AØKA08030U History of Economic Thought

Volume 2015/2016
Education

Recommended elective from the 3.year of BSc in Economics
Elective at MSc in Economics

Content

The course gives students an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the development of economic theory from Adam Smith to the 1970s. Obviously, only the major writers and the most controversial issues will be taken into account. Notice! This course is not an introduction to economics but reflects upon the development of economic ideas. All participants must have a solid background in economic theory.

The basic philosophy of this courses stems from the selected textbook – that economics is an emerging science, where evolution happens continuously. We see how the major concepts have been suggested, constructed, and further developed.

The textbook will be the frame of the course. It will be read by participating students and discussed at the lectures. The participating students will be writing papers; we will also have a discussion of the recent Thomas Piketty challenge related to capital and labor – a central theme in the history of economic thought.

The papers will be based on independent research of relevant literature (the expositions can be focusing on writers – i.e. Wicksell – or themes – i.e. the evolution of the idea of external effects). Projects can the written and presented individually or in small groups of participating students, normal seminar rules apply.

Learning Outcome

To provide an overview of economic thinking, to demonstrate  how economics has evolved over time, to give students knowledge about historical and theoretical preconditions for contemporary economic theory, and through this help students to a deeper understanding of the power of economics to clarify and solve many kinds of issues and problems.

Qualifications achieved: Participating students should become capable of recognizing and stating the position of basic key economic concepts and reasoning within the history of economics. Students should also become capable of demonstrating knowledge of the major theorists and their main texts in the history of economic thought. It is expected that students achieve the capacity to (1) work with issues in the history of economic thought based on knowledge of basic economic theory, (2) read and digest selected works in the history of economic thought and (3) put historically given economic ideas and theories into a contemporary theoretical context.

Highest marks are obtained for examination papers that demonstrate independent and analytic comprehension, without essential errors, of selected problems in economic theory including a discussion of the theories' positions in the academic food chain. In addition, papers with the highest marks must demonstrate a capacity to draft and present key problems in the history of economic thought in a clear manner.

Curriculum:

Agnar Sandmo: Economics Evolving: A History of Economic Thought, Princeton University Press, 2010

Thomas Piketty & Gabriel Zucman: Capital is back: Wealth-income Ratios in Rich Countries. 2014. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 2014 (pp. 1255 – 1310); also available as a discussion paper on Piketty’s homepage in the Paris School of Economics.

General knowledge about economic theory equivalent to Microeconomics B and Macroeconomics B in the Bachelor’s programme is required. This is necessary in order to be able to participate in and understand the course's discussion of economic thinkers' ideas and texts.
Lectures, discussions, supervision and paper writing.

Schedule:

The course consists of 2x2 hours of classes (lectures) every week for 10-11 weeks.

For enrolled students please find more information of courses, schedule, rules etc at
https:/​/​intranet.ku.dk/​economics_ma/​courses/​Pages/​default.aspx

Timetable and classroom:
For time and classroom please press the link under "Se skema" (See schedule) at the right side of this page (15E means 2015 Efterår (Autumn))
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Exam
  • 25
  • Lectures
  • 42
  • Preparation
  • 139
  • Total
  • 206
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment, 7 days
A 7 days take-home exam.
Exam registration requirements

It is a condition for standing for the exam that the project has been approved and accepted. The conditions and the date for this will be informed during the course.

 

Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
20% censorship
Exam period

The take-home eksame takes place the 30 November 2015 at 10.00 to 7 December 2015 at 10.00

For enrolled students more information about examination, exam/re-sit, rules etc. is available at the student intranet for Examination (English),student intranet for Examination (KA-Danish) and student intranet for Examination (BA-Danish).

Re-exam

Same as the ordinary exam.

 

Criteria for exam assesment

The student must in a satisfactory way demonstrate that he/she has mastered the learning outcome of the course.