While Harvard archive’s collection of old course syllabi and reading lists offers a treasure chest of material, there still are plenty of “missing observations” and lost pages between us and a complete record. Fortunately there is often significant inertia in the actual syllabi so that interpolation is less hazardous than one might expect in filling the gaps. The next several posts will be dedicated to the graduate course taught for graduate students of economics and of public administration “Economic Analysis and Public Policy”. Robert Baldwin’s spring term syllabus for 1955-56 gives us a valuable clue as to the likely content of a missing page in the syllabus for the course as taught in 1956-57.
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Arthur Smithies’ syllabus for this course as taught in 1949-50 has been transcribed and posted.
Biographical information along with the reading list for Robert Baldwin’s course “Theories and Problems of Economic Development” taught in 1955 have been posted earlier.
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Course Enrollment
[Economics] 206 Economic Analysis and Public Policy. Assistant Professor Baldwin. Full course.
(F) Total 36: 10 Graduates, 22 Other Graduates, 2 Seniors, 1 Radcliffe, 1 Other.
(S) Total 34: 10 Graduates, 21 Other Graduates, 2 Seniors, 1 Other.
Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1955-56, p. 78.
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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics
Economics 206
[Baldwin, Fall Term, 1955-56]
Baumol, W. J., Economic Dynamics, Chapters 2, 3, and 4.
Bober, M. M., Karl Marx’s Interpretation of History.
Cassel, Gustav, The Theory of Social Economy, Chapter 4.
Domar, E., “Expansion and Employment,” American Economic Review, March 1947.
Dillard, Dudley, The Economics of J. M. Keynes.
Gray, Alexander, The Development of Economic Doctrine, Chapters 5, 6, 11.
Hansen, A. H., Business Cycles and National Income, Parts II and III.
Hansen, A. H., A Guide to Keynes.
Harris, S. E. The New Economics, Chapters 12, 13, 14, 16, 39.
Harris, S. E., Schumpeter, Social Scientist.
Harrod, Roy, The Life of J. M. Keynes.
Heilbroner, R. L., The Worldly Philosophers.
Jevons, W. Stanley, The Theory of Political Economy, Introduction.
Keynes, J. M., The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.
Klein, L. R., The Keynesian Revolution, Chapters 3 and 4.
Malthus, T. R., Essay on Population.
Marshall, A., Principles of Economics, Book V.
Marx, Karl, Communist Manifesto.
Mill, J. S., Principles of Political Economy, Book 4, Chapters 1-4.
Ricardo, David, Principles of Political Economy, Chapters 1-6, 21.
Ricardo, David, Notes on Malthus, Chapter 7.
Robinson, Joan, Essay on Marxian Economics.
Schumpeter, J. A., The Theory of Economic Development.
Schumpeter, J.A., Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy.
Schumpeter, J. A., Ten Great Economists, Chapters 1, 4, 10.
Schumpeter, J. A., History of Economic Analysis.
Smith, Adam, The Wealth of Nations, Bk. I, Chs. 1-9; bk. II, Ch. 3; Bk. IV, Ch. 2.
Smithies, Arthur, “Reflections on the Work and Influence of J.M. Keynes,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, November 1951.
Smithies, Arthur, “Joseph Alois Schumpeter,” American Economic Review, Sept. 1950.
Stephen, Leslie, The English Utilitarians, Volume 2, Chapter 5.
Sweezy, Paul, The Theory of Capitalist Development, Chapters 4, 5, 6, 8, 9.
Walras, L., Elements of Pure Economics, Part I.
Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 6, Folder: “Economics, 1955-1956 (2 of 2).
Reading Period Assignment:
No additional assignment
Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 6, Folder: “Economics, 1955-1956 (1 of 2).
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1955-56
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Economics 206
Mid-year Examination
January, 1956
(Three Hours)
Answer four (4) of the following six questions.
- Some economists have advocated a flexible money wage rate policy to ensure full employment. Discuss and contrast the effects of a cut in money wage rates on aggregate employment in the Keynesian and in the Classical (or neo-Classical) systems.
- Both Marx and Schumpeter believe that capitalism is doomed, but their reasons for this conclusion are quite different. Explain and criticize the analysis of each in regard to this point.
- According to Keynes, the habit of thrift may be a vice instead of a virtue. In Classical and neo-Classical thought, however, thrift is invariably regarded as a virtue. Explain the reasons for this difference in viewpoint.
- Discuss and appraise the analyses of Smith, Ricardo, and Marx concerning their view that the long-run rate of profit will decline.
- What is wrong with the labor theory of value as an explanation of how relative prices are determined? How did the neo-Classical theorists solve the problem of how relative prices are determined?
