purple Cow magazine. The Class of 1939 was unique in this century because it provided four distinguished members of this faculty: in addition to Jack, they were Jim Burns, Bill Gates, and Jack Savacool.

Jack Sawyer’s next official connection to Williams came in 1952, when he was appointed a permanent trustee at age 34. He was named our 11th president in 1961; at age 44 he was the youngest Williams president in this century. He served as president for 12 years and, when he left in 1973, every aspect of this college was transformed: students, faculty, curriculum, administration, trustees, alumni, finances, and physical plant. It is difficult to convey the scope and manner of these changes. Within days of his arrival here he appointed a committee to study the fraternity question, and he had its report in less than a year. The trustees’ decision to replace fraternities with a residential house system set the stage for the construction of housing and dining facilities. A new record for annual alumni giving that winter of 1962-1963 helped dispel the notion that alumni were upset over this bold move. It should come as no surprise that the Alumni Fund outdid itself. Behind the scenes, generous donors assured Jack the goal would be exceeded, an action that thwarted a pro-fraternity group calling for funds to be withheld. At the same time, Jack experimented with more flexible admissions criteria (the so called 10% program), ended compulsory attendance for the classroom and the chapel, instituted paid assistant professor leaves, created the offices of provost and dean of the faculty, and was persuaded by four science faculty (only one of whom was tenured) to build a science center for research and computing.

In mid-decade he took the lead in revising the curriculum to include non-western studies, changing the college calendar to create the Winter Study Program, establishing the first center for environmental studies at the college level, increasing the number of African-American students, expanding the recruitment of women and minorities for faculty and administration positions, and completing a capital campaign eight times the scale of the previous one.

At the end of the decade he helped create the Twelve College Exchange Program, he engineered the change to coeducation here more sensitively than any other institution undergoing the same transition, and he was one of the leaders in establishing the New England Small College Athletic Conference. His last curricular contribution was the Graduate Program in the History of Art. Throughout the decade he increased the diversity of trustee membership by including women, minorities, and young alumni.

These extraordinary changes, for the most part, met with ready acceptance and surprising harmony. Jack’s presidency, however, was not without stress. There was the expected hostility from some alumni over the demise of fraternities, and there were objections from similar quarters over the coeducation decision. Internally, younger faculty in 1968 were expressing displeasure with an entrenched committee structure that dominated faculty governance. The result was the Faculty Steering Committee, the introduction of term limits for committee assignments, the addition of students to most faculty committees, and limited attendance by students at faculty meetings. In 1969 black students occupied offices in Hopkins Hall to protest deficiencies in the curriculum, in social and cultural events, and in admissions as they related to Afro-American concerns. What followed were increased staffing, funding, and diversity in the Afro-American Studies Program, in social and cultural events, in admissions and administrative activities.

Finally, in May 1970 the U.S. government’s military actions in southeast Asia, especially the Cambodian incursion, resulted in protests on many campuses. The deep feelings expressed by students and faculty at Williams, shared by Jack, led to the canceling of the last two weeks of classes and the suspension or postponement of final exams. Those were the easy moves. He then organized delegations of students, faculty, and trustees to call on members of Congress to press the case for disengagement. It was characteristic of him to insist that a trustee be part of each delegation in order to demonstrate a consensus within this college community. These public crises were not easy for Jack because many of the college’s constituencies were neither shy nor uncertain about offering advice. The fact that we survived as well as we did is testimony to his leadership and that of many others.

Throughout his public career Jack’s leadership reflected his sense of stewardship. He was acutely aware that the institutions he led were entrusted to him for only a short time and that prior events implied both limitations and opportunities. Above all else, however, he aspired to lead a life that was useful and, in doing so here, his vision for Williams redefined this college. His multiple initiatives were all part of a larger schema. His horizon was further and his sight was clearer than most of his contemporaries. He was wise, compassionate, witty, gracious, and extraordinarily well read. He cared foremost about people and ideas. His desire to effect meaningful change and his ability to chart the clearest pathway sometimes resulted in an attention to detail that not everyone appreciated. In observing these situations, I was convinced that such micromanagement did not stem from pettiness or a need for power, but rather from an unavoidable desire to have everyone’s energies coherent and focused.

Sometimes his analytical prowess could not be restrained. During CAP interviews with faculty candidates, he occasionally became so engaged with their description of the doctoral thesis that he would redesign their expositions and suggest an additional chapter or two, citing the key primary literature that ought to be consulted. Applicants’ responses ranged from barely-concealed resentment to profound gratitude.

The biographical facts are these. John Edward Sawyer was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on 5 May 1917. He attended Deerfield Academy, obtained an A.B. degree from Williams, and earned an A.M. degree from Harvard in 1941. He completed all requirements for a Ph.D. except the thesis before serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1946, assigned to the Office of Strategic Services in Washington, North Africa and Europe. He than returned to Harvard as a Junior Fellow in the Society of Fellows (1946-1949) and as an Assistant Professor (1949-1953). He was an Associate Professor at Yale University (1953-1961) before becoming President of Williams College (1961-1973). In 1974 he became Vice President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and served as its President from 1975 until his retirement in 1987 at age 70.

His many honors included the U.S. Navy Bronze Star medal, thirteen honorary degrees, the National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal, the Phi Beta Kappa Award for Distinguished Service to the Humanities, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Chairman’s Award, and the Williams College Bicentennial Medal.

In June 1941 he married Anne Swift, who in 1984 was the first recipient of the college’s Ephraim Williams Medal. Jack Sawyer died in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on 7 February 1995 at age 77.

His foremost legacy is this college. His life was splendidly useful.

Source: Markgraf, J. Hodge. “John Edward Sawyer.” 8 March 1995. Williams College Faculty Meeting Minutes. Williams College Archives. Also available online at Williams College, Special Collections, Williams History—Presidents.

____________________________

Course Announcement

Economics 136 (formerly Economics 36a). Economic History: The Growth of an Industrial Economy in the United States

Half-course (spring term). Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 12. Assistant Professor Sawyer.

Source: Final Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences During 1950-51. Official Register of Harvard University, Vol. XLVII, No. 23 (September 1950), p. 81.

____________________________

Course Enrollment
[1949-50]

[Economics] 136a. (formerly Economics 36a). Economic History: The Growth of an Industrial Economy in the United States. (Sp) Assistant Professor Sawyer.

Total 68: 1 Graduate, 18 Seniors, 25 Juniors, 15 Sophomores, 4 Radcliffe 5 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1949-50, p. 73.

____________________________

1949-50
Economics 136

Undergraduate Papers

Each student will prepare a paper due not later than May 15 on a problem in American economic history since 1800.

The paper is to be 10-15 pages in length (3,000 – 4,000 words). It is to be based on an additional 300-500 pages of reading, usually from more than one book, on one of the topics suggested below; or on other topics or books of special interest to the student for which he has secured the approval of the instructors.

The paper is not to be a mere descriptive summary of the reading. The student should rather draw on the reading, and the sum of his work in history and economics, to discuss an important economic problem within the topic on which he has read.

