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FIFTH ANNUAL EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON
THE HISTORY OF ECONOMICS (ECHE 99)
Ecole normale superieure de Cachan
Paris, France
22-24 April 1999
CALL FOR PAPERS
(Available at http://www.univ-paris1.fr/CHPE/CFP1.html or through the list
of conferences and symposia at http://www.univ-paris1.fr/CHPE/ )/
THE "EXPERIMENT" IN THE HISTORY OF ECONOMICS
How important have experiments been in the history of economics? Most
obviously, perhaps, recent decades have seen the rise of an "experimental
economics," featuring controlled experiments in laboratory conditions: the
laboratory has become a legitimate site for the production of economic
knowledge. However, the concept of the experiment has been used in
economic discourse in a host of other, perhaps less obvious, ways. For
example, what role have "social experiments" played in the history of
economics? Can the work of reformers such as Robert Owen be regarded as
"experimental" and, if so how has experimentation here had a meaning
different from, say, that of the laboratory? Might Bentham's Panopticon be
regarded as an experiment of relevance to economics? Or what do we mean
when we refer to a "thought experiment"? Was Hume's discussion of the
price-specie flow mechanism, for instance, an example of such? Have there
been others? Where does the boundary lie between theory and thought
experiment? Yet again, some contemporary macroeconomists describe their
work in simulation and calibration as a form of experimentation, a sense
that is quite different from any of the those mentioned above. Might one
speak of the emergence in economics of an experimental form of life
underpinned by computing technology? More generally, how have the various
meanings of experimentation in economics been tied to meanings in other
disciplines?
Far from constituting a complete list, the above are offered
as mere stimulants, designed to provoke reflections on the theme of the
"experiment," in all its multifarious forms, in the history of economics.
Once again, the aim of the ECHE will be to feature a relatively small
number of papers, written with an eye to originality, richness, and
detail.
To participate, please submit a proposal containing roughly 1000
words and indicating clearly:
(1) the original contribution of the paper;
(2) in what sense the paper contributes to the theme of the
conference.
Proposals from doctoral students are welcome. The deadline for the
submission of paper proposals is 15 August 1998. Notice of acceptance or
rejection will be sent on 15 September 1998. Completed papers will be due
on 15 February 1999.
The organizing committee consists of:
Jose Luis Cardoso (Technical University of Lisbon)
Guido Erreygers (University of Antwerp)
Philippe Fontaine (Ecole normale superieure de Cachan)
Albert Jolink (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Robert Leonard (University of Quebec at Montreal)
Michalis Psalidopoulos (Panteion University, Athens)
All proposals and requests for information should be sent to:
Philippe Fontaine
GRID, Ecole normale superieure
61, avenue du President Wilson
94235 Cachan Cedex
France
Tel. : (+33) 1 47 40 24 50
Fax : (+33) 1 47 40 23 48
E-mail : [log in to unmask]
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