The Harvard Economics department was once one of three in its Division in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The Departments of History and Government shared a general division exam with the Department of Economics and also contributed their own specific exams for their respective departmental fields. This post provides the questions for the common, i.e. general, divisional exam, the general economics exam, and all the specific exams at the end of the academic year 1920-21 for those fields falling within the perview of the economics department.
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Previously posted
Division A.B. Exams
Division Exams 1916
Division Exams, January 1917
Division Exams, April 1918
Division Exams, May 1919
Division Exams, April/May 1920
Special Exam for Money and Government Finance, 1939
Special Exam Economic History Since 1750, 1939
Special Exam for Economic Theory, 1939
Special Exam for Labor and Social Reform, 1939
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DIVISION OF HISTORY, GOVERNMENT AND ECONOMICS
EXAMINATIONS FOR THE DEGREE OF A.B.
1920-21
DIVISION GENERAL EXAMINATION
PART I
The treatment of one of the following questions will be regarded as equivalent to one-half of this examination and should therefore occupy one hour. Write on one question only. Insert before your answer to this question a sketch of your plan of treatment.
- Discuss the relations of civilization to climate.
- Does history show that the periods of a nation’s political and literary greatness tend to coincide?
- Was America’s entrance into the World War a consequence or a violation of her policies and traditions?
- Discuss the following: “One of the great difficulties, as well as one of the great fascinations of history is the constantly changing point of view; but we should beware of interpreting the past in the light of the present.”
- What have been and what should be the limitations upon the application of the principle of self-determination in national relations?
- Contrast Roman provincial, and nineteenth-century colonial relations.
- What should be the limits of nationalization of essential industries?
- What have been the marked characteristics of three great states at the time of their greatest power?
- “Society has departed very widely from the strict rule of non-interference with industry by the State; indeed, the policy of non-interference was never carried out logically by any State.” Comment.
- Discuss: “The patriotism of nations ought to be selfish.”
- What are the standards of social justice?
PART II
The treatment of four of the following questions in Part II is required and will be regarded as equivalent to one-half of this examination, and should therefore occupy one hour. The four questions are to be taken from the Departments in which the student is NOT CONCENTRATING; two questions from each of the two Departments.
A. HISTORY
- Briefly characterize, with approximate dates, five of the following: Alexander, Aristotle, Augustus, Francis Bacon, Frederick Barbarossa, Bolivar, Calvin, Chatham, Franklin, Richelieu.
- Give a short account of the rise of the Christian Church down to the period of the Crusades.
- Estimate the importance of the Netherlands in the development of Europe.
- Discuss the relations of England and the United States during the past one hundred years.
- Write a brief historical account of slavery in the Western Hemisphere.
B. GOVERNMENT
- Discuss: “Not independence but interdependence is the hope of nations.”
- Explain the evolution and significance of trial by jury.
- What is the significance of the following headlines in March, 1921?
- “Austria in dangerous unrest.”
- “Briand voted confidence on reparations.”
- “Crown prince is plotting.”
- “Lenin knows his Italian friends.”
- What are the limits of uniform state legislation?
- What political unities can best control:
- police,
- water supply,
- roads?
C. ECONOMICS
- “The fundamental fact in history is the law of decreasing returns. It is the cause of the origin and development of civilization. . . . It is equally, and for the same reason, the source of poverty and war.”
State, explain, and indicate the significance of the law of decreasing (diminishing) returns. - What are the fundamental features of the organization of modern industrial society?
- Discuss one of the following statements:
- “Employees have the right to contract for their services in a collective capacity, but any contract that contains a stipulation that employment should be denied to men not parties to the contract is an invasion of the constitutional rights of the American workmen, is against public policy, and is in violation of the conspiracy laws.”
- “In the old days, America outsailed the world. . . . I want to acclaim the day when America is the most eminent of shipping nations. . . . A big navy and a big mercantile marine are necessary to the future of the country.”
- Why should there be a labor party in England and not in the United States?
- What are the economic essentials of socialism?
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GENERAL EXAMINATION
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
I
The treatment of two of the following questions will be regarded as equivalent to one-half of the examination and should therefore occupy one hour. Write on two questions only.
- Give the author, approximate date, and general character of five of the following works:
- National System of Political Economy.
- Essays in Political Arithmetick.
- England’s Treasure by Forraign Trade.
- Essay on the Principle of Population
- Principles of Political Economy.
- The Wealth of Nations.
