Economics 109 – History of Economic Thought (1st Sem AY 2016-2017)

Professor: Dr. Laarni Escresa

Textbook References:

Heilbroner, Robert L. The worldly philosophers: The lives, times and ideas of the great economic thinkers. Simon and Schuster, 2011.  [print only]

*Rima, Ingrid H. Development of economic analysis. Routledge, 2003.  [print only]

Spiegel, Henry William  ed. The growth of economic thought. Duke University Press, 1991.  [print only]

*Note:  The main text is Rima. Other articles may be assigned during the course and will be distributed.

Online Resource: link here [Open Access]

 

Course Outline

1. Introduction: History thought and method

Blaug, M. (2001). No history of ideas, please, we’re economists. Journal of economic perspectives, 145-164. link [Accessible via Dilnet]

2. Medieval Age

Rima Ch 1/ Spiegel Ch 2

3. Mercantilism

Rima Ch 2 / Spiegel Ch 3

Heilbroner Ch 2

Original text:

Mun, Thomas. England’s treasure by forraign trade link [Open Access]       

 4. Physiocracy and Preclassical Economics

Rima 3-4 / Spiegel Ch 6, 8

Original text:

Turgot, Anne Robert Jacques. Reflections on the formation and distribution of Wealth…. 1793.  link [Open Access]

5. Adam Smith and the Classical tradition

Rima Ch 5-8 / Spiegel Ch 10-12, 14, 16

Heilbroner, Ch 3-4

Original Texts:

Smith, Adam. Wealth of nations. Book 1 Ch 1-4: Ch 5-7; Book II Ch 3, 5; Book III Ch 1; Book 4 Ch 1-2. link [Open Access]

Ricardo, David. Principles of political economy and taxation. Ch 1-3; Ch 7; Ch 19-21; Ch 31. link [Open Access]

Say, Jean Baptiste. Letters to Malthus on Several Subjects of Political Economy (1821)  link [Open Access]

Malthus, Thomas Robert. An essay on the principle of population. Ch 1-2. link [Open Access]

Mill, John Stuart. The Principles of Political Economy, Book 3 Ch 18  link [Open Access]

6. Marx and Marxism

Rima Ch 10/ Spiegel Ch 19-21

Heilbroner, Ch 5-6

Original Text:

Marx, Karl. Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (1859). link [Open Access]

— and F. Engels The Communist Manifesto (1848) link [Open Access]        

Capital (1867) Capital Vol 1 Ch 1-4, CH 6, 8, 9   link [Open Access]   

7. Marginalism and subjective value theory

Rima Ch 12-13/ Spiegel Ch 22-24

8. Marshall and the price system

Rima Ch 14/ Spiegel Ch 22-25

Heilbroner, pp. 205-212

9. Keynes and the neoclassical synthesis

Rima Ch 20 / Spiegel Ch 25

Heilbroner, Ch 9

Keynes, John Maynard. General theory of employment, interest and money. Ch 1-4, Ch 7-22.  link [Open access]

10. Monetary macroeconomics

Niehans, Ch 38

11. Search for new frontiers: Institutional, behavioral and other approaches to economics

North, Douglass C. Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge University Press, 1990. Ch 1-4   [print only]

Williamson, Oliver E. “The new institutional economics: taking stock, looking ahead.” Journal of economic literature (2000): 595-613. link [Accessible thru UPSE network only]

Kahneman, Daniel. “Maps of bounded rationality: Psychology for behavioral economics.” American economic review (2003): 1449-1475.  link [Accessible thru UPSE network only]  link [Accessible via Dilnet]