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[Posted on behalf of Geoff Hodgson <[log in to unmask]>. -- RBE]
Dear Colleagues
I am very pleased to announce that the MA in Institutional Economics is now
officially approved. The University of Hertfordshire admissions office is
open to applicants for this course.
It is probably the first MA in Institutional Economics in Europe. It
covers the 'old' and the 'new' institutional economics, developments in
modern evolutionary economics, and aspects of the methology of economics.
Some details of the course content can be found below.
For further details, particularly concerning the admissions procedure,
fees, etc. contact:
Joanne O'Mara, Admissions Office, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield,
Herts. AL10 9AB, UK
(tel) 01707 28 4800
(email) [log in to unmask]
(fax) 01707 28 3059
----------------------------
UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE
MA/Pg.Dip INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMICS
Institutional economics focuses directly on the key institutions of
economic life - such as the firm, the state, the market and the family.
Issues such as the role of culture, the prevalence of custom and the
function of routines become paramount. Economists today are often
criticised for their apparent remoteness from real world issues and
institutions. In recognition of this deficiency, many leading economists
are turning to 'institutional economics' as an alternative.
Institutional economics comes in 'new' and 'old' versions. The 'old'
institutional economics of Thorstein Veblen, John Commons and Wesley
Mitchell was dominant in University Economics departments in the United
States between the First and the Second World War. Its followers in Europe
included Gunnar Myrdal, Karl Polanyi and K. William Kapp.
More recently, there has been the spectacular rise of the 'new'
institutional economics, led by famous economists such as Ronald Coase,
Douglass North and Oliver Williamson. This is having a major impact on
both economic theory and economic policy, throughout the world. All
institutional economists see the need to break from static modes of
economic analysis. Accordingly, there is a strong and indissoluble link
between institutional economics and the new 'evolutionary' economics of
Richard Nelson, Sidney Winter, Giovanni Dosi and others.
The MA in Institutional Economics at the University of Hertfordshire will
cover all three of these exciting and connected trends in economic
thinking. It will be shown how these ideas are relevant for real world
issues. For instance, these ideas will be applied to economic problems in
the less developed countries, and to the economic transformation in
Eastern Europe. In addition, a solid grounding will be given in the basic
theory and methodology that is required to understand and apply
institutional economics.
The course will be taught by a team led by Professor Geoff Hodgson, who
is internationally known for his work on Institutional Economics. Invited
guest lecturers will include Dr Tony Lawson (University of Cambridge) and
other specialists in the field. Occasional workshops and seminars will
also be held with invited guest speakers.
The program may be taken full time over one year, or part time over two
to five years. Most of the taught element of the course will take place in
the early evenings, Monday to Fridays. Library and computing facilities
are available to all students during the day, with opening hours
extending into the evenings and weekends.
Enrolment for the course normally takes place in the last week of
September.
For further information contact:
Dr Stephanie Barrientos
Scheme Tutor MA Institutional Economics
Business School, University of Hertfordshire,
Mangrove Road, Hertford,
Herts, SG13 8QF, UK.
Tel: +44 (0) 1707 285485. Fax: +44 (0) 1707 285489.
Email: [log in to unmask]
STRUCTURE OF MA INSTITUIONAL ECONOMICS
The MA/Pg.Dip. Institutional Economics form part of the Business School
Post graduate Masters Program. The following is an outline of the main
structure. Each course lasts one semester.
Semester A runs from October to February. Semester B runs from February
to June.
MA INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMICS
Semester A: Paradigms in Economics, Economic Methodology, Option List A,
Option List A or B, Business School Research Methods, Dissertation
Semester B: Institutional and Evolutionary Economics, Economics as
Realist Social Theory, Option List A, Option List A or B, Business School
Research Methods, Dissertation
P. G. Dip INSTITUIONAL ECONOMICS
Semester A: Paradigms in Economics, Economic Methodology, Option List A,
Option List A or B
Semester B: Institutional and Evolutionary Economics, Economics as
Realist Social Theory, Option List A, Option List A or B
CORE COURSES
(Course which must be taken to complete the MA/PgDip Institutional
Economics)
Institutional and Evolutionary Economics
Paradigms in Economics
Economics Methodology
Economics of Realist Social Theory
OPTION LIST A
Managing Innovation and Change
Economics of Developing Countries
Managing in Complexity
Economic Perspectives of Women and the Labour Market
Economies in Transition
Econometrics
Economics of the Firm
Economic Theory
Economics, Law and Property (provisional)
OPTION LIST B
Specified List from Business School Masters options
The International Business Context
Organisational Behaviour
Business Environment
Chinese Business
Corporate Governance and Leadership
Group Behaviour
State, Society and Policy
Strategic Management Perspectives
Uncertainty in Systems
European Social Policy
Research Methods and Dissertation
All MA students attend a Business School Research Methods course which
runs over two semesters. They also write a Dissertation of 10-15,000
words, under the guidance of a designated supervisor. The dissertation is
completed by September of the academic year in which it is undertaken.