- Das Kapital.
- Lombard Street.
- Capital and Interest.
- Explain four of the following terms:
Abstinence; Manchester School; stationary state; iron law of wages; produit net; non-competing groups; Scholasticism; Utilitarianism. - Locate on an outline map:
- The world’s principal sources of five of the following raw materials: cotton; copper; sugar; silk; wheat; tin; rice; nitrate; petroleum; gold.
- The more important routes of overseas transportation.
- The world’s chief regions of manufacture.
II
The treatment of three of the following questions will be regarded as equivalent to one-half of the examination and should therefore occupy one hour. Write on three questions only. Be concise.
- Define “thrift” and discuss its social significance.
- Analyze the determination of normal value under competitive conditions of joint cost.
- What is meant by “monetary inflation”? How is it to be measured and what is its importance?
- What has been the course of the interest rate in modern times? What probably will be the course of the rate during the next few years? Why?
- What are the purposes and limits of progressive taxation?
- Discuss the future of public utilities in the United States.
- To what extent and in what respects, if at all, is labor legislation of the times a corrective of the more serious defects of the existing social order?
- Discuss: “Perpetual prosperity would be a national calamity.”
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SPECIAL EXAMINATION
ECONOMIC THEORY
Answer six questions
A
Take from this group at least two and not more than four
- What is the concept of “justice” in the theory of the distribution of wealth?
- Comment on the validity and significance of the following contention: “Labor is the source of all wealth.”
- “Whether capital is productive depends simply on the question: Are tools useful? It matters not how much or how little tools add to the product — if they add something, capital is productive.” Do you agree? Explain.
- “The forces which make for Increasing Return are not of the same order as those that make for Diminishing Return. . . . The two ‘laws’ are in no sense coordinate. . . . The two ‘laws’ hold united, not divided, sway over industry.” Comment critically.
- What relations exist between the accounting and economic concepts of “cost of production”?
- “The differences in the productive powers of men due to their heredity or social position give to certain individuals the same kind of an advantage over others that the owner of a corner lot in the center of a city has over one in the suburbs. If the income from a corner lot is a surplus and can therefore be described as unearned, the income of a man of better heredity, education or opportunity must also be regarded as a surplus income and therefore unearned.”
Discuss this statement with reference to your general theory of distribution.
B
Take from this group at least one and not more than wto
- Give a brief historical account of the theory of population.
- Trace the development of the theory of international trade.
- In what ways have the following influenced the history of economic thought: Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Malthus, Ricardo, J.S. Mill, Marx?
- Outline the evolution of the theory of economic rent.
C
Take from this group at least one and not more than two
- “The profits of speculation on the Stock Exchange are just as unearned as the increment in the value of urban building sites; unlike the profits of speculation in produce, they represent no service to society.” Do you agree? Why, or why not?
- “There is a point beyond which advertising outlay is extravagant.” Explain.
- “I do not see how we can retain our home markets, upon which American good fortune must be founded, and at the same time maintain American standards of production and American standards of living unless we make other peoples with lower standards pay for the privilege of trading in the American markets.” Discuss.
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of the closed shop?
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DIVISION SPECIAL EXAMINATION
ECONOMIC HISTORY
Answer six questions
A
Take from this group at least one and not more than two
- “The opening of the Erie Canal affected both intensive and extensive agriculture in the United States.” Explain. Have there been analogous changes in later periods?
- Discuss the following statement: “The enactment of corporation laws by the various states is the most important step made during the past century in the development of American manufactures.”
- Analyze the important economic after-effects of the World War.
- Briefly explain the most satisfactory methods for separating the different types of variation in time series.
B
Take from this group at least two and not more than four
- Write a brief account of one of the early English trading companies.
- Sketch the rise of the modern factory system.
- Compare changes in farm ownership and tenancy during the nineteenth century in England and the United States.
- Outline the history of banking in the United States from 1830 to 1860.
- Write a brief narrative of the early development of the railroad.
- Give the history of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act.
- Trace the evolution of the middle class and forecast its future.
C
Take from this group at least one and not more than two
- Give a critical account of the policy of the Federal Government in its regulation of industrial combinations.
- Discuss the history and consequences of immigration into the United States since 1840.
- Review the development of German foreign trade before the War with special reference to the methods of trade promotion.
- Analyze the causes, extent, and consequences of changes in the price level in the United States since 1914.
