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Harvard. Applied Economic Analysis, Readings and Exams. Duesenberry, 1955-56.

 

The Harvard economics professor, James Stemble Duesenberry (b. 18 July 1918; d. 5 October 2009) was best known for his relative-income hypothesis or at least that hypothesis was something I can recall from my undergraduate course taught by James Tobin almost exactly a half-century ago. Following the official Harvard obituary, you will find the reading lists and exams for his two-term course “Applied Economic Analysis” as taught in 1955-56.

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Duesenberry’s Harvard Obituary

Economist Duesenberry dies at 91
by Amy Lavoie

James Stemble Duesenberry, an eminent economist who was an authority on monetary policy and a faculty member of Harvard University’s Department of Economics for more than half a century, recently passed away at his home in Cambridge at the age of 91.

Duesenberry came to Harvard in 1948 as assistant professor of economics and became associate professor in 1953. He received tenure in 1955, and became professor of economics.

An economic theorist who strove to affect policy and improve economic conditions, Duesenberry was a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors from 1966 to 1968, in Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration. From 1969 to 1974 he was chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and he led the bank during the construction of the First National Bank Building in downtown Boston.

“Jim Duesenberry was a very insightful man who thought deeply about problems in a way that was relatively unconstrained by the fashionable conditions of the day,” said Benjamin Friedman, William Joseph Maier Professor of Political Economy, who was a colleague of Duesenberry’s. “He thought that the purpose of economics was to speak to the way the economy behaves and what policy can do to improve economic performance.”

In 1969, Duesenberry was named William Joseph Maier Professor of Money and Banking. He was chair of the Department of Economics from 1972 to 1977, and led the department at a time when some called for greater intellectual diversity among the faculty. He retired in 1989, and became William Joseph Maier Professor of Money and Banking Emeritus.

Duesenberry’s first book, “Income Consumption and the Theory of Consumer Behavior” (Harvard University Press), was published in 1949. He is also the author of “Business Cycles and Economic Growth” (McGraw-Hill, 1957), “Money and Credit: Impact and Control” (Prentice-Hall, 1964), “Capital Needs in the Seventies” with Barry Bosworth and Andrew Carron (Brookings Institution, 1975), and “Money, Banking and Economy” with Thomas Mayer and Robert Z. Aliber (W.W. Norton, 1981).

Born in Princeton, W.Va., Duesenberry received his B.A. in 1939, his M.A. in 1941, and his Ph.D. in 1948, all in economics from the University of Michigan.

Duesenberry was a research fellow with the Social Science Research Council in 1941. During World War II, Duesenberry was a statistician in the Air Force, and reached the rank of captain. He was an instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1946, and in 1954, he was a Fulbright fellow at Cambridge University.

Duesenberry is survived by his son John of Brookline, Mass., and daughters Holly of Gouldsboro, Maine, and Peggy of Stirling, Scotland, as well as four grandchildren.

Source: Harvard Gazette, October 15, 2009.

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Enrollment

[Economics] 106. Applied Economic Analysis. Associate Professor Duesenberry. Full course.

(F) Total 25: 1 Graduate, 1 Other Graduate, 20 Seniors, 3 Juniors.
(S) Total 19: 16 Seniors, 3 Juniors.

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

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics
Economics 106

Fall Term, 1955

  1. Wages and Labor Allocation and Efficiency
    1. A. Marshall, Principles of Economics, Bk. VI, Chs. 1-5.
    2. Shister, Economics of the Labor Market, Chs. 14, 15, 16.
    3. M. Friedman, “Significance of Labor Unions for Economic Policy,” Ch. X, in Wright, The Impact of the Union.
    4. Meade and Hitch, Introduction to Economic Analysis and Public Policy, Part II, Ch. 3.
    5. Peterson, Economics, Revised Edition, Ch. 20.
    6. Taussig, Principles of Economics, Vol. II, Ch. 52.
    7. M. Friedman and S. Kuznets, Income from Independent Professional Practice, Ch. 4.
    8. T. Parsons, “The Motivation of Economic Activity,” Ch. IX, in Essays in Sociological Theory.
    9. Sanders, Effects of Taxation on Executives, Chs. I and II.