BRIEF OUTLINE OF CORE COURSES
Institutional and Evolutionary Economics
Main Lecturer: Professor Geoff Hodgson
Institutional economics is attracting increasing attention. In the 1990s
both Ronald Coase and Douglass North were awarded Nobel Prizes for their
contributions to institutional economics. Institutional economics is a
more operational and less formalistic approach to economic issues and
problems. Its ideas are now adopted by leading institutions such as the
World Bank, and leading institutional economists advise several
governments. This course gives a unique opportunity to study these topical
ideas, at the cutting edge of modern economics. The `old' and the `new'
institutional economics, and related ideas in evolutionary economics, will
be discussed on the course. Professor Geoffrey Hodgson is an
internationally acknowledged expert in the field.
Key Reading:
Eggertsson, Thrainn and North, Douglass C. (eds) (1996) Empirical Studies
in Institutional Change (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Hodgson, Geoffrey M. (1988) Economics and Institutions: A Manifesto for a
Modern Institutional Economics (Cambridge and Philadelphia: Polity Press
and University of Pennsylvania Press).
Hodgson, Geoffrey M. (1993) Economics and Evolution: Bringing Life Back
Into Economics (Cambridge, UK and Ann Arbor, MI: Polity Press and
University of Michigan Press).
Hodgson, Geoffrey M. (ed.) (1993) The Economics of Institutions
(Aldershot: Edward Elgar).
Economics as Realist Social Theory
Main Lecturer: Dr Tony Lawson
Realist social theory is one of the fastest growing areas in economics.
It is concerned with critical analyses of the particular nature of the
subject matter of social studies and the methods, categories and modes of
explanation that can legitimately be endorsed in the scientific study of
social objects. It addresses such issues as the relationships between
human agency and social structure, between the inquirer and the objects
of social inquiry, between social science and moral philosophy, between
economics and the other social sciences. It is concerned with
reassessing and elaborating such basic categories as abstraction, agency,
intentionality, causation, competition, culture, evolution, institutions,
money, need, order, power, probability, process, rationality, social
structure, truth, uncertainty and many others. The overall aim is to
facilitate a critical and reflexive approach to social theorising.
Key Reading:
Lawson, T. (1997), Economics and Reality, London: Routledge
Fleetwood, S. (ed.), (1999), Economics as Realist Social Theory:
development and debate, London: Routledge
Paradigms of Economic Thought
Main Lecturer: Mr John Adams
The development of market economics in (at first) western Europe led to
the need for a theoretical explanation of economic problems such as the
existence of inflation or unemployment, the nature of economic phenomena
such as money or rents, and an ethical view of, for example, the charging
of interest. The course will look at all these (and many more) questions
through the works of major economists of the past and consider the modern
relevance of their analyses.
Key Reading:
R B Ekelund and R F Hebert A History of Economic Theory and Method McGraw
Hill
M Blaug Economic Theory in Retrospect Heinemann
C Hsieh and S Magnum A search for Synthesis in Economic Theory.
J A Schumpeter The Theory of Economic Development, capital, credit,
interest and the business cycle, Transaction Books, 1983
Economic Methodology
Main Lecturer: Dr Armando Barrientos
This course aims to familiarise students with the underlying research
methodology used in economics. It includes an introduction to the
Methodology of Economics, including questions such as what is
methodology; why economists worry about methodology; is economics an
inductive or deductive science; models versus theories in economics and
the role of empirical testing in economics: falsification vs.
confirmation. It also includes an introduction to SPSS for windows,
modelling and estimation of wage equations using data from the General
Household Survey.
Selected Readings:
Blaug, M. The Methodology of Economics, 2nd ed.
R. Backhouse (ed) New Directions in Economic Methodology, Routledge 1994
George, D. and Mallery, P. SPSS PC+ Step by Step, Wadsworth, 1985
P. Ormerod The Death of Economics, 1994
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