Paul Samuelson on the History of Economic Analysis: Selected Essays

478 Pages·2014·2.03 MB·English

by  Professor Steven G. Medema

PAULSAMUELSONONTHEHISTORYOFECONOMICANALYSIS
SelectedEssays
Asoneofthemostfamouseconomistsofthetwentiethcentury,PaulAnthony
Samuelson revolutionized many branches of economic theory. As a diligent
student of his predecessors, he reconstructed their economic analyses in the
mathematical idiom he pioneered. Out of Samuelson’s more than eighty
articles,essays,andmemoirs,theeditorsofthiscollectionhaveselectedseven-
teen. Twelve are mathematical reconstructions of some of the most famous
work in the history of economic thought: work by David Hume, Francois
Quesnay,AdamSmith,KarlMarx,andothers.Oneisamethodologicalessay
defendingtheWhighistorythatSamuelsonwassometimesaccusedofprom-
ulgating; two deal with the achievements of Joseph Schumpeter and Denis
Robertson; and two review theoretical developments of his own time:
Keynesian economics and monopolistic competition. The collection provides
readerswithasenseofthedepthandbreadthofSamuelson’scontributionsto
thestudyofthehistoryofeconomics.
StevenG.MedemaisDistinguishedProfessorofEconomicsattheUniversityof
ColoradoDenver.HisarticleshaveappearedinjournalsincludingtheJournal
oftheHistoryofEconomicThought,HistoryofPoliticalEconomy,theJournalof
Economic Perspectives, and Economica. His latest book, The Hesitant Hand:
TamingSelf-InterestintheHistoryofEconomicIdeas(2009),wasawardedthe
2010 ESHET Book Prize. Dr. Medema served as president of the History of
EconomicsSocietyfor2009–2010term.
Anthony M.C. Waterman is a Fellow of St. John’s College, Winnipeg, and
ProfessorEmeritusofEconomicsintheUniversityofManitoba.Heistheauthor
of nine previous books, including Revolution, Economics and Religion
(Cambridge University Press), for which he was awarded the Forkosch Prize
for IntellectualHistory in 1992, and Political Economyand Christian Theology
sincetheEnlightenment.HewaselectedDistinguishedFellowoftheHistoryof
EconomicsSocietyin2007andHonoraryMemberoftheEuropeanSocietyfor
theHistoryofEconomicThoughtin2014.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON MODERN ECONOMICS
GeneralEditor
CraufurdD.Goodwin,DukeUniversity
This series contains original works that challenge and enlighten historians of
economics.Fortheprofessionasawhole,itpromotesbetterunderstandingof
theoriginandcontentofmoderneconomics
Otherbooksintheseries:
FlorisHeukelom,BehavioralEconomics(2014)
RogerE.Backhouse,MauroBoianovsky,TransformingModern
Macroeconomics(2013)
SusanHowson,LionelRobbins(2012)
RobertVanHorn,PhilipMirowski,ThomasA.Stapleford(eds.)Building
ChicagoEconomics(2012)
ArieArnon,MonetaryTheoryandPolicyfromHumeandSmithtoWicksell
(2011)
MalcolmRutherford,TheInstitutionalistMovementinAmericanEconomics,
1918–1947:ScienceandSocialControl(2011)
SamuelHollander,TheEconomicsofKarlMarx(2008)
DonaldMoggridge,HarryJohnson:ALifeinEconomics(2008)
FilippoCesarano,MonetaryTheoryandBrettonWoods:TheConstructionofan
InternationalMonetaryOrder(2006)
TimothyDavis,Ricardo’sMacroeconomics:Money,TradeCycles,andGrowth
(2005)
JerryEvensky,AdamSmith’sMoralPhilosophy:AHistoricalandContemporary
PerspectiveonMarkets,Law,Ethics,andCulture(2005)
HarroMaas,WilliamStanleyJevonsandtheMakingofModernEconomics
(2005)
DavidLaidler,FabricatingtheKeynesianRevolution:StudiesoftheInter-War
LiteratureonMoney,theCycle,andUnemployment(1999)
Esther-MirjamSent,TheEvolvingRationalityofRationalExpectations:An
AssessmentofThomasSargent’sAchievements(1998)
HeathPearson,OriginsofLawandEconomics:TheEconomists’NewScienceof
Law,1830–1930(1997)
OddLangholm,TheLegacyofScholasticisminEconomicThought:Antecedents
ofChoiceandPower(1998)
YuichiShionoya,SchumpeterandtheIdeaofSocialScience(1997)
J.DanielHammond,TheoryandMeasurement:CausalityIssuesinMilton
Friedman’sMonetaryEconomics(1996)
WilliamJ.Barber,DesignswithinDisorder:FranklinD.Roosevelt,the
Economists,andtheShapingofAmericanEconomicPolicy,1933–1945(1996)
JuanGabrielValdes,Pinochet’sEconomists:TheChicagoSchoolofEconomicsin
Chile(1995)
PhilipMirowski(ed.),NaturalImagesinEconomicThought:“MarketsReadin
ToothandClaw”(1994)
MalcolmRutherford,InstitutionsinEconomics:TheOldandtheNew
Institutionalism(1994)
KarenI.Vaughn,AustrianEconomicsinAmerica:TheMigrationofaTradition
(1994)
LarsJonung(ed.),TheStockholmSchoolofEconomicsRevisited(1991)
E.RoyWeintraub,StabilizingDynamics:ConstructingEconomicKnowledge
