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Harvard. History of Economics Reading List. Schumpeter, 1949

Joseph Schumpeter offered his graduate course “History and Literature of Economics since 1776” nine times during the period 1940-1949. The core readings were basically unchanged. In an earlier post I provided the reading list and examinations from the 1939-40 academic year. This post provides the much stripped down reading list for the last time Schumpeter offered the course. The only addition to the reading list was George Stigler’s 1941 book,  Production and Distribution Theories.

Below you will find the course enrollment figures and the reading list for the Spring semester of 1949.

 

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Course Enrollment Statistics:

Graduates Seniors Juniors Radcliffe Other Total
1939-40 9 3 1 0 3 16
1940-41 11 2 0 3 1 17
1941-42 5 1 0 4 1 12
1942-43 10 3 0 6 3 22
1943-44 2 1 0 3 3 9
1944-45 Not offered
1945-46 18 2 5 25
1946-47 21 1 0 6 7 35
1947-48 17 4 0 2 7 30
1948-49 2 1 0 0 1 4

Note: course number was Economics 113b until the academic year 1947-48, then Economics 213b thereafter. Joseph Schumpeter died in January 1950.

 

Source: Harvard/Radcliffe Online Historical Reference Shelf. Harvard President’s Reports.

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Economics 213b
Spring 1949

Reading List

 

This course will cover the period between and including A. Smith and A. Marshall. Particular emphasis will be placed upon the Ricardian system of economic theory. The new edition of Gide and Rist, History of Economic Doctrines, Heath & Company, 1948, is recommended for survey purposes.

  1. Richard Cantillon, Essai sur la nature du commerce en général (1755), English translation by Higgs (1931).
  2. David Hume, Political Discourses (edition by Green and Grose, 1875), Vol. I. [Miller edition]
  3. Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, Cannan’s (Modern Library) edition.
  4. David Ricardo, Principles of Political Economy. (Everyman’s Library).
  5. Thomas R. Malthus, Essay on the Principle of Population (1798). [1803 edition, enlarged]
  6. William N. Senior [sic: should be “Senior, Nassau William”], Outline of the Science of Political Economy (1836).
  7. John Stuart Mill, Principles of Political Economy, also read introduction to Ashley’s edition.
  8. Karl Marx, first volume of Das Kapital (English translation, Modern Library).
  9. Augustin Cournot, Principles of the Theory of Wealth (Fisher’s edition, 1927).
  10. Knut Wicksell, Lectures on Political Economy (Robbins’ edition, 1934) [Vol. I; Vol. II].
  11. Alfred Marshall, Principles of Economics, particularly Book V.

Further suggestions:

E. Böhm-Bawerk, Capital and Interest, Vol. I.
E. Cannan, Theories of Production and Distribution (1924). [2nd ed., 1903]
F. W. Taussig, Wages and Capital (1896).
G. Stigler, Production and Distribution Theories (1941).
J. Bonar, Malthus and his Work (1924). [1885 ed.]
M. Bowley, Nassau Senior and Classical Economics (1937).
J. R. Hicks, “Leon Walras,” (Econometrica, 1934).
J. M. Keynes, Essays in Biography (mainly the essays on Malthus and Marshall).
J. Viner, Studies in the Theory of International Trade (1937).

 

Source: Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Harvard University Archives, HUC 8522.2.1. Box 4, Folder “Economics, 1948-1949 (2 of 2)”.

Image Source:  Harvard Album, 1947.