Each student is responsible for getting his own books and for submitting as early as practical a one-paragraph statement of his reading plans and of the problem he expects to deal with (the latter may, of course, change as the reading progresses). The final paper should indicate the reading on which it is based and the sources (including other courses) on which the paper has drawn.

The following examples illustrate the kind of problems which a paper might treat within some of the different topics:

The relationship between technological change and the growth of a particular industry.
The factors that prevented the development of a Central Bank in the United States in the 19^th
The role of the railroad in the growth of a particular market area.
The role of transportation and location in the economic growth of a given city.
The role of Rockefeller (or any other business man) in the growth of large-scale enterprise, his attitudes towards competition and the economic conditions behind these attitudes.

1800 – 1880’s

Geography and Land

E.C. Semple, American History and Its Geographic Conditions
R.M. Robins, Our Landed Heritage
B.E. Hibbard; A History of the Public Land Policies
A.M. Sakolski, The Great American Land Bubble
P.W. Gates, The Wisconsin Pine Lands
K. Coman, Economic Beginnings of the Far West

Population

W.W. Thompson and P.K. Whelpton, Population Trends in the U.S.
Census Monograph, 1909, A Century of Population Growth, 1790-1900
M.L. Hansen, The Atlantic Migration
M.L. Hansen, The Immigrant in American History

Transportation

J.G.B. Hutchins, American Maritime Industries and Public Policy, 1789-1914
R.G. Albion, The Rise of the New York Port
W.J. Lane, From Indian Trail to Iron Horse
Cleveland and Powell, Railroad Promotion and Capitalization in the U.S.
P.W. Gates, The Illinois Central Railroad and its Colonization Policies
U.B. Philips, A History of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt
R.C. Overton, Burlington West
R.F. Riegel, Story of the Western Railroads
E.C. Kirkland, Men, Cities and Transportation
W.F. Gephart, Transportation and the Development of the Middle West

Development of Markets

L.E. Atherton, The Pioneer Merchant in Mid-America
F.M. Jones, Middleman in the Domestic Trade of the U.S.
T.S. Berry, Western Prices before 1861, A Study of Cincinnati Market
R.G. Albion, The Rise of the Port of New York, 1815-1860
J.W. Livingood, The Philadelphia-Baltimore Trade Rivalry, 1780-1860
G.S. Callendar, The Early Transportation and Banking Enterprises of the States, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. XVII

Technological Progress

Leo Rogin, Introduction of Farm Machinery in Relation to Productivity of Agriculture
F. McCormick, The Development of Farm Machinery
J.V. Roe, English and American Toolmakers
A.P. User, A History of Mechanical Inventions
S.C. Gilfilan, The Sociology of Inventions
[and] Inventing the Ship

Industrial Growth

V.S. Clark, The History of Manufactures in the U.S., Vols. I, II
R.M. Tryon, Household Manufacture in the U.S., 1640-1860
A.H. Cole, American Wool Manufacture, 2 vols.
C.F. Ware, The Early New England Cotton Manufacture
M.T. Parker, Lowell, A Study in Industrial Development
V. Schlakman, Economic History of a Factory Town
C.M. Green, Holyoke, Massachusetts
J.R. Commons, History of Labor in the U.S., Vols. I, II
N.J. Ware, The Industrial Worker, 2 vols.

Business Organization and Government Policy

Cochran and Miller, The Age of Enterprise
Oscar Handlin, Commonwealth: Massachusetts 1774-1861
Louis Hartz, Economic Policy and Democratic Thought
W.J. Lane, Cornelius Vanderbilt
Sidney Ratner, Social History of American Taxation
F.W. Taussig, Tariff History of the U.S.
J.S. Davis, Essays in the Earlier History of American Corporations, 2 vols.
J.W. Cadman, Jr., The Corporation in New Jersey: Business and Politics, 1791-1875

Role of Capital and Economic Growth

N.J. Silverling, The Dynamics of Business
W.B. Smith and A.H. Cole, Fluctuations in American Business, 1790-1860
L.H. Jenks, The Migration of British Capital to 1875
G.W. Van Vleck, The Panic of 1857
R.G. McGrane, Foreign Bondholders and American State Debts
R.A. Foulke, The Sinews of American Commerce

Money and Banking

M.S. Myers, The New York Money Market, Vol. I
D.R. Dewey, State Banking before the Civil War
R.A. Lester, Monetary Experiments
E.R. Tauss, Central Banking Functions of the Treasury
H.E. Miller, Banking Theories in the US. before 1860
A.B. Hepburn, A History of Coinage and Currency in the U.S.
R.C.H. Catterall, The Second Bank of the U.S., 2 vols.
N.S.B. Gras, The Massachusetts First National Bank of Boston, 1784-1934

Agricultural Expansion

L.B. Schmidt and Ross, Readings in the Economic History of American Agriculture
Bidwell and Falconer, History of Agriculture in the Northern States, 1620-1860
L.C. Gray, History of Agriculture in the Southern U.S. to 1860
E.E. Edwards, American Agriculture—the First 300 Years in Yearbook of Agriculture, 1940
A.W. Griswold, Farming and Democracy

The Social Impact of Economic Change

Joseph Dorfman, The Economic Mind in American Civilization
C.M. Green, Holyoke, Massachusetts
Oscar Handlin, Boston’s Immigrants
R.R. Russell, The Economic Aspects of Southern Sectionalism
P.S. Foner, Business and Slavery
T.D. Clark, Pills, Petticoats and Plows: The Southern Country Store

1880’s — 1940’s

Population

M.L. Hansen, The Immigrant in American History
Carter Goodrich and Associates, Migration and Economic Opportunity
National Resources Com., The Problems of a Changing Population

Land Policy

R.M. Robbins, Our Landed Heritage
B. H. Hibbard, A History of Public Land Policies

Transportation

Sidney L. Miller, Inland Transportation
Stuart Daggett, Railroad Reorganization
J.I. Bogen, The Anthracite Roads
J.E. Otterson, Foreign Trade and Shipping
W.Z. Ripley, Railroads: Rates and Regulation
W.Z. Ripley, Railroads: Finance and Organization
U.S. National Resources Planning Board, Transportation and National Policy, Part II, Section 1, Air Transport
K.T. Healy, The Economics of Transportation in America
C.E. Puffin, Air Transportation, 1941

Technological Progress

L.L. Corwin, TNEC Monograph 22, Technology in Our Economy
Harry Jerome, Mechanization in Industry
National Resources Planning Committee, Technological Trends and National Policy
N.R. Danielian, A.T.&T.
Holland Thompson, The Age of Invention
A.A. Bright, The Electric Lamp Industry
W.R. MacLaurin, Innovation and Invention in the Radio Industry

Industrial Growth

Solomon Fabricant, The Output of Manufacturing Industries
Ralph Epstein, The Automobile Industry
Rudolph Clemen, The American Livestock and Meat Industry
Victor Clark, History of Manufactures in the U.S., Vols. II, III
G.E. McLaughlin, Growth of Manufacturing Areas
H. Barger and S. Schwartz, The Mining Industries, 1899-1939
J.B. Walker, Epic of American Industry
Pearce Davis, Development of the Glass Industry
D.H. Wallace, Market Control of the Aluminum Industry
P.A. Rickard, A History of American Mining

Money and Banking

Margaret Myers, The New York Money Market
G.H. Edwards, The Evolution of Finance Capitalism
National Industrial Conference Board, The Banking Situation in the U.S., 1932
W.Z. Ripley, Main Street and Wall Street
W.C. Mitchell, History of Greenbacks
E.R. Tauss, Central Banking Functions of the Treasury
H.E. Miller, Banking Theories in the U.S. before 1860
A.D. Noyes, Forty Years of American Finance
B.U. Ratchford, American State Debts
W.G. Schultz and M.R. Caine, Financial Development of the U.S.

