History of Economic Thought

Code:

LEC406

Acronym:

HPE

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Social Science

Instance: 2005/2006 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Web Page:	http://www.fep.up.pt/docentes/amal/E425%20INDEX.htm
Responsible unit:	Grupo de Ciências Sociais
Course/CS Responsible:	ECONOMICS

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
ECO	390	Official Curricular Structure since 2004	4	2		-

Objectives

The purpose of the course is to provide a critical overview of the main methodological positions in economics; and, on the basis of this overview, to analyse some essential contributions of the most important streams in the history of economic thought.

Program

Part I: Philosophy and Methodology of Economics

1. Introduction: Basic Concepts; On the Nature of Scientific Knowledge; Truth and Epistemic Relativism; Science and Ideology; Conceptions of Scientific Progress.

2. Empiricism / Positivism vs. Critical Realism.

3. Realism vs. Instrumentalism.

4. Realism vs. Rhetoric.



Part II: Economic Thought in Historical Perspective

1. Introduction: Continuity and Discontinuity in the History of Economic Thought.

2. Pre-Classical Economic Thought.

3. Adam Smith: ‘The Theory of Moral Sentiments’ and ‘The Wealth of Nations’.

4. Classical Economics: Senior’s Postulates; The Ricardian System; Malthus and the Theory of Population; Say’s Law.

5. The Marxian System.

6. The Marginalist Revolution; The Marshallian Synthesis; On the Evolution of Neoclassical Theory.

7. The ‘Methodenstreit’: Menger vs. Schmoller.

8. The Austrians: From Menger to Mises and Hayek.

9. Schumpeter and Evolutionary Economics.

10. The Keynesian Revolution and Post-Keynesian Economics.

Main Bibliography

Backhouse, R.E., 2002, The Penguin History of Economics, Penguin Books.

Caldwell, B.J., (1982) 1994, Beyond Positivism: Economic Methodology in the Twentieth Century, Routledge: London and New York, chapter 8.

Lawson, T., 1997, Economics and Reality, Routledge: London and New York, chapters 1-6.

Mäki, U., 1995, "Diagnosing McCloskey", Journal of Economic Literature, XXXIII, pp. 1300-1318.

Schumpeter, J.A., (1954) 1994, History of Economic Analysis, Routledge: London and New York.

Complementary Bibliography

Blaug, M., 1997, Economic Theory in Retrospect, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.65-171.

Friedman, M., 1953, "The Methodology of Positive Economics" in Essays in Positive Economics, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 3-43.

Hayek, F.A., 1945, "The Use of Knowledge in Society", American Economic Review, XXXV, pp.519-530.

Hayek, F.A., 1975, "The Pretence of Knowledge", Nobel Memorial Lecture.

Hayek, F.A., 1978, "Competition as a Discovery Procedure" in New Studies in Philosophy, Politics, Economics and the History of Ideas, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp.179-190.

Heilbroner, R., 1986, The essential Adam Smith, W.W. Norton & Company: New York and London, pp.1-11, 13-20, 57-63, 149-157.

Hicks, J.R., 1937, "Mr. Keynes and the 'Classics': a Suggested Interpretation" in John Maynard Keynes: Critical Assessments, ed. J. C. Wood, London: Routledge, 1993, Vol.2, pp.162-172.

Keynes, J.M., 1936, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, chapter 12, in The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes, London: MacMillan, 1971, Vol. 7.

Marx, K., 1859, A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (preface).

Mises, L. von, 1920, "Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth", translated in F.A. Hayek (ed.), 1935, Collectivist Economic Planning, London: Routledge & Sons Ltd.

Schumpeter, J.A., 1934, The Theory of Economic Development: An Inquiry into Profits, Credit, Capital, Interest, and the Business Cycle, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, chapters 1 and 2.

Schumpeter, J.A., 1942, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, London: Allen & Unwin, Part I and Part II.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Students are encouraged to participate in discussions on the relevance of the various theoretical and methodological contributions presented in lectures.

Evaluation Type

Evaluation with final exam