The Mathematization of Macroeconomics a Recursive Revolution
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The Life and Times of Gordon Tullock
Public Choice (2012) 152:3–27 DOI 10.1007/s11127-011-9899-3 The life and times of Gordon Tullock Charles K. Rowley · Daniel Houser Received: 24 October 2011 / Accepted: 25 October 2011 / Published online: 10 November 2011 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 Abstract Gordon Tullock is a founding father of public choice. In an academic career that has spanned 50 years, he forged much of the research agenda of the public choice program and he founded and edited Public Choice, the key journal of public choice scholarship. Tullock, however did much more than this. This Special Issue of Public Choice honors Gordon Tullock in precisely the manner that he most values: the creation of new ideas across the vast range of his own scholarly interests. Keywords Gordon Tullock · Tullock’s life · Tullock’s times Si monumentum requiris, circumspice 1 Innocence of youth Gordon Tullock was born in Rockford, Illinois on February 13, 1922. His father, George Tullock, was a hardy Midwesterner of Scottish ancestry. His mother, Helen, nee Crumb, was of equally hardy Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. His father’s elder brother, Tom, and his two children, also lived in Rockford, but some distance away. So Gordon had no close and continuing relationship with them. Both of Gordon’s grandfathers died before he was old enough to remember them. Both of his grandmothers ‘lived with us for some time, but fortunately not at the same time’ (Tullock 2009:1) Rockford, often referred to as the ‘Forest City’, was a mid-sized city with a 64,000 pop- ulation in 1922, when Gordon Tullock was born. -
In Memoriam Björn Thalberg
ASSRU Newsletter July 15, 2013 Vol. 3, # 1 Algorithmic SocialASSRU Sciences Newsletter Date Research September Unit15, 2012 (ASSRU) Vol. 2, # 1 Björn Thalberg (1924-2013) In Memoriam ‘The appearance,’ writes [Thalberg], ‘of yet another study dealing with Keynes’ General Theory does not, of course, make the air electric with expectancy.’ This, I fear is true, but in this slender volume Mr Thalberg has given us a very neat and interesting account of an aspect of the Keynesian system.’ Amartya Sen, Review of A Keynesian Model Extended by Explicit Demand and Supply Functions for Investment Goods by B.Thalberg, EJ, Vol. 73, Mar., 1963. Björn Thalberg belonged to the interregnum – I trace a development of his macrodynamics, from the enlightened generation of economists of the the Haavelmo-inspired ‘Mod K’ of the early Golden Quarter Century of Keynesian 1960s, to the Extensions of the Goodwin Model, of Economics and its policy successes: 1947 – the mid-1960s, to, finally, the ‘stabilization’ phase 1972. The generation that had a complete determined by forging the above two rich Oodwin Model mastery of the ‘four’ (actually six) defining formalizations to a framework which generalized classics of the age of the neoclassical synthesis: Phillips’ EJ contributions of 1954 & 1957. Value and Capital by John Hicks, the On the way, explicit considerations of delivery Foundations of Economic Analysis by Paul lags and order-book timings (from the Corfu Samuelson , Money, Interest and Prices by Conference to ‘Mod K’), ‘time-to-build’ and the Don Patinkin and Roy Allen’s ‘trilogy’ on important supply considerations in both Mathematical Analysis for Economists, consumption and investment goods productions, Macro-Economic Theory and Mathematical intractable nonlinearites tamed by simulations, at Economics. -
The Mont Pelerin Society: a MANDATE RENEWED
1 The Mont Pelerin Society: A MANDATE RENEWED By Deepak Lal Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to this special meeting of the MPS. In this address I would like to explain why it has been called at such short notice and how I hope it provides a renewal of the mandate our founders set for the society.1 After being anointed with the Presidency of this august body in Tokyo (in early September), my wife and I went on to a lecture tour in China. We were in Shanghai on a tour of the magnificent Suzhou industrial estate outside Shanghai, with MPS member Steven Cheung. On the afternoon of the 15th September Steve received a call on his Blackberry that Lehman Brothers had gone into bankruptcy. Steve opined that this marked the end of American capitalism. I thought this somewhat hyperbolic. But, on getting back to London at the end of September, as I was tending my roses, my neighbor, a Thatcherite heart surgeon, said over the hedge that, given the recent events in the capital markets, did I still stand by the views I had expressed in my last book on "Reviving the Invisible Hand".2 I replied that even a severe trade cycle downturn would not undermine the well tested classical liberal principles I had espoused. Though, Gordon Brown might be in trouble having repeatedly congratulated himself for having abolished boom and bust. Two subsequent events shattered this complacency. I had been following a political betting site called Betfair on which some youngsters at the Tokyo MPS meeting were placing bets on a McCain victory. -
The Two Triangles: What Did Wicksell and Keynes Know About Macroeconomics That Modern Economists * Do Not (Consider)?