Income and Economic Growth

Simon Kuznets, National Income: A Summary of Findings
Colin Clark, The Conditions of Economic Progress
N.J. Silberling, The Dynamics of Business
National Industrial Conference Board, Studies in Enterprise and Social Progress
TNEC Monograph 37, Saving, Investment, and National Income
TNEC Monograph 12, Profits, Productive Activities and New Investment
Report of the Committee on Recent Economic Changes in U.S., 2 Vols, 1929

Agriculture

L.B. Schmidt and E.D. Ross, Readings in the Economic History of American Agriculture
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1940 Yearbook of Agriculture
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1940 Yearbook of Agriculture
Fred Shannon, The Farmer’s Last Frontier
H. Barger, and H.H. Landsbert, American Agriculture 1899-1939
R.P. Brooks, The Agrarian Revolution in Georgia 1865-1912
J.D. Black, Agricultural Reform in the U.S.
A.W. Griswold, Farming and Democracy
Geoffrey Shepherd, Marketing Farm Products

Labor

J.R. Commons, etc., History of Labor in the U.S., Vols III, IV, 1935
L.L. Lorwin, The American Federation of Labor
C.E. Bonnett, Employer’s Associations in the U.S., 1922
H. Millis and R. Montgomery, The Economics of Labor, 3 vols, 1945
Slichter, Union Policies and Industrial Management
Samuel Gompers, Seventy Years of Life and Labor, 1925
E.W. Bakke, The Unemployed Worker
P.F. Brissenden, The I.W.W., A Study in American Syndicalism

Business Organization and Government Policy

H.R. Seager and C.A. Gulick, Trust and Corporation Problems, 1929
M.W. Watkins, Industrial Concentration and Public Policy
A.H. Burns, The Decline of Competition, 1936
R.W. Brady, Business as a System of Power, 1941
B.H. Williams, The Economic Foreign Policy of the U.S.
F.W. Taussig, Tariff History of the U.S.
Keith Sward, The Legend of Henry Ford
A.T. Mason, Brandeis and the Modern State
A. Nevins, J.D. Rockefeller

The Social Impact of Economic Change

T.C. Cochran and W. Miller, The Age of Enterprise
Economic Growth, Journal of Economic History, Supplement to Vol. VII, 1948
T.W. Arnold, The Folklore of Capitalism, 1937
L.D. Brandeis, Other People’s Money, 1914
C.D. Thompson, Confessions of the Power Trust, 1932
R.S. and H.M. Lynd, Middletown, 1929; and Middletown in Transition, 1937
James West, Plainville, U.S.A., 1945
George Soule, Prosperity Decade, 1947
Broadus Mitchell, Depression Decade, 1947
A.M. Schlesinger, The Rise of the City
Ida Tarbell, The Nationalizing of Business, 1878-1898
H.U. Faulkner, The Quest for Social Justice, 1898-1914

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. (HUC 8522.2.1) Box 4, Folder “Economics, 1949-1950 (2 of 3)”.

____________________________

Economics 136
Spring term
Required reading list — 1950-51

A textbook is used in this course to provide a comprehensive historical survey complementary to the more topically organized lectures. Each student will normally buy, along with other books marked with an asterisk below, one of the following texts:

Recommended for general undergraduate use:

Kirkland, E.C., A History of American Economic Life, Rev. Ed. (Crofts)

Recommended for graduate students and undergraduates seeking a more advanced text:

Williamson, H.F., The Growth of the American Economy (Prentice Hall)
Historical Statistics of the United States, 1789-1945 (Govt Printing Office)

Reading assignments up to the Hour Test (tentatively March 21)

Text: Kirkland, Chs. IV-XI or equivalent in Williamson (approximately the first half)

[Final] Reading Period Assignment
May 7-May 26, 1951

Economics 136:

J. A. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. Preface to the Second Edition and Parts II and III
H. C. Simons, Economic Policy for a Free Society, Chapters I and II

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. (HUC 8522.2.1) Box 5, Folder “Economics, 1950-1951 (1 of 3)”.

Image Source: John Edwards Sawyers in 1970.

Tags SawyerJ

Harvard Suggested Reading Syllabus

Harvard. Undergraduate Honors Economic Theory Readings. Duesenberry and Kaysen, 1951-52

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2017-10-09

For some reason the annual Report of the President of Harvard College for 1951-52 does not include the staffing and enrollment figures for courses offered during the academic year. I have been using these annual reports to verify the actual staffing for courses because the course announcements are sometimes inaccurate, being by their nature listings published before the academic year gets going, but at least certainly before the second semester begins. Many times, though not always, there is an instructor’s name at the head of the course reading assignments that have been filed with the library for placing items on reading reserve. Thus for the undergraduate honors course “Economic Theory and Policy” (Economics 101), I am only certain that James Duesenberry taught the first semester (he is named in the Crimson article excerpt below, also in the course announcement, and finally on the first semester reading list itself). Carl Kaysen is mentioned in the course announcement for the second semester of the course, but there is no name on the second semester reading list nor can I verify without an ex post staffing report for the course. Let’s just say there is a strong presumption that Carl Kaysen indeed taught the second semester of Economics 101.

Note the second semester reading list ends with “to be continued” but, alas, there is no further list to be found in the file.

___________________

Harvard Crimson Report

Three Steps to Economics

The Department’s courses have been organized on three levels, although Economics 1 is the only prerequisite for any course. Economics 1 is the first level course, a dull but thorough introduction to the field. A department committee is now at work considering revising the curriculum, and it is hoped that this basic course will be brighter next year.

There are four courses on the second level, each covering a division of the department. Theory and Policy (101) discusses current theories of production, exchange, and distribution. Professor Duesenberry will take over complete charge of this course next year. It is generally considered dull but important. Almost all of the students are honors candidates, and the course is graded accordingly….

Source: The Harvard Crimson, April 28, 1950.

___________________

Course Announcement

For Undergraduates and Graduates

The courses for Undergraduates and Graduates, unless otherwise stated, are open only to students who have passed in Economics 1.

Economics 101. Economic Theory and Policy

Full course. Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 12.
Fall term: Assistant Professor Duesenberry; Spring term: Assistant Professor Kaysen.

Current theories of production, exchange, and the distribution of the national income, with some indications as to their relevance to contemporary economic problems. The course will be carried on mainly by discussion. It is intended primarily for candidates for the degree with honors and may be taken only with the consent of the instructor.

Source. Final Announcement of the Courses of Instruction Offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences During 1951-52. Official Register of Harvard University, Vol. XLVIII (September 10, 1951) No. 21, p. 76.

