I should have thought there is a good argument that the first person to 
use Robinson Crusoe as a pedagogical device was Daniel Defoe. (cf 
Dijkstra 'Defoe and Economics' 1987)

James Forder
Fellow and Tutor in Economics
Tutor for Graduate Admissions
Balliol College Oxford

On 27/09/2012 21:59, Robert Murphy wrote:
> Dear List,
>
> I am interested in tracking down the history of when economists began
> using Robinson Crusoe as a pedagogical device in their writings. I
> know that Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk uses him to make points about capital
> theory, but I imagine it goes back earlier than Bohm-Bawerk. Are there
> any articles detailing this? Failing that, do the people here have
> ideas for older examples of economists using Robinson Crusoe by name?
>
> Thanks,
> Bob Murphy
>