(1991)
M.JuneFlanders,InternationalMonetaryEconomics,1870–1960:Betweenthe
ClassicalandtheNewClassical(1990)
PhilipMirowski,MoreHeatThanLight:EconomicsasSocialPhysics,Physicsas
Nature’sEconomics(1990)
MaryS.Morgan,TheHistoryofEconometricIdeas(1990)
GeraldM.Koot,EnglishHistoricalEconomics,1870–1926:TheRiseofEconomic
HistoryandMercantilism(1988)
KimKyun,EquilibriumBusinessCycleTheoryinHistoricalPerspective(1988)
WilliamJ.Barber,FromNewEratoNewDeal:HerbertHoover,theEconomists,
andAmericanEconomicPolicy,1921–1933(1985)
TakashiNegishi,EconomicTheoriesinaNon-WalrasianTradition(1985)
Paul Samuelson on the History of Economic
Analysis
Selected Essays
Edited by
STEVEN G. MEDEMA
UniversityofColoradoDenver
ANTHONY M. C. WATERMAN
UniversityofManitoba,Winnipeg
32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,NY10013-2473,USA
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
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©CambridgeUniversityPress2015
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noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2015
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Samuelson,PaulA.(PaulAnthony),1915–2009.
[Essays.Selections]
PaulSamuelsononthehistoryofeconomicanalysis:selectedessays/StevenG.Medema,
AnthonyM.C.Waterman.
pages cm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-107-02993-4(alk.paper:hbk)
1. Economics–History. 2. Mathematicaleconomics–History. I. Medema,StevenG.
II. Waterman,AnthonyMichaelC. III. Title.
HB75.S2924 2015
330.09–dc23
2014035049
ISBN978-1-107-02993-4Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
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Contents
Acknowledgments pageix
Introduction 1
I. Historiography 23
“OutoftheCloset:AProgramfortheWhigHistoryofEconomic
Science.”HistoryofEconomicsSocietyBulletin9No.1(1987):
51–60. 25
II. BeforeAdamSmith 37
“ACorrectedVersionofHume’sEquilibratingMechanismsfor
InternationalTrade.”InJohnS.ChipmanandCharles
P.Kindleburger,eds.,FlexibleExchangeRatesandtheBalance
ofPayments:EssaysinMemoryofEgonSohmen.Amsterdam:
North-Holland,1980,pp.141–158. 39
“Quesnay’s‘TableauEconomique’asaTheoristwouldFormulate
itToday.”InIanBradleyandMichaelHoward,eds.,Classical
andMarxianPoliticalEconomy:EssaysinHonorofRonald
L.Meek.NewYork:St.Martin’sPress,1982,pp.45–78. 59
III. WealthofNationsandthe“CanonicalClassicalModel” 87
“TheCanonicalClassicalModelofPoliticalEconomy.”Journal
ofEconomicLiterature16(December1978):1415–1434. 89
“AModernTheorist’sVindicationofAdamSmith.”American
EconomicReview67(February1977):42–49. 117
IV. DavidRicardo 131
“AModernTreatmentoftheRicardianEconomy:I.ThePricing
ofGoodsandofLaborandLandServices.”QuarterlyJournal
ofEconomics73(February1959):1–35. 133
vii
viii Contents
“AModernTreatmentoftheRicardianEconomy:II.Capital
andInterestAspectsofthePricingProcess.”Quarterly
JournalofEconomics73(May1959):217–231. 168
“MathematicalVindicationofRicardoonMachinery.”Journal
ofPoliticalEconomy96(April1988):274–282. 183
V. JohannHeinrichvonThünen 193
“ThünenatTwoHundred.”JournalofEconomicLiterature21
(December1983):1468–1488. 195
VI. KarlMarx 227
“WagesandInterest:AModernDissectionofMarxian
EconomicModels.”AmericanEconomicReview47
(December1957):884–912. 229
“MarxasMathematicalEconomist:Steady-StateandExponential
GrowthEquilibrium.”InGeorgeHorwichandPaul
A.Samuelson,eds.,Trade,StabilityandMacroeconomics:Essays
inHonorofLloydA.Metzler.NewYork:AcademicPress,1974,
pp.269–307. 260
VII. Post-“Classical”PoliticalEconomy 303
“WhatClassicalandNeoclassicalMonetaryTheoryReallyWas.”
CanadianJournalofEconomics1(February1968):1–15. 305
“AModernPost-MortemonBöhm’sCapitalTheory:ItsVital
NormativeFlawSharedbyPre-SraffianMainstreamCapital
Theory.”JournaloftheHistoryofEconomicThought23
(September2001):301–317. 324
VIII. RetrospectivesonEarlyModernEconomists 345
“SchumpeterasanEconomicTheorist.”InHelmutFrisch,ed.,
SchumpeterianEconomics.London:Praeger,1982,pp.1–27. 347
“D.H.Robertson(1890–1963).”77(November1963):517–536. 375
IX. RevolutionsinTwentieth-CenturyEconomics 395
“LordKeynesandtheGeneralTheory.”Econometrica14(July
1946):187–200. 397
“TheMonopolisticCompetitionRevolution.”InR.E.Kuenne,
ed.,MonopolisticCompetitionTheory:StudiesinImpact.
EssaysinHonorofEdwardH.Chamberlin.NewYork:John
Wiley,1967,pp.105–138. 412
Samuelson’sPublicationsintheHistoryofEconomicThought 447
Index 457