ECC3800 - History of economic thought

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Overview

This unit covers the thought of the greatest minds in the history of the discipline of economics. Its main organising principle is the question: "what is the economic problem?" This unit organises the history of thought around two widely different answers. First, the classical economists starting with Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, and culminating with Marx, argue that the economic problem is about the production of surplus. Second, the neoclassical economists starting in 1872 with the writings of Jevons, Walras, and Menger, argue that the economic problem is about the efficient allocation of resources among competing ends. In addition, this unit covers issues related to the philosophy of science, moral theory, the limits of natural resources, social contract theory of the state, modernism, utilitarianism, evolutionary biology, and a secondary question that has been raised by Say's law and questioned by Keynes: is the market system stable?

Offerings

S2-01-CLAYTON-ON-CAMPUS

Contacts

Chief Examiner(s)

Associate Professor Lionel Frost

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you should be able to:

discuss critically how different economists in the past understood and analysed the economic problem

compare the work on founders of economics such as Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus, Stanley Jevons, Karl Marx, Alfred Marshall, and others

discuss critically diverse theories of value, growth, rent, and decline of economic society

be familiar with primary sources relating to the major writings that shaped the evolution of economic analysis.

Teaching approach

Active learning

Peer assisted learning

Assessment

1 - Within semester assessment

2 - Examination

Scheduled and non-scheduled teaching activities

Lectures

Tutorials

Workload requirements

Workload

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Independent study may include associated readings, assessment and preparation for scheduled activities. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Learning resources

Required resources