Cracow Academy of Economics, 
Chair of  the History of Economic Thought 
Jagiellonian University in Cracow  
and College of Business Administration,  
St. John's University 
 
are pleased to announce an international conference 
 
ECONOMIC TRANSITION IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: 
WHAT CAN BE LEARNED FROM THE HISTORY OF ECONOMICS? 
 
A three day conference for scholars interested in economic transitions and 
transformations. The conference will be held in Cracow (Krakcw), Poland. 
The conference shall have  plenary sessions with invited speakers. 
 
Date: 17 to 20 September 1998. 
 
PREPARATORY TIMETABLE 
 
15 December 1997 : We invite proposals for organizing sessions and also 
welcome proposals for presenting individual papers. Those wishing to 
contribute to this conference are invited to send before December 15, 1997 
a session title and an abstract of no more than 150 words for the session 
and proposals ( no more than 150 words) to the organizers at the following 
addresses: 
 
30 January 1998: The participants will be informed of the decisions of the 
programme committee. 
 
Mail from America, Ireland, Great Britain, and Japan should be sent to: 
Charles M. A. Clark Department of Economics College of Business 
Administration St. John's University 8000 Utopia Parkway Jamaica, NY 11439 
USA Email: [log in to unmask] 
 
Mail from Continental Europe and Asia should be sent to 
Janina Rosicka 
Jagiellonian University 
Sobieskiego 20 
32-400 Myslenice, Poland 
Email  [log in to unmask] 
 
 
      Call for Papers 
 ECONOMIC TRANSITIONS IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: 
  What can be learned from the History of Economics? 
 
Economic transitions and transformations have always prompted a 
rethinking of accepted economic theories and dogmas, both by its 
alteration of the phenomena economists theorize about and in its 
influence on the "intellectual mileau." The developments in Eastern and 
Central Europe over the past decade are singular in their speed of change, 
but not in their scope.  Conspicuously absent from most of the contemporary 
analysis of the economies and societies in Eastern and Central Europe is an 
historical perspective. Although each historical event is a unique 
experience and creation, much could be learned from examining how previous 
economists explained and understood the dramatic changes in their economies 
and societies.  The great economists were not mere arm chair theorists, 
oblivious to the world around them.  The issue of economic of economic 
transition plays an important role in the writings of "worldly 
philosophers" : Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, 
Alfred Marshall, Thorstein Veblen, John Maynard Keynes, Joseph Schumpeter 
and Karl Polanyi, yet contemporary analysis of economic transition has the 
most part ignored this rich tradition.  
 
The purpose of this conference is to see if looking back can help us with 
understanding the present and looking forward, if the insights from the 
history of economic thought can yield benefits for understanding the issues 
in the transformations of the Eastern and Central European economies and 
societies. We focus on the following themes: 
 
1. Usefulness of Philosophical History for Understanding the Issue of 
Economic Transformation. Writers on the decomposition the global 
system, or the ideal system.   
 
2. Insights from the History of Economic Thought and the Great Economists 
on the  general topic of economic transformation and the specific topics 
including but not limited to: privatization; institutional adjustment; 
corruption; the role of ethics and values in economic transition; creation 
of social elites.  
 
 3. Insights from the writings of Eastern and Central European 
 Economists. Relationship between Western and Eastern/Central economic 
 traditions; should Eastern and Central European economists adopt the 
 theories and dogmas dominant in the West, or develop an independent 
 economic explanation.    
 
The PUBLICATION OF PROCEEDINGS: 
 
One of  the leading editors is interested in publication the Proceedings of 
the conference in book form. There is a possibility to publish the 
Proceedings in Polish in book form too. Further information about the 
organization of the conference can be obtained on demand from the above 
addressees. 
 
 
CONFERENCE COSTS 
 
Early registration (through April 30, 1998) $100. Late registration 
(after April 30, 1998) $140. The conference fee for participants from 
Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will be canceled; for 
others post communist countries $10. We will most likely be in the 
position to help towards covering the travel cost for participants from 
Central and Eastern Europe. You may apply for this assistance by sending 
your cost calculation. 
 
Hotels 
 
The range of hotel prices for the conference will be: 
High Quality: US $ 60 
Medium Quality: US$ 40 
Our special limited offer: US$ 25. 
 
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