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The authors respond to criticism on their article regarding the Unitarian influences on the methodology of economist David Ricardo. Issues include the 'overrated' influence given to Unitarianism, and emphasizes the authors intention to reconstruct the methodologies employed by Ricardo and Thomas Malthus in context of the controversy surrounding it in order to shed light on the differences between their scientific styles and programs for the social sciences.

This article discusses David Ricardo's methodology, especially in 'Principles', focusing on assertions that Thomas Belsham and Joseph Priestley's Unitarianism influenced the shape of his works. The author suggests that the little that is known of Ricardo's religious beliefs points to religious skepticism, and examines two speeches he delivered in the House of Commons and comments he made on the religious skepticism of Pierre Bayle in a letter to John Stuart Mill to support these claims.

This article discusses the correspondence between economists John Maynard Keynes and Richard Kahn, focusing on Kahn's contributions to the development of Keynes's 'General Theory'. The author examines the 611 letters written between 1928-1946, provides a background of the relationship between the two, their correspondence before the publication of the 'Treatise', Kahn's misgivings about the fundamental equations, the role of a group of economists known as the Circus who met in 1930-1931, the development of the 'General Theory', Kahn's trip to America in 1932, and the conception of effective demand.

This article discusses different interpretations of David Hume to illustrate the importance of considering context as well as text. Hume should be seen as a realist, a rational skeptic, and the inspiration for logical positivism, none of which are necessarily compatible positions; Hume's effects on modern economics are also highlighted.

This article address charges of antisemitism against Austrian economist Friedrich von Hayek by Melvin Reder in a 2000 issue of this journal. The author suggests that Reder's 'evidence' against Hayek comes from only one source, Hayek's 1994 autobiography, and questions the charges, based on his personal knowledge of the economist, then analyzes and rebutts the the charges, suggesting that Reder attributes antisemitism to any non-Jew who comments on characteristics of Jews that is not explicitly laudatory, even if the comments are historical facts.

This article examines the economic and monetary policies of Erik Lindhal, his role in the Stockholm school of economics and his influence on younger Swedish economists. The author focuses on four works of Lindahl's on monetary theory written between 1924-1930, including the ends of monetary theory, the place of capital in the theory of price, the relationship between quantity of money and the price level, the means of monetary policy, the formulation of a norm for a monetary policy, types of equilibrium analysis, fundamental equations and microeconomic foundations, capital theory and intertemporal analysis, assumptions about the monetary system, the stability problem and the uniqueness of the price level, and monetary analysis under temporary equilibrium.

This article examines the re-emergence of studies of 18th century economist Adam Smith since the works of Paul Samuelson in the 1950s and 1960s, by looking at scholarship on Smith. Issues include an historical overview of Smith and his reputation among economist, the bicentennial of 'Wealth of Nations' in 1976, journal articles by type, control for scholarship inflation, comparisons of Smith with other classical figures, citiations of Smith's works in scholarly economic works with controls for citation inflation, and a look at the journals which cite Smith.

This article provides a critique of Heath Pearson's assertion that there was not a German school of economics by asserting that there is enough historical evidence to suggest that there was. The author states that Pearson's general claims are basically uncontroversial but questions the implications of his conclusion calling for further homogenization and aggregation by historians discussing this school, which suggests an amalgamation of historical economists; this author find this to be oversimplified and ultimately unproductive.

The author responds to an article questioning why economist Friedrich A. von Hayek never published a criticism of John Maynard Keynes's 'General Theory.' The author discusses various sources, including correspondences' between Hayek and Fritz Machlup and Gottfried Haebler, in which he made references to reading Keynes's work; his letters to the editor of 'Economic' are also evaluated.

This article discusses Jean Magnan de Bornier's attempted historical perspective of the debate between 19th-century economists Augustin Cournot and Joseph Bertrand. The author asserts that Bornier's thesis on Cournot's 'Recherche' is not sufficient and his arguments are not consistent with Cournot's mathematics.

