Donald Winch

A Century of Economics: 100 Years of the Royal Economic Society and the Economic Journal.

Part 1 History: a century of economics, Donald Winch foundation and early years, Alon Kadish and Richard D. Freeman gentlemen versus players 1891-1914, John Maloney the economic journal and socialism 1890-1920, Ian Steedman the attitudes of the economics professions in Britain and the United States to the trust movement 1890-1914, Philip L. Williams reviews by Edgeworth, Peter Newman Keynes as editor, Donald E. Moggridge. Part 2 Recollection: fifty-five years on the Royal Economic Society Council, Austin Robinson. Part 3 Reassessment: editorial introduction, John Hey the theory of games revisited, Richard Stone expectations, Frank Hahn trimming consumers surplus down to size, Paul A. Samuelson the economics of DHSY, David F. Hendry et al reflections on macroeconomics and share systems, Martin L. Weitzman.

That Noble Science of Politics: The system of the North: Dugald Stewart and his pupils

He supplied both young and old with philosophical ideas on what they had scarcely been accustomed to think philosophical subjects, unfolded the elements and the ends of that noble science, and so recommended it by the graces of his eloquence that even his idler hearers retained a permanent taste for it. henry cockburn , Memorials of His Time (1854) … as a preparation for the writing of various articles, the system of Edinburgh is enormously superior to that of Cambridge. The particular, compact, exclusive learning of England is inferior in this respect to the general, diversified, omnipresent information of the North; and what is more, the speculative, dubious nature of metaphysical and such like pursuits tends, in a really strong mind, to cultivate habits of independent thought and original discussion. walter bagehot , ‘The First Edinburgh Reviewers’ (1855) dugald stewart , Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh from 1785 to 1810, was the eloquent lecturer being praised by Cockburn in the passage from which the first of our epigraphs is taken, ‘that noble science’ was the science of politics as it had been cultivated during the second half of the eighteenth century by an international community of scholars within which the names of Scottish authors were prominent.

Malthus versus Condorcet revisited

The article poses some counter-factual questions concerning the intellectual relationship between Condorcet and Malthus in the light of the latters attack on Condorcets Esquisse, bearing in mind the common ‘Smithian’ basis of their thinking and their background as ‘social Newtonains’ with an interest in placing the science of morals and politics on a rational basis. Malthuss reasons for opposing Condorcets solutions to the population problem and their divergence over redistribution of income through social insurance are considered. Some stereotypical and ideological interpretations of Malthus as a bioeconomic determinist with demoralizing and reactionary tendencies are also discussed.

THE OLD GENERATION OF ECONOMISTS AND THE NEW: AN INTELLECTUAL HISTORIAN’S APPROACH TO A SIGNIFICANT TRANSITION

The article contrasts an intellectual history perspective on the transition from classical to neo-classical economics with doctrinal accounts of the marginal revolution. Marshall’s opinions on the mixture of theoretical, methodological, and moral and political elements involved in the generational divide shows that more was at stake than accounts in which theory alone is stressed suggest. It is also argued that in other respects less was at stake: drawing a sharp dividing line between pre- and post-marginal treatments of policy issues does not do justice to underlying continuities in the empirical utilitarian tradition. The article is dedicated to the memory of R. D. C. (Bob) Black, whose work on Jevons illustrates the benefits of an intellectual historian’s approach to this significant transition in economic thinking.

The Economic Advisory Council 1930-1939: A Study in Economic Advice during Depression and Recovery

Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. The council and the slump 3. Economic advice during the crisis 5. The committee on economic information 1932-9 6. Conclusions Appendices Notes Bibliography Index.