James Galbraith

Description:

This is a class about the modern economic world: a world of change and instability, of bubble and bust, euphoria and depression.  It is a world driven by technology on one side and finance on the other -- and  increasingly aware of the larger geophysical environment.   Economics -- as a broad subject -- has not done a very good job of coping  with this world.  But some economists and other observers have, and here we  focus on the Keynesian, institutionalist and structuralist traditions,  mainly in 20th century economics. We will pick a number of major texts, and  a few minor ones, read them, and try to relate them to the issues of our  time.   This class is a seminar. It is not a lecture course. You are expected to  read material fully in advance. Come well prepared to discuss it and to  answer my questions.  Some of the readings are long. Search for the  important parts, skim the rest, but don’t forget to slow down and enjoy  some of the digressions.

Required Texts/Readings:

Veblen:  Theory of Business Enterprise, or possibly Theory of the Leisure Class.

Imperial Germany. Schumpeter:  Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy

Keynes:  Economic Consequences of the Peace, Essays in Persuasion, General Theory

Ayres: Theory of Economic Progress

Galbraith:  The New Industrial State. Galbraith (fils):  The Predator State

Course Requirements:

The course will require detailed attention to readings, including notes that I will review on a weekly basis, and two papers, one short and one longer. Grading will be based

25% on notes

25% on class discussion

15% on the short paper

35% on the final paper

Instructor Biography:

James K. Galbraith holds the Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. Chair in Government/Business Relations and a professorship of Government at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin. He holds degrees from Harvard and Yale (Ph.D. in economics, 1981).

He studied as a Marshall Scholar at King's College, Cambridge in 1974-1975, and then served in several positions on the staff of the U.S. Congress, including executive director of the Joint Economic Committee. He directed the LBJ School's Ph.D. Program in Public Policy from 1995 to 1997. He directs the University of Texas Inequality Project, an informal research group based at the LBJ School.

Galbraith's new book is Inequality and Instability: A Study of the World Economy Just Before the Great Crisis(Oxford University Press, 2012). Previous books include The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too(Free Press, 2008),Created Unequal: The Crisis in American Pay(Free Press, 1998) and Balancing Acts: Technology, Finance and the American Future(Basic Books, 1989).Inequality and Industrial Change: A Global View(Cambridge University Press, 2001), is co-edited with Maureen Berner. He has co-authored two textbooks, The Economic Problem with the late Robert L. Heilbroner and Macroeconomics with William Darity, Jr. He is a managing editor of Structural Change and Economic Dynamics.

Galbraith is a member of the Lincean Academy, the oldest honorary scientific society in the world. He is a senior scholar of the Levy Economics Institute and chair of the Board of Economists for Peace and Security, a global professional network. He writes frequently for policy magazines and the general press.

This is a class about the modern economic world: a world of change and  instability, of bubble and bust, euphoria and depression.  It is a world  driven by technology on one side and finance on the other -- and  increasingly aware of the larger geophysical environment.   Economics -- as a broad subject -- has not done a very good job of coping  with this world.  But some economists and other observers have, and here we  focus on the Keynesian, institutionalist and structuralist traditions,  mainly in 20th century economics. We will pick a number of major texts, and  a few minor ones, read them, and try to relate them to the issues of our  time.   This class is a seminar. It is not a lecture course. You are expected to  read material fully in advance. Come well prepared to discuss it and to  answer my questions.  Some of the readings are long. Search for the  important parts, skim the rest, but don’t forget to slow down and enjoy  some of the digressions.

Texts and Works:

Veblen:  Theory of Business Enterprise, or possibly Theory of the Leisure Class.

Imperial Germany. Schumpeter:  Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy

Keynes:  Economic Consequences of the Peace, Essays in Persuasion, General Theory

Ayres: Theory of Economic Progress

Galbraith:  The New Industrial State. Galbraith (fils):  The Predator State

Grading Policy:

The course will require detailed attention to readings, including notes that I will review on a weekly basis, and two papers, one short and one longer. Grading will be based

25% on notes

25% on class discussion

15% on the short paper

35% on the final paper.

About the Professor:

James K. Galbraith holds the Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. Chair in Government/Business Relations and a professorship of Government at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin. He holds degrees from Harvard and Yale (Ph.D. in economics, 1981).

