22-40.015 History of Economic Thought

Instructors: Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Allgoewer

Event type: Interactive class

Displayed in timetable as: History of Economic

Hours per week: 3

Credits: 6,0

Language of instruction: English

Min. | Max. participants: - | 46

Comments/contents:
Adam Smith´s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations can be placed at the origin of the development of economics as a separate academic discipline. This course traces topics in the history of economic thought from this starting point into the 20th century. It provides insights into major lines in the development of economics, draws attention to the changing methods of analysis and to shifting definitions of the subject matter. A theme running through the course is the role of the state/the government in the economy and how economists argued in favor of their visions of this role.

The first part of the course is devoted to classical political economy with a focus on Adam Smith´s contributions and on John Stuart Mill´s economics. The dominance of the classical school becomes increasingly challenged in the second half of the 19th century and eventually gives way to a plurality of approaches to economic analysis. Controversies about the basic principles of economics as a field of scientific study make the decades around the turn to the 20th century a fascinating period in the history of economic thought. In the remainder of the course aspects of these controversies are presented and discussed.

These debates take place as economics establishes itself as an independent academic discipline. The number of positions at universities across Europe and the United States increases significantly, bringing about professionalization and specialization within the field. The modern appearance of economics emerges. By the mid-20th century a new “mainstream” is established with general equilibrium analysis and the neoclassical synthesis as central building blocks. Studying the controversies accompanying the emergence of this mainstream allows us to better understand its characteristics. By shedding light onto alternative visions of economic analysis the implications of the dominating approach to economics become clearer. On the background of the topics dealt with in this course, the relevance of the history of economic thought to current debates in economics is demonstrated.

Learning objectives:

• In-depth knowledge of selected aspects within the field of the history of economic thought.
  
• Ability to interpret texts on economic theory and relate these texts to economic history and the history of ideas.
  
• Ability to critically reflect on modern contributions to topics covered in light of the history of economic thought.
  

Didactic concept:
All course material will be available on OpenOLAT. Students registered for the course will have access automatically.
The course starts with a live Zoom session in the first week of the semester. All lectures will be recorded and published in the course of semester. All material will be available until the exam period is over.
The biweekly seminar sessions are devoted to discussing primary texts. All students prepare the required readings for all seminar sessions. Preparation will be supported by a set of guiding questions. Attendance and active participation is expected. There will also be an opportunity to submit written work in the course of the semester. This opens the possibility of improving the final grade by up to 0,7 grade points at equal weighting of the exam grade and the grade for the submitted material. At the beginning of the semester the topics will be assigned and requirements detailed.
For the time being, the seminar sessions are planned to take place in the classroom. This plan is, of course, subject to University/City of Hamburg decisions in face of the Corona-situation. Alternatively the sessions will be held via Zoom: please make sure to reserve the dates.

Literature:
Readings for the individual topics will be available through OpenOLAT.

Background reading:

• Backhouse, Roger (1985) A History of Modern Economic Analysis. Oxford, New York: Blackwell.
  
• Blaug, Mark (1997) Economic Theory in Retrospect. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. (see also: student copies).
  
• Rima, Ingrid (1996) Development of Economic Analysis. London: Routledge.
  
• Sandelin, Bo, Hans-Michael Trautwein and Richard Wundrak (2014) A short history of economic thought. 3nd ed. London: Routledge.
  
• Schumpeter, Alois (1996[1952]) History of Economic Analysis. Oxford University Press.
  
• Vaggi, Gianni and Peter Groenewegen (2003) A concise history of economic thought. From mercantilism to monetarism. Palgrave Macmillan.
  

Additional examination information:
TAKE-HOME EXAM:

Time to process the exam: 90 min

Time frame in which the exam can be completed: 4 hours
First exam:22.02.2021, 9:30 am - 1:30 pm
Second exam: 25.03.2021, 3:30 pm - 7:30 pm

The examiner of your course will provide information about the hand out of examination tasks / assignments and their submission.