History of Economic Thought

Economics 327, Index #54561

Murray 213, Tuesday-Friday 9:50-11:10
Spring 2009

Prof. Hugh Rockoff
NJ Hall 209C
E-mail: Rockoff@econ.rutgers.edu
Homepage: http://www.economics.rutgers.edu/home/rockoff
Office Hours: 3:00-5:00 Tuesday and Friday or by appointment.

Prerequisites: 220:102 and 103, or 200

Required Texts: There is no textbook. There are, however, assigned readings that you can download.

Attendance. Attendance at the Lectures is at your discretion. But I do ask that that you be polite. Do not make a habit of coming late. When you miss a class you alone bear the cost. When you are late you impose a cost on the whole class. If you do come, stay until the end. Getting up and leaving in the middle of a class is disruptive and insulting. I will, however, keep track of class attendance, and if you are on the borderline between grades, I will take attendance into account.

Exams and Class Participation. There are two exams during the term each worth 100 points, and a final worth 200 points. Each exam will consist of multiple choice and short-answer questions. The final may be all multiple-choice questions. Thus, you can earn 400 points. The grading scale will be the usual (barring special circumstances): 90%-100% = A, 85%-89% = B+, 80%-84% = B, 75%-79% = C+, 60%-74% = C, 50% - 59% = D, below 50% = F.

If You Miss an Exam. If you miss an exam during the semester I will count the other exam 40% and the final 60%. If you miss the first exam and the second exam you must make up the second exam. If you miss the final, you must make it up. Students who miss the second exam (after having missed the first) and students who miss the final for medical emergencies, religious holidays, or other reasons approved by the Dean, will be allowed to take a makeup without penalty. Students without an excuse approved by the Dean will be subject to a 5-percentage-point penalty.

Schedule of Lectures
Class Meeting, Date	Topic of Lecture	Readings.
1. Tuesday, January 20	The Family Tree of Economics	No Reading
2. Friday, January 23	Adam Smith (Economic Man)	“Smith – the Authority of Conscience” Portrait of Adam Smith (Place under your pillow at night)
3. Tuesday, January 27	Adam Smith (The Invisible Hand)	“Smith -- Of the Division of Labor”
4. Friday, January 30	No Class	No Assigned Reading
5. Tuesday, February 3	Thomas Robert Malthus -- The Malthusian Dilemma	“Malthus -- Essay on Population.”
6. Friday, February 6	Classical Monetary Economics	“Notes on the Quantity Theory of Money.”
7. Tuesday, February 10	David Ricardo -- The Theory of Rent	“Notes on the Theory of Rent”
8. Friday, February 13	Free Trade (I) -- The Theory of Comparative Advantage	“Notes on Comparative Advantage.”
9. Tuesday, February 17	Free Trade (II) -- The Theory of Comparative Advantage	Continue to study “Notes on Comparative Advantage.”
10. Friday, February 20	FIRST EXAM	100 Points, multiple-choice and short- answer questions, stressing, but not limited to, the lectures
11. Tuesday, February 24	Karl Marx -- The Labor Theory of Value	“Notes on the Labor Theory of Value” “Marx – the Factory Acts”
12. Friday, February 27	Karl Marx -- The Future of Capitalism	Continue the readings by and about Marx
13. Tuesday, March 3	William Stanley Jevons (my hero) -- Utility, Price Indexes, Money, and Sunspots	“William Stanley Jevons” Portrait of William Stanley Jevons
14. Friday, March 6	No Class	No Assigned Reading
15. Tuesday, March 10	Alfred Marshall -- Supply and demand, time, and consumer surplus
16. Friday, March 13	Leon Walras -- General Equilibrium Theory (I)	“Notes on Leon Walras”
March 17, 20	Spring Break
17. Tuesday, March 24	Leon Walras -- General Equilibrium Theory (II)	Continue to read “Notes on Leon Walras”
18. Friday, March 27	Thorstein Veblen	To be announced
19. Tuesday, March 31	John Kenneth Galbraith	“Essay on Galbraith” “Galbraith – Economics as a System of Belief”
20. Friday, April 3	Edward Hastings Chamberlin	“Chamberlin -- Product Heterogeneity and Public Policy.”
21. Tuesday, April 7	SECOND EXAM	100 points, multiple-choice and short-answer questions, stressing, but not limited to, the lectures, will cover the material since the last exam
22. Friday, April 10	Joseph Schumpeter
23. Tuesday, April 14	John Maynard Keynes -- Labor Markets and Wage Cutting	To be announced.
24. Friday, April 17	John Maynard Keynes -- Monetary Policy	To be announced.
25. Tuesday, April 21	Milton Friedman (I) -- The Counterattack on Keynesian Economics	“Interview with Milton Friedman,” “Autobiography of Milton Friedman,” “Friedman -- The Role of Monetary Policy”
26. Friday, April 24	Milton Friedman (II) -- Economic Policy	Continued reading the articles by Friedman
27. Tuesday, April 28	Origins of Econometrics	To be announced.
28. Friday, May 1	The Chicago School of Economics	Coase – Autobiograhy Coase -- Prize Lecture Stigler -- Autobiography; Stigler -- Prize Lecture
29. Thursday, May 7, 12:00-3:00 in our regular classroom.	FINAL EXAM (200 points). The final is about half review and half material since the second exam. The location may be changed from the regular classroom -- check my website.

Frequently Asked Questions.

(1) Do the exams stress the readings or the lectures?

The exams will stress the class lectures, although some material covered only in the readings will be included on the exams as well. Let’s say that 80 percent of the exam will be based on the class lectures.

(2) Do I have to memorize facts and dates?

Yes! You will have to learn some facts and dates. The exams will stress major themes and economic analysis rather than isolated facts and dates. Generally, it is more important to fit particular developments into the era in which they occurred rather than to memorize particular dates. When I want you to know a precise date or number, I will try to warn you explicitly. But you will have to learn some facts and dates in this course. In some theory courses you can work out a great part of the analysis from first principles. That won't work here. History is about remembering the past. You will have to memorize things.

(3) Do I have to know everything you say in class?

As I indicated above, I try to stress important themes on the exams. However, the bottom line is this: everything discussed in class and everything covered in the assigned readings is fair game for the exams.

(4) What if I miss class?

If you miss class for any reason it is important to get the notes from another student, and to clarify any problems during office hours. I do not have lecture notes that would substitute for class attendance. The class outlines and clarifying notes on the website should give you a good overview of the material covered in class. If you can’t get a set of notes you feel comfortable with, I will be able to suggest some additional readings that will help.

(5) How should I study for the exams? Studying the old exams on my website is the best way of getting a sense of how I go from the lecture and text to specific questions, and to some extent what will appear on this semester's exams. Most students find it useful to study with a few friends. One student can read the exam question, and then if the reasoning is not obvious, you can talk over the question, and try to think of likely variations. But the course changes from semester to semester so you cannot rely totally on old exams. You will also need to study your notes and do the assigned readings.

(6) Can we have class outside?

The schedule and remarks about exams given above are tentative and subject to change on short notice. If you are absent from class you must check to see if things have changed.

I keep my office hours religiously, but I like to make an appointment if you want to see me at another time.