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[Posted on behalf of Roger Backhouse and Jeff Biddle. -- RBE]
THE HISTORY OF APPLIED ECONOMICS
HOPE Conference, Duke University, 1999
PRELIMINARY CALL FOR PAPERS/SUGGESTIONS/IDEAS
http://www.eh.net/HisEcSoc/Conferences/HOPE99.shtml
ORGANISERS
Roger E. Backhouse (University of Birmingham, UK)
Jeff Biddle (Michigan State University, USA)
TIMETABLE
1. Now!!! (November-December 1997): expressions of potential interest
comprising brief descriptions of the type of paper you would be
interested in offering. At this stage, suggestions of people who might
offer papers would be extremely welcome. This is to give us an idea of
the type of papers likely to be offered, to assist us in planning.
2. Spring 1998: firm proposals of papers (precise date to be confirmed)
which we would review for possible inclusion in the conference.
3. June 19-22, 1998: session(s) at HES in Montreal. The format would
depend on what we are offered, but our intention at this stage is that we
would discuss the topic in general, this being followed by short
presentations of work that will be developed for the conference in 1999.
Though it is possible that some papers will have been accepted for the
conference before this, we aim to keep some slots free to allow people
who are inspired by these presentations to offer papers.
4. End of 1998/January 1999: Drafts of papers submitted so that they can
be circulated and read before the conference.
5. March/April 1999 (exact date to be confirmed): Conference at Duke
University. After this there will be a tight schedule for refereeing
papers and revision of those papers accepted for the volume.
THE THEME
Histories of economic thought have generally focused on economic theory,
notably theories of value and distribution, with an admixture of monetary
economics, or, more recently, econometrics. The aim of this conference is
to re-focus attention onto applied economics. We realise that there many
possible definitions of applied economics, and that under any difeintion,
economic literature will tend to fall along a continuum between very pure
and very applied, so that any line drawn between pure and applied
economics will be problematic. Indeed, issues that might be discussed at
the conference include historical changes in the way the term "applied
economics" has been conceived, and the causes and consequences of
adopting different definitions of applied vs. pure economics. We are
starting, however, with the following rough working definition of applied
economics, on the understanding that papers may be proposed which
challenge and cause us to alter it.
A piece of literature, or a field within economics, is considered applied
economics if its primary purpose is the analysis of a specific real world
phenomenon or set(s) of related phenomena, or if it deals with existing
or proposed policies of an organisation or government; and if the authors
are employing what they believe to be, or identify as, economic
theoretical tools or concepts.
Thus, "price theory" in general would not qualify, but the analysis of
prices or wages in a specific market, or in a specific time period would.
Analysis of an economic policy measure would count as applied only if the
author seriously believed that the policy might be, or could
realistically be implemented (thus excluding, for example, some of the
theoretical literature on optimal tax systems).
Topic areas and questions that could be addressed by proposed papers
include the following:
1. The concept of applied economics
What is applied economics? Whence did the term originate? How has
economists' understanding of the term changed over time? Is "applied
economics" a historically contingent concept, or a historically
contingent label for something that has existed for as long as economics
has been around?
Related to these are questions concerning the role of applied economics
in the history of economic thought. How should histories of applied
fields or applied work be written? How should we relate developments in
theory (whether economic or econometric) to developments in applied
economics?
2. The emergence and decline of applied fields
How do applied fields become established?
What are the origins of various applied fields? Does an applied field
coalesce around a new problem or phenomenon (railroads, colonization,
decolonization, labor strife) and then gradually become integrated with
the theoretical literature, as specialists look to general theory for
useful tools? Or do the developers of a new theoretical tool see an
obvious area for its application and then become more knowledgeable about
the area in the process of making the application?
What are the processes involved? At different times, have certain applied
fields been "tool driven" or "application driven" (labour economics was
at one time dominated by questions of labor unions, and at another time
was driven the application of the theory of human capital and the theory
of inter-temporal choice)?
What difference does it make when an applied field emerges?
3. Case studies within specific applied fields
How are applied fields related to the "core"? What is the interaction
between the economics that is being "applied", theoretical ideas and
techniques developed within the applied field, techniques developed
outside economics (perhaps data-collection methods; developments in
government; or developments in other disciplines); data; external
pressures? Do applied fields develop in ways that are different from the
way general economic theory develops, or from each other, or does a
common pattern emerge?
4. Application of economics in government/business
Applied economics includes not only "applied fields" within academic
economics, but the use of economics outside academia. What happens to
economic ideas when they are applied? Are ideas in the "core" of
economics important? What ideas from academia are used in "real" economic
decisions in government and business? How does the understanding of these
ideas or concepts or techniques change when they are used in practical
situations? How do economic ideas and the problems they are used to
tackle interact?
5. Possible types of case study
a) Case studies of applied fields/problems.
b) Case studies of economic ideas and how they have been applied/what has
happened when they have been applied.
c) Case studies of how ideas have been used in government and/or business.
d) Case studies of individuals/groups of individuals/institutions that
have sought to promote applied work or combine applied and theoretical
work, where these shed light on the questions listed above.
e) Comparative studies of any of the previous four types, across fields or
countries.
f) Studies of academic areas that were at one time considered fields of
applied economics, or that were more closely allied with some core body
of economics than they are today (perhaps marketing or industrial
relations).
6. Coverage
The conference will focus predominantly on the twentieth century, though
excursions into earlier periods may be necessary to provide perspective.
Coverage should be international (though the US will clearly be
important), and should cover a range of applied fields (though clearly
only a small sample can in practice be covered). Different approaches can
be adopted, including "traditional" history of economic thought,
sociological studies, studies focusing on institutions, etc.
SUBMITTING PROPOSALS/SUGGESTIONS
Please send proposals to both of us. Email is preferred, and proposals
can be in the text of a message or, if you are sending something longer,
in an attached word processor file. We both use MS Word 6, so can read a
variety of file formats (but not Word 7). Please send us:
Your name, address, fax and email address (with any changes and dates if
you are going to be moving).
An outline of your idea for a paper/proposal. Though we would be
delighted to receive detailed proposals, these can be very tentative at
this stage. We will want at least a one or two page proposal before
decisions are taken.
An indication of whether you are likely to be available for the HES
session in Montreal.
Roger E. Backhouse
Department of Economics
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT UK
Fax: +44 121 414 7377
Email: [log in to unmask]
Jeff Biddle
Department of Economics
Michigan State University
East Lansing
Michigan
MI 48824 USA
Fax: +1 517 432-1068
Email: [log in to unmask]
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