Course Information
SemesterCourse Unit CodeCourse Unit TitleT+P+LCreditNumber of ECTS CreditsLast Updated Date
7HIST 401History of Economic Thought3+0+03506.11.2023
Course Details
Language of Instruction English
Level of Course Unit Bachelor's Degree
Department / Program BA Program in Economics
Type of Program Formal Education
Type of Course Unit Compulsory
Course Delivery Method Face To Face
Objectives of the Course 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 Aquinas 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 criticize 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.
Course Methods and Techniques Lectures, discussion, question and answer.
Prerequisites and co-requisities None
Course Coordinator None
Name of Lecturers Prof.Dr. Mehmet Kutluğhan Savaş Ökte savas.okte@ihu.edu.tr
Assistants None
Work Placement(s) No

Recommended or Required Reading
Resources Ingrid Hahne Rima, Development of Economic Analysis, Irwin, 1967.
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.
Course Notes Stanley L. Brue and Randy R. Grant (2012), The Evolution of Economic Thought, 8th ed., Dryden Press.
Documents TBA
Assignments TBA
Exams TBA

Course Category
Mathematics and Basic Sciences %10
Social Sciences %90

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
Activities are given in detail in the section of "Assessment Methods and Criteria" and "Workload Calculation"

Assessment Methods and Criteria
In-Term Studies Quantity Percentage
Mid-terms 1 % 30
Assignment 1 % 30
Final examination 1 % 40
Total
3
% 100

 
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration Total Work Load
Course Duration 14 3 42
Hours for off-the-c.r.stud 14 4 56
Assignments 1 12 12
Mid-terms 1 15 15
Final examination 1 25 25
Total Work Load   Number of ECTS Credits 5 150

 
Course Learning Outcomes: Upon the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
NoLearning Outcomes
1 • Comprehend the development of the theory of economics in historical perspective.
2 • Comprehend the development of the theory of economics in historical perspective.
3 • Formulate and develop a critical and comprehensive understanding of global and national economic problems, and construct and design practical solutions.
4 • Extract information and concepts from various disciplines in social sciences and integrate them under the rubric of economics.
5 • Develop the necessary technical skills to evaluate alternative approaches in economics.
6 • Develop an analytical understanding of economic problems, and the ability to evaluate the inherent logic, assumptions and conclusions of alternative approaches.

 
Weekly Detailed Course Contents
WeekTopicsStudy MaterialsMaterials
1 Introduction to History of Economic Thought To read the basic Economic History General
2 Pre-Classical Economic Analysis I: From Aristoteles to Thomas Aquinas and the Scholastics To read the relevant chapter before coming to the Class Screpanti and Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought, Ch. 1.1.
3 Pre-Classical Economic Analysis II: Mercantilists To read the relevant chapter before coming to the Class 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.
4 Pre-Classical Economic Analysis III: Physiocrats To read the relevant chapter before coming to the Class 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.
5 Classical Economists I: Adam Smith To read the relevant chapter before coming to the Class 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.
6 Classical Economists II: David Ricardo To read the relevant chapter before coming to the Class 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.
7 Classical Economists III: Karl Marx To read the relevant chapter before coming to the Class Ernesto Screpanti and Stefano Zamagni, An Outline of the History of Economic Thought, Ch. 4. Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Competing Schools of Economic Thought, Ch. 5.
8 Structure of the Classical Analysis, Emergence of the Neoclassical School and the Structure of the Neoclassical Analysis To read the relevant chapter before coming to the Class 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.
9 Neoclassical School I: Léon Walras (Lausanne School) To read the relevant chapter before coming to the Class 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) To read the relevant chapter before coming to the Class 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 To read the relevant chapter before coming to the Class 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 To read the relevant chapter before coming to the Class 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 To read the relevant chapter before coming to the Class 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 To read the relevant chapter before coming to the Class 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

 
Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 P12
All 5 5 4 4 5 4 3 3 5 5 5 4
C1 5 5 4 4 5 4 4 3 5 4 5 4
C2 4 4 4 4 5 5 3 4 4 4 5 4
C3 5 5 4 5 5 4 4 3 5 5 5 5
C4 4 4 4 5 4 5 3 4 4 5 5 4
C5 5 4 4 5 5 4 3 3 4 5 4 5
C6 5 5 4 5 5 5 3 3 4 5 5 4

  Contribution: 1: Very Slight 2:Slight 3:Moderate 4:Significant 5:Very Significant