He studied as a Marshall Scholar at King's College, Cambridge in 1974-1975, and then served in several positions on the staff of the U.S. Congress, including executive director of the Joint Economic Committee. He directed the LBJ School's Ph.D. Program in Public Policy from 1995 to 1997. He directs the University of Texas Inequality Project, an informal research group based at the LBJ School.

Galbraith's new book is Inequality and Instability: A Study of the World Economy Just Before the Great Crisis (Oxford University Press, 2012). Previous books include The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too (Free Press, 2008), Created Unequal: The Crisis in American Pay (Free Press, 1998) and Balancing Acts: Technology, Finance and the American Future (Basic Books, 1989). Inequality and Industrial Change: A Global View (Cambridge University Press, 2001), is co-edited with Maureen Berner. He has co-authored two textbooks, The Economic Problem with the late Robert L. Heilbroner andMacroeconomics with William Darity, Jr. He is a managing editor of Structural Change and Economic Dynamics.

Galbraith is a member of the Lincean Academy, the oldest honorary scientific society in the world. He is a senior scholar of the Levy Economics Institute and chair of the Board of Economists for Peace and Security, a global professional network. He writes frequently for policy magazines and the general press.

This is a class about the modern economic world: a world of change and  instability, of bubble and bust, euphoria and depression.  It is a world  driven by technology on one side and finance on the other -- and  increasingly aware of the larger geophysical environment.   Economics -- as a broad subject -- has not done a very good job of coping  with this world.  But some economists and other observers have, and here we  focus on the Keynesian, institutionalist and structuralist traditions,  mainly in 20th century economics. We will pick a number of major texts, and  a few minor ones, read them, and try to relate them to the issues of our  time.   This class is a seminar. It is not a lecture course. You are expected to  read material fully in advance. Come well prepared to discuss it and to  answer my questions.  Some of the readings are long. Search for the  important parts, skim the rest, but don’t forget to slow down and enjoy  some of the digressions.

Texts and Works:

Veblen:  Theory of Business Enterprise, or possibly Theory of the Leisure Class.

Imperial Germany. Schumpeter:  Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy

Keynes:  Economic Consequences of the Peace, Essays in Persuasion, General Theory

Ayres: Theory of Economic Progress

Galbraith:  The New Industrial State. Galbraith (fils):  The Predator State

Grading Policy:

The course will require detailed attention to readings, including notes that I will review on a weekly basis, and two papers, one short and one longer. Grading will be based

25% on notes

25% on class discussion

15% on the short paper

35% on the final paper.

About the Professor:

James K. Galbraith holds the Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. Chair in Government/Business Relations and a professorship of Government at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin. He holds degrees from Harvard and Yale (Ph.D. in economics, 1981).

He studied as a Marshall Scholar at King's College, Cambridge in 1974-1975, and then served in several positions on the staff of the U.S. Congress, including executive director of the Joint Economic Committee. He directed the LBJ School's Ph.D. Program in Public Policy from 1995 to 1997. He directs the University of Texas Inequality Project, an informal research group based at the LBJ School.

Galbraith's new book is Inequality and Instability: A Study of the World Economy Just Before the Great Crisis (Oxford University Press, 2012). Previous books include The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too (Free Press, 2008), Created Unequal: The Crisis in American Pay (Free Press, 1998) and Balancing Acts: Technology, Finance and the American Future (Basic Books, 1989). Inequality and Industrial Change: A Global View (Cambridge University Press, 2001), is co-edited with Maureen Berner. He has co-authored two textbooks, The Economic Problem with the late Robert L. Heilbroner andMacroeconomics with William Darity, Jr. He is a managing editor of Structural Change and Economic Dynamics.

Galbraith is a member of the Lincean Academy, the oldest honorary scientific society in the world. He is a senior scholar of the Levy Economics Institute and chair of the Board of Economists for Peace and Security, a global professional network. He writes frequently for policy magazines and the general press.

This is a class about the modern economic world: a world of change and  instability, of bubble and bust, euphoria and depression.  It is a world  driven by technology on one side and finance on the other -- and  increasingly aware of the larger geophysical environment.   Economics -- as a broad subject -- has not done a very good job of coping  with this world.  But some economists and other observers have, and here we  focus on the Keynesian, institutionalist and structuralist traditions,  mainly in 20th century economics. We will pick a number of major texts, and  a few minor ones, read them, and try to relate them to the issues of our  time.   This class is a seminar. It is not a lecture course. You are expected to  read material fully in advance. Come well prepared to discuss it and to  answer my questions.  Some of the readings are long. Search for the  important parts, skim the rest, but don’t forget to slow down and enjoy  some of the digressions.