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Research Papers in Economics Department of Economics The Two Triangles: The Discussion Paper series provides a means for circulating preliminary research results by staff of or what did Wicksell and Keynes visitors to the Department. Its purpose is to stimulate discussion prior to the publication of papers. know about macroeconomics Requests for copies of Discussion Papers and address changes should be sent to: Dott. Luciano Andreozzi that modern economists do not e-mail: [email protected] Department of Economics University of Trento (consider)? via Inama, 5 - 38122 Trento (IT) Ronny Mazzocchi, Roberto Tamborini, Hans-Michael Trautwein n. 6/2009 495_09_Cop_Paper_ok.indd 3-4 26-11-2009 12:01:16 The Two Triangles: What did Wicksell and Keynes know about macroeconomics that modern economists * do not (consider)? Ronny Mazzocchi a, Roberto Tamborini b, c Hans-Michael Trautwein a University of Siena, Department of Economics, Siena, Italy; ronny .mazzocchi @unisi.it b University of Trento, Department of Economics, Trento, Italy, [email protected] c University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, Oldenburg, Germany; [email protected] Abstract The current consensus in macroeconomics, as represented by the New Neoclassical Synthesis, is to work within frameworks that combine intertemporal optimization, imperfect competition and sticky prices. We contrast this “NNS triangle” with a model in the spirit of Wicksell and Keynes that sets the focus on interest-rate misalignments as problems of intertemporal coordination of consumption and production plans in imperfect capital markets. -
David R. Henderson: Why Everyone Read Samuelson - WSJ 8/17/15, 11:06 AM
CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Calhoun, Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Faculty and Researcher Publications Faculty and Researcher Publications 2009-12 Why Everyone Read Samuelson Henderson, David R. The Wall Street Journal http://hdl.handle.net/10945/46117 David R. Henderson: Why Everyone Read Samuelson - WSJ 8/17/15, 11:06 AM This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers visit http://www.djreprints.com. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704869304574595823818190240 COMMENTARY Why Everyone Read Samuelson The late Nobel laureate's mathematical approach to economics has been a mixed blessing. By DAVID R. HENDERSON Updated Dec. 14, 2009 7:10 p.m. ET Three years after World War II drew to a close, a young professor at MIT published "Foundations of Economic Analysis." Its mathematical approach to economics would revolutionize the profession. And its author, Paul Samuelson, would go on to earn many awards and honors, culminating in 1970, when he won the Nobel Prize in economics—the second year it was awarded. Samuelson died on Sunday at the age of 94. His influence has been profound, but the mathematization of economics has been a mixed blessing. The downside is that the math hurdle in leading U.S. economics programs is now so high that people who grasp the power of economic concepts to explain human behavior are losing out in the competition to mathematicians. The upside is that Samuelson sometimes used math to resolve issues that had not been resolved at a theoretical level for decades. -
ΒΙΒΛΙΟΓ ΡΑΦΙΑ Bibliography
Τεύχος 53, Οκτώβριος-Δεκέμβριος 2019 | Issue 53, October-December 2019 ΒΙΒΛΙΟΓ ΡΑΦΙΑ Bibliography Βραβείο Νόμπελ στην Οικονομική Επιστήμη Nobel Prize in Economics Τα τεύχη δημοσιεύονται στον ιστοχώρο της All issues are published online at the Bank’s website Τράπεζας: address: https://www.bankofgreece.gr/trapeza/kepoe https://www.bankofgreece.gr/en/the- t/h-vivliothhkh-ths-tte/e-ekdoseis-kai- bank/culture/library/e-publications-and- anakoinwseis announcements Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος. Κέντρο Πολιτισμού, Bank of Greece. Centre for Culture, Research and Έρευνας και Τεκμηρίωσης, Τμήμα Documentation, Library Section Βιβλιοθήκης Ελ. Βενιζέλου 21, 102 50 Αθήνα, 21 El. Venizelos Ave., 102 50 Athens, [email protected] Τηλ. 210-3202446, [email protected], Tel. +30-210-3202446, 3202396, 3203129 3202396, 3203129 Βιβλιογραφία, τεύχος 53, Οκτ.-Δεκ. 2019, Bibliography, issue 53, Oct.-Dec. 2019, Nobel Prize Βραβείο Νόμπελ στην Οικονομική Επιστήμη in Economics Συντελεστές: Α. Ναδάλη, Ε. Σεμερτζάκη, Γ. Contributors: A. Nadali, E. Semertzaki, G. Tsouri Τσούρη Βιβλιογραφία, αρ.53 (Οκτ.-Δεκ. 2019), Βραβείο Nobel στην Οικονομική Επιστήμη 1 Bibliography, no. 53, (Oct.-Dec. 2019), Nobel Prize in Economics Πίνακας περιεχομένων Εισαγωγή / Introduction 6 2019: Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer 7 Μονογραφίες / Monographs ................................................................................................... 7 Δοκίμια Εργασίας / Working papers ...................................................................................... -
The Heckscher-Ohlin Model
