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Program Type: 
Non Thesis
Course Code: 
ECON 567
Course Type: 
Elective
P: 
3
Lab: 
0
Credits: 
3
ECTS: 
10
Course Language: 
English
Course Coordinator: 
Courses given by: 
Course Objectives: 

This course examines how economists that left their imprints in the development of economic thought have reasoned and analyzed. It aims to show that the development of economic ideas was not a smooth path culminating in modern economic analysis. This development was through jumps, reversals and confusions of language and substance, which were sometimes resolved and sometimes not, despite intensive debates. The aim of this course is to make the students come to terms with this evolution.

Course Content: 

The course begins with a discussion of the origins of economic analysis going back to Aristoteles and Thomas Acquinas and moves onto pre-classical economics, i.e., to Mercantilists and Physiocrats. Through Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Karl Marx, classical economics is analyzed in detail. After focusing on Léon Walras and Alfred Marshall as representatives of the neoclassical analysis, we turn to criticise it, first by discussing Keynes and then the controversy on the theory of capital. The last two classes are reserved for modern developments. We shall first discuss Piero Sraffa and the Resurgence of the Classical Analysis that he initiated and then the Evolutionary and Institutionalist approaches.

Teaching Methods: 
1: Lecture, 2: Question-Answer, 3: Discussion
Assessment Methods: 
A: Testing, B: Experiment, C: Homework, Q: Quiz

Vertical Tabs

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Understanding that scientific knowledge develops not smoothly, but by reversals and ruptures.
2. Coming to terms with the idea that the development of economic ideas is not a smooth evolution from the classical to the neoclassical analysis.
3. Understanding that the structure of the classical analysis is different from that of the neoclassical analysis.
4. Understanding that the structure of the Keynesian analysis is different from that of the Neoclassical analysis, despite the various efforts to unify them in the forms of neoclassical synthesis and/or determining the      micro foundations to Keynes' macroeconomic analysis.
5. Understanding the connection between the social and political developments on the one hand and the development of economic theories on the other.

 

Course Flow

Week Topics Study Materials
1 Pre-Classical Economic Analysis I: From Aristoteles to Thomas Aquinas and the Scholastics Screpanti and Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought, Ch. 1.1.
2 Pre-Classical Economic Analysis II: Mercantilists Ernesto Screpanti and Stefano Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought, Chs. 1.2 and 1.3. Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Competing Schools of Economic Thought, Ch. 2.2.
3 Pre-Classical Economic Analysis III: Physiocrats Ernesto Screpanti and Stefano Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought, Ch. 2.1. Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Competing Schools of Economic Thought, Ch. 2.3.
4 Classical Economists I: Adam Smith Ernesto Screpanti and Stefano Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought, Chs. 2.2 and 2.3. Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Competing Schools of Economic Thought, Ch. 3.
5 Classical Economists II: David Ricardo Ernesto Screpanti and Stefano Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought, Chs. 3.1 and 3.2. Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Competing Schools of Economic Thought, Ch. 4.
6 Classical Economists III: Karl Marx Ernesto Screpanti and Stefano Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought, Ch. 4. Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Competing Schools of Economic Thought, Ch. 5.
7 Structure of the Classical Analysis, Emergence of the Neoclassical School and the Structure of the Neoclassical Analysis Ernesto Screpanti and Stefano Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought, Ch. 5.1. Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Competing Schools of Economic Thought, Chs. 6 and 7.1-3.
8 MID-TERM  
9 Neoclassical School I: Léon Walras (Lausanne School) Ernesto Screpanti and Stefano Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought, Ch. 5.3. Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Competing Schools of Economic Thought, Ch. 7.4-5
10 Neoclassical School II: Alfred Marshall (Cambridge School) Ernesto Screpanti and Stefano Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought, Ch. 6.1-2.
11 Critique of the Neoclassical Analysis I: Unemployment Equilibrium and John Maynard Keynes Ernesto Screpanti and Stefano Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought, Ch. 7.2-3. Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Competing Schools of Economic Thought, Chs. 10 and 11.
12 Critique of the Neoclassical Analysis II: Capital Controversy Ernesto Screpanti and Stefano Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought, Ch. 11.2.1-2. Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Competing Schools of Economic Thought, Ch. 8.
13 Modern Alternatives I: Piero Sraffa and the Revival of the Classical Political Economy Ernesto Screpanti and Stefano Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought, Ch. 11.2.3. Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Competing Schools of Economic Thought, Ch. 8.
14 Modern Alternatives II: Evolutionary and Institutionalist Approaches  

Recommended Sources

Textbook Ernesto Screpanti and Stefano Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought, Oxford University Press, 1993 Lefteris Tsoulfidis Competing Schools of Economic Thought,
Berlin and New York: Springer Verlag, 2005.
Additional Resources Ingrid Hahne Rima, Development of Economic Analysis, Irwin, 1967.

Material Sharing

Documents Textbooks, books, journal articles and lecture notes.
Assignments  
Exams A Mid-Term and a Final

Assessment

IN-TERM STUDIES NUMBER PERCENTAGE
Mid-terms 1 50
Quizzes (attendance, presentation, etc.) 0  
Assignments 1 50
  Total 100
Contribution of the Final Examination to Overall Grade 1 50
Contribution of the in-Term Studies to Overall Grade 1 50
  Total 100

Course’s Contribution to Program

No Program Learning Outcomes Contribution
    1 2 3 4 5
1 Formulate and develop a critical and comprehensive understanding of global and national economic problems, and construct and design practical solutions;         x
2 Extract information and concepts from various disciplines in social sciences and integrate them under the rubric of economics;         x
3 Construct testable hypotheses to find original, practical solutions to various social ills and problems;     x    
4 Develop an analytical understanding of economic problems, and the ability to evaluate the inherent logic, assumptions and conclusions of alternative approaches;         x
5 Develop the necessary technical skills to evaluate alternative approaches in economics;         x
6 Formulate research projects, plan and conduct research in social sciences in general and in economics in particular;     x    
7 Present the results of their research in national and international conferences and in scientific and professional venues;     x    
8 Apply the scientific / academic modes of thought and analysis to their professional lives and form a bridge between the analytical and abstract modes of thinking of academia and the practical and dynamic skills of business life.   x      

ECTS

Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Course Duration (Including the Exam Week: 15 x total course hours) 15 3 45
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice) 15 10 150
Mid-terms 1 10 10
Quizzes (attendance, presentation, etc.) 3 3 9
Assignments 2 7 14
Final Examination 1 10 10
Total Work Load     238
Total Work Load / 25 (s)     9.52
ECTS Credit of the Course     10