Texts and Works:

Veblen:  Theory of Business Enterprise, or possibly Theory of the Leisure Class.

Imperial Germany. Schumpeter:  Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy

Keynes:  Economic Consequences of the Peace, Essays in Persuasion, General Theory

Ayres: Theory of Economic Progress

Galbraith:  The New Industrial State. Galbraith (fils):  The Predator State

Grading Policy:

The course will require detailed attention to readings, including notes that I will review on a weekly basis, and two papers, one short and one longer. Grading will be based

25% on notes

25% on class discussion

15% on the short paper

35% on the final paper.

About the Professor:

James K. Galbraith holds the Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. Chair in Government/Business Relations and a professorship of Government at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin. He holds degrees from Harvard and Yale (Ph.D. in economics, 1981).

He studied as a Marshall Scholar at King's College, Cambridge in 1974-1975, and then served in several positions on the staff of the U.S. Congress, including executive director of the Joint Economic Committee. He directed the LBJ School's Ph.D. Program in Public Policy from 1995 to 1997. He directs the University of Texas Inequality Project, an informal research group based at the LBJ School.

Galbraith's new book is Inequality and Instability: A Study of the World Economy Just Before the Great Crisis (Oxford University Press, 2012). Previous books include The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too (Free Press, 2008), Created Unequal: The Crisis in American Pay (Free Press, 1998) and Balancing Acts: Technology, Finance and the American Future (Basic Books, 1989). Inequality and Industrial Change: A Global View (Cambridge University Press, 2001), is co-edited with Maureen Berner. He has co-authored two textbooks, The Economic Problem with the late Robert L. Heilbroner andMacroeconomics with William Darity, Jr. He is a managing editor of Structural Change and Economic Dynamics.

Galbraith is a member of the Lincean Academy, the oldest honorary scientific society in the world. He is a senior scholar of the Levy Economics Institute and chair of the Board of Economists for Peace and Security, a global professional network. He writes frequently for policy magazines and the general press.

This is a class about the modern economic world: a world of change and  instability, of bubble and bust, euphoria and depression.  It is a world  driven by technology on one side and finance on the other -- and  increasingly aware of the larger geophysical environment.   Economics -- as a broad subject -- has not done a very good job of coping  with this world.  But some economists and other observers have, and here we  focus on the Keynesian, institutionalist and structuralist traditions,  mainly in 20th century economics. We will pick a number of major texts, and  a few minor ones, read them, and try to relate them to the issues of our  time.   This class is a seminar. It is not a lecture course. You are expected to  read material fully in advance. Come well prepared to discuss it and to  answer my questions.  Some of the readings are long. Search for the  important parts, skim the rest, but don’t forget to slow down and enjoy  some of the digressions.

Texts and Works:

Veblen:  Theory of Business Enterprise, or possibly Theory of the Leisure Class.

Imperial Germany. Schumpeter:  Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy

Keynes:  Economic Consequences of the Peace, Essays in Persuasion, General Theory

Ayres: Theory of Economic Progress

Galbraith:  The New Industrial State. Galbraith (fils):  The Predator State

Grading Policy:

The course will require detailed attention to readings, including notes that I will review on a weekly basis, and two papers, one short and one longer. Grading will be based

25% on notes

25% on class discussion

15% on the short paper

35% on the final paper.

About the Professor:

James K. Galbraith holds the Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. Chair in Government/Business Relations and a professorship of Government at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin. He holds degrees from Harvard and Yale (Ph.D. in economics, 1981).

He studied as a Marshall Scholar at King's College, Cambridge in 1974-1975, and then served in several positions on the staff of the U.S. Congress, including executive director of the Joint Economic Committee. He directed the LBJ School's Ph.D. Program in Public Policy from 1995 to 1997. He directs the University of Texas Inequality Project, an informal research group based at the LBJ School.

Galbraith's new book is Inequality and Instability: A Study of the World Economy Just Before the Great Crisis (Oxford University Press, 2012). Previous books include The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too (Free Press, 2008), Created Unequal: The Crisis in American Pay (Free Press, 1998) and Balancing Acts: Technology, Finance and the American Future (Basic Books, 1989). Inequality and Industrial Change: A Global View (Cambridge University Press, 2001), is co-edited with Maureen Berner. He has co-authored two textbooks, The Economic Problem with the late Robert L. Heilbroner andMacroeconomics with William Darity, Jr. He is a managing editor of Structural Change and Economic Dynamics.

