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Harvard. Readings and Final Exam for Business Cycles. Hansen and Haberler, 1942

 

Reading assignments and the final exam for the business cycles course taught at Harvard in 1938 by Alvin Hansen and Gottfried Haberler were posted earlier.

Also posted earlier are the Course outline and exam for 1949 and the course outline for 1950. that were taught by Alvin Hansen.

For 1955-56 we have the course outline and reading assignments again jointly taught by Hansen and Haberler.

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Course Enrollment

Economics 45a 2hf. Professors Hansen and Haberler. — Business Cycles.

Total 59: 2 Graduates, 14 Seniors, 30 Juniors, 11 Sophomores, 1 School of Public Administration, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1941-42, p. 63.

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SPECIFIC READING ASSIGNMENTS
IN ECONOMICS 45a
1941-42

  1. First four weeks:
    1. Haberler: Prosperity and Depression, Chapters 1, 9, 10, 11
    2. Hansen: Fiscal Policy and Business Cycles, Chapters 1, 2
    3. Schumpeter: Business Cycles, pp. 325-351
    4. Schumpeter: “Analysis of Economic Change,” Review of Economic Statistics, May 1935
    5. Kondratieff: “The Long Waves in Economic Life,” Review of Economic Statistics, November 1935
    6. Mitchell: Business Cycles, Chapter 3
    7. Federal Reserve Chart Book (Available at the Coop. 60¢)
  2. Six weeks:
    1. Hansen: Full Recovery or Stagnation? Chapters 1-5
    2. Haberler: Prosperity and Depression, Chapters 2-8; 13
    3. Hansen: Fiscal Policy and Business Cycles, Chapters 11, 12
  3. Last two weeks:
    1. Hansen: Business Cycle Theory, Chapters 4 and 8
    2. Hansen: Full Recovery or Stagnation?, Chapters 16-20
  4. Reading Period (Choose A or B):
    1. 1. Mitchell: “Business Cycles,” Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Vol. 3, pp. 92-106
      2. Hansen: Fiscal Policy and Business Cycles, Chapters 3-5: 16-17; 23-24
    2. Clark, J.M.: Strategic Factors in Business Cycles (entire book)

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in economics, 1895-2003. Box 3, Folder “Economics, 1941-1942”.

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1941-42
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 45a
BUSINESS CYCLES
Final Examination

I

(Answer any THREE of the four questions in Part I.)

  1. Enumerate, describe and compare waves of different length suggested in the literature on business cycles. Discuss especially Schumpeter, Kondratieff, and Hansen with respect to the schema they suggest and the analysis they make of these different wave movements.
  2. Discuss the typical behavior of interest rates in the cycle and the role attributed to interest rates in the explanation of the cycle by different theorists.
  3. Compare the downturn in 1929 with that in 1937. How do they differ, and what are the differences in the explanations suggested thereby?
  4. Discuss briefly the essential features of (a) the multiplier principle and (b) the acceleration principle. Discuss their interaction and indicate the various types of movement which may result from their interaction.

II

(Answer EITHER A or B)

A.

(1) Discuss the technique used by Mitchell in the article in the Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences for the analysis of business cycles.

(2) Compare the role of (a) monetary policy, and (b) fiscal policy in the United States in the recovery from 1933 to 1936.

B. Sketch the theoretical skeleton of J.M. Clark’s Strategic Factors in Business Cycles.

 

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Final Examinations, 1853-2001, Box 6, Papers Printed for Final Examinations [in] History, History of Religions, …, Economics, …,Military Science, Naval Science. June, 1942.

Image Source:  Alvin Hansen and Gottfried Haberler in the Harvard Class Album, 1942.