In this article the author responds to criticism of his thesis on economist Augustin Cournot's 'Recherche.' Issues include Cornot and Joseph Bertrand's contributions to modern economic theory, and the author's clarification of points he claims were misunderstood.

This article uses Albert Einstein's theory of relativity to provide a new perspective on John Maynard Keynes' 'General Theory,' by examining analogies between the theories in terms of worldview and methodological principles. The author asserts that this approach reveals the 'General Theory' to be a coherent product of the new evolution in economic analysis, that it was influenced by theories in physics and, finally, the author intends to place emphasis on the role of Einstein's theory on economics.

An argument is presented favoring John Maynard Keynes' definition of savings and its impact on the economy, as opposed to that of Ralph Hawtrey. While Hawtrey defines savings as assets rather than spendable income, Keynes demonstrated that at least part of savings will typically be income, and will affect the economy negatively as it is not being spent.

A comparison is presented between the multiplier, or cumulative-process analyses of Ralph Hawtrey and John Maynard Keynes, focusing on their differing conceptions of the role of savings. While Keynes believed savings has a depressing influence on consumption, Hawtrey saw savings as the accumulation of financial assets, rather than spendable income, and is therefore a boost to the economy.

A method is presented to close the system described by economist Knut Wicksell's model of capital and distribution. The method describes, from an entrepreneurial point of view, the condition for an amount of labor that is optimal.

An analysis is presented on the disagreement between economists Don Patinkin, Harry Johnson, and Milton Friedman over Friedman's 1956 essay, 'The Quantity Theory of Money--A Restatement' and charges that Friedman monetarism was not supported by a theoretical or empirical base. Topics include liquidity preference, scholarly competition and fraud.

The article discusses Friedrich A. von Hayek's theory regarding banking practices regarding loans. He attributed the failure of market rates to rise to the banks' variance of the quantity of loans rather than their price, fostering disequilibrating shocks.

An analysis is presented on a welfare economics paradox theorized by the 19th century Irish economist Mountifort Longfield. Support is provided for his claim that reducing food prices for the poor acts against them, as their purchase of larger amounts fostered by lower prices decreases the food supply, thereby driving base prices upward.

An analysis is presented on economist Henry L. Moore's theory of economic cycles, first published in the early 20th century. The theory is shown to have significant impact outside the field of economics, when a planetary metaphor Moore used created an application for meteorology and physics.

A comparison is presented between the economic theories of Friedrich A. von Hayek and John Maynard Keynes. It is posited that history has falsely portrayed the two economists as, respectively, an inflationist and deflationist, their theories were in fact similar with regard to abstracting from price rigidities.

An analysis is presented on the 19th century economist David Ricardo, who advocated a reduction of public debt to curtail further expansion of the government's economic role. This is contrasted with the opinion of economist Thomas Robert Malthus, who argued against a rapid redemption of debt as it would trigger a depression on aggregate demand.

The discussion of Lucien Albert Hahn by D.J. Boudreaux and George A. Selgin should be noted by economists. While many theorists may not have taken note of his work, Hahn's protomonetarist philosophy was not ignored. Hahn's work was central to the debate on inflation in the 1950s but his philosophy was ignored by Keynesian theorists.

The second chapter of John Maynard Keynes's 'General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money' is one of the most debated topics in the field of economics. Upon close reading, the chapter, entitled 'The Postulates of the Classical Economy,' actually considers workers' concern for relative wages as a fundamental matter and not secondary as some interpreters argue. A rational reconstruction of Keynes' argument, which is a modification of the efficiency-wage model, shows that his perception of the labor market is not inconsistent with his analysis of wage and price behavior.

John Pullen has argued that textual evidence does not support the contention that Thomas Malthus changed his views concerning agricultural protection and recanted his arguments in favor of England's 19th-century Corn Laws. Pullen's argument, which is ultimately unconvincing, is critiqued.

Jean Magnan de Bornier, in his 1992 article 'The 'Cournot-Bertrand Debate': A Historical Perspective,' corrects misunderstandings concerning Augustin Cournot and Joseph Bertrand's review of Cournot and Leon Walras' works. The article failed to mention, however, John Bradford Cherriman's 1857 review of Cournot's 'Recherches sur les principes Mathematiques de la Theorie des Richesses.'

