CAMSHET: CAMBRIDGE SEMINAR IN THE HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT AT CLARE HALL

Description

The purpose of establishing a Cambridge Seminar in the History of Economic Thought is shared by

an international group of Life Members of Clare Hall, including Francesco Boldizzoni, Harald

Hagemann, Geoffrey Harcourt, Prue Kerr, Roberto Scazzieri and Albert Steenge. What will

characterize the Seminar’s approach to the history of economic theory is the conception of political

economy as a social discipline, that is, as a discipline principally devoted to the study of the nature,

production and distribution of income and the process of accumulation of wealth within society.

Some areas of the Seminar’s interests are:

• The Cambridge tradition of political economy after Marshall and Keynes including the

relationship between production, distribution and social well-being in the medium- and

long-term, the links between economic dynamics, employment and structural change, and

the policy implications of that tradition for the early 21st century.

• Documenting and interpreting the histories of economic theory; the Seminar will foster

research interests from Antiquity to the present; its international dimension will enable it to

explore and foster the roles played by a range of different intellectual traditions in the

development of political economy.

• Issues in methodology and economic philosophy including the study of the formation of

theories in terms of frames of analysis, patterns of reasoning and empirical content. From

Aristotle to Rawls economic thought has been deeply concerned with ethical issues,

including justice and happiness. The stand taken on such themes (if not explicitly) underlies

the economist’s models and theoretical schemes. To be aware of this is the very premise for

an understanding of economic discourse.

The Seminar will organize a History of Economic Thought seminar, with talks to be given

on a regular basis. It will act as a reference point for economists, economic historians and

economic philosophers visiting the University of Cambridge. Speakers will include leading

scholars of the discipline as well as younger academics from all over the world. Scholars at

all levels, including students, are welcome to attend the seminars.