Course objectives
This course will offer an overview of the evolution of economic doctrines over time. As such, the focus will be on the development of economic theory, models, and methodology over time, rather than the personal history individual economists or schools of thought. This course is built on the belief that understanding the development of economic doctrine can inform one's own grasp of economics today as providing a foundation for a progressive research program in theoretical and applied social science.
Readings
- White, L. H. (2012). The clash of economic ideas: the great policy debates and experiments of the last hundred years. Cambridge University Press.
- Excerpts from classic of economic analysis, including Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, Mill's Principles, Menger's Principles, Marshall's Principles, Fisher's Theory, Knight's Risk, Uncertainty and Profit, and Becker's Economic Theory.
Topics
- Division of labor and the size of the market
- Political economy
- Government intervention
- Normative economics
- Theories of value
- Market structure
- Comparative institutional analysis
- Rationality and behavioral assumptions
Grading
The course grade will be a weighted average of 1) weekly quizzes based on the content of the assigned readings (20%); 2) two homework sets (30%); 3) a midterm exam (25%); and a final exam (25%).