Call for Papers

The 12th Annual Conference of the European Society for the History of 
Economic Thought (ESHET) will be held at the University of Economics, 
Prague (Czech Republic), 15th - 17th May, 2008.

The special theme of this year's conference is Development and Transition 
in the History of Economic Thought. (Proposals for papers or sessions on 
all other aspects of the history of economic thought are also welcome.)

An abstract of no more than 200 words for a paper, or no more than 500 
words for a session should be submitted before December 15 2007. To submit 
an abstract register at the conference website ( 
http://www.eshet.net/conference/2008 ) and follow the instructions.

Theme: the processes of transition which Central and Eastern European and 
other countries have been involved in for several years have generated a 
mixed record of success and failure. Why did some economies do better than 
others? What are the reasons for continuing stagnation in some countries 
and quick recovery and growth in others? What can we learn from the history 
of thinking about economic development, a subject whose beginnings go back 
to the beginnings of political economy? What can be learned from writers 
like Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Friedrich List and others?

Topics for discussion could include:

Stages theories of economic development
Contributions to the problem of development and transition by single 
scholars or entire schools of thought
Early debates on human and social capital, and education
Capital accumulation and structural change
The relationship between economic and other determinants of development and 
growth
Development and transition and the 'Social Question'
Considerations on development and transition reflecting the experience of 
different countries or regions

A selection of papers on this theme given at the Conference will be 
published in a conference volume.

Tony Brewer ([log in to unmask]) ESHET secretary