====================== HES POSTING ==================== [NOTE: The original call for papers appeared in November 1997 on the HES list. This revised call is also available at http://www.eh.net/ehnet/HisEcSoc/Conferences/HOPE99.shtml --RBE] THE HISTORY OF APPLIED ECONOMICS History of Political Economy Conference Duke University, 26-28 March 1999 Second (final) Call for Papers Why the history of applied economics? Applied economics is important for at least three reasons. An enormous amount of economics (maybe even the majority) is applied economics, not theory. In addition, if economics is important because of its relevance for government policy or business decision making, applied economics is the most important part of economics. Unless applied, theory and techniques are irrelevant. But perhaps more important than either of these reasons is that, as it has often been written, the history of economic thought has been centered on economic theory. The underlying presumption is that the evolution of theoretical concepts, particularly those relating to questions of value and distribution, is central to the history of the discipline, and that this evolution can be analyzed in isolation from the applications of those concepts. This conference is being organized on the assumption that this presumption deserves to be challenged. It should certainly not be taken for granted. [NOTE: This picture is clearly an over- simplification, and is most characteristic of the period since the marginal revolution. Accounts of classical and pre-classical economics typically locate theoretical developments in policy problems.] What is applied economics? This all raises the question of what the term applied economics means. Our initial working definition is the following. 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. In many cases the definition would appear to be clear-cut. 'The demand for food in the Netherlands, 1950-1970' is an example of applied economics, as is 'The use of microeconomic theory in anti-trust cases', whilst Gerard Debreu's The Theory of Value (1959) is an example of pure theory. To focus on such examples, however, conceals fundamental conceptual ambiguities concerning both what it is that is being applied and the nature of the application that qualifies a piece of work as applied economics. Is macroeconomics 'theory' or an application of microeconomic theory? Is it necessary for applications to engage with data? Is a Becker-type theoretical model of marriage and divorce applied economics? To clarify the issues involved, take the example of industrial economics. If economic theory is assumed to be about the real world, theory makes statements about industries in general, and applied industrial economics deals with specific industries. A model of oligopolistic price setting would be theory, but one of the US motor industry would be applied. If theory is perceived not to be about the real world, but about hypothetical worlds, or simply what one would observe if certain conditions were satisfied, then a model of oligopolistic price- setting might be seen as applied, telling us about a specific problem oligopolistic markets. If application is seen as involving a direct link with reality, we could see a model of the US motor industry (even an empirical model) as the theory which becomes applied only when conclusions are implemented by policy-makers, or when confronted with empirical data. Answers to the question of where the dividing line between theory and application is drawn are negotiated within the economics community. To impose a specific, precise definition would therefore be inappropriate in a historical inquiry. One of our tasks is to explore the way in which the boundary has been established, and how and why it has changed over time. Fields and the application of techniques Though the they overlap, it is useful to distinguish two aspects of this boundary: the establishment and evolution of applied fields, and the application of particular techniques, both theoretical and empirical. Applied fields How have certain areas of inquiry in economics come to be defined and institutionalized as 'applied fields', regarded as distinct from some core body of knowledge that is presumably being applied? What happens to the applied fields once they are established? What have been the relationships between various applied fields and the 'core' of economics, as well as other disciplines? Application of techniques What has determined the application of techniques? Has the availability of a technique prompted the application, or the other way round? Have techniques evolved in response to attempts to apply them, and if so how? Alternatively, what feedback is there between applications and the core of economic theory? In both cases the aim is to explore links in both directions - from theory to applications and from applications to theory. It should not be presumed that the links run in only one direction. Indeed, the nature of links may change over time, at one time running from theory to application, and at other times from application to theory, or it might be a process of continual interaction. Papers accepted so far In response to the initial call for papers, the following have been accepted (all titles are provisional). Yngve Ramstad (University of Rhode Island) 'Paradigm conflict between the California school and the Harvard School in 1950s labor economics' Stephen Meardon (Duke University) 'Economic geography and economic policy in 20th-century North America' Steven Medema (University of Denver) 'Public choice analysis as a case study in the professionalization of economics' Judy Klein (National Humanities Center and Mary Baldwin College) 'The normative economics of statistical quality control in WWII' Robert S. Goldfarb (George Washington University) 'The "rationality" of economic forecasts' Warren Young (Bar Ilan University) 'Atomic energy costing in the US and UK: economists versus scientists, engineers, bureaucrats, and politicians' Robert Dimand (Brock University) 'Strategic games from theory to application' Michael Bernstein (University of California, San Diego) 'Statecraft and its retainers: economics and public purpose in 20th century America' Pedro Nuno Teixera (University of Porto, Portugal) 'The emergence of a new economic branch: the economics of education, 1960-1995' Bruce Kaufman (Georgia State University) 'Personnel management: its roots in applied labor economics' Call for papers Anyone wishing to submit a proposal for one of the remaining spaces should send us a 2-page proposal by July 31, 1998. This can be sent to either Roger Backhouse ([log in to unmask]; fax +44 121 414 7377) or Jeff Biddle ([log in to unmask]; fax +1 517 432-1068). Email is preferred. We can decode most attached word processor files. We intend to make the final selection soon after this date. Obviously we are looking for papers that will complement those already accepted. However, provided there are significant complementarities, proposals on fields already covered are not excluded. Practicalities The conference is provisionally scheduled for March 26-28, at Thomas Center, Duke University. Though the date is (we hope) very unlikely to change, it will be confirmed six months beforehand. HOPE can cover local expenses (food and accommodation) but at present we are not able to cover travel. We are still putting requests in to foundations that might support the conference, but have not yet been successful. If anyone has suggestions of places that we might not have tried, these will be welcome. So for the moment, we have to ask contributors to find support for their own travel themselves. After the conference, papers will be refereed, decisions made and revisions undertaken to a very tight timetable. We are accepting more papers than we anticipate being able to include in the HOPE supplement, so acceptance is not guaranteed. Conferees may be asked to act as referees on other papers at the conference. Drafts of papers will be expected by February 1999 so that they can be Xeroxed and circulated in advance. ============ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ============ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]