OVERVIEW

The course of History of Economic Thought provides, in the first part, the basic knowledge of the evolution of economic thinking from the end of the seventeenth century to the second post-war period. The second part of the course exposes the various approaches to political economy present in the contemporary debate, with particular reference to the theories that move from the thought of Keynes and Sraffa.

AIMS AND CONTENT

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The fundamental objective of the course of HET is to get the learners aware that Political Economy is a discipline that has had, and has, a complex and non-cumulative historical evolution. In order to stimulate in the learners the awareness that political economy is a discipline that has had, and continues to have, a historical evolution, the course proposes, next to the reference book, the reading of works of several authors, possibly in original language. The learner thus becomes aware that the study of the texts of the authors is necessary for his formation, as a person who knows the basics in political economy. And he also realizes that there are different approaches in the contemporary political economy, whose main analogies and differences he must know.

Knowledge and understanding Students must acquire adequate knowledge and an effective understanding of the main economic history of economic thinking from the end of the 18th century ................................. ..

Ability to Apply Knowledge and Understanding Students must be able to apply the acquired knowledge and understand that there is also today a methodological pluralism and think-tanks in Political Economy, which goes beyond the contents displayed in the most widely used micro and macroeconomics textbooks.

Judgment Autonomy Students must be able to use the acquired knowledge with autonomous assessment skills. In fact, the nature of the course does not go hand in hand with a problem-solving attitude, rather than problematization of the acquired knowledge and (I hope) the development of critical spirit and even creativity.

Communication Skills The discipline has no specific technical language: its technical language elements are common to all economic disciplines. The communication skills I intend to develop must get learners able to expose the different viewpoints of the various authors, whether or not they share them. Of course, this depends crucially on the number of students in the classroom.

Learning Skills For such a discipline, learning capability is first and foremost the ability to understand theories born in different historical contexts and to compare them. Of course, as in all cases, the development of learning ability is very delicate and complex: students are not pots that can be filled at will and the times of individual re-elaboration are often very different.

TEACHING METHODS

Traditional method. Depending on the number of students and their involvment, there will be readings of relevant pages of the main Authors and discussion about them. 

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Part I: Introduction to the course: the vision of the merchant society in the 17th and 18th centuries

Part II: Economic Thinking before Smith.

Part III: Formation of Classical Political Economy: Smith and Ricardo

Part IV: The Political Economy After Ricardo

Part V: The Second Half of the 19th Century: Marx, St. Mill, the birth of marginalism

Part VI: Marginalism, Austrian school and surroundings

Part VII: From the end of the 19th century to the mid-twentieth century: Marshall, Schumpeter, Keynes, Sraffa.

Part VIII: The Second World War: The birth and development of theoretical struggles. The current debate.

The birth of modern political economy. Petty. Fundamental aspects of the political economy of the xvii century before Smith: Mandeville, Hume, Cantillon, Physiocrats, Turgot. Adam Smith. David Ricardo. Ricardo's contemporaries and successors, from Torrens to Senior. Malthus. Say. Bentham. Marx. John Stuart Mill. The birth of marginalism: Jevons, Menger, Walras. The Austrian School and the Swedish School. Pareto. Marshall. Keynes and the Cambridge School. Schumpeter. Sraffa.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The textbook is:

Ernesto SCREPANTI, Stefano ZAMAGNI, Profilo di storia del pensiero economico, 2 volumi, Roma, Carocci, 2004.

The texts of the different Authors will be indicated during the course and on the aulaweb.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

RICCARDO SOLIANI (President)

ROBERTO MANTELLI

GIOVANNI BATTISTA PITTALUGA

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Lessons start in the week from February, 19th. This is a 48-hours course, with 6 hours per week.

Class schedule

HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Written exam, with open questions, and, in case, a few multiple choice questions.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The final exam is fundamental; most of assesment depends on it. If the number of students, and their involvement, allow it, discussions will be organized about the works of Authors exposed by groups of students. In such a case, the exposure and active participation in the discussion will be considered for the final outcome, in accordance with the terms communicated to the students in advance.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

The English version of the textbook is available in the Library of Social Sciences.
All students must consult aulaweb.
Non-attending students are encouraged to contact the teacher by e-mail.