- In the Ricardian and Marxian theories of growth, labor fails to share in the fruits of long-run progress (in the sense of receiving a higher per capita income). However, according to Schumpeter and the neo-Classsical writers, this is not a necessary (and, indeed, is an unlikely) result. Why do these writers disagree on this matter?
Source: Harvard University Archives. Final examinations, 1853-2001. Box 23, Volume: Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, …, Economics, …, Naval Science, Air Science, January 1956.
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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics
Economics 206
[Baldwin, Spring Term, 1955-56]
Part I (cont.) The Post-Keynesian Growth Theorists
Readings:
Domar, “Expansion and Employment,” A.E.R., March 1947.
Baumol, Economic Dynamics, Ch. 4
Part II. The Changing Structure of the U.S. Economy
- “Real” Factors
- Institutional Conditions
Readings:
Dewhurst and Associates, America’s Needs and Resources, A New Survey, Chs. 4, 18, 28.
Galbraith, American Capitalism, Chs. 1, 4-10.
Kaysen, “Looking Around—Books About Competition,” Harvard Business Review, May-June, 1954.
Lilienthal, Big Business: A New Era
Slichter, The American Economy, Ch. 2.
Part III. Public Policy and Economic Goals
- Full Employment
- Price Stability
- Equitable Income Distribution
- Efficient Resource Allocation
- Economic Growth
- International Equilibrium
Readings:
A.E.A. Committee, “The Problem of Economic Instability,” American Economic Review, Sept., 1950.
Economic Report of the President, January 1956.
Elliot, The Political Economy of American Foreign Policy, Part II.
Galbraith, “Farm Policy: The Current Position,” Journal of Farm Economics, May, 1955.
Hansen, Business Cycles and National Income, Part III.
Hearings before the Joint Committee, January 1955 Economic Report of the President, Statements by Professors Hansen (p. 491) and Harris (p. 291).
Knight, “Economic Objectives in a Changing World,” in Economics and Public Policy, Brookings Institution
McDonald, “The Sherman Act and ‘Workable Competition’,” No. 28 in Readings in Economics, Samuelson, Bishop, and Coleman.
Mason, “Prices, Costs, and Profits,” in Money, Trade, and Economic Growth: Essays in Honor of J.H. Williams.
Maxwell, Fiscal Policy
Report of the Joint Committee on the Economic Report, Foreign Economic Policy, January, 1956.
Smithies, “Economic Welfare and Economic Policy,” in Economics and Public Policy.
Smithies, “Full Employment at Whatever Cost: A Comment,” Q.J.E., November, 1950.
Subcommittee on Monetary, Credit, and Fiscal Policies of the Joint Committee on the Economic Report, Money, Credit, and Fiscal Policies, No. 2 in Gramp and Weiler, Readings in Political Economy.
United Nations, National and International Measures for Full Employment.
Viner, “Full Employment at Whatever Cost,” Q.J.E., August, 1950.
Wright, The Impact of the Union, Ch. 8, 10.
Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 6, Folder: “Economics, 1955-1956 (2 of 2).
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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics
Economics 206
Final Examination
June, 1956
Answer four (4) of the following seven questions:
- What are the major problems facing American agriculture? Analyze the economic forces behind these problems, and suggest the kind of policies you would favor in order to mitigate the difficulties.
- “The strained relations between the Federal Reserve and Treasury since the end of World War II clearly indicate the undesirability of the existence of a semi-autonomous monetary authority in this country.” Discuss.
- Domar’s condition for the maintenance of continuous full employment is not unlike the Queen’s observation in Through the Looking Glass; “A slow sort of country. Now here, you see, it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that.”
Explain and evaluate the requirements for full employment in Domar’s model. - “The traditional view of anti-trust policy is based on a static conception of economic activity. What is needed is a revision of anti-trust policy which recognizes the dynamic nature of the American economy.” Discuss.
- Carefully explain and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of monetary policy versus fiscal policy as counter-cyclical weapons.
- Discuss the causes and attempted cures of the post-war dollar shortage.
- “The economist must attempt to formulate a compromise among various, and possibly conflicting, economic objectives. He must attempt to discuss the economic objectives of society, to remove contradictions among them, and to harmonize economic objectives with those that lie outside the economic field.” Do you agree? What are some of the possible conflicts among various economic objectives? Are there any policy changes which you would recommend “to remove contradictions” among various economic objectives?
Source: Harvard University Archives. Final examinations, 1853-2001. Box 24, Volume: Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, …, Economics, …, Naval Science, Air Science, June 1956.
Image Source: Selection from photograph (ca. 1975) of Robert E. Baldwin from the University of Wisconsin Archives/The University of Wisconsin Collection/The UW-Madison Collection/UW-Madison Archives Images.