History of Economic Thought I

This course is a study of development of economic thought from the Middle Ages to the "Keynesian Revolution." It is an attempt to understand economic theorizing in response to the existing social conditions, and to become familiar with the foundations of the main strands of contemporary economic thought.

Office Hours

• MW: 10:30-11:20 am & 12:30-1:30 pm
• F: 10:30-11:20 am
• And by appointments. (You're always welcome to drop in.)

Students who need an accommodation based on the impacts of a disability should contact me privately as soon as possible. I rely on the communication from Office of Academic Support (104 Doane) to make the necessary accommodation.

Required Texts

The following two books are available in our bookstore:

• Landreth and Colander (L&C), History of Economic Thought, Boston: Houghton Miflin, 2002.
• Huberman, Man's Worldly Goods, The Story of the Wealth of Nations, NY: Monthly Review Press, 1936.

Selections from the following books are on reserve:

• Hunt, E.K. History of Economic Thought: A Critical Perspective, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 1979
• Gide, Charles and Charles Rist (G&R), A History of Economic Doctrines, Boston: D.C. Heath and Company, 1948
• Roll, Eric, A History of Economic Thought, London: Faber and Faber, 1987

These readings are under may name on Electronic Reserves (ERes). ERes is accessible on the web page of our library on Denison's web page). The password is "hotecon". If you have any difficulty accessing the course material on ERes, please see me immediately. I expect that you access the readings on ERes well in advance. If there is a problem in accessing the ERes material the night before our class you should not be deprived from understanding the material.

Attendance

Regular attendance is strictly required. I expect you in class in body and soul every class day, and on time!

Exams and Assignments

• Exams: There will be 2 hourly exams and a final. All exams are comprehensive (i.e., they are on all the material covered in the course up to the date of the exam.) No make-up exams will be given. If you miss an hourly exam for any reasons, the final exam will count 100 points more (i.e., more weight will be put on the final exam).


• Short papers: Every Friday (except those listed below) you will receive a question. You must write a one-page (type-written, in 400-450 words) answer to that question to ?hand in? on the following Monday.


• Everyone gets one week off from writing the weekly papers. It is up to you when you want to use your "week off." The ?week off? is there for you to take care of possible situations of hardship.


• No short paper assignment will be given on the following Fridays:
  September 8 (2nd week of classes), October 6 (exam I), November 10 (exam II), November 17 (before Thanksgiving holidays) and December 8 (last Friday of classes).


• Papers should be handed in by 11:30 am in class, on Monday, when the assignment is due. If for any reason you cannot hand in your paper at the beginning of class (e.g., your ?printer died last night?, or you had to be somewhere ?to take care of a very important business?), you may send me an electronic copy. (Please do not send an electronic if you can come to class.) The same deadline applies to electronic delivery of your paper. I do not accept papers after 11:30 pm, sharp, in person or electronically (this is to discourage people from skipping class to finish their paper!!)

Grades

Grades will be given on the following basis:

• Exam I (Friday, October 6): 100 points
• Exam II (Friday, November 10): 100
• Seven short papers (25 points each): 175
• Final Exam (Monday Dec 11, 9:00-11:00 am): 150
• Class contribution* 75

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• Total: 625

*You should read assigned material before class. The grade for class contribution is not for your physical presence in class but for your informed and thoughtful contributions to the class discussion.

Unannounced quizzes are among the archaic weapons of teachers for coercing students to do their readings on time. I may have to resort to this weapon if my kind-hearted diplomacy and modern pedagogy fail to encourage you to keep up with the assigned readings.

Course Outline

THAT'S IT!

Final

From now you will be on your own in deciphering the type of economics that you confront. I would like to recommend the following two books as a follow up to this course. Try to read them to see how some contemporary economists disagree with each other on som of the methodological issues that we have studied in this class.

• Arjo Klamer, Conversation with Economists, Totowa, NJ: Rowman & Allanheld, 1984.
• Donald McCloskey, The Rhetoric of Economics, Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1985.