Of the fields with a deep bench at Harvard in the immediate pre-WWII era, international trade could boast three faculty members and two post-docs of great distinction: Gottfried Haberler, Wassily Leontief, Seymour Harris; and Wolfgang Stolper and Heinrich (a.k.a. “Henry”) Heuser. This post has the course outlines with assigned readings for both the trade theory and commercial policy semesters and the final examination questions for commercial policy.
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Henry Heuser from AEA List of Members 1948
HEUSER, HENRY KARL-MARIA, 1747 F St., N.W., Washington, D.C. (1942) Int. Monetary Fund, econ., res., govt serv.; b. 1911; B.A., 1932, McGill; M.A., 1933, Ecole des Science Economiques et Politiques (Paris); Ph.D., 1938, Univ. of London. Fields 10, 1a, 7. Doc. dis. Economics of exchange control. Pub. Control of international trade (Rutledge, London, 1938; Blakiston, Philadephia, 1939).
Source: Alphabetical List of Members (as of June 15, 1948) in the 1948 Directory of the American Economic Association (Jan., 1949). American Economic Review, Vol. 39, No. 1.p. 85.
Obituary for Henry Heuser (1911-95) from the Washington Post
April 21, 1995
Henry K. Heuser, 83, an economist who retired in the early 1970s from the Agency for International Development, died of cancer April 18 at the Washington Hospice.
Mr. Heuser was born in Berlin. In the mid-1920s, he immigrated to Canada. He graduated from McGill University and also studied at Ecole des Sciences Economiques in Paris and at the London School of Economics, where he received a doctorate.
In the late 1930s, he taught economics and international trade at the University of Minnesota, Harvard University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He was author of a book, “Control of International Trade,” which was published in 1939.
During World War II, he was an intelligence officer with the Office of Strategic Services, then after the war he worked in Paris on the Marshall Plan for the economic rehabilitation of postwar Europe.
In the late 1940s, he worked for the Federal Reserve and the International Monetary Fund, then joined U.S. foreign assistance programs. He served in Italy, Korea, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan and the Ivory Coast.
On retiring from AID, Mr. Heuser lived in the Tuscany region of Italy, where he restored a 16th-century monastery and grew grapes for Chianti wine. He returned to Washington about 1987.
Survivors include his wife of 48 years, Maria Heuser of Washington; five children, Chilla Heuser-Rousselle of Paris, Alice Heuser of Potomac, Stephen Heuser of London, Tayo Heuser Shore of Narragansett, R.I., and Michael Heuser of Beverly Hills, Calif.; and 13 grandchildren. MARK LEE PATTEN Carpenter
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Course Enrollment
1940-41
[Economics] 43a 1hf. Professor Haberler and Associate Professor Leontief.—International Economic Relations, I. Theory of International Trade.
Total 22: 1 Graduate, 13 Seniors, 3 Juniors, 2 Sophomores, 3 Others.
Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College and Reports of Departments for 1940-41, p. 63.
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Course Description
1940-41
Economics 43a 1hf. International Economic Relations, I. Theory of International Trade. Half-course (first half-year). Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructors) Fri., at 9. Professor Haberler and Dr. Stolper.
The course will deal with the following subjects: Monetary problems of international trade; the pure theory of international trade.
Source: Division of History, Government, and Economics Containing an Announcement for 1940-41. Official Register of Harvard University, Vol. XXXVII, No. 51 (August 15, 1940), p. 56.
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Economics 43a
International Trade and Commercial Relations
[1939-40]
During the first half of the term the monetary problems of International Trade will be discussed in the following order:
The theory and measurement of the balance of payments
Gold Standard
Paper standard and purchasing power parity theory
Exchange Depreciation
The transfer problem and capital movements
The present gold problem
Problems of exchange control
Assignments of the first six weeks:
Haberler, Theory of International Trade, pp. 1-117.
Whale, International Trade, Chs. 17-19, 21-23
Department of Commerce, The Balance of International Indebtedness of the United States for 1938.
Graham and Whittlesey, “The Gold Problem,” Foreign Affairs, January, 1938.
Meade and Hitch, Economic Analysis, Part V, pp. 307-355.
The second half of the term will be devoted to the pure theory of international trade and to some of its applications. The classical theory will be discussed and confronted with Ohlin’s approach. The concept of the terms of trade will be taken up and some applications of monopoly theory, especially to the problem of dumping, will be treated.
Assignments for the second half of the term:
Meade and Hitch, Economic Analysis, Part V, pp. 356-408.
Haberler, International Trade, Chs. IX-XII, and Ch. XVIII.
Ohlin, Interregional and International trade, Parts I and II.
Viner, J., Memorandum on Dumping (League of Nations).
Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003 (HUC 8522.2.1) Box 2, Folder “Economics, 1940-1941”.
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Final Examination
Economics 43a 1hf.
1940-41
[Not found (yet).]
