Tag: Telser

Categories
Chicago Economists Money and Banking

Chicago. Ph.D. Thesis Committees in Monetary Economics. Patinkin’s Research, 1968

The first boxes of archival material that I examined as my research project on the evolution of graduate economics training was beginning to take shape came from Don Patinkin’s papers back when Duke’s Economists’ Papers Archive still bore the modest descriptor of “Economists’ Papers Project”.

This post transcribes some of the research material collected by Patinkin in his survey of Chicago style monetary economics. Fun Fact: his research assistant while on leave at M.I.T. was the graduate student Stanley Fischer, from whom incidentally I was to take my first graduate macroeconomics course (Patinkin’s book was on the reading list, surprise, surprise).

Doctoral theses advisers were identified for a dozen and a half Chicago theses that drew Don Patinkin’s attention. This is the sort of information that doesn’t normally jump at you in digitised form through a duly diligent internet search, so I thought it worth my time to file this information for now in a blog post. Minor additions have been added in square brackets for the sake of completeness.

______________________________

List of Patinkin’s copy request for Chicago Ph.D. theses

Author

 Article Details of parts photographed

Box No.

1.
Bach, George [Leland]

 Price Level Stabilization: [Some Theoretical and Practical Considerations]

[blank]

[blank]

2.
Bloomfield, Arthur [Irving]

 International Capital Movement and the American Balance of Payments 1929-1940 Title, Contents, Bibliography.
pp. 513-514, 578-579.

T-304

3.
Bronfenbrenner, Martin

 Monetary Theory and General Equilibrium Title, Preface, Bibliography.
Chaps. 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.

T-10250

4.
Brooks, Benjamin [Franklin]

 A History of Monetary Theory in the United States Before 1860 Contents, Preface, Bibliography.
Chap. 11.

T-9885

5.
Caplan, Benjamin

 The Wicksellian School—A Critical Study of the Development of Swedish Monetary Theory, 1898-1932 Title, Contents, Preface, Bibliography.

T-7847

6.
Cox, Garfield V.

 Business Forecasting in the United States 1919-1928 Title, Contents, Preface, Bibliography.

T-17-91

7.
Daugherty Marion [Roberts]

 The Currency-Banking Controversy Title, Contents, Bibliography
pp. 41, 54, 130, 133, 246, 316.

T-10282

8.
Harper, [William Canaday] Joel

 Scrip and Other Forms of Local Money Title, Contents, Bibliography.

T-145

9.
Leigh, Arthur Hertel

 Studies in the Theory of Capital and Interest Before 1870 Title, Contents, Bibliography.

T-554

10.
Linville, Francis [Aron]

 Central Bank Co-operation Title, Contents, Bibliography.

T-11508

11.
McEvoy, Raymond H.

 The Effects of Federal Reserve Operations 1929-1936 Title, Contents, Preface Bibliography.

T-7731

12.
McIvor R. Craig

 Monetary Expansion in Canadian War Finance, 1939-1946 Title, Contents, Bibliography.

T-10268

13.
McKean, Roland Neely

 Fluctuations in Our Private Claim-Debt Structure and Monetary Policy Title, Contents, Bibliography.
Chaps. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

T-90

14.
Reeve, Joseph [Edwin]

 Monetary Proposals for Curing the Depression in the United States 1929-1935 [blank]

T-11022

15.
Shaw, Ernest Ray

 The Investment and Secondary Reserve Policy of Commercial Banks Title, Contents, Preface, Bibliography.

T-8322

16.
Snider, Delbert [Arthur]

 Monetary, Exchange, and Trade Problems in Postwar Greece Title, Contents, Bibliography.

T-1031

17.
Tongue, William [Walter]

 Money, Capital, and the Business Cycle Title, Contents, Preface, Bibliography.

T-670

Source: Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Economists’ Papers Archive. Don Patinkin Papers, University of Chicago School of Economics Raw Materials, Box 2, Folder “Chicago, general (?). from binder: “U. Chicago Ph.D. Theses”, folder 1 of 2”.

