This morning I learned from Twitter that two days ago (August 27, 2019) my second thesis adviser, Marty Weitzman had died. While I was never personally close to him, he played an enormous role in my development as an economist and I am saddened by this news. What I particularly admired in Weitzman was the fact that his formal mathematical modelling was never far from his profound economic intuition with respect to the problems he addressed. He was not a great teacher in the way Bob Solow and Stan Fischer were great. But he was able to transmit a sense of the importance of what he was teaching as well as bringing a contagious enthusiasm into the classroom. Marty Weitzman was economic theory à la M.I.T. made flesh. Today, in his memory, I have transcribed an old mimeographed list of suggested readings for his course on the economic theory of central planning.
Course materials from Martin Weitzman’s half-semester core course in microeconomic theory from 1973 and 1974 at M.I.T. have been posted earlier:
Course outline from 1974.
Final exam from 1974.
Final exam from 1973.
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Martin Weitzman’s Werke
Martin L. Weitzman’s c.v. (from October 2018)
Links to most (all?) of Weitzman’s papers at the Wayback Machine archived webpage.
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14.783 THEORY OF CENTRAL PLANNING
Spring 1977
M. L. Weitzman
Reading List of Suggested References
- Theoretical Background (Convexity, Programming, Efficiency Prices)
Koopmans, T. C., Essay I in Three Essays on the State of Economic Science.
Baumol, W. J., Economic Theory and Operations Analysis, 3rd ed., chapters 5-8, 12, 20, 21.
Manne, A. S., Economic Analysis for Business Decisions, chapters 2, 3.
Bator, F., “The Simple Analytics of Welfare Economics”, AER, March 1957.
Intriligator, M. D., Mathematical Optimization and Economic Theory.
Dorfman, R., Samuelson, P.A., and Solow, R. M., Linear Programming and Economic Analysis, chapters 6-8.
Kantorovich, L. V., The Best Use of Economic Resources, Harvard, 1965.
Kornai, J., Mathematical Planning of Structural Decisions, Part 1, chapters 1-4.
Dantzig, G. B., Linear Programming and Extensions, chapters 3, 12.
Gale, D., The Theory of Linear Economic Models.
Malinvaud, E., Lectures on Microeconomic Theory, chapters 1, 3,4,5.
- General Discussion of Planning Problems
Hayek, F. A., “The Price System as a Mechanism for Using Knowledge”, in Bornstein (ed.), Comparative Economic Systems: Models and Cases.
Lange, O., “On the Economic Theory of Socialism”, in Bornstein (ed.), Comparative Economic Systems: Models and Cases.
Hurwicz, L., “The Design of Mechanisms for Resource Allocation”, AER, May 1973.
Heal, G. M., The Theory of Economic Planning, chapters 1, 2.
Kornai, J., Anti-Equilibrium, chapters 23, 24.
Hurwicz, L., “Conditions for Economic Efficiency of Centralized and Decentralized Structures”, in G. Grossman (ed.), Value and Plan.
Krouse, C., “Complex Objectives, Decentralization, and the Decision Process of Organizations”, ASQ (vol. 17).
Arrow, K. J., “Control in Large Organizations”, Management Science, April 1964.
Masse, P., “The French Plan and Economic Theory”, Econometrica, April 1965.
Kornai, J., Mathematical Planning of Structural Decisions, chapters 22-27.
Kornai, J., “Thoughts on Multi-Level Planning Systems”, in Goreux and Manne (eds.), Multi-Level Planning: Case Studies in Mexico.
- Multi-Level Planning Algorithms
Malinvaud, E., “Decentralized Procedures for Planning”, in Malinvaud (ed.), Activity Analysis in the Theory of Growth and Planning.
Arrow, K. J. and Hurwicz, L., “Decentralization and Computation in Resource Allocation”, in Pfouts (ed.), Essays in Economics and Econometrics.
Malinvaud, E., Lectures in Microeconomic Theory, chapter 8.
Heal, G., “Planning Without Prices”, REStud, 36, 1969, pp. 347-362.
Weitzman, M. L., Toward a Theory of Iterative Economic Planning, Part I, MIT Ph.D. Thesis, June 1967.
Dantzig, G. B., Linear Programming and Extensions, chapters 23, 25. (Decomposition and Uncertainty).
Baumol, W. J., and Fabian, T., “Decomposition Pricing for Decentralization and External Economies”, Management Science, September 1964.
Kornai, J., “Mathematical Programming and Long Term Plans in Hungary”, in Malinvaud (ed.), Activity Analysis in the Theory of Growth and Planning.
Weitzman, M. L., “Iterative Multilevel Planning with Production Targets”, Econometrica, January 1970.
Kornai, J., “Multi-Level Programming: A First Report on the Model and on the Experimental Calculations”, European Economic Review, Fall 1969.
Heal, G. M., The Theory of Economic Planning, chapters 3-9.
