Search

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) was the first and is still the only president of the United States to hold an earned doctoral degree. His Ph.D. was awarded by the Johns [...]

The present financial crisis has set in bold relief the Jekyll and Hyde nature of contemporary central banks. It has made apparent both our utter dependence on such banks as [...]

The international diffusion of ideas has often been described as an abstract process. John Bowring's career offers a different insight into the practical conditions that permitted a concept, free trade, to spread across national borders. An early advocate of trade liberalization in Britain, Bowring promoted free trade policies in France, Italy, Germany, Egypt, Siam, and China between 1830 and 1860. He employed different strategies according to local political conditions, appealing to public opinion in liberal Western Europe, seeking to persuade bureaucrats and absolute rulers in Central Europe and the Middle East, and resorting to gunboats in East Asia. His career also helps to connect the rise of free trade ideas in Europe with the 'imperialism of free trade' in other parts of the world. Bowring upheld the same liberal ideals as Richard Cobden and other luminaries of the free trade movement. Yet unlike them, he endorsed imperial ascendancy in order to remove obstacles to global communications and spread civilization outside Europe.

This paper identifies problems associated with the current empirical measurement of ethnic diversity in economic development literature. An expanded index of ethnic diversity is proposed to include variables such as religion and race, and the results are compared to the prevailing index utilized in empirical literature. The mean of the proposed index is significantly larger and the standard deviation is significantly smaller than that of the prevailing index. This would suggest that disparities in ethnic diversity among countries are not as wide as previously assumed. Further, these results confirm that a comprehensive and more accurate measure of ethnic diversity requires more than a linguistic measurement, which is the primary factor utilized in the prevailing index.

The different schools of economic thought in Russian history are explored. The author, maintaining Russian economic science has never played a central role is the world, yet has not been based upon soaking up foreign ideas, discusses the influences of Karl Marx and E. Varga on the evolution of Russian economics.

The possibility of worker backlash as the result of a shift in the economic power equilibrium between labor and capital was theorized. This economic shift was brought about by the rising global financial markets, which poses a great challenge for world economies. This stresses the need for a counter-trend that allows considerable economic focus through critical restructuring and economic policy implementation.

Paul Samuelson's 'Economics' is among the pioneering works that delve on introductory economics courses. Succeeding generations of Samuelson's contributions reflect the 50-year trend of teaching such courses. His focus was on macroeconomics and policy advice where his knowledge on rhetorical strategy was exemplified. Samuelson's progressive views have paved the way for a balanced brand of economics that stresses the importance of economic stabilization.

John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) is the latest in a line of great British economists who had a profound influence on the discipline of economics. By common consent, the line starts [...]

Heinrich von Stackelberg played an important role in the transformation of Spanish economic policy by supporting the group of economists that aimed for an economic policy to promote growth to alleviate disparities in material well-being. The change in Spanish economic policy from utilitarian historicism was due to a unequivocal acceptance of some of Stackelberg's teachings. Spaniards now have a clearer understanding of 'Euken' and can now oppose an historicist economic nationalism.

Heinrich von Stackelberg was a economist who made numerous contributions to the field of theoretical economics. His contributions covered topics such as cost theory, exchange rate theory, saving theory, price theory and other fields of economics. Stackelberg also published several books that eventually became the basis for other works.

My research program as an economist has emphasized two intersecting themes: the causes and consequences of technological innovations; and how business firms' behavior varies with the structural environment (e.g., competitive, [...]

Sir D.H. Robertson staunchly opposed the Keynesian view of economics until his death in 1963. In fact, he was fairly isolated in Cambridge for his non-Keynesian approach in teaching and research. Proof of this is found in his correspondence with Alvin Hansen and in his unpublished speeches in Cambridge and Oxford. He also encouraged visitors who were highly devoted to Robertsonian analysis which sprung from the Cambridge approach. As a result, later developments in economics have a Robertsonian slant.

Several factors account for the enthusiastic reception of Wilhelm Roscher's ideas about economic theory, methodology and the history of economic thought in the US. One major reason is the lack of an American economic tradition which led economists to borrow heavily from German economic thought. Moreover, William Cunningham's essay explaining the lack of acceptance of Roscher's philosophies in the UK, Roscher was not wholly rejected in the UK.

German economist Wilhelm Roscher was influenced by Ricardo's cost theory even though it is generally assumed that nineteenth-century German economics did not absorb Ricardo's ideas on production. In turn, Wilhelm Roscher's macroeconomic production function theory influenced Karl Marx. This may be determined from the 'vitriolic remarks' of Marx about Roscher in 'Capital' where Roscher is mentioned at least 10 times and the 'close affinity' of his work with 'Capital.'

As Britain prepared to divest itself of its colonies in the 1940s, political expedience required that colonial policy appear concerned for the welfare of colonial people above all. To this end, the Colonial Office sought out liberal and leftist advisors to formulate its policy. Many of these were academic economists, convened in bodies such as the Colonial Economic Advisory Committee. Fabians in particular were well represented. Ultimately the relationship between the Colonial Office and these advisory bodies deteriorated due to differences in economic philosophy.

Policymakers in the US government regard Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs Edwin 'Ted' Truman as one of the best people to deal with global financial crises. He is regarded as having unrivaled experience of international financial problems, and is now addressing issues including the regulation of highly leveraged hedge funds and Russia's debt burden. He is seen as a pragmatist, being willing to change his views to ensure that problems are solved.

It seems appropriate on this occasion to honor both Gary Becker and James Coleman by conveying a little of the flavor of the interdisciplinary workshop they jointly ran at the [...]

The discussion of the influence of the works of Joseph Schumpeter and John Maynard Keynes, on the research work of Hans Wolfgang Singer, is presented. The analysis of the research work undertaken by Hans Singer, during the different stages of his career, is presented.