______________________________

The University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois 60637

Department of Economics

August 21, 1968

Professor Don E. Patinkin
Economics Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Dear Professor Patinkin:

            I am listing below the information (Committee members) you requested in your letter of July 8, 1968. I am also hoping that you have received your microfilm by now. The Photoduplication department was to have mailed them to you on August 13.

Bach, George [Leland] 1940 S. E. Leland
C. W. Wright
H. C. Simon
Bloomfield, Arthur [Irving] 1942 J. Viner
Lloyd W. Mints
O. Lange
Bronfenbrenner, Martin 1939 Frank Knight, chr.
S. E. Leland
Brooks, Benjamin [Franklin] 1939 Frank Knight, chr.
Lloyd Mints
[Viner also thanked in thesis preface]
Caplan, Benjamin 1942 J. Viner
O. Lange		 L. W. Mints
H. C. Simons
Cox, Garfield [V.] 1929 Lionel D. Edie, chr.
Jacob Viner
Chester W. Wright
Daugherty, Marion [Roberts] (Mrs.) 1941 Jacob Viner, chr.
Garfield Cox
Lloyd Mints
Harper, Joel [William Canady] 1949
[Summer 1948]		 F. Knight
O. Lange
H. Simons		 C. W. Wright
L. Mints
S. Leland
Leigh, Arthur [Hertel] 1946 Frank Knight, chr.
Jacob Viner
Oskar Lange
McEvoy, Raymond [H.] 1950 Lloyd W. Mints, chr.
Earl J. Hamilton
Lloyd A. Metzler
McIvor, Russel [Craig] 1947 Roy Blough, chr.
J. K. Langum
L.W. Mints [in thesis acknowledgement Mints as the doctoral committee chair]
McKean, Roland [Neely] 1948 Lloyd W. Mints, chr.
Lloyd A. Metzler
Earl J. Hamilton
A. Director
Reeve, Joseph [Edwin] 1939 Lloyd W. Mints, chr.
Garfield V. Cox
Jacob Viner
Shaw, Ernest [Ray] 1930 Lionel D. Edie, chr.
Lloyd W. Mints
Stuart P. Meech (Bus. School)
Snider, Delbert [Arthur] 1951 L. Metzler, chr.
R. Blough
Bert Hoselitz
Tongue, William [Walter] 1947 L. W. Mints, chr.
Frank H. Knight
H. Gregg Lewis

            As you can see in some instances the Chairman was not listed, but the examining committee was listed. I wrote to Professor Cox, 660 W. Bonita, Apt. 24 E, Claremont, California 91711, to get the committee members for him and for Professor E. Shaw. Professor Cox also gave me the address of Professor Lloyd W. Mints, 618 E. Myrtle St., Ft. Collins, Colorado, should you have any interest. I hope this is sufficient.

Yours truly,
[signed]
(Mrs.) Hazel Bowdry
Sec. to Professor Telser

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

The University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois 60637

Department of Economics

October 23, 1968

Professor Don Patinkin
Department of Economics
The Eliezer Kaplan School of
Economics and Social Sciences
The Hebrew University
Jerusalem, Israel

Dear Professor Patinkin:

            In answer to your letter of October 4, I have rechecked the files and find the below listed information.

George Bach’s committee members:

L. W. Mints, chr.
S. E. Leland
C. W. Wright
Oskar Lange
F. H. Knight
H. C. Simons
Jacob Viner
Jacob Left
Maynard Krueger

This is the order in which the examining committee is listed.

Martin Bronfenbrenner:

Henry Schultz chr.
J. Viner
L. W. Mints
F. Knight
A. G. Hart
H. C. Simon

Joel Harper:

S. E. Leland, Chr.
H. Simons
L. W. Mints
Mr. Chatters

Benjamin Brooks:

L. Mints, chr.
J. Viner
F. Knight

            I checked Faculty records with Mrs. Mosby, and found a re-appointment for Henry Simons dated June 3, 1930.

            I hope this information is helpful, and I am sorry I cannot give more definite committee members in the case of Bach.

Sincerely yours,
[signed]
(Mrs.) Hayzel Bowdry

P.S. I hope you have received the microfilm by now. It was mailed via airmail yesterday.

Source: Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Economists’ Papers Archive. Don Patinkin Papers, University of Chicago School of Economics Raw Materials, Box 2, Folder “Chicago, general (?), Simons, Mints, Knight materials”.

Image Source: Don Patinkin article at Gonçalo L. Fonseca’s History of Economic Thought website. Colorized at Economics in the Rear-view Mirror.

Categories
Chicago Economists Funny Business

Chicago. The School of Chicago 1972 by Roger Vaughan (Ph.D. 1977). IDs by Gordon, McCloskey & Grossbard

The 1500th artifact added to Economics in the Rear-view Mirror deserves to be a celebratory post for visitors. For this honor I have chosen a  pastiche drawn by a Chicago economics graduate student in 1972. Roger Vaughan (Ph.D. 1977) was the principal, if not only, illustrator for the student-produced satirical publication P.H.A.R.T., an issue of which has been transcribed for an earlier post.

I first saw a copy of Roger Vaughan’s reworking of Raphael’s “School of Athens” added to a photo from a Tweet of a few years back. At that time it did not occur to me to engage in a serious search for the backstory to the drawing. And yet, serendipity turned out to be kind to me when, on a visit to the Harvard Archives last year, I stumbled upon a folded, mint-condition copy of  Vaughan’s “The School of Chicago 1972” in the papers of Zvi Griliches. Of course I had this masterpiece of economics funny business copied and it now has pride of place in my home study.

A few identifications of the figures seen in “The School of Chicago 1972” are obvious (e.g. Milton Friedman and George Stigler, duh) and others could be identified from other Vaughan caricatures that likewise are found in Griliches’ papers (e.g. Marc Nerlove, Stan Fischer, and Robert J. Gordon). Still, most of the renderings remained unidentified. My first idea was to seek out the artist himself, but alas I could only confirm that he had passed in October 2021. The next idea was to seek a living eye-witness to the Chicago economics department of a half-century ago. Here I was luckier, the Stanley G. Harris Professor in the Social Sciences at Northwestern University, Robert J. Gordon, responded to my inquiry almost immediately and as quickly forwarded my request for further information to Distinguished Professor of Economics, History, English, and Communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Deirdre McCloskey, for her confirmation and further commentary. Following the initial posting of this artifact, Professor Shoshana Grossbard of San Diego State University spotted a few misspelled names (mea culpa), but, more importantly, was able to identify Margaret Reid by her beret(!).We can all be grateful to these colleagues for their identifications provided below. There remains one unidentified man in the back-row standing to George Stigler’s left plus a couple of yet-to-be identified graduate students. Peeps, Economic in the Rear-view Mirror needs your help! You can leave comments at the end of this post.

___________________________________

About the artist, Roger Vaughan

From his 1981 AEA Biographical Listing, p. 421

Vaughan, Roger J, 421 Hudson St., Apt. 406, New York, NY 10014. Birth Yr: 1946

Degrees: B.A., U. of Oxford, 1968; M.A., Simon Fraser U., 1970; Ph.D. U. of Chicago, 1977. Prin. Cur. Position: Dep.Dir., Off. Of Develop. Planning, State of New York, 1980-

Concurrent/Past Positions: Econ., Citibank, 1978-80; Econ. The Rand Corp. 1974-78. Research: Urban Policy, finance, taxation training.

Roger J. Vaughan’s Rand Reports,
1974-1980

• The Urban Impacts of Federal Policies: Vol. 1, Overview 1980
• Federal Activities in Urban Economic Development 1979
• Recent Contributions to the Urban Policy Debate 1979
• The Urban Impacts of Federal Policies: Vol. 4, Population and Residential Location 1979
• Assessment of Countercyclical Public Works and Public Service Employment Programs. 1978
• Regional Cycles and Employment Effects of Public Works Investments. 1977
• The Urban Impacts of Federal Policies: Vol. 2, Economic Development 1977
• The value of urban open space 1977
• The Economics of Urban Blight. 1976
• Getting People to Parks. 1976
• Public Works as a Countercyclical Device: A Review of the Issues 1976
• The Use of Subsidies in the Production of Cultural Services. 1976
• The Application of Economic Analysis to the Planning and Development of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. 1975
• The Economics of Expressway Noise Pollution Abatement. 1975
• The Economics of Recreation: A Survey. 1974

Source: Rand Reports. Published Research by Author, Roger J. Vaughan.

Sage. Research Methods.

Communicating Social Science Research to Policymakers
By: Roger J. Vaughan & Terry F. Buss
Published: 1998
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412983686

___________________________________

Raphael’s Scuola di Atene (1509-1511)

For some explanation of what we see in the original, cf. “The Story Behind Raphael’s Masterpiece ‘The School of Athens'” by Jessica Stewart at the Modern Met Website.

___________________________________

Roger Vaughan’s Pastiche

Open the image in a new window to see a larger image

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Zvi Griliches, Box 129. Folder “Posters, ca. 1960s-1970s”.

Background

The statues standing in the upper alcove are of the President and Vice-President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon (holding a lyre, a sweet visual pun) and Spiro T. Agnew (with the pennant “Effete Snobs”, abridged from his description of self-characterized intellectuals as an “effete core of impudent snobs” in his  “Generation Gap” speech given in New Orleans on October 19th, 1969.)

“1126” refers to the street address of the Social Science Research Building, 1126 E. 59th St.

“MV=PT” inscribed in the center of the dome is the Equation of Exchange (cf. Irving Fisher’s The Purchasing Power of Money). Cf. at the left of the back-row of Chicago economists, Arnold Zellner is carrying papers with “MV=PY“. Milton Friedman’s vanity license plates on his red cadillac used “MV=PQ” for the Equation of Exchange. Everyone seems to have agreed on the notational virtues of “M”, “V”, and “P”. Does anyone know whether there was any substantive reason for differences regarding the choice of “T”, “Y”, and “Q” for the final term?

Economics in the Rear-view Mirror comment: Though his arm is blocking part of the equation, Zellner is clearly displaying the equation of exchange, MV = PY.

Deirdre McCloskey’s comment: “Underneath Nixon is Marc Nerlove pointing into the ear, by the way of insult, of Hans Theil the great Dutch econometrician (the four great econometricians at Chicago, which had included Zvi Griliches, who had just moved to Harvard, hated each other).”

Economics in the Rear-view Mirror comment: Robert J. Gordon served as an editor of the Journal of Political Economy (J.P.E.) from 1971-1973.

Economics in the Rear-view Mirror comment: Stigler’s position corresponds to that of Aristotle’s in Raphael’s fresco. There Aristotle holds a copy of his own Nicomachean Ethics. Stigler is seen here holding a book by [Adam] Smith, presumably Wealth of Nations.

Deirdre McCloskey’s comment: “George Tolley [is] in a garbage can because he did urban economics (Vaughan was his student).”

Shoshana Grossbard’s comment: “[Margaret Reid]…not only [wore] the dark beret, but also [has] her hair in a bun, under the beret. that was her typical look. She and I attended Becker’s workshop in applications of economics in the years 1974-76.”

And guess what a casual search just turned up…

Margaret Gilpin Reid, professor emeritus of Home Economics and Economics

Source:  University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf1-07052, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Economics in the Rear-view Mirror’s comment: On the high-resolution hard-copy hanging on my study wall, the beret looks sort of like an ink blot and I regreted that imperfection. But now, thanks to Shoshana Grossbard’s careful observation combined with her memory of Reid’s “typical look” and an archival sighting of said beret, I am convinced and grateful that we now have another positive identification!

Deirdre McCloskey’s comment: “D. Gale Johnson…has a pitchfork because he was an agricultural economist. ”

Deirdre McCloskey’s comment: Ted Schultz […] is pointing down to say “This is where the true Chicago School is, where I am!”.

Foreground

The identification of Robert F. Pollard was made by Roger Vaughan’s work and life partner, Anna Nechai.

 

Deirdre McCloskey’s comment: “…Dick Zecher [is] sticking his finger through an IBM card because he was in charge of the Department’s mainframe computer access.”

Another visual pun: Harry Johnson is portrayed writing on a literal Edgeworth-Bowley-box, a two-dimensional representation of allocations that could be Pareto efficient exchange equilibria. The two tradeable goods are measured in Edgeworth and Bowley units, respectively.

Deirdre McCloskey’s comment: “Mary Jean Bowman, one of two tenured women in a small department; she did educational and demographic economics.  The other woman was Margaret Reid, the inventor of household economics…”

The triangle seen in the previous detail is Arnold Harberger’s measure of deadweight loss (efficiency cost resulting from a natural or policy induced distortion of markets).  See Robert J. Gordon’s historical photo of Al Harberger stripping down to reveal himself as “Triangleman” ca. December 1970. In Raphael’s fresco Harberger’s place was that of Euclid.

Robert  J. Gordon’s comment: “I think the bearded student is Dan Wisecarver”

Robert  J. Gordon’s comment: “The woman holding the ball is Carolyn Mosby, the head of the department staff.”

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
Chicago Exam Questions

Chicago. Final exam for Economics 301, Price Theory. Telser, 1965

 

Chicago Price Theory boils down ultimately to a series of True-False-Uncertain examination questions. One of Lester Telser‘s contributions to the stock of questions comes to us from the Zvi Griliches’ papers at the Harvard Archives. A steady diet of this stuff would make for a dull economist in my opinion, but it was force fed to generations of Chicago economists, and many somehow survived to have productive (in a good sense) professional careers. Hence another important historical artifact that has earned digitization by Economics in the Rear-View Mirror.

______________________________

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
Final Exam

Economics 301
Autumn, 1965

Mr. L. Telser
Time: 2.5 hours

Answer the following questions, true, false or uncertain and briefly defend your answer.

  1. An increase in the demand for the product of a monopoly results in a rise in the price of the product.
  2. If the supply schedule of an industry is perfectly elastic then the production function for the industry is characterized by constant returns to scale.
  3. A monopoly can never have a larger output and lower price than a competitive industry assuming that cost conditions would be the same for both.
  4. No one would resort to the cultivation of inferior lands if he did not run into diminishing marginal returns on fertile land. Since inferior lands are in cultivation, diminishing returns must be present.
  5. If there are empty seats on a train then marginal cost pricing requires that new passengers should ride free.

The following two questions require essay answers.

  1. The margin in stock trading is the fraction of the price of the stock which the trader must supply and the balance is lent to the trader by the broker. Hence the margin represents the trader’s equity and is analogous to a down payment. Assume there is no government regulation of the margin and that brokers are free to set any margin they please and to charge any interest rate they please on the loan they extend to traders. Assume there is perfect competition in the brokerage industry.
    1. Would you expect margins to be higher during periods of “active” speculation?
    2. Would you expect higher margins when stock prices are rising then when they are falling?
    3. Would a rise in the interest compensate for or be equivalent to a rise in the margin?
  2. In the theory of the household demand for perishable goods, for a given money income there is a fall in real income if the price of some good rises. The pure substitution effect is the effect on quantity demanded of a price change for constant real income. In the case of durables households own stocks of durables. Hence a rise in the price of durables causes the value of the stock of consumer owned durables to appreciate. Hence a price rise of perishable reduces the demand for perishables if money income is given and the income elasticity is positive while a price rise of durables increases the demand because it implies a rise in consumer wealth if the wealth elasticity of demand is positive.
    1. What are appropriate budget constraints for the demand for durables?
    2. Is the last statement beginning with “HENCE …” correct?
    3. Would it make a difference if the durable good had a fixed life or if it lasted forever?
    4. What are the counterparts of constant real income in the demand for durables?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Papers of Zvi Griliches. Box 130, Folder “Syllabi and exams, 1961-1969”.

 

Categories
Chicago Funny Business

Chicago. Economics Christmas Skit Material, 1969

While no date is given for the following two pages, we can be confident that the material was prepared and one presumes performed at the Chicago Economics Department Christmas Party of 1969. Photos from the December 1970 Christmas party have been posted by Robert J. Gordon–they do not correspond to the texts below.

The events of campus unrest at Columbia, Cornell, Harvard and San Francisco State referred to all took place 1968-69, so the earliest possible date for this skit would have been in December 1969.

I have added the “true” lyrics to the chosen tunes as well as links to videos with the corresponding melodies for readers who wish to try their luck in the privacy of their own offices. Replication probably requires a cocktail or two to establish the appropriate a-critical mood. 

Your sober scribe was not particularly amused. OK, maybe the lighting, costuming, and orchestral arrangements were fantastic–hard to know. I pity though the poor future historians of present economics who will have to deal with audio and video evidence and not just the written record. 

________________________

SONGS FOR SKIT

University of Chicago
Economics Department
Skit Song Lyrics

“The Merry Minuet
(They’re rioting in Africa…)
https://youtu.be/L8-BI89mb9A
They’re rioting at C’lumbia

La La La La La La La

They’re shooting up Cornell

La La La La La

They’re plowin’ up ole Harvard Yard

La La La La La La La

And Hiyakowa’s catching hell.

La La La La La

Academia is festering with strife and discord

The faculty hate students cause they’re paranoid

But we can be certain and brimming with cheer

That none of this nonsense will ever happen here.

 They’re rioting in Africa
They’re starving in Spain
There’s hurricanes in Florida
And Texas needs rain
The whole world is festering with unhappy souls
The French hate the Germans,
the Germans hate the Poles
Italians hate Yugoslavs,
South Africans hate the Dutch
And I don’t like anybody very much
But we can be thankful and tranquil and proud
That Man’s been endowed with the mushroom shaped cloud
And we know for certain that some lovely day
Some one will set the spark off and we will all be blown away
They’re rioting in Africa
There’s strife in Iran
What nature doesn’t do to us
Will be done by our fellow man!

 

University of Chicago
Economics Department
Skit Song Lyrics

 Santa Claus is Coming to Town
https://youtu.be/HSmsq2iq4bQ
You’d better watch out
You’d better not strike
You’d better not riot
I’m (or We’re) telling you why
The National Guard is coming to town.
They know what you’ve been smoking
They know when you’ve been bad
They know when you’ve been sitting-in
So get out…do you understand!!
They’re making a list
And checking it twice
They’re going to find out
Whose [sic] Commie or nice
The National Guard is coming to town.		 Oh! You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!
He’s making a list
Checking it twice
Gonna find out
Who’s naughty or nice
Santa Claus is coming to town

 

 

University of Chicago
Economics Department
Skit Song Lyrics

 On Top of Old Smokey
https://youtu.be/P51eCjKN2Kw
On top of a mountain
In central Vermont
Resides Milton Friedman
Of wisdom the fount.
The scene is idyllic
On that mountain peak
But here in Chicago
The outlook is bleak.
Since Telser to Belgium
Has decided to roam,
Just Zecher and Gorden [sic]
Are left here at home.
No thesis prospectus
Are we able to give
Faculty all neglect us
As their prerogative.
Heed our ultimatum
Before it’s too late
Move the MONEY workshop
To the Green Mountain State.		 On top of old smokey
all covered with snow
I lost my true lover
for courting too slow
For courting’s a pleasure
and parting’s a grief
And a false hearted lover
is worse than a thief
For a thief will just rob you
and take all you save
But a false hearted lover
will lead you to the grave
And the grave will decay you
and turn you to dust
Not one girl in a hundred
a poor boy can trust
They’ll hug you and kiss you
and tell you more lies
Than cross lines on a railroad
or stars in the skies
So come all your maidens
and listen to me
Never place your affections
on a green willow tree
For the leaves they will wither
and the roots they will die
You’ll all be forsaken
and never know why.

 

 

University of Chicago
Economics Department
Skit Song Lyrics

Mickey Mouse Club Song
https://youtu.be/x4C_lUy58Rw
Who’s the leader of the club
That’s made for you and me
M-i-l-t-o-n Da Da Da Da De[e]
Uncle Miltie,
Uncle Miltie
Forever let us sing his praises high
[…high, high, high]
He’s the man with just one theory
When others must use two
M-i-l-t-o-n Da Da Da Da Do[o]
Milt the Stilt (Paul the Small)
Milt the Stilt (Paul the Small)
In our hearts we know which one is  right […] [right, right, right]
Velocity is constant
The Phillips curve’s a fraud
M-i-l-t-o-n Da Da Da Da Da[w]
Money matters,
money matters
As long as prices
do not rise too fast.
What’s the purpose of the club
That’s made for you and I
U of C Ph.D. M-O-N-E-Y
Permanent Income,
Permanent income
It makes it all worthwhile, or so they[…]
[…]say. [say, say, say]
Rules and not discretion
And let me tell you why
M-I-L-T-O-N  M-O-N-E-Y		 Who’s the leader of the club
That’s made for you and me
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there
You’re as welcome as can be
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Mickey Mouse! (Donald Duck)
Mickey Mouse! (Donald Duck)
Forever let us hold our banner
High! High! High! High!
Come along and sing the song
And join the jamboree!
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Mickey Mouse club
Mickey Mouse club
We’ll have fun
We’ll meet new faces
We’ll do things and
We’ll go places
We’re marching all around the world
Who’s the leader of the club
That’s made for you and me
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there
You’re as welcome as can be
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Mickey Mouse! (Donald Duck)
Mickey Mouse! (Donald Duck)
Forever let us hold our banner
High! High! High! High!
Come along and sing a song
And join the jamboree!
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E(yay Mickey)
(yay Mickey)
(yay Mickey Mouse Club!)

 

 

University of Chicago
Economics Department
Skit Song Lyric

 

O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree)

https://youtu.be/27JleM39TPY
Now that we’ve lost our faculties
To real world positions
We can observe to ascertain
What were their life ambitions
Lester Telser for his amusement
Investigated advertisement
So now we find him having fun
On the avenue called Madison.
Those who had taught development
Have left to form a settlement
With Harberger as President
An economist in residence
With [Larry] Sjastaad in an advisory task
They’re sure to find their golden path
And on their farms up with the sun
Are Teddy Schultz and Gale Johnson.
Bob Fogel has aspired to be
The president of the Santa Fee
Gregg Lewis we all should know
Leads the AFL and CIO
And Friedman’s gone up to Ely
To found his university
Big Harry with his knife so free
Now runs a toothpick factory.

[Handwritten addition:]

Uzawa + Mundell have gone to instigate at the Sorbonne
And [Erwin] Diewert is a lumberjack
Up near the straits of Mackinac

Geo. T who’s of urban fame [George S. Tolley]
Has taken over Lindsay’s game [NYC mayor]
And since there is no more faculty
We’ve all enrolled at MIT.

 O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!
Not only green in summer’s heat,
But also winter’s snow and sleet.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
Of all the trees most lovely;
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
Of all the trees most lovely.
Each year you bring to us delight
With brightly shining Christmas light!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
Of all the trees most lovely.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
We learn from all your beauty;
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
We learn from all your beauty. 

 

Your bright green leaves with festive cheer,
Give hope and strength throughout the year.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
We learn from all your beauty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some dialogue:

Opening scene, faculty seated around a table, one member is reading a newspaper:

One faculty member: (reading newspaper, shakes head) The students are revolting!

(All concur)

Another member: But thank God—ah I mean Milton—that we’re at Chicago. Our students are well behaved, well ordered, normal, continuous and homothetic.

Another: (questioning) But how do you know about their sex lives?

(Pause for a few seconds, for all the uproarious laughter, then break into song—“They’re rioting at Columbia….” [See above].)

(After song, and during, students enter, their spokesman present list of demands to Stigler).

Student spokesman: We’ve come to present our nonnegotiable demand schedule for reform in the department.

(All faculty in shock and dismay)

We have decided to bring the free market economy into the university. Therefore:

(1) We demand that prelim grades be bought and sold freely—thereby bringing greater efficiency into the production of economists.

(2) We demand the immediate return of all industrial organization exams from the public enterprise post office.

And (3) We demand the removal of all artificial floors and ceilings in the Department.

Stigler: (unrolls list of demands and exclaims) Heck—we’re saved. Your demand schedule is upward sloping (a pause)

(turns sheet of paper to audience)

And therefore nonexistent.

(All faculty sigh in relief)

 

Source: Harvard University Archives, Papers of Zvi Griliches, Box 129, Folder “Faculty skits, ca. 1960s”.