Adam Smith Lives!

History of Economics alive and well at ASSAs

I've been to general conferences in Economics where the History of Economics sessions had no more people in the audience than giving presentations.  Not so, at this year's ASSAs, where the HES sessions were organized by the 2005-6 HES VP, Jerry Evensky.  I was able to attend 2 of the 4 HES sponsored sessions.  (One took place before I arrived, given I opted to spend the extra night at home with my family.  An HES executive mtg kept me away from the Friday afternoon session, on "Adam Smith as Theologian".)  By all accounts both were wonderful; I heard there were over 60 people at the Robbins session.

The two sessions I DID take part in were, I thought, terrific.  At the session entitled, "Chicago Economics in Historical and Philosophical Perspective", it was standing room only.  I counted:  all seats taken (40), 10 standing, one sitting on the floor, 4 presenters and the session chair.  56.  I was told there were people standing outside the room as well, listening.  Then, a session late in the afternoon on Saturday, "Great Ideas for teaching the HET" was attended by another 40 people. 

For the first time, as well, the Society sponsored a reception.  We weren't sure what to expect, though we did send out letters of invitations to people who might attend.  The experiment was a huge success:  a great mix of the regular HES-ers and, just as important, new people who wanted to check out the conversations (and the free food and drink!).

I don't think there's any doubt that the society on the move.  More thoughts on that before long.

Economics and Cartoons

Tomorrow, I head to the ASSAs.  I've come to like going to this conference, though the job market aspect of it always overwhelms me -- everyone trying to impress anyone who might pay attention.  I'll spend tomorrow afternoon at a 3 to 4 hour Executive meeting for the History of Economics Society.  I'm sorry to have to miss what will surely be a terrific anniversary session on Robbins' Essay on the Nature and Significance of economics tomorrow at 8 am.  Sue Howson, Roger Backhouse and Steve Medema, Gary Becker, and William Baumol will present.  I opted to stay home with my family for an extra day.  On Saturday, there are at least 2 sessions of interest for Historians of Economics. One is on Chicago economics in historical perspective.  Dan Hammon and Phil Mirowski will comment on papers by Levy and Peart (on George Stigler), Deirdre McCloskey, Eric Schliesