Harold Hitchings Burbank (1887-1951) has gone down in the history of economics as being the chairman of the Harvard economics department who let the up-and-coming Paul Samuelson get away to M.I.T. A more positive legacy perhaps was the role he played in his younger years as one of the founders of Harvard’s tutorial system and its administrator within the department of economics. In any event Burbank’s footprints in the sands of the history of economics have only survived as Jurassic fossils of that pre-Samuelson era of economics and he is mostly remembered as the incarnation of the Dark Side in the familiar legend of the rise of M.I.T. economics.
Burbank was a specialist in Public Finance and this posting features the syllabus for his Public Finance course for undergraduates and graduate students requiring remedial work in the field.
New addition: from the fantastic Harvard archives collection of old final examinations, I am able to provide a transcription of the final examination in public finance for this course.
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[Course Announcement]
Economics 4 2hf. Public Finance
Half-course (second half-year). Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Professor Burbank.
Source: Harvard University. Announcement of the Course of Instruction offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Academic Year 1935-36 (second edition), p. 137.
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[Course Enrollment]
[Economics] 5 2hf. Professor Burbank.—Public Finance
35 Seniors, 27 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, 1 Other: Total 66.
Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College and reports of departments for 1935-36, p. 82.
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Economics 52
Public Finance
1935 — 1936
The required reading assignments and the suggested readings are given on the following pages.
A report on some special subject in the general field of Public Finance is required of all students registered in the course. Seniors, candidates for honors in the Division of History, Government, and Economics, are expected to undertake the report. The reports may be either written or oral. If written they will be graded and included in the course grade; if oral, they will not be graded, but they must be completed satisfactorily to secure final credit for the course.
Reports are due:
For seniors: On or before April 6
For others: On or before May 1
For selection of subjects and bibliography suggestions, all students should consult Dr. Eugene E. Oakes during the first three weeks of the course. He will be available by appointment in Kirkland H-15 at the following hours:
Monday 10-11 A.M.
Tuesday 3-5 P.M.
Thursday 3-5 P.M.
Appointments may be made before or after the lectures. Office hours for the oral reports will be announced later.
An attempt is made in all cases to arrange topics which are of particular individual interest, or are suitable as correlative work in fields of concentration in preparation for the divisional examinations. No report is acceptable unless the subject has been approved.
Possible subjects, among others, are as follows:
(1) Special problems on the relation of public and private finance.
(2) The present taxation problem in a particular state or county.
(3) A critical study of some particular kind of tax—income taxes, inheritance taxes, business taxes, etc.
(4) Theories of the incidence of taxes.
(5) Various administrative problems, such as budget or assessment procedure.
(6) The financial history of the United States.
Assignments and Readings in Public Finance
Attention is directed particularly to the following books:
| Bastable, C.F. | Public Finance |
| *Bullock, C.J. | Selected Readings in Public Finance (3d. ed.) |
| Dewey, D.R. | Financial History of the United States (11th ed.) |
| Fagan, E.D., and Macy, C.W. | Public Finance |
| Hibbard, B.H. | A History of the Public Land Policies |
| Lutz, H.L. | The State Tax Commission |
| Mills, M.C. and Starr, G.W. | Readings in Public Finance and Taxation |
| Seligman, E.R.A. | Essays in Taxation (10th ed.) |
| Seligman, E.R.A. | The Income Tax |
| Seligman, E.R.A. | Studies in Public Finance |
| Great Britain | Report of the Committee on National Debt and Taxation (The Colwyn Report, 1927) |
| Great Britain | Report of the Committee on National Expenditure (The May Report, 1931) |
| National Tax Association | Proceedings |
| National Tax Association | Bulletin |
| *Lutz, H.L. | Public Finance (2d ed.) |
February 3 – 14 Public Expenditures, Public Works, and the Budget.
| Required | Lutz, Public Finance, Ch. 1-7. |
| Bullock, Selected Readings, Ch. 2, 3 (Sect. 9, 13) | |
| Suggested | Bastable, Public Finance, Bk. I, ch. 1-8. |
| Fagan and Macy Public Finance, Ch. 1-4. | |
| Great Britain, Report of the Committee on National Expenditure (1931) | |
| Haig, R.M., Public Finances of Post War France, Ch. 20. | |
| Mills & Starr, Readings, Ch. 1-5. | |
| National Industrial Conference Board, Cost of Government in the United States, 1925-26, 1926-27, 1929-30. | |
| National Industrial Conference Board, Federal Finances, 1923-32. | |
| National Industrial Conference Board, Report on Recent Social Trends, Vol. II, Ch. 25-26. | |
| Willoughby, W.F., Financial Condition and Operations of the National Government, 1921-30. | |
| Clark, J.M., Economics of Planning Public Works | |
| Gayer, A.D., Public Works in Prosperity and Depression | |
| Buck, A.E., The Budget in Governments of Today. | |
| Mallet,British Budgets, 1887-1913 | |
| Mallet & George, British Budgets (Second Series) 1913-1921, and 1921-1933. |
February 17 – 28 Public Revenues Other than Taxes; the Public Domain; Public Ownership; Administrative Revenues.
