Office: BEC 340
Office Hours: Tuesday 11:30-12:30 and Wednesday 12:30-1:20 pm or by arrangement
Tel: (250) 721-6481
e-mail: rutherfo@uvic.ca
Description: The course will cover the ideas of the major economists from the Marginal Revolution of the 1870's through to about the 1960s. The course will begin with a brief review of Classical economics, the Marxist and historicist challenges to Classicism, and proceed through a discussion of the development of marginalism, the neoclassical economics of Alfred Marshall, the American institutionalist criticsm of neoclassical economics, later neoclassical developments in the theories of demand, welfare, and imperfect competition, neoclassical monetary economics, and the Keynesian revolution and counterrevolution. If time permits additional topics will be included.
Web Site: The course web page is at http://web.uvic.ca/~rutherfo/econ338.html or can be accessed through the Department of Economics home page at http://web.uvic.ca/econ or my own home page at http://web.uvic.ca/~rutherfo/mr_home.html
This page contains the course outline and links to electronic archives in the history of economics.
A good number of the key texts in the history of economics are now available in electronic form.
The page also contains a link to the excellent New School History of Economic Thought site.
The web page also contains my lecture overheads. These are in the form of Powerpoint files and you have to have a copy of Powerpoint on your computer to open them. To print go into Print Options, click on handouts, and you can print four or more slides to a page which will save you paper and toner. Students should print off the overheads prior to the lecture and bring them to class. The overheads are *NOT* a substitute for attending lecture as they are mostly headings, sometimes only questions, and, at most, very abbreviated explanations. Having the overheads with you, however, will allow you to concentrate on the lecture, take additional notes as I talk, and ASK QUESTIONS, instead of having to concentrate on writing down what is on the slides.
Texts
Ingrid H. Rima, Development of Economic Analysis.
Roger E. Backhouse, The Ordinary Business of Life: A History of Economics From the Ancient World to the Twenty-First Century
Both of these texts are required and are also used for Econ 337.
Additional Readings: (Available on Reserve)
M. Beaud and G. Dostaler, Economic Thought Since Keynes, 1997.
M. Blaug, Economic Theory in Retrospect, 1997.
T. W. Hutchison, A Review of Economic Doctrines, 1870-1929, 1953 (photocopied sections).
J.M. Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, 1937.
A. Marshall, Principles of Economics, 8th ed., 1920.
P.C. Newman (ed.), Source Readings in Economic Thought, 1954.
D.P. O'Brien and J. Presley (eds.), Pioneers of Modern Economics in Britain, 1981.
M. Rutherford, American Institutional Economics in the Interwar Period, 2003 (photocopy).
G. L. S. Shackle, The Years of High Theory, 1967.
Course Outline:
CLASSICAL ECONOMICS AND ITS CHALLENGES
1. The Classical System and its Weaknesses
Rima Ch 9
Backhouse Ch 7
2. The Romantic, Marxist, and Historicist Challenges
Rima Ch 10, pp. 199-204, and Ch 11
THE MARGINAL REVOLUTION
3. Forerunners of Marginalism and the Marginal Revolution
Rima Ch 10, pp 204-216
Blaug Ch 8
Backhouse Ch 8 (This gives an overview of the development of neoclassical economics up to 1914)
4. First Generation Marginalists
Rima Ch 12
O'Brien and Presley Ch 1 (Jevons)
Hutchison Chs 9 and 13 (Menger and Walras)
Blaug Ch 13, part 1 (Walras)
Newman, pp. 347-410 (Menger and Jevons)
5. Second Generation Marginalists
Rima Ch 13
Blaug Ch 12 part 1 (Bohm-Bawerk)
Hutchison Chs 5, 6, 11, 16 part 2 (Wicksteed, Edgeworth, Bohm-Bawerk, J. B. Clark)
Newman, pp. 411-422 (J. B. Clark)
MARSHALL'S NEOCLASSICAL SYNTHESIS
6. Alfred Marshall
Rima Ch 14
O'Brien and Presley Ch 2 (Marshall)
Marshall Book III Ch's 3 and 4; Book IV Ch. 13; Book V Ch's 3 and 13
DISSENT FROM NEOCLASSICAL ECONOMICS
7. American Institutionalism
Rima Ch 18
Rutherford
Backhouse Ch 9
Newman, pp. 523-574 (Veblen and J. R. Commons)
8. Fabians and Socialists
Rima Ch 19
Hutchison Ch 7 (Hobson)
Newman pp. 575-589 (Hobson)
NEOCLASSICAL REVIVAL
9. Neoclassical Developments in Demand and Welfare Economics
Rima Ch 16
Shackle Chs 7 and 8
Backhouse Ch 12
10. Neoclassical Developments in the Theory of the Firm
Rima Ch 15
Shackle Chs 3-6
Newman, pp. 592-622 (Sraffa and Chamberlin)
11. Neo-Classical Monetary and Cycle Theory
Rima Ch 17
Backhouse Ch 10
Blaug Ch 15 (Wicksell)
O'Brien and Presley Ch 7 (Hawtrey)
KEYNESIAN REVOLUTION AND COUNTERREVOLUTION
12. Keynesian Economics
Rima Ch 20 and 21
Blaug Ch 16
Keynes Ch's 1, 2, 18, and 24
13. Macroeconomic Debates since Keynes
Rima Ch 23
Backhouse Ch 13
Beaud and Dostaler Chs 3, 5, 7, and 8
MORE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
14. Econometrics, Mathematics, and Game Theory
Rima Ch 22
Backhouse Ch 11
Beaud and Dostaler Ch 4
15. Chicago Economics and Neo-Liberalism
Rima Ch 24
16. Some Concluding Remarks
Rima Ch 25
GRADING
The course grade will be based on a mid-term and final exam. The mid-term will be worth 40% of the course grade and the final exam worth 60%. The mid-term date is February 21st.
This course requires good comprehension of English and an ability to write coherent essay answers to exam questions. Note form answers are not acceptable and will be marked down. Students who are not confident of their skills in English are encouraged to work on practice questions or to seek other help early in the term.
Each grade component will be awarded a percentage score. The final mark will be converted to a letter grade using the following equivalences. Note that no E grades will be awarded. Deferred exams will be given only on the basis of documented illness or family affliction. Deferred final exams will be given only during the deferred exam period in July.
Students will be expected to provide identification for exams.
90-100: A+; 85-89: A; 80-84: A-
75-79: B+; 70-74: B; 65-69: B-
60-64: C+; 55-59: C; 50-54: D; 0-49: F
The University of Victoria is committed to promoting, providing and protecting a positive and safe learning environment for all its members.