___________________

James S. Duesenberry

Economics 101a—Economic Theory
Fall term, 1951-52

I. The Problems of Economics

Samuelson: Economics. Chapter 1
Phelps-Brown: Framework of the Pricing System. Chapter 1
Council of Economic Advisers: Mid-year Report. July 1951

II. The Classical System

Ricardo: Principles of Political Economy and Taxation. Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 21
Mill: Principles of Political Economy. Book I, Chapters 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13
Book II, Chapters 11, 12, 13, 15, 16
Baumol: Economic Dynamics. Chapter 2

III. General Equilibrium Theory

Phelps-Brown: Framework of the Pricing System. Chapters 2-5
Marshall: Principles of Economics 8^th edition. Books V and VI
Stigler: Theories of Production and Distribution. Chapters 4, 9

___________________

Economics 101, Spring Term 1951-52
Reading List

I. The Keynesian System

Keynes, General Theory, Chs. 1-3, 8-11, 13, 15, 18
J. R. Hicks, “Mr. Keynes and the Classics”, No. 24 in Blakiston, Readings in Business Cycle Theory.
L. R. Klein, The Keynesian Revolution, Ch. 1-3.

II. Dynamics

Keynesian Dynamics
1. Keynes, General Theory, Ch. 22
2. E. D. Domar, “Expansion and Employment,” American Economic Review, March 1947
3. W. J. Fellner, Monetary Policy and Full Employment, Ch. 1, 2, 3
Schumpeterian Dynamics
1. Schumpeter, Business Cycles, Volume I, Ch. 3, 4, 6
Marxian Dynamics
1. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, Ch. 1-4
2. J. Robinson, Essay on Marxian Economics
General Review
1. W. J. Baumol, Economic Dynamics, Chs. 3, 4

[to be continued]

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Fox 5, Folder “Economics, 1951-1952 (1 of 2)”.

Image Source: Duesenberry in Harvard Class Album 1951; Kaysen as 1955 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow

Tags Duesenberry, Kaysen

Berkeley Suggested Reading Syllabus

Berkeley. Graduate Macroeconomics. Syllabus, 1959

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2017-10-05
2 Comments on Berkeley. Graduate Macroeconomics. Syllabus, 1959

The following reading list from the University of California (Berkeley), Spring 1959, was found in the papers of Martin Bronfenbrenner who as far as I can determine was at Michigan State at the time. Perhaps someone who looks at the reading list (formatted more-or-less to look like the original mimeo) could identify which of the instructors listed for the course (Papandreou, Scitovsky, Caves, Minsky) might have assembled the reading list. The capitalization of book titles is not common. It is also interesting to note that income distribution, typically part of the second term of price theory elsewhere, is covered before turning to more familiar (today) macroeconomics territory. Something else worth noting is the use of “macro-statics” and “macro-dynamics”. Comments welcome!

_________________________

Course Announcement

Graduate Courses

Admission to graduate courses requires, in all cases, the consent of the instructor. Undergraduate courses are not prerequisite to graduate courses, except where indicated.

200A-200B. Fundamentals of Economic Theory. (3-3) Yr.

[Harvey Leibenstein, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Economics, in residence, fall semester only, 1958-59; Tibor Scitovsky, M.Sc., J.D., Professor of Economics; Philip W. Bell, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Economics, in residence, fall semester only, 1958-59; Richard E. Caves, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Economics; Hyman P. Minsky, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Economics.]

200A. Micro-economics: the behavior of firms and households, and the determination of prices and resource allocation patterns in a decentralized economy. Mr. Bell, Mr. Leibenstein, Mr. Scitovsky.

200B. Macro-economics: general interdependence and the behavior of aggregates in a decentralized economy. National income and employment determination. The impact of fiscal and monetary policies on employment, national income and its distribution. [Andreas G. Papandreou, Ph.D., Professor of Economics (Chairman of the Department)], Mr. Scitovsky, Mr. Caves, Mr. Minsky.

Source: Bulletin of the University of California 1958-59. General Catalogue. Announcement of Courses, Departments at Berkeley. Fall and Spring Semesters, 1958-59. (July 10, 1958), pp. 109, 114.

_________________________

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Department of Economics
Spring, 1959

Reading List
Economics 200B

It is suggested that students purchase the following works:

J. M. Keynes, THE GENERAL THEORY OF EMPLOYMENT, INTEREST, AND MONEY
U. S. Department of Commerce, 1954 NATIONAL INCOME SUPPLEMENT to the survey of CURRENT BUSINESS.

I. The Pricing of Productive Services and the Distribution of Income

G. J. Stigler, THE THEORY OF PRICE, chaps. 10, 15
J. R. Hicks, THE THEORY OF WAGES, chaps. 1-4
E. Rolph, “The Discounted Marginal Productivity Doctrine,” in American Economic Association, READINGS IN THE THEORY OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION, pp. 278-293
F. A. v. Hayek, “The Mythology of Capital,” READINGS IN THE THEORY OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION, pp. 355-383
D. H. Buchanan, “The Historical Approach to Rent and Price Theory,” READINGS IN THE THEORY OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION, pp. 599-637
F. H. Knight, “Profit,” READINGS IN THE THEORY OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION, pp., pp. 533-546
B. F. Haley, “Value and Distribution,” SURVEY OF CONTEMPORARY ECONOMICS, Vol. I (ed. H. S. Ellis), pp. 26-48
N. Kaldor, “Alternative Theories of Distribution,” REVIEW OF ECONOMIC STUDIES, XXIII (1955-56), pp. 83-100
M. Kalecki, “The Distribution of the National Income,” READINGS IN THE THEORY OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION, pp. 197-217

II. Macro-statics: National Income and Aggregate Demand

U. S. Department of Commerce, 1954 NATIONAL INCOME SUPPLEMENT
O. Lange, “Say’s Law: A Restatement and Criticism,” STUDIES IN MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS AND ECONOMETRICS (ed. O. Lange, F. McIntyre, and T. O. Yntema), pp. 49-68

III. Consumer Behavior, the Consumption Function and Income Levels

J. S. Duesenberry, “Income-Consumption Relations and Their Implications,” in INCOME, EMPLOYMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY, ESSAYS IN HONOR OF ALVIN H. HANSEN, pp. 54-81.
J. Tobin, “Relative Income, Absolute Income, and Saving,” MONEY, TRADE, AND ECONOMIC GROWTH, ESSAYS IN HONOR OF J. H. WILLIAMS, pp. 135-156
M. Friedman, A THEORY OF THE CONSUMPTION FUNCTION, chaps. 2, 3
P. A. Samuelson, “The Simple Mathematics of Income Determination,” INCOME, EMPLOYMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY, pp. 133-155