- Prices vs. Quantities
Koopmans, T. C., “Uses of Prices”, pp. 243-257 in Scientific Papers of Tjalling C. Koopmans.
Kornai, J., Anti-Equilibrium, chapter 3 (“The Basic Concepts of General Equilibrium Theory”).
Marglin, S., “Information in Price and Command Systems of Planning”, in Margolis (ed.), Conference on the Analysis of the Public Sector, Biarritz, Switzerland [sic], 1966.
Whinston, A., “Price Guides in Decentralized Organizations,”, in Cooper et. al. (eds.), New Perspectives in Organization Research.
Solow, R. M., “The Economist’s Approach to Pollution and its Control”, Science, August, 1971.
Ruff, L. E., “The Economic Common Sense of Pollution”, The Public Interest, Spring 1970.
Weitzman, M. L., “Prices vs. Quantities”, REStud, 1974 (copies on reserve).
- Organization, Revelation, and Control
Arrow, K. J., The Limits of Organization.
Marschak, J. and Radner, R., Economic Theory of Teams. (Just scan to get basic ideas.)
Weitzman, M. L., “Optimal Revenue Functions for Economic Regulation”, copies on reserve. [published in AER, September 1973]
Kwerel, E. R., “To Tell the Truth: Imperfect Information and Optimal Pollution Control”, copies on reserve. [published in REStud, 1977]
Groves, T., “On the Possibility of Effective Collective Choice with Compensation”, on reserve.
Weitzman, M., “The New Soviet Incentive Model”, Bell Journal, Spring 1976.
- Input-Output Theory and the Non-Substitution Theorem
Gale, D., The Theory of Linear Economic Models, chapter 9, sections 1-3.
Dorfman, R., P. A. Samuelson, and R. M. Solow, Linear Programming and Economic Analysis, chapters 9, 10.
Chenery, H. B. and P. G. Clark, Interindustry Economics.
Kornai, J., Mathematical Planning of Structural Decisions, chapter 3.
Brody, A., Proportions, Prices and Planning, section 3.2. (Thoughts on Planning).
Weitzman, M. L., “On Choosing an Optimal Technology”, Management Science, January 1967.
Manove, M., “Soviet Pricing, Profits, and Technological Change”, Review of Economic Studies (copies on reserve).
- Materials Balancing
Montias, J. M., Planning with Material Balances in Soviet-Type Economies”, AER, December 1959.
Levine, H. S., “The Centralized Planning of Supply in Soviet Industry”, reprinted in Holtzman (ed.), Readings in the Soviet Economy, or Bornstein and Fusfeld (eds.), The Soviet Economy: A Book of Readings.
Montias, J. M., “On the Consistency and Efficiency of Central Plans”, REStud, October 1962.
Sherman, H. J., The Soviet Economy, chapter 6 and pp. 247-256.
Manove, M., “A Model of Soviet-Type Planning”, AER, June 1971.
- Pressure, Rationing, and Inventories
Levine, H. S., “Pressure and Planning in the Soviet Economy”, in Rosovsky (ed.), Industrialization in Two Systems.
Hunter, H., “Optimum Tautness in Developmental Planning”, Economic Development and Cultural Change, July 1961.
Dolan, E. G., “The Teleological Period in Soviet Economic Planning”, Yale Economic Essays, Spring 1970.
Weitzman, M. L., “Materials Balances Under Uncertainty”, QJE, May 1971.
Manove, M., “A Theory of Non-Price Rationing of Intermediate Goods with Reference to Soviet-Type Economies”, Econometrica, September 1973.
Powell, R. P., “Plan Execution and the Workability of Soviet Planning”, Journal of Comparative Economics, vol. 1, no. 1, 1977.
Keren, M., “On the Tautness of Plans”, REStud, October 1972.
- Economic Planning with Non-Convexities
Dantzig, G. B., “On the Significance of Solving Linear Programming Problems with some Integer Variables”, sections 26-33 in Linear Programming and Extensions.
Baumol, W. J., Economic Theory and Operations Research, 3rd ed., chapter 8.
Chenery, H. B., “The Interdependence of Investment Decisions”, in Abramovitz (ed.), The Allocation of Economic Resources.
Vietorisz, T., “Decentralization and Project Evaluation under Economies of Scale and Indivisibilities”, United Nations, Industrialization and Productivity Bulletin No. 12 [1968].
Davis, R. E., D. A. Kendrick, and M. Weitzman, “A Branch and Bound Algorithm for Zero-One Mixed Integer Programming Problems”, Operations Research, July-August 1971.
Manne, A., Investments for Capacity Expansion, MIT Press, 1967.
Weitzman, M. L., “The Optimal Development of Resource Pools”, JET, June 1976.
Chenery, H. B. and Westphal, L., “Economies of Scale and Investment Over Time”, in Margolis and Guitton (eds.), Public Economics.
Source: Personal copy of Irwin Collier.
Image Source: Martin Weitzman’s Harvard webpage (archived May 29, 2014).