Smith and Marx Walk into a Bar: A History of Economics Podcast

Jennifer, Scott, and Carlos are joined by Manuela Mosca, Professor of History of Economic Thought at the University of Salento in Italy. The conversation is focused on Professor Mosca's work on the role that concepts of power have played in economics, especially her book, Monopoly Power and Competition: The Italian Marginalist Perspective, which won the 2019 Jospeh J. Spengler Book Prize, awarded by the History of Economics Society.

Smith and Marx Walk into a Bar is supported by a grant from the History of Economics Society: http://historyofeconomics.org

Sarvy, Carlos, Jenn, and Scott, are joined by James Ashley Morrison, Assistant Professor in the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics. The conversation is focused on Professor Morrison's forthcoming book on the history of the gold standard. Topics include the roles that J. M. Keynes and Winston Churchill played in Britain's return to the gold standard in 1925, the political-economic significance of the gold standard, the relationship between the disciplines of political economy and IPE (International Political Economy), and Professor Morrison's approach to writing history.

Smith and Marx Walk into a Bar is supported by a grant from the History of Economics Society: http://historyofeconomics.org

In this episode, Carlos, Scott, and Jenn are joined by Professor Steven Medema, Research Professor of Economics at Duke University and Associate Director of Duke's Center for the History of Political Economy. Topics include the history and meaning of the Coase Theorem, Professor Medema's recent book, The Economics Book: From Xenophon to Cryptocurrency, 250 Milestones in the History of Economics, and the question of progress in the field of the history of economic thought.

Smith and Marx Walk into a Bar is supported by a grant from the History of Economics Society: http://historyofeconomics.org

Jennifer, Carlos, Sarvy, and Scott are joined by three early-career scholars to discuss how the pandemic has affected their teaching and research, their conference experiences and their career prospects.

Marina Uzunova is a PhD candidate in philosophy at the Free University of Amsterdam.

David Coker is a PhD candidate in economics at George Mason University.

Dorian Jullien is a professor of economics at University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Smith and Marx Walk into a Bar is supported by a grant from the History of Economics Society: http://historyofeconomics.org

Sarvy, Scott, and new co-host Jennifer Jhun interview Professor Tom Stapleford about his past work on historical epistemology, his more recent work on the engineer and statistician (and co-founder of the National Bureau of Economic Research) Malcolm Rorty, and about his current book project, which considers how to craft government statistics that conform to democratic principles.

Smith and Marx Walk into a Bar is supported by a grant from the History of Economics Society: http://historyofeconomics.org

Sarvy, Carlos, Gerardo, and Scott discuss several recent additions to the literature in history of economic thought and methodology.

If you are interested in reading the papers discussed in this episode, here they are (unfortunately, some may be behind paywalls):

ADDRESSING THE AUDIENCE: PAUL SAMUELSON, RADICAL ECONOMICS, AND TEXTBOOK MAKING, 1967–1973

YANN GIRAUD

Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Volume 42, Issue 2

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-history-of-economic-thought/article/abs/addressing-the-audience-paul-samuelson-radical-economics-and-textbook-making-19671973/C160BF7367B5A43F9B1B292A939904E2

A FACTORY AFIELD: CAPITALISM AND EMPIRE IN JOHN LOCKE'S POLITICAL ECONOMY

LUCAS G. PINHEIRO

Modern Intellectual History, Published Online October 1, 2020

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-intellectual-history/article/abs/factory-afield-capitalism-and-empire-in-john-lockes-political-economy/FD6B1584129D54BCF6D64ACADD51B696

MICHAEL POLANYI'S NEUTRAL KEYNESIANISM AND THE FIRST ECONOMICS FILM, 1933 TO 1945

GÁBOR ISTVÁN BÍRÓ

Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Volume 42, Number 3

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-history-of-economic-thought/article/abs/michael-polanyis-neutral-keynesianism-and-the-first-economics-film-1933-to-1945/3013E469C730D7A95B9E1715D9860E3A

JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES, H. G. WELLS, AND A PROBLEMATIC UTOPIA

PHILLIP W. MAGNESS AND JAMES R. HARRIGAN

History of Political Economy, Volume 52, Issue 2

https://read.dukeupress.edu/hope/article-abstract/52/2/211/151718/John-Maynard-Keynes-H-G-Wells-and-a-Problematic

Smith and Marx Walk into a Bar is supported by a grant from the History of Economics Society: http://historyofeconomics.org

Carlos, Sarvy, and Gerardo speak with Ryan Walter, Associate Professor at the University of Queensland. Topics include Professor Walter's work on the meaning and significance of classical economics and political economy, the historiography of intellectual history, and his own experience as a podcaster.

Smith and Marx Walk into a Bar is supported by a grant from the History of Economics Society: http://historyofeconomics.org

Sarvy, Scott, and Carlos interview Jeff Biddle, Professor of Economics at Michigan State University and Past President of the History of Economics Society. Topics include the relationship between Biddle's historical work and his work as a labor economist, the history of agricultural economics, the business cycle work of Wesley Clair Mitchell, and Biddle's forthcoming book on the Cobb-Douglas production regression.

Smith and Marx Walk into a Bar is supported by a grant from the History of Economics Society: http://historyofeconomics.org

In this episode, Carlos, Sarvy, and Gerardo interview Fabian Muniesa, Director of Research at the Centre de Sociologie de l'Innovation (CSI), a research center of L'École des Mines de Paris. Discussion topics include Muniesa's earlier work on performativity and how it evolved, valuation studies, ethnographic approaches to economic sociology and business education, and the work and legacy of David Graeber.

Smith and Marx Walk into a Bar is supported by a grant from the History of Economics Society: http://historyofeconomics.org

In this episode, Scott and Gerardo and new co-host, Sarvnaz Lotfi, are joined by Jennifer Jhun, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Duke University and Faculty Fellow with Duke's Center for the History of Political Economy. The discussion revolves primarily around the uses and abuses of modeling in economics and other fields, such as epidemiology, the usefulness of models for policy purposes, and the significance of ceteris paribus clauses and equilibrium theorizing in economics.

Smith and Marx Walk into a Bar is supported by a grant from the History of Economics Society: http://historyofeconomics.org