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Course Enrollment
1939-40
[Economics] 43b 2hf. Associate Professor Harris , Drs. Heuser and Stolper.—International Economic Relations, II. Commercial Policy.
Total 18: 11 Seniors, 6 Juniors, 1 Other.
Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College and Reports of Departments for 1939-40, p. 99.
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Course Description
1940-41
[Economics 43b 1hf. International Economic Relations, II. Commercial Policy.] Half-course (second half-year). Mon., Wed., at 12, and a third hour at the pleasure of the instructors. Professor Haberler, Associate Professor Harris, and Dr. Stolper.
Omitted in 1940-41.
Source: Division of History, Government, and Economics Containing an Announcement for 1940-41. Official Register of Harvard University, Vol. XXXVII, No. 51 (August 15, 1940), p. 56.
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Economics 43b
1939-40
| Week | Subject | Reading |
| Feb. 5-10 | General case for free trade and criticism (Dr. Stolper) |
Haberler, Chs. 13, 14. Robertson, “The Future of International Trade,” Economic Journal, March, 1938. |
| Feb. 12-17 | General effect of tariffs, partial analysis. Preferential tariffs. (Dr. Stolper) |
Haberler, Ch. 15 |
| Feb. 19-March 9 | Special tariff arguments. Discussion of some of the Hutchins Committee Report. Schüler and Keynes arguments. Foreign Trade Multiplier. (Dr. Stolper) |
Beveridge, Tariffs, the Case Examined, Chs. 5, 9, 10, 13. Haberler, Chs. 16, 17, and Ch. 12, §4 review Macmillan Report, Addendum I. Copland, D.B., “A Neglected Phase of Tariff Controversy,” Q.J.E., 1931. Anderson, Karl, “Protection and the Historical Situation,” Q.J.E., 1938. Samuelson, Marion Crawford, “The Australian Case for Protection Re-examined,” Q.J.E., 1939. Taussig, Chs. 13 and 16. Suggested reading: Taussig, Chs. 14, 15. |
| March 11-16 | Dumping, anti-dumping duties (Dr. Stolper) |
Haberler, Ch. 18, omitting the graphs. Robinson, J., Economics of Imperfect Competition, Ch. 15, sec. 1-4. Viner, J., Memorandum on Dumping (League of Nations). |
| March 18-April 20 | Other measures, particularly quotas. Exchange Control and Clearing. Exchange Agreements, etc. (Dr. Heuser) |
Haberler, Chs. 19, 20, 21. Heuser, Control of International Trade, Ch. VI. Ellis, Exchange Control, Supplement to Q.J.E., 1939, Ch. I. Ellsworth, Chs. IX, X. |
| April 22-27 | Tariff History: The glass industry. (Dr. Davis) |
Probably Taussig, Tariff History. |
| April 29-May 4 | Reciprocal Trade Agreements (Dr. Stolper) |
Tasca, Reciprocal Trade Policy, selected chapters. |
Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003 (HUC 8522.2.1) Box 2, Both in Folders “Economics, 1939-1940 (2 of 2)” and “Economics, 1940-1941”.
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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 43b2
1939-1940
Part I
(One hour and a half)
Take both questions. Write one hour on one of them and one-half hour on the other.
- “Territorial jurisdiction over a particular area can never be of economic advantage as long as there is free trade in commodities.” Do you agree?
- Discuss the relative merits of general depreciation, discriminating exchange rates, and export subsidies as means of restoring equilibrium after a period of strict exchange control.
Part II
(One hour and a half)
Answer question 3 and two other questions.
- Take (a), (b), (c), or (d) only.
- Do you think that Marshall’s argument for free trade are applicable to the United States of to-day?
- Outline the reciprocal trade agreements program of the U. S. A. and its probable effects on various sectors of the American economy. Do you think the program leads towards increased bilateralism or towards greater free trade?
- “Increased competition from newly industrialised countries compels the older industrial countries to choose between higher tariffs or lower standards of living.”
- It has been claimed that the protective effect of an import quota and a tariff combined are cumulative. Discuss with regard to the effects in the importing country as well as in the exporting countries.
- If a country’s exports are subject to foreign tariffs it cannot improve its position by levying tariffs on its imports. Give your considered opinion of this assertion.
- Under conditions conducive to a flight of capital [,] restrictions on capital exports may fail completely to bring about a permanent improvement in the balance of payments. Discuss.
- The total volume of trade between two countries under exchange clearing is just as likely to increase as to decrease. Discuss with respect to clearings between (a) a free country and a control country, (b) two control countries.
- “The operation of the foreign trade multiplier necessitates reconsideration of the proposition that employment and national income can never be increased by the introduction of tariffs.” Discuss.
Final. 1940.
Source: Harvard University Archives. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Papers Printed for Final Examinations. History, History of Religions,…Economics,…Military Science, Naval Science (June, 1940) in Harvard University. Final examinations, 1853-2001 (HUC 7000.28) Box 5.
Image: Haberler, Leontief and Harris from Harvard Album 1942.