| Required | Lutz, Public Finance, Ch. 8-12. |
| Mills & Starr, Readings, Ch. 7, 9. | |
| Suggested | Bastable, Public Finance, Bk. II, Ch. 1-5. |
| Fagan and Macy Public Finance, Ch. 5-7. | |
| Hibbard, A History of the Public Land Policies. | |
| Knoop, D., Principles and Methods of Municipal Trading. | |
| Mills & Starr, Readings, Ch. 7-8. | |
| Report of the National Resources Board, Part II. | |
| Report of the United States Post Office. | |
| Seligman, Essays in Taxation, Ch. 14-15. | |
| Splawn, Government Ownership and Operation of Railroads. | |
| Taussig, Principles of Economics (3rd. ed.), Vol. II, Ch. 62. |
March 2 – 13 Taxation: Principles and Incidence.
| Required | Lutz, Public Finance, Ch. 13-14. |
| Bullock, Selected Readings, Chs. 8-9. | |
| Taussig, Principles of Economics, Ch. 68, 70, 71. | |
| Mills & Starr, Readings, Ch. 11 (sect. 24). | |
| Suggested | Bastable, Public Finance, Bk. III, Chs. 3, 5. |
| Brown, H.G., Economics of Taxation. | |
| Carver, T.N., Essays in Social Justice, Ch. 17. | |
| Dalton, H., Principles of Public Finance, (8th ed.), Ch. 6-12. | |
| Fagan and Macy Public Finance, Ch. 8-9. | |
| Seligman, Progressive Taxation in Theory and Practice. | |
| Seligman, Shifting and Incidence of Taxation, (3rd ed.), Part I. | |
| Silverman, H.A., Taxation, Its Incidence and Effects. | |
| Stamp, J.C., The Fundamental Principles of Taxation. | |
| Taussig, Some Aspects of the Tariff Question (3rd ed.), Ch. 1. |
March 16 – 27 Taxation of Land; Single Tax; General Property Tax; Taxation of Business.
| Required | Lutz, Public Finance, Ch. 17-18. |
| National Tax Association, Second Report of a Model System of State and Local Taxation. | |
| Tax Policy League, The Place of State Income Taxation in the Revenue Systems of the State. | |
| Mills & Starr, Readings, Ch. 17 (sect. 42, 43). | |
| Suggested | Blakey, Taxation in Minnesota, Ch. 5, 6. |
| Fagan and Macy Public Finance, Ch. 10-14. | |
| Fairchild and Associates, Forest Taxation in the United States. | |
| Jensen, J. P., Property Taxation in the United States. | |
| Leland, S., Classified Property Tax. | |
| Mills & Starr, Readings, Ch. 12-13. | |
| National Industrial Conference Board, State and Local Taxation of Business Corporations. | |
| Watson, J.P., The City Real Estate Tax in Pittsburgh. | |
| Welch, R.B., State and Local Taxation of Banks in the U.S. |
March 29 – April 4 Vacation
April 6 – 17 Income Tax; Inheritance Tax; Sales Tax.
| Required | Lutz, Public Finance, Ch. 19-23. |
| Bullock, Selected Readings, Ch. 11 (sect. 46) | |
| Mills & Starr, Readings, Ch. 14 (sect. 36), 16 (sect. 40). | |
| Suggested |
Blakey, Taxation in Minnesota, Ch. 15. The State Income Tax. |
| Buehler, General Sales Taxation. | |
| Haig, R.M., Taxation of Excess Profits in Great Britain. | |
| Haig & Shoup, The Sales Tax in American States, pp. 1-108. | |
| Fagan and Macy Public Finance, Ch. 15-21. | |
| Mills & Starr, Readings, Ch. 14-20, 25, 26. | |
| National Industrial Conference Board, General Sales or Turnover Taxation. | |
| National Industrial Conference Board, State Income Taxes. | |
| National Industrial Conference Board, Sales Taxes: General, Selective, and Retail. | |
| Rignano, E., The Social Significance of the Inheritance Tax. | |
| Seligman, Essays in Taxation, Ch. 22-24 (War Finance). | |
| Shultz, The Inheritance Tax. |
April 20 – May 1. Public Credit.
Report on Special Subject: Final Date for Students other than Seniors — May 1.
| Required | Lutz, Public Finance, Ch. 24-29. |
| Mills & Starr, Readings, Ch. 24 (sect. 58). | |
| Suggested | Bastable, Public Finance, Bk. V. |
| Brown, H.G., Economics of Taxation, Ch. 1-2. | |
| Bullock, Selected Readings, Ch. 22-24. | |
| Burgess, W.R., Reserve Banks and the Money Market, Ch. 6. | |
| Fagan and Macy Public Finance, Ch. 22-27. | |
| Hargreaves, The National Debt. | |
| Hendricks, The Federal Debt, 1919-30. | |
| Love, R.A., Federal Financing, esp. Ch. 8-14. | |
| Pigou, Public Finance, Part III. | |
| Seligman, Essays in Taxation, Ch. 23-24. | |
| Studensky, P., Public Borrowing. | |
| Beckhart, B., New York Money Market, Vol. IV, Part II. |
Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003 (HUC 8522.2.1), Box 2, Folder “1935-1936”.
Image Source: Harvard Class Album 1934.