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DIVISION SPECIAL EXAMINATION
PUBLIC FINANCE
Answer six questions
A
Take from this group at least one and not more than two
- A law of 1691 authorizes the municipal corporations of New York “to impose any reasonable tax upon all houses within said city, in proportion to the benefit they shall receive thereby.” How far is this a correct principle of taxation and how far has it continued to be applied?
- Present a classification of Federal expenditures for a national budget system.
- Give a brief account of the financial statistics issued currently by the Federal Government.
- Discuss the proposal for the cancellation of all inter-allied debts.
B
Take from this group at least one and not more than two
- How has the Federal Constitution influenced national and state tax systems in the United States?
- Trace the history of an important fiscal monopoly.
- Give a brief account of the financial history of one of the American states.
- What connections have existed between currency systems and government finance? Illustrate fully.
C
Take from this group at least two and not more than four
- Compare the total expenditures in the United States in normal times for (a) national, (b) state, and (c) municipal purposes. What changes, if any, in the proportions are to be expected?
- To what extent is it desirable to separate state and local revenues in the United States?
- Indicate the nature and significance of the “grant in aid” in British public finance.
- What arguments have been used in European countries for and against a capital levy?
- Should the poll tax be abolished? Why, or why not?
- Discuss critically the present condition of the public debt of the United States.
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DIVISION SPECIAL EXAMINATION
MONEY AND BANKING
Answer six questions
A
Take from this group at least one and not more than two
- What part, if any, do commercial banks play in (a) the process of investment; (b) the increase of capital; (c) the course of industrial development; (d) leadership in the business world? In what respects, if at all, may the influence of commercial banks be economically inexpedient?
- Discuss the desirability of uniform bank accounting in the United States.
- Describe critically the more important sources of statistics of currency and credit in the United States.
- Analyze the successive phases of the business cycle. What are the causes of financial panics; industrial crises?
B
Take from this group at least one and not more than two
- Give a brief account of the life and work of John Law.
- Trace the history of usury laws.
- Outline the political background of American monetary history from 1870 to 1900.
- Give a brief history of the Reichsbank.
C
Take from this group at least two and not more than four
- “It is quite clear that the money question no longer survives as a political issue.” Do you agree? Why, or why not?
- To what extent has the status of the gold standard been affected by the World War?
- “This little neutral country [Switzerland], surrounded by four great continental belligerents, and bordering on the two principal battle-fronts of Europe, possesses at present, curiously enough, an exceptional purchasing power. This is the consequence of the high level of Swiss currency, which is 250 per cent above the usual parity with the currency of the neighbor in the east, Austria-Hungary; 100 per cent higher than that of the neighbor in the north, Germany; 90 per cent higher than that of the neighbor in the south, Italy; and 20 per cent higher than that of the western neighbor, France. Even in overseas countries, Swiss currency has a higher buying power than the English sovereign or the American dollar.” Explain fully.
- What changes have been made in the original Federal Reserve System? What have been the purposes and effects of the changes? What further changes, if any, seem desirable?
- Compare the provisions for agricultural credit in two important countries.
- Comment upon the following statement: “Prosperity continued through the war, and gave the nation such a tremendous start in business activity that we would still be rejoicing in a period of great prosperity had it not been for the death-dealing blow of deflation of credit given by Mr. Wilson’s Federal Reserve Board.”
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DIVISION SPECIAL EXAMINATION
CORPORATE ORGANIZATION, INCLUDING RAILROADS
Answer six questions
A
Take from this group at least one and not more than two
- State the theory of value under conditions of monopoly. In what ways, if at all, is monopoly price affected by (a) cost of production per unit; (b) potential competition; (c) an elastic demand for the product; (d) the existence of satisfactory substitutes for the product; (e) hostile public opinion?
- Formulate a statistical classification of business organizations in the United States.
- Discuss the apportionment of railway operating expenses between freight and passenger service.
- Analyze the valuation of corporate assets from the standpoint of the principles of accounting.
B
Take from this group at least one and not more than two
- Compare the history of business corporations in England and the United States.
- Trace connections between railroad construction in the United States and related political and economic events.
- Give a brief narrative of the trust dissolutions of the Federal Government.
- What provisions of the Federal Constitution have been most important in determining policies of government regulation of public utilities?
C
Take from this group at least two and not more than four
- Discuss the following statement: “The enactment of corporation laws by the various states is the most important step made during the past century in the development of American manufactures.”
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of non-par stock?