Galbraith is a member of the Lincean Academy, the oldest honorary scientific society in the world. He is a senior scholar of the Levy Economics Institute and chair of the Board of Economists for Peace and Security, a global professional network. He writes frequently for policy magazines and the general press.

This is a class about the modern economic world: a world of change and  instability, of bubble and bust, euphoria and depression.  It is a world  driven by technology on one side and finance on the other -- and  increasingly aware of the larger geophysical environment.   Economics -- as a broad subject -- has not done a very good job of coping  with this world.  But some economists and other observers have, and here we  focus on the Keynesian, institutionalist and structuralist traditions,  mainly in 20th century economics. We will pick a number of major texts, and  a few minor ones, read them, and try to relate them to the issues of our  time.   This class is a seminar. It is not a lecture course. You are expected to  read material fully in advance. Come well prepared to discuss it and to  answer my questions.  Some of the readings are long. Search for the  important parts, skim the rest, but don’t forget to slow down and enjoy  some of the digressions.

Texts and Works:

Veblen:  Theory of Business Enterprise, or possibly Theory of the Leisure Class.

Imperial Germany. Schumpeter:  Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy

Keynes:  Economic Consequences of the Peace, Essays in Persuasion, General Theory

Ayres: Theory of Economic Progress

Galbraith:  The New Industrial State. Galbraith (fils):  The Predator State

Grading Policy:

The course will require detailed attention to readings, including notes that I will review on a weekly basis, and two papers, one short and one longer. Grading will be based

25% on notes

25% on class discussion

15% on the short paper

35% on the final paper.

The course will explore the economics of the business firm, the management of technical change and the interaction between technology and finance in the writings of major twentieth century economists, notably Thorstein Veblen, Joseph Schumpeter, John Maynard Keynes, John Kenneth Galbraith, Hyman Minsky and Clarence Ayres. The emphasis will be on attempting to understand the social and income-distributional consequences of technical change, the potential for system instability, and the dilemmas of public policy in this area. 

Texts:

Veblen: Theory of Business Enterprise, or possibly Theory of the Leisure Class. Imperial Germany.

Schumpeter:  Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy

Keynes:  Economic Consequences of the Peace, Essays in Persuasion, General Theory

Ayres: Theory of Economic Progress

Galbraith:  The New Industrial State

Grading:

The course will require detailed attention to readings, including notes that I will review on a weekly basis, and two papers, one short and one longer. Grading will be based25% on notes 25% on class discussion 15% on the short paper 35% on the final paper

Description:

The course will explore the economics of the business firm, the management of technical change and the interaction between technology and finance in the writings of major twentieth century economists, notably Thorstein Veblen, Joseph Schumpeter, John Maynard Keynes, John Kenneth Galbraith, Hyman Minsky and Clarence Ayres. The emphasis will be on attempting to understand the social and income-distributional consequences of technical change, the potential for system instability, and the dilemmas of public policy in this area.  

Texts:

Veblen:  Theory of Business Enterprise, or possibly Theory of the Leisure Class.  

Imperial Germany. Schumpeter:  Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy

Keynes:  Economic Consequences of the Peace, Essays in Persuasion, General Theory

Ayres: Theory of Economic Progress

Galbraith:  The New Industrial State

Grading:

The course will require detailed attention to readings, including notes that I will review on a weekly basis, and two papers, one short and one longer. Grading will be based

25% on notes 

25% on class discussion 

15% on the short paper 

35% on the final paper

The course will explore the economics of the business firm, the management of technical change and the interaction between technology and finance in the writings of major twentieth century economists, notably Thorstein Veblen, Joseph Schumpeter, John Maynard Keynes, John Kenneth Galbraith, Hyman Minsky and Clarence Ayres. The emphasis will be on attempting to understand the social and income-distributional consequences of technical change, the potential for system instability, and the dilemmas of public policy in this area.  

Texts

Veblen:  Theory of Business Enterprise, or possibly Theory of the Leisure Class.  