IV. Business Behavior, the Level of Investment and the Rate of Interest

T. Scitovsky, WELFARE AND COMPETITION, pp. 216-226
J. Meyer and E. Kuh, “Acceleration and Related Theories of Investment,” REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS, XXXVII, (August, 1955), pp. 217-230
A. P. Lerner, “On the Marginal Product of Capital and the Marginal Efficiency of Investment,” JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY, LXI (February, 1953), pp. 1-15
J. R. Hicks, VALUE AND CAPITAL, chaps. 11-13
N. Kaldor, “Speculation and Economic Stability,” REVIEW OF ECONOMIC STUDIES, VII (October, 1939), pp. 1-27
J. Tobin, “Liquidity Preference and Monetary Theory,” REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS, XXIX (May, 1947), pp. 124-130

V. Macro-static Models

P. Lerner, THE ECONOMICS OF CONTROL, chaps. 21-25
L. R. Klein, “Theories of Effective Demand and Employment,” JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY, LV (April, 1957), pp. 108-131
J. R. Hicks, “Mr. Keynes and the ‘Classics’; A Suggested Interpretation,” READINGS IN THE THEORY OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION, pp. 461-476
F. Modigliani, “Liquidity Preference and the Theory of Interest and Money,” READINGS IN MONETARY THEORY, pp. 186-240
D. Patinkin, “Price Flexibility and Full Employment,” READINGS IN MONETARY THEORY, pp. 252-283

VI. Macro-dynamics and Economic Growth

E. D. Domar, “Expansion and Employment,” AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, XXXVII (March, 1947), pp. 34-55
R. Solow, “A Contribution to the Theory of Growth,” QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS, LXX (February, 1956), pp. 65-93

VII. Inflation

A. C. L. Day, AN OUTLINE OF MONETARY ECONOMICS, CHAPS. 19-31

Source: Duke University, Rubenstein Library. Economists’ Papers Archive. Martin Bronfenbrenner Papers, 1939-1995. Box 26, Folder “Micro-econ + Distribution, 2 of 2, 1958-67, n.d.”.

Tags Bronfenbrenner, Caves, Minsky, Papandreou, Scitovsky

Exam Questions Harvard Suggested Reading Syllabus

Harvard. Galbraith’s Business Organization and Control. Syllabus and Exams. 1949-50

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2017-09-28

Materials for the undergraduate course “Business Organization and Control” taught by Sidney Alexander in 1948-49 has been transcribed and posted earlier. The course was taught the following year by John Kenneth Galbraith and others. Below you will find enrollment data followed by transcriptions of the syllabi for both semesters along with the mid-year and final examinations for the course.

_______________________

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 161 (formerly Economics 61a and 62b). Business Organization and Control. (Full Co.) Dr. Galbraith

(F) Total 179: 2 Graduates, 61 Seniors, 75 Juniors, 32 Sophomores, 1 Freshman, 8 Radcliffe.
(Sp) Total 160: 2 Graduates, 56 Seniors, 70 Juniors, 24 Sophomores, 7 Radcliffe, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College and Reports of the Departments for 1949-59, p. 73.

_______________________

[Fall Term, 1949-50]

Economics 161
Business Organization and Control
Dr. Galbraith

Date	Topic	Lecturer	Reading
Sept. 28	Preview	Galbraith	Bain, Ch. 1,2 (omitting pp. 26-41), 4, 5, 6, 8. TNEC No. 21, pp. 20-48, 113-121.
Sept. 30	Applied Theory of Markets	Galbraith
Oct. 3	“	Galbraith
Oct. 5	“	Galbraith
Oct. 7	Section
Oct. 10	Section
Oct. 12	HOLIDAY
Oct. 14	Forms of Business Enterprise	Gordon	Guthmann & Dougall, Chapter 2
Oct. 17 24	The Corporation: Origin and Legal Characteristics	Gordon	Buchanan, Ch. 3; Berle & Means, Book II, Ch. 1; Dewing, Book I, Ch. 1-2.
Oct. 19 26	“	Gordon
Oct. 21 28	Section
Oct. 24 31	Concentration & Market Organization: The Role and peration of the Large Corporation	Galbraith	Gordon, Chapters 2, 4, 5. Berle and Means, Book I, Ch. 1; Book IV, Chapters 1-4.
Oct. 26 Nov. 2	“	Galbraith
Oct. 28 Nov. 4	Section
Oct. 31 Nov. 7	Concentration & Market Organization: Holding companies and interest groups	Galbraith	Purdy, Chapter 7. Structure of the American Economy, Part I, Appendix 13
Nov. 2 Nov. 9	Concentration & Market Organization: Trade Associations	Gordon	TNEC No. 18, pp. 45-67 TNEC No. 21, pp. 234-258
Nov. 4 Nov. 11	Section

Bain, Joe S., Pricing, Distribution, and Employment, 1948.

U.S., Temporary National Economic Committee Monographs:

No. 18, Trade Association Survey;
No. 21, Competition & Monopoly in American Industry.

Guthmann, H. G., & Dougall, H. E., Corporate Financial Policy, 1948.

Buchanan, N. S., The Economics of Corporate Enterprise.

Berle, A. A., & Means, G. C., The Modern Corporation and Private Property, 1932.

Dewing, A. S., Financial Policy of Corporations, 1941, 2-volume edition.

Gordon, R. A., Business Leadership in the Large Corporation, 1945.

Purdy, H. L., Lindahl, M.L., and Carter, W. A., Corporate Concentration & Public Policy, 1942.

U.S., National Resources Committee, Structure of the American Economy, Part I, “Basic Characteristics.

_______________________

[Fall Term (cont.), 1949-50]

Economics 161
Business Organization and Control
Messrs. Galbraith and Gordon

	Topic	Lecturer	Reading
November 14	Price Leadership and Market Sharing	Gordon	Burns, Ch. III (ex. pp. 118-140), and Ch. IV.
November 16	Patents and Trademarks	Gordon	T.N.E.C. Monograph No. 21, pp. 158-165; Edwards, pp. 216-248.
November 18	Section
November 21	Advertising	Galbraith	Burns, Ch. VIII
November 23	Price Discrimination	Gordon	Boulding, pp. 533-43
November 25	Section		Boulding, pp. 533-43
November 28	Basing Point System—Exposition	Galbraith	Machlup, Ch. 1 (ex. Appendix) and Ch. 3; Kaysen, “Basing Point Pricing and Public Policy”
November 30	Basing Point System—Consequences	Kaysen
December 2	Section
December 5	Economic Norms of Public Policy	Duesenberry	Hansen, Fiscal Policy and Business Cycles, Ch. XV
December 7	“	Duesenberry	Hansen, Fiscal Policy and Business Cycles, Ch. XV
December 9	Section		Galbraith, Essay on Monopoly and Concentration of Economic Power in Ellis, Review of Contemporary Economics
December 12	Economic Norms of Public Policy	Duesenberry
December 14	Promoting Competition: The Anti Trust Laws	Gordon	Purdy et al., Chs. 16, 17, 18 (omitting pp. 354-360), 20 (omitting pp. 393-401), 28; Adelman, “Effective Competition and the Anti Trust Laws”; Mason, “The Current Status of the Monopoly Problem in the United States
December 16	Section
December 19	Promoting Competition: The Anti Trust laws
December 22	“

Adelman, M. A., “Effective Competition and the Anti Trust Laws,” M.I.T., Publications in the Social Sciences, Series No. 1, Reprint from Harvard Law Review, Sept. 1948.

