How Pigou Solved a Fundamental Theoretical Problem

In this paper, the author critically analysed a unique passage of Pigou's 1933 “The Theory of Unemployment”. Here he is faced with a fundamental theoretical problem in the definition of the national dividend or national income, which has far-reaching consequences on the comprehension of the circulation of money. Pigou is one of the few economists who have noticed this problem and discussed it in the history of economics. The problem can be stated as follows: the part of the value of output that makes up for depreciation; is or is not up for division? Does or does not it become income (that is, wages and profits) in the aggregate? The passage analysed in this paper is exceptional in the history of economics. It is so, first, because it faces the problem. Secondly, but no less important, because Pigou, despite his hesitations, holds the nowadays minoritarian position that the value of the part of the output that makes up for depreciation does not become income for any economic factor. This view implies that this part of the output is not up for division and, therefore, is not a part of aggregate income.

Method and scope in Joseph A. Schumpeter's economics: a pluralist perspective

This study aims to evaluate the ideas on the scope and method of economics of Joseph Schumpeter who is one of the important economists of the 20th century. The study consists of four sections: In the first section we underline the interesting points of his life to understand the roots, background, or 'vision' of his thought system. In the second section, we will examine his methodological views that he asserted in his first (but translated into English only in 2010) book. Third section will be concerned with his 'analysis of economics' which refers to his critics of Leon Walras's general equilibrium analysis (as static) and his own alternative (dynamics analysis of capitalist economies) about the central subject matter of economics. In the fourth section we will treat his approach about the development/evolution process of economic thought in time. The study concludes with a brief assessment: Schumpeter is one of the rare economists who can build his own thought system in the history of economics, and he embraced a pluralist perspective in the field of the methodology of economics.

A WIN-WIN MODEL OF DEVELOPMENT: HOW INDIAN ECONOMICS REDEFINED UNIVERSAL DEVELOPMENT FROM AND AT THE MARGINS, 1870–1905

In this article, I argue that looking at lesser known intellectuals can help the history of economics to uncover new ways of seeing the world. My focus is the beginnings of “Indian economics” and its conceptualization of development. The Indian economists, despite their elite status in India, were from an imperial context where they were never considered economists. Studies throughout the twentieth century continued to treat them only as nationalists, rarely as contributors to economic knowledge. My research gives agency to these economists. I show how the position of Indian economics from the margins of discursive space offered a unique perspective that enabled it to innovate at the margins of development discourse. Indian economics redefined the concept of universality in the existing nineteenth-century idea of development by rejecting the widely accepted comparative advantage model and assertion that progress originated in Europe. Moreover, the economists pushed for universal industrialization, even for imperial territories, arguing that universal progress was beneficial to all.

Economics for nature protection and resource conservation from the Russian Empire to the USSR: Achievements, failures and conflicts

Considering the attention paid to nature protection throughout the history of economics, it would be worthwhile to evaluate the scientific thought in the Russian Empire, the USSR and Russia concerning an environmentally oriented economy. The review presents an analysis of research works on this topic — from Vernadsky’s concept of the biosphere and environmentally oriented management in the USSR to the modern scientists’ ideas. In the USSR, economics of nature conservation studied the strongest interconnections between society and the ecological environment for further depleting and preventing pollution. The study identifies the leading researchers and outlines the main concepts of how the economy can reflect environmental protection and support sustainability.

JHET Interviews: Karen Vaughn

Karen Vaughn received her BA in economics from Queens College of the City Universi-ty of New York in 1966 and her PhD from Duke University in 1971. From 1978 to 2004 she taught at George Mason University. She attended some of the earliest meet-ings of the History of Economics Society (HES) and was the editor of the HES Bulletin, which was the precursor of the Journal of the History of Economic Thought. Professor Vaughn has served as the President of the History of Economics Society and the South-ern Economic Association, and was the founding President of the Society for the Ad-vancement of Austrian Economics. She has books on John Locke and on the Austrian tradition in economics, and numerous articles on a variety of topics in professional jour-nals (the list of her publications is available as an online appendix to this interview).