- Discuss the probable consequences of the Supreme Court decision that stock dividends are not income under the income tax law.
- What is the nature and importance of good-will in corporation finance?
- To what extent may there be differences in the fair valuation of public utilities for the purposes of rate-making, condemnation, taxation, and capitalization?
- Did the Government act wisely in returning the railroads March 1, 1920 to their corporate owners for operation? Why, or why not?
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DIVISION SPECIAL EXAMINATION
ECONOMICS OF AGRICULTURE
Answer six questions
A
Take from this group at least one and not more than two
- Analyze the doctrine of economic rent from agricultural land.
- What are the functions of organized speculation in staple agricultural products?
- Describe the methods to be employed in making an annual farm inventory.
- What subjects are covered by the decennial Federal census of agriculture? What is the statistical value of the results of the several inquiries?
B
Take from this group at least one and not more than two
- Trace the history of the relations between landlords and tenants in England.
- What have been the most important changes in American agriculture since 1890?
- Give a critical account of the land policies of the Federal Government.
- Outline the development of the beet sugar industry in Europe.
C
Take from this group at least two and not more than four
- What factors determine the most efficient size of farms?
- What are the advantages of diversification of crops?
- Discuss the future of the meat supply of the United States.
- Describe and estimate the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods of marketing farm produce.
- State and defend a forest conservation policy for the United States.
- Compare the provisions for agricultural credit in two important countries.
- What are the principal problems of rural community life in the United States?
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DIVISION SPECIAL EXAMINATION
LABOR PROBLEMS
Answer six questions
A
Take from this group at least one and not more than two
- Discuss the proposal to restrict immigration into the United States by limiting the number of each nationality admitted each year to 3 per cent of the foreign-born of that nationality resident in this country in 1910.
- Describe the technique of statistical measurement of the high cost of living.
- What are the principal difficulties encountered in the collection of wage statistics?
- Analyze the relations between high money wages and high commodity prices.
B
Take from this group at least one and not more than two
- Describe the early development of the factory system.
- Trace the origins of trade-unionism in the United States.
- Write a brief narrative of the movement for a shorter working day.
- Review the relations between organized labor and the steel industry in the United States.
C
Take from this group at least two and not more than four
- What is “the labor problem”?
- Compare American and British labor leadership. How do you account for the differences?
- “Employers must be free to employ their work people at wages mutually satisfactory, without interference or dictation on the part of individuals or organizations not directly parties to such contracts.” Comment.
- Discuss a proposed law providing that “in the establishment of salaries for school teachers in the city of—, there shall be no discrimination based on sex or otherwise, but teachers and principals rendering the same service shall receive equal pay.”
- “The principle that each industry shall support its own unemployed is one that must be established if a real solution of unemployment is to be made.” Do you agree? Why, or why not?
- Discuss the relation of shop committees to trade-unionism.
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DIVISION SPECIAL EXAMINATION
ECONOMICS AND SOCIOLOGY
Answer six questions
A
Take from this group at least one and not more than two
- Discuss the following contention: “The landlord is a parasite since he consumes without producing.”
- What is the meaning of “over-population”?
- “Hitherto it is questionable if all the mechanical inventions yet made have lightened the day’s toil of any human being.” Comment critically.
- What are the interactions of human instincts and modern factory labor?
- Discuss the nature and bases of economic prosperity.
B
Take from this group at least one and not more than two
- Describe the evolution of language.
- Trace the history of the middle class and forecast its future.
- Give a brief historical account of the status of women.
- What have been the chief cultural consequences of the machine process?
C
Take from this group at least two and not more than four
- What is the province of sociology?
- Discuss the family as a necessary social unit.
- Describe the leading forms of conflict and their effect upon group life. Why are some forms to be preferred to others? What are the factors which determine the forms actually prevailing at any time?
- Analyze the sources of prestige and influence in modern society.
- “From the standpoint of progress, the value of the individual depends on the excess of his production over his consumption.” Discuss.
- What are the criteria and causes of racial superiority?
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Examinations not transcribed for this post
History:
General Examination
Special Examinations: Mediaeval History; English History; Modern European History to 1789; Modern History since 1789; American History
Government:
General Examination
Special Examinations: American Government; Municipal Government; Political Theory; International Law
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Source: Harvard University Archives. Divisional and general examinations, 1915-1975 (HUC 7000.18). Box 6, Bound Volume (stamped “Private Library Arthur H. Cole”) “Divisional Examinations 1916-1927”.