Boulding, Kenneth, Economic Analysis, Revised Edition.

Burns, A. F., The Decline of Competition, 1936.

Edwards, Corwin, Maintaining Competition, 1949.

Kaysen, Carl, “Basing Point Pricing and Public Policy,” Q.J.E., August, 1949, pp. 289-314.

Machlup, Fritz, The Basing Point System, 1949.

Mason, Edward S., “The Current Status of the Monopoly Problem in the U.S.,” Harvard Law Review, June, 1949, pp. 1265-1285.

Purdy, H. L., Lindahl, M. L., and Carter, W. A., Corporate Concentration & Public Policy, 1942.

U.S., T.N.E.C. Monograph No. 21, Competition and Monopoly in American Industry, 1940.

Hansen, Alvin, Fiscal Policy and Business Cycles, 1941, First Edition.

Ellis, Howard, Review of Contemporary Economics, 1948.

_______________________

Final Examination, Fall Term 1949-50

1949-50
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 161

I.
(one hour)

Required

A book published a couple of years ago entitled The American Individual Enterprise System, has the following to say about “the meaning of competition”;

“How a seller chooses to exercise his freedom, as long as he is independent, does not furnish a test of competition. The only true test, and the basic distinguishing feature of competition, is whether there are at least two suppliers of a market who make independent decisions on the prices and conditions at which they will offer their goods and services.”

Using the word “competition” in this sense, the book’s authors stat that “competition serves the public in the following ways”:

“It tends to assure that goods and services will be produced and distributed at the lowest possible cost.
“It tends to assure that profits will be held to the minimum.
“It tends to assure that the energy and raw materials and productive capacity of the nation will be used for providing those goods and services which the public wants, and in proportion to the relative demands of the public.
“It assures freedom of opportunity. Anyone at any time, if he has the necessary capital, can enter any line of business he desires.”

Questions:

(a) Do you concur in this definition of competition? Why or why not?

(b) Would an economic system which is “competitive” in the sense of the above quotation necessarily produce the results which the authors mention? Consider in turn each of the “results” mentioned above. Be specific, and make certain that you explain each step in your reasoning.

II.
(Seventy-five minutes)

Answer any three of the five.

Give a concise, clear explanation of the mechanics of a multiple-basing point pricing using graphs if you wish.
Under what circumstances and why are business firms likely to prefer non-price to price competition? Define your terms precisely.
In what ways may it be argued that the American patent system is a stimulus and in what ways a deterrent, to invention and to realized technical progress in American industry?
What is price discrimination? Outline a set of conditions under which discriminatory pricing operates to the advantage of buyers.
State definitely but concisely the way in which each of the following cases affected the development of antitrust law.

C. Knight Case
Standard Oil Case
U. S. Steel Case
Aluminum Case

III.
(Forty-five minutes)

Required.

Schumpeter and Clark appear to agree in advocating (or condoning) certain restraints on competition. Develop fully and discuss the lines of argument by which they arrive at their respective conclusions.

Mid-Year. January 1950.

_______________________

[Spring Term, 1949-50]

Economics 161
Business Organization and Control
Professor Galbraith and Mr. Gordon

	Subject	Lecturer	Reading
Feb. 8	Promoting Competition: Cartel Policy	Gordon	Mason, Controlling World Trade, Ch. 1, 2.
Feb. 10	Promoting Competition: The Recent Antitrust Cases	Gordon	Oppenheim, Cases on Federal Antitrust Laws, Ch. 5. Nicholls, “The Tobacco Case of 1946,” American Economic Review, May 1949, pp. 284-96.
Feb. 13	Regulating Competition: Retail Trade and Regulation	Galbraith	TNEC Monograph 35, pp. 5-14, 145-160. Adelman, “The A & P Case,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, May 1949.
Feb. 15	Regulating Competition: Retail Trade and Regulation	Galbraith
Feb. 17	Section
Feb. 20	Limiting Competition: Agriculture	Galbraith	Black, Parity, Parity, Parity, Ch. 5, 20, 21. Schultz, Production and Welfare of Agriculture, Ch. 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15.
Feb. 22	HOLIDAY
Feb. 24	Limiting Competition: Agriculture	Galbraith
Feb. 27	Limiting Competition: Agriculture	Galbraith
Mar. 1	Regulated Monopoly: The Public Utility Concept	Gordon	Lyon, Abramson et al, Government and Economic Life, Vol. II, Ch. 21.
Mar. 3	Section
Mar. 6	Regulated Monopoly: Power and Transport	Gordon
Mar. 8	Regulated Monopoly: Power and Transport	Gordon	Locklin, Economics of Transportation, Ch. VIII, XV, XVI.
Mar. 10	Section
Mar. 13	Regulated Monopoly: Power and Transport	Gordon
Mar. 15	Corporate Financial Structure	Gordon	Dewing, Financial Policy of Corporations, Bk. I, Ch. 4 to p. 83, Ch. 7, 8, 9 to p. 218, and pp. 230-42; Bk. III, Ch. 1, 2. Merrill, Lynch, How to Read a Financial Report (entire pamphlet)
Mar. 17	Section
Mar. 20	Corporate Financial Structure	Gordon
Mar. 22	Corporate Financial Structure	Gordon
Mar. 24	Section
Mar. 27	Regulation of Securities and Markets	Gordon	Stein, Government and the Investor, Ch. 2, 3, 4, 6.
Mar. 29	Regulation of Securities and Markets	Gordon	Stein, Government and the Investor, Ch. 2, 3, 4, 6.
Mar. 31	Section
Recess from April 2 through 9
Apr. 10	Conservation: Forest Products	Nixon	Jensen, Lumber and Labor, Ch. 1,2.
Apr. 12	Conservation: Oil and Gas	Manne	Rostow, A National Policy for the Oil Industry, Ch. 1-9, 13-15.
Apr. 14	Section
Apr. 17	Conservation: Oil and Gas	Manne
Apr. 19	HOLIDAY
Apr. 21	Public Development: Housing	Galbraith	Fortune Magazine: The Industry Capitalism Forgot, August 1947, & Editorial, September 1947. TNEC Monograph #8, Towards More Housing, Ch. IV, V, IX.
Apr. 24	Public Development: Housing	Galbraith
Apr. 26	Economic Mobilization	Galbraith	Galbraith, “The Disequilibrium System,” American Economic Review, 1947. Johnson, G. G., Economic Stabilization Program.
Apr. 28	Section
May 1	Economic Mobilization	Galbraith
May 3	Reconciliation of Policy	Galbraith
May 5	Summary	Galbraith
Reading Period begins May 8

Mason, Edward S., Controlling World Trade, 1946.

Oppenehim, S. C., Cases on Federal Antitrust Laws.

Nicholls, W. H., “The Tobacco Case of 1946” in American Economic Review, May 1949, pp. 284-96.

Lyon, Abramson, et al, Government and Economic Life 1940.

Dewing, Arthur S., Financial Policy of Corporations, 1941, 2-volume edition.

Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner, and Beane, How to Read a Financial Report (pamphlet).

Stein, Emanuel, Government and the Investor.