Reading Period Assignment
Fall Term, 1955-56

Economics 106: O. Lange, “Scope and Method of Economics,” Review of Economic Studies, Vol. 13 (1943-46)

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

 

1955-56
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 106

Mid-year Examination
(January, 1956)

Answer question 1 and four others

  1. (one hour)
    1. The appearance of unions in an otherwise perfectly competitive labor market with perfect mobility of labor is likely to distort the allocation of resources. Why?
      (Assume that unions do influence wages.)
    2. In the type of labor market which actually exists the adverse effect of unions on resource allocation is much less certain. Why?
  2. Wage differentials attributable to the cost of training both help to determine and are determined by the distribution of income. Discuss.
  3. Outline some of the fundamental factors which make an area a low wage area.
  4. Friedman argues that unions do not influence wages. What evidence does he cite in support of his position? What considerations cast doubt on the proposition?
  5. What are the major reasons for the narrowing of skill differentials in American industry? What evidence would you look for to determine whether any misallocation of resources has resulted?
  6. Wages tend to be higher in rapidly growing industries than in others. Why?
  7. Outline Schumpeter’s views on the influence of monopoly on static efficiency (resource allocation) and progress.
  8. Discuss the effects of income taxes on personal incentives to work.

Source:  Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Final examinations, 1853-2001. Box 23. Papers Printed for Final Examinations: History, History of Religions,…, Economics,…Naval Science, Air Science. January, 1956.

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics
Economics 106

Spring Term, 1955-56

Bain, Pricing, Distribution, and Employment, Chs. 5, 6.

P.W.S. Andrews, Manufacturing Business.

T. Scitovsky, Welfare and Competition Ch. 9.

Lutz, Theory of Investment of the Firm, Chs. 2, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16.

Hart, Anticipations, Uncertainty and Dynamic Planning.

Boulding, Economic Analysis, 3rd Edition, Ch. 38.

Durand, “Costs of Debt and Equity Funds” in Conference on Business Finance (National Bureau of Economic Research).

MacLaurin, Invention and Innovation in the Radio Industry.

E.S. Mason, “Current Status of Monopoly Problems,” Harvard Law Review, June 1949.

Butters and Lintner, Effects of Taxation on Corporate Mergers, Chs. IX, X.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Economics 106
Reading List (Cont.)

Federal Inter-Agency River Basin Committee, Subcommittee on Benefits and Costs, Proposed Practices for Economic Analysis of River Basin Projects, Chs. 1-5, pp. 1-56.

Smithies, A., The Budgetary Process in the United States, Ch. XIII.

Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, Water Resources and Power, June 1955, Vol. I, pp. 1-85.

Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, Task Force Report on Water Resources and Power, pp. 1-164.

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

 

 

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics
Economics 106

Final Examination (May, 1956)

PART I.
(One Hour)

Required.

  1. Discuss the differences between monopoly and oligopoly in terms of (a) relation of prices to costs (b) investment behavior.

PART II.
(Half Hour)

Answer question 2 or 3.

  1. “The possibility that new firms will enter the industry influences the price and investment policies of firms in oligopolistic industries.” Discuss.
  2. The rivalry among oligopolists is more likely to result in product improvement than in price reduction. Why?

PART III.
(45 minutes for each question)

Answer two questions.

  1. What measures would you recommend for the improvement of the Federal Water Resource Program? Give reasons for your recommendations.
  2. The supply of any collective service by government action is likely to involve a redistribution of income. Discuss the possible effects of this on (1) the level at which these services may be supplied; (2) the degree of efficiency of the allocation of resources within a program.
  3. Even in an economy governed by the strongest preferences against government activity some economic needs will be met collectively. Why?

 

Source:  Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Final examinations, 1853-2001. Box 24. Papers Printed for Final Examinations: History, History of Religions,…, Economics,…Naval Science, Air Science. June, 1956.