Imperial Germany. Schumpeter:  Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy

Keynes:  Economic Consequences of the Peace, Essays in Persuasion, General Theory

Ayres: Theory of Economic Progress

Galbraith:  The New Industrial State. Galbraith (fils):  The Predator State

Grading

The course will require detailed attention to readings, including notes that I will review on a weekly basis, and two papers, one short and one longer. Grading will be based

25% on notes 

25% on class discussion 

15% on the short paper 

35% on the final paper.

Description:

The course will explore the economics of the business firm, the management of technical change and the interaction between technology and finance.  After a brief introduction to the work of Adam Smith and Karl Marx in this area, the emphasis will be on the writings of major twentieth century economists, notably Thorstein Veblen, Joseph Schumpeter, John Maynard Keynes, John Kenneth Galbraith, Hyman Minsky and Clarence Ayres. The emphasis will be on attempting to understand the social and distributional consequences of technical change, the potential for system instability, and the dilemmas of public policy in this area.  

Texts/Readings/Films:

Veblen:  Theory of Business Enterprise, or possibly Theory of the Leisure Class.   Schumpeter:  Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy Keynes:  Economic Consequences of the Peace, Essays in Persuasion, General Theory Ayres: Theory of Economic Progress Galbraith:  The New Industrial State. Galbraith (fils):  The Predator State

Assignments:

The course will require detailed attention to readings, including notes that I will review on a weekly basis, and two papers, one short and one longer. Grading will be based:

25% on notes

25% on class discussion

15% on the short paper

35% on the final paper

James K. Galbraith holds degrees from Harvard and Yale (Ph.D. in economics, 1981). He studied as a Marshall Scholar at King's College, Cambridge in 1974-1975, and then served on the staff of the U.S. Congress, including Executive Director of the Joint Economic Committee. He directed the LBJ School's Ph.D. Program in Public Policy from 1995 to 1997.  Galbraith's new book is  Inequality and Instability (Oxford University Press, 2012).  His previous book is The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too (2008). He is the author of Balancing Acts: Technology, Finance and the American Future (1989) and Created Unequal: The Crisis in American Pay (1998).  He has co-authored two textbooks, The Economic Problem with the late Robert L. Heilbroner and Macroeconomics with William Darity, Jr.

The course will explore the economics of the business firm, the management
of technical change and the interaction between technology and finance in
the writings of major twentieth century economists, notably Thorstein
Veblen, Joseph Schumpeter, John Maynard Keynes, John Kenneth Galbraith,
Hyman Minsky and Clarence Ayres. The emphasis will be on attempting to
understand the social and income-distributional consequences of technical
change, the potential for system instability, and the dilemmas of public
policy in this area.  

Texts/Readings/Films:

-Veblen:  Theory of Business Enterprise, or possibly Theory of the Leisure
Class. 

-Imperial Germany. Schumpeter:  Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy
-Keynes:  Economic Consequences of the Peace, Essays in Persuasion, General Theory
-Ayres: Theory of Economic Progress
-Galbraith:  The New Industrial State. Galbraith (fils):  The Predator State

Assignments:

The course will require detailed attention to readings, including notes that I will review on a weekly basis, and two papers, one short and one longer. Grading will be based:

25% on notes

25% on class discussion

15% on the short paper

35% on the final paper

James K. Galbraith teaches at the LBJ School. He holds degrees from Harvard and Yale (Ph.D. in economics, 1981). He studied as a Marshall Scholar at King's College, Cambridge in 1974-1975, and then served in several positions on the staff of the U.S. Congress, including Executive Director of the Joint Economic Committee. He was a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution in 1985. He directed the LBJ School's Ph.D. Program in Public Policy from 1995 to 1997. He directs the University of Texas Inequality Project, an informal research group based at the LBJ School.??Galbraith's new book is The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too (2008). He is the author of Balancing Acts: Technology, Finance and the American Future (1989) and Created Unequal: The Crisis in American Pay (1998). Inequality and Industrial Change: A Global View (Cambridge University Press, 2001), is coedited with Maureen Berner and features contributions from six LBJ School Ph.D. students. He has co-authored two textbooks, The Economic Problem with the late Robert L. Heilbroner and Macroeconomics with William Darity, Jr.??Galbraith is a Senior Scholar of the Levy Economics Institute and Chair of the Board of Economists for Peace and Security, a global professional network. He writes a column for Mother Jones, and occasional commentary in many other publications, including The Texas Observer, The American Prospect, and The Nation.