Locklin, D. Philip, Economics of Transportation, 1947.

TNEC Monograph #8, Toward More Housing.

TNEC Monograph #35, Large-Scale Organization in the Food Industries.

Adelman, M. A., “The A & P Case. A Study in Applied Economic Theory,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. LXIII, No. 2, May 1949.

Schultz, T. W., Production and Welfare of Agriculture, 1949.

Black, J. D., Parity, Parity, Parity, 1942.

Jensen, Vernon, Lumber and Labor.

Rostow, Eugene V., A National Policy for the Oil Industry, 1947.

Galbraith, J. K., “The Disequilibrium System,” American Economic Review, Vol. XXXVII, #3, June 1947.

Fortune Magazine, “The Industry Capitalism Forgot,” August 1947, “Editorial,” September 1947.

Johnson, G. G., Suggestions for the Development of an Economic Stabilization Program for a War Emergency, National Security Resources Board, Document 47.

_______________________

Economics 161
[Midterm] Examination
April, 1950

Retailing and agriculture are both industries composed of many small firms. What are the similarities in government policy toward these industries? What are the important differences?
What were the principal provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934? Discuss briefly in light of the abuses they were designed to remedy.

_______________________

Spring Term, Final Examination

1949-50
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 161

I.
(Forty-five minutes)

Required

The special appeals court, which heard the Alcoa case in 1945, said that Congress, in passing the federal antitrust laws, “was not necessarily actuated by economic motives alone.” “It is possible,” the court said, “because of its indirect social or moral effect, to prefer a system of small producers, each dependent for his success upon his own skill and character, to one in which the great mass of those engaged must accept the direction of a few.”

Does this point of view seem to you to provide a persuasive argument for the fair trade laws, Robinson-Patman Act and the position of the government in the A & P cases? Explain.

II.
(Ninety minutes)

Answer three out of four.

Explain the importance of the following in relation to public regulation of the petroleum industry:
1. The rule of capture.
2. The Connally “Hot Oil” Act.
3. The Interstate Compact.
4. Marginal well Acts.
5. Compulsory unit operation.
What are the Acts of Congress administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission? Outline the principal provisions of any three of them and the ends they were designed to achieve.
Under what circumstances do you believe a certificate of convenience and necessity should be required for entry into a business? What industries would you add (or delete) from a list where such certificates are required and why?
“The pricing system is not an appropriate means for stabilizing income from farming over time. To place this burden on the pricing system, as has been done in recent years can only reduce greatly its capacity [for allocating resources between alternative employments in agriculture and between agricultural and non-agricultural enterprise].”

What is the general character of the legislation “of recent years” to which Professor Schultz refers? Do you agree that it has inhibited resource allocation? Does the same objection hold for the Brannan Plan?

III.
(Forty-five minutes)

Required.

Before signing or vetoing important legislation, the President customarily requests the Bureau of the Budget—or occasionally some other Executive department or agency—to prepare a confidential memorandum setting forth the main features of the proposed legislation, the principal groups favoring and opposing it together with their arguments and motives, a careful statement of the economic consequences of the legislation; and the recommendation to the President, properly defended, as to whether he should accept or veto the legislation.
Would you prepare such a memorandum on the amendments to the Natural Gas Act of 1938 (the Kerr Bill), as passed by the Eighty-first Congress and keeping in mind the following:
1. That you are asked to pass only on the economic questions posed by the legislation. You are at liberty to ignore any purely legal issues that may have been involved.
2. That your concern is solely with the public welfare. You may ignore any political problems which the legislation poses for the President or his party.
3. That the President is a busy man and should not be burdened with an unnecessarily long-winded discourse.

(The quality of your memorandum and its economic analysis and argument, not the particular recommendation you make, will be the guiding factor in marking your paper.)

Final. May 1950.

Source: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Papers of John Kenneth Galbraith. Box 519, Folder “Economics 161, 1949-50.”

Image: John Kenneth Galbraith in Harvard Class Album 1952.

Tags Galbraith

Exam Questions Harvard Suggested Reading Syllabus

Harvard. Graduate Money and Banking, Reading List, Final Exam. Williams and Goodwin, 1947

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2017-09-23

Today’s post is the second of three devoted to the year long graduate sequence “Principles of Money and Banking” taught by Alvin H. Hansen, John H. Williams, and Richard M. Goodwin (second semester) at Harvard in 1946-47.

The reading list for Econ 141b is transcribed below, along with the corresponding final examination questions. The previous post provided transcriptions for the first semester’s list of readings and final examination (Econ 141a) and course enrollments in each semester. The next post will have the “General Reference Reading” list for both semesters.

____________________________

SECOND SEMESTER
ECONOMICS 141b: PRINCIPLES OF MONEY AND BANKING

III. International Monetary Equilibrium:

Cassel, G., The Downfall of the Gold Standard (1936).
Copland, Douglas, Australia in the World Crisis (1934).
Ellis, H. S., Exchange Control in Central Europe (1941).
Graham and Whittlesey, Golden Avalanche (1939).
Hall, M. F., The Exchange Equalization Account (1935).
Hahn, George, International Monetary Cooperation (1945).
Hansen, Alvin, H., America’s Role in the World Economy (1945).
Hardy, C. O., Is There Enough Gold (1936).
Harris, S. E., Exchange Depreciation (1936).
Harris, S.E., Economic Problems of Latin America (1944).
Iverson, Carl, International Capital Movements (1936).
Kindelberger, C. P., International Short-term Capital Movements (1937).
League of Nations: Final Report on Gold (1932).
League of Nations: Economic Fluctuations in the United States and the United Kingdom, 1918-22 (1942).
Nurkse, R., International Currency Experience (1944).
Warren and Pearson: (a) Gold and Prices (1935);
(b) World Prices and the Building Industry (1937).
Williams, John H., Postwar Monetary Plans (Second Edition, 1945)

IV. Monetary and Fiscal Policy:

Beveridge, Sir William, Full Employment in a Free Society (1945).
British White Paper on “Employment Policy” (1944).
de Chazeau, Hart, and Others, Jobs and Markets (1946).
Economics of Full Employment. Six Oxford Economists (1945).
Fellner, W., Monetary Policies and Full Employment (1946).
Financing American Prosperity, Twentieth Century Fund (1945).
Groves, H. M.: (a) Production, Jobs and Taxes (1944).
(b) Postwar Taxation and Economic Progress (1946).
Hansen, Alvin, H., Economic Policy and Full Employment (1946).
Harris, S. E., Postwar Economic Problems (1943).
Harris, S. E., Economic Reconstruction (1945).
Hayes, H. Gordon, Spending, Saving and Employment (1945).
League of Nations: Anti-Depression Policy (1945).
Langum, John K., Postwar Banking Problems (1946).
Postwar Economic Studies No. 3, Public Finance and Full Employment (1945).
Postwar Economic Studies No. 8, Federal Reserve Policy (1946).
Ruml and Sonne, Fiscal and Monetary Policy (1944).
Terborgh, George, The Bogey of Economic Maturity (1945).
Williams, John H. Postwar Monetary Plans (Second Edition, 1945), Chapters 4, 5.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Alvin Harvey Hansen Papers. Box 1 of Lecture Notes and Other Course Material, Folder “Econs 141”. Also found in Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003 (HUC 8522.2.1) Box 4, Folder “Economics, 1946-47 (2 of 2)”.

