Department of Economics & International Development, Unit Catalogue 2007/08 |
EC20012 Economic thought & policy |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Intermediate |
| Semester: 2 |
| Assessment: EX100 |
| Requisites: |
| Before taking this unit you must take EC10006 and take EC10007 |
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Aims:
* To familiarise students with a range of primary source texts written by major economists from the late eighteenth to the mid twentieth century. * To stimulate an interest and knowledge base in the historical development of economics in Britain. * To convey the relevance of the economics of earlier writers to an understanding of present day economic thought and debate. Learning Outcomes: Students will have developed an understanding of the economic models and contributions to policy of a number of major economists from Adam Smith to John Maynard Keynes and the context within which these models were relevant. Students will have acquired "first hand" knowledge through reading primary sources. Skills: Reading and assimilating primary source texts; exposure to critical debate in the development of economic argument. Content: The historical development of economic thought and policy from the beginning of the industrial revolution in the eighteenth century - themes and debates from Smith to Keynes. The main economists considered are Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, Mill, Jevons, Marshall and Keynes. Key texts: * Primary sources (internet links); * Ekelund and Hebert A History of Economic Theory and Method; * R.Heilbroner The Worldly Philosophers; * Three Great Economists Smith, Malthus Keynes (Oxford, Past Masters p/b). |