Samuel Hollander's argument that Thomas Malthus changed his views on agricultural protection and, after his publication of 'Principles of Political Economy,' recanted his arguments in favor of England's Corn Laws is not sustainable. The textual evidence offered by Hollander is analyzed, and it is argued that Malthus continued to support agricultural protection.

Adam Smith was a pioneer in the use of institutional individualism as a means of explaining social phenomena. For Smith, institutional forces and the principles of human nature are both important independent variables in the generation of social phenomena. Institutional individualism helped Smith grasp complex social processes better than his contemporaries.

Philosophical cosmology provided the unifying principles for Adam Smith's economic and moral theories, and he believed society to be part of a grand mechanical system. But unlike philosophers who thought that mechanistic cosmology provided a complete picture of reality, Smith believed that reality embodied a God-set plan that provided for mankind's temporal happiness. Smith's theories embodied both the individualistic drive for self-betterment and individuals' civic spirit.

Luigi Amoroso was a distinguished and accomplished Italian economist but his scholarly work contrasts curiously with his proclaimed support for the fascist state's economic theory and policies. Beginning in the 1920s and with apparent sincerity, he advocated corporatist economic thought without any apparent consideration of its contradictions internal and external. He was not forced into this attitude, as other economists freely differed, and never tried to reconcile totalitarianism with the free market.

Friedrich A. von Hayek advanced the understanding of business cycles with his analyses of monetary expansion causing a boom which leads to a slump. He explored the effect of interest rates, bank credit money, cumulative investment processes, the effect of relative prices, new saving and new credit. He combined price raises with capital investment to show how a complete system of production can have a business cycle.

John Maynard Keynes' 1935 book 'The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money' mistakenly criticized A.C. Pigou's theories of unemployment. Keynes found Pigou inconsistent for holding to classical positions while recommending public works, but Pigou only held to classical positions for the long run. Pigou's 1933 book 'The Theory of Unemployment' was intended for short run problems rather than long run, and Keynes failed to recognize that.

John Maynard Keynes' 'Collected Writings' reveal that he did believe that economic stagnation was inevitable and used that idea as a basis of his 1935 book 'The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.' By 1919 he saw a historical break in economic patterns and by 1925 he saw structural change due to a decline in economic growth. Modern scholars have overlooked Keynes' views on stagnation due to the economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s.

Thomas Malthus was familiar with the ideas of the Physiocrat school of economics and used some of their ideas. In his book 'Essay on Population' he makes a reference to the Physiocrat Dupont de Nemours with an example concerning the money price of corn. Another Physiocrat reference in the book is made to 'the author of L'Ami des Hommes' who was Victor Riquetti, the Marquis de Mirabeau.

Adam Smith did not convert a majority of the merchants of Glasgow to his ideas about free trade. Smith lived in Glasgow, Scotland until 1764 and was inspired by its economy for some of his ideas. The town relied upon a monopoly for tobacco trade, protected by the Navigation Acts, yet many of the merchants did accept Smith's ideas about free trade and his book 'The Wealth of Nations' was popular there.

Milton Friedman surviving handwritten lecture notes for Economics 176, consisted largely of one-line entries on a topic, sometimes supplemented by a few comments. Friedman's lecture notes had no suggestion and no intimation that money stock's movements were pivotal to the 1929-33 contraction, to the post-1933 recovery, to the 1937 slide, and to the revival therefrom.

Classical economists divided factors of production into three groups that are labor, capital, and land. Frank Knight proposed to combine all factors of production into a single factor, because he considered the existence of any factor of production like land, labor, or capital to be the result of past production.

An essay on the nature and significance of Economic Science by Lionel Robbins is often credited with bringing Australian economic theory and methodology into English economics. The study of this truly excellent work was devoted to elucidations, which defined its subject matter in terms of the causes of material welfare.