____________________________

1946-47
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 141b

PRINCIPLES OF MONEY AND BANKING

(Three hours)

Discuss one question in each part.

I

Your own appraisal of Keynes’ “General Theory.”
The consumption function as a guide to monetary and fiscal policy.

II

The treatment of the interest rate in modern monetary theory.
Hayek’s criticism of the Foster and Catchings thesis.
Hawtrey’s theory of the business cycle.

III

The problem of international monetary and trade adjustment in the postwar world.
One of the following:

(a) The International Monetary Fund;
(b) The International Bank for Reconstruction and development;
(c) The ITO Charter.

Keynes’ paper on the “Balance of Payments of the United States,” Economic Journal, June, 1946.

Final. May, 1947.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Final Examinations 1853-2001. Box 14. Papers Printed for Final Examinations: History, History of Religions…, Economics, … , Military Science, Naval Science, May, 1947.

Image Source: John H. Williams in Harvard Class Album, 1950.

Tags Hansen, WilliamsJH

READING LIST January, 1944 P. A. Samuelson

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS Reading List March, 1944

ECONOMICS 1 Final Examination May 18, 1944 Professor Samuelson

3 hours Answer 3 out of 4 questions

Reading Assignment, Economics 26 Spring Term 1948

Reading Assignments A

B

C

D

Business Cycles Ec 26 Examination May 27, 1948 [from mimeographed copy]

20 minutes

15 minutes

15 minutes

Business Cycles Ec 26 Examination May 27, 1948 [from carbon copy]

20 minutes

15 minutes

Course Announcement, 1936-37

Course Enrollment, 1936-37

Economics 101

[Hand-written notes, neat, presumably to be typed]

1936-37 HARVARD UNIVERSITY ECONOMICS 101

(Answer any FIVE questions)

ECONOMICS 101 [“37” is handwritten here]

ECONOMICS 101

1936-37 HARVARD UNIVERSITY ECONOMICS 101

THEORY OF NATIONAL INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT

E. D. Domar 14.451 Fall Term 1965-66 READING LIST

I. NATIONAL INCOME AND RELATED ITEMS (September 21 – October 14)

II. GENERAL AGGREGATIVE SYSTEMS (October 19 – October 28).

III. PRICE FLEXIBILITY AND EMPLOYMENT (November 2-11)

IV. THEORY OF INTEREST (November 16-25)

V. CONSUMPTION AND SAVING (November 30- December 9)

VI. INVESTMENT DECISIONS (December 14 – January 6)

VII. MULTIPLIER AND ACCELERATOR (January 11 – 18)

VIII. MISCELLANEOUS (If time permits)

MIDTERM EXAMINATION (One hour and twenty minutes)

THEORY OF INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT E. D. Domar ….. 14.451 ….. December 9, 1965

FINAL EXAMINATION Three Hours

E. D. Domar ….. 14.451 ….. January 26, 1966

READING LIST 14.452

I. Economic Growth

II. Short-Run Macrodynamics

First Examination 14.452 April 13, 1966

Sawyer, John Edward (1917-1995) Williams College President 1961-1973 By Prof. J. Hodge Markgraf (Williams Class of 1952)

Course Announcement

Course Enrollment [1949-50]

1949-50 Economics 136

Undergraduate Papers

1800 – 1880’s

1880’s — 1940’s

Economics 136 Spring term Required reading list — 1950-51

[Final] Reading Period Assignment May 7-May 26, 1951

Harvard Crimson Report

Course Announcement

For Undergraduates and Graduates

Economics 101a—Economic Theory Fall term, 1951-52

I. The Problems of Economics

II. The Classical System

III. General Equilibrium Theory

Economics 101, Spring Term 1951-52 Reading List

I. The Keynesian System

II. Dynamics

Course Announcement

Graduate Courses

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Department of Economics Spring, 1959

Reading List Economics 200B

It is suggested that students purchase the following works:

I. The Pricing of Productive Services and the Distribution of Income

II. Macro-statics: National Income and Aggregate Demand

III. Consumer Behavior, the Consumption Function and Income Levels

IV. Business Behavior, the Level of Investment and the Rate of Interest

V. Macro-static Models

VI. Macro-dynamics and Economic Growth

VII. Inflation

Course Enrollment

[Fall Term, 1949-50]

Economics 161 Business Organization and Control Dr. Galbraith

[Fall Term (cont.), 1949-50]

Economics 161 Business Organization and Control Messrs. Galbraith and Gordon

Final Examination, Fall Term 1949-50

READING LIST
January, 1944
P. A. Samuelson

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
Reading List
March, 1944

ECONOMICS 1
Final Examination
May 18, 1944
Professor Samuelson

3 hours
Answer 3 out of 4 questions

Reading Assignment, Economics 26
Spring Term 1948

Reading Assignments
A

Business Cycles
Ec 26 Examination
May 27, 1948
[from mimeographed copy]

Business Cycles
Ec 26 Examination
May 27, 1948
[from carbon copy]

1936-37
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 101

1936-37
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 101

E. D. Domar 14.451 Fall Term 1965-66
READING LIST

I. NATIONAL INCOME AND RELATED ITEMS
(September 21 – October 14)

II. GENERAL AGGREGATIVE SYSTEMS
(October 19 – October 28).

III. PRICE FLEXIBILITY AND EMPLOYMENT
(November 2-11)

IV. THEORY OF INTEREST
(November 16-25)

V. CONSUMPTION AND SAVING
(November 30- December 9)

VI. INVESTMENT DECISIONS
(December 14 – January 6)

VII. MULTIPLIER AND ACCELERATOR
(January 11 – 18)

MIDTERM EXAMINATION
(One hour and twenty minutes)

THEORY OF INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT
E. D. Domar ….. 14.451 ….. December 9, 1965

FINAL EXAMINATION
Three Hours

Sawyer, John Edward (1917-1995)
Williams College President 1961-1973
By Prof. J. Hodge Markgraf (Williams Class of 1952)

Course Enrollment
[1949-50]

1949-50
Economics 136

Economics 136
Spring term
Required reading list — 1950-51

[Final] Reading Period Assignment
May 7-May 26, 1951

Economics 101a—Economic Theory
Fall term, 1951-52

Economics 101, Spring Term 1951-52
Reading List

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Department of Economics
Spring, 1959

Reading List
Economics 200B

Economics 161
Business Organization and Control
Dr. Galbraith

Economics 161
Business Organization and Control
Messrs. Galbraith and Gordon

1949-50
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 161

Economics 161
Business Organization and Control
Professor Galbraith and Mr. Gordon

Economics 161
[Midterm] Examination
April, 1950

1949-50
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 161

I.
(Forty-five minutes)

II.
(Ninety minutes)

III.
(Forty-five minutes)

SECOND SEMESTER
ECONOMICS 141b: PRINCIPLES OF MONEY AND BANKING

1946-47
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 141b