CAVE.6607.cp06.p095-120 6/5/06 7:12 PM Page 95 CHAPTER 6 Factor Endowments and Trade II: The Heckscher-Ohlin Model theory of international trade that highlights the variations among countries of supplies of broad categories of productive factors (labor, capital, and land, none Aof which may be specific to any one sector) was developed by two Swedish econ- omists, Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin.1 Their model subsequently has been extended in scores of articles and treatises. Some of the new results were startling: Two countries that share the same general technology but differ in their endowments of the basic fac- tors of production may nonetheless find that free trade in commodities forces wage rates in the two countries into absolute equality. Advocates of protection have found support in another proposition: Even a broad-based factor such as labor may unam- biguously gain by the imposition of tariffs. Most of these propositions were carefully proven and adequately qualified in a simple form of the theory—the 2 3 2 model, so called because it analyzed an economy producing two commodities with the use of only two productive factors.This model has proved to be immensely popular not only in the area of international trade but also in fields such as public finance and economic growth. We initially follow Heckscher and Ohlin in assuming that countries share the same technological knowledge, an assump- tion made to highlight a cause for trade (different relative factor endowments) that is distinct from the technological asymmetries emphasized in the Ricardian model. -
Eli Heckscher,Sweden,Liberalism
Discuss this article at Journaltalk: http://journaltalk.net/articles/5902 ECON JOURNAL WATCH 13(1) January 2016: 75–99 Eli Heckscher’s Ideological Migration Toward Market Liberalism Benny Carlson1 LINK TO ABSTRACT Sweden is a country that is often misunderstood by outsiders, and even by Swedes themselves. From the latter part of the nineteenth century, Sweden’s eco- nomic policies were quite liberal, and for 100 years, say from 1870 to 1970, the economy grew rapidly (see Schön 2011; Bergh 2014). During this period Sweden enjoyed relatively high-quality public debate—a tradition in which Sweden still remains quite exceptional. Leading economists took active part and influenced opinion; they were genuine leaders in public discourse. Five titans stand out: Knut Wicksell, Gustav Cassel, Eli Heckscher, Bertil Ohlin, and Gunnar Myrdal.2 The first three were highly liberal. Ohlin began as liberal, like his mentor Heckscher, but moved to a position of social liberalism, or moderate welfare-statism, and became a leading politician (Berggren 2013). Myrdal represents Sweden’s turn toward social democracy (Carlson 2013). Here I tell of Eli Heckscher (1879–1952), and in particular of his ideological development. For most of his life Heckscher was the most firmly principled eco- nomic liberal Sweden had. He fought against state-socialist tendencies, Keynesian crisis policy, and economic planning, and had only one real rival, Gustav Cassel, 1. Lund University School of Economics and Management, 221 00 Lund, Sweden. I thank MIT Press for their permission to incorporate in this article some material that was previously published in a chapter of Eli Heckscher, International Trade, and Economic History, edited by Ronald Findlay, Rolf G. -
Bertil Ohlin [Ideological Profiles of the Economics Laureates] Niclas Berggren Econ Journal Watch 10(3), September 2013: 532-536
Bertil Ohlin [Ideological Profiles of the Economics Laureates] Niclas Berggren Econ Journal Watch 10(3), September 2013: 532-536 Abstract Bertil Ohlin is among the 71 individuals who were awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel between 1969 and 2012. This ideological profile is part of the project called “The Ideological Migration of the Economics Laureates,” which fills the September 2013 issue of Econ Journal Watch. Keywords Classical liberalism, economists, Nobel Prize in economics, ideology, ideological migration, intellectual biography. JEL classification A11, A13, B2, B3 Link to this document http://econjwatch.org/file_download/757/OhlinIPEL.pdf ECON JOURNAL WATCH North, Douglass C. 2009. Interview by Karen Ilse Horn. In Roads to Wisdom: Conversations with Ten Nobel Laureates in Economics by Horn, 153-172. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. North, Douglass C., and Robert P. Thomas. 1973. The Rise of the Western World: A New Economic History. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. North, Douglass C., John Joseph Wallis, and Barry R. Weingast. 2009. Violence and Social Orders: A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Bertil Ohlin by Niclas Berggren Bertil Ohlin (1899–1979), professor of economics and Nobel laureate in 1977, developed a social consciousness early on, both because of his mother’s involvement in assisting the poor and because of his going to school with less well- to-do children. In the 1920s—also Ohlin’s twenties—he argued that the best method for helping the less fortunate was to increase economic growth: only by creating and sustaining conditions for higher production levels could living standards rise over the long term. -
Reacting to Samuelson: Early Development Economics and the Factor-Price Equalization Theorem
1 Reacting to Samuelson: Early Development Economics and the Factor-Price Equalization Theorem Mauro Boianovsky (Universidade de Brasilia) [email protected] Abstract. Paul Samuelson’s famous 1948 “factor price equalization theorem” was his main contribution to international trade theory. He demonstrated conditions under which trade in goods only would lead to full equalization of the remuneration of productive factors across countries. In practice, general factor-price equalization has not been a feature of the international economy, as Samuelson acknowledged. His theorem came out when development economics was starting to emerge as a new field of research and policy, largely based on the observed international income asymmetries between poor and rich countries. The paper investigates how development economists reacted mostly (but not always) critically to that theorem, with attention to the methodological issues involved and to Samuelson’s own perception of the theorem’s relevance. Key words. Samuelson, factor-price equalization, development economics, trade theory JEL codes. B20, B27, B30 Resumo. O famoso teorema de 1948 da “equalização dos preços dos fatores” de Paul Samuelson foi sua principal contribuição à teoria do comércio internacional. Ele demonstrou condições sob as quais o comércio de bens iria conduzir à plena equalização das remunerações dos fatores entre os países. Na prática, a equalização dos preços dos fatores não tem ocorrido em geral, como Samuelson reconheceu. O seu teorema veio à tona quando a economia do desenvolvimento estava começando a emergir como nova área de pesquisa e política, baseada largamente nas assimetrias internacionais de renda observadas. O trabalho investiga como economistas do desenvolvimento reagiram em geral (mas não sempre) de forma crítica àquele teorema, com atenção às questões metodológicas envolvidas e à própria percepção de Samuelson da relevância do seu teorema. -
Course Information
ECON 452: Senior Seminar Sweet Briar College, Fall 2012 Sherry Forbes Gray 317 T/R 1030-1200 434.381.6177 [email protected] j j j Course Information Description The original will of Alfred Nobel (1895) established Nobel Prizes in only five fields - physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology, literature, and peace - and the Prize continues to be considered one of the most prestigious awards for advances in those fields today. But in 1968, the Sveriges Riksbank established a Nobel Prize in the field of Economic Sciences, establishing an award for economists who "have during the previous year rendered the greatest service to mankind." But why economics? Nobel Prizes were not originally established for any field in the social sciences, so why was economics the only one to get a Nobel Prize? What is this "service" that economists provide, and what is the relevance of this "science of economics" for today’s problems? These are the questions we are going to address in this seminar as we study the contributions of the Nobel laureates. Specifically, we are going to examine 1.) the development of modern economics through the contributions of the Nobel Prize winners in economics, and 2.) how those ideas influenced (and continue to influence) every day life and how we think about the "big ideas" of today. Economics is not a "settled" discipline - the development of economic ideas and of economics as a science has not been neat, organized, or even at times very coherent. Why is there so much controversy? Much of the debate, of course, revolves around the appropriate role for government and how much we should rely on free markets or government intervention to solve society’sproblems. -
Origins and Early Development of the Nonlinear Endogenous Mathematical Theory of the Business Cycle
Origins and Early Development of the Nonlinear Endogenous Mathematical Theory of the Business Cycle Venkatachalam Ragupathy and Kumaraswamy Vela Velupillai 1. Prologue He [Oppenheimer] studied me with his remarkable blue eyes and asked, «What is new and firm in Physics?» The «and firm» im- pressed me. Bernstein J. (2005), Oppenheimer: Portrait of an Enigma, Chicago, Ivy Publishers We begin with a puzzle: Wicksell observes a 20-year deflation and con- structs an unstable model of inflation for stabilization purposes. Why? The same fact, observed and recorded in their writings, led Fisher and Schum- peter to emphasize other aspects of the behaviour of economic institutions, agents and the economic system’s evolutionary dynamics. Fisher developed the link between appreciation and interest via expectations; Schumpeter, on the other hand, that between deflation and innovation to justify the tendency for a capitalist system to undergo benign fluctuations. A young macroeconomist facing, say an ageing Walras, at the turn of the century that took the 19th into the 20th, and confronted with the kind of question Bernstein was posed by Oppenheimer, may have had difficulties identifying the unstable cumulative process, the Fisher equation and Schum- peterian evolutionary dynamics as being part of the «and firm» description of the subject; although she may have recognized them as «new». After all, even the subject did not exist at that time. In March 1952, during a lecture in Stockholm, Eli Heckscher (Hecksher, 1952) recalled, on 14 April 1898, Wicksell «somewhat unexpectedly revealed Received October 2011, Approved January 2012. We are both deeply indebted to Professor Stefano Zambelli for invaluable help over many years in making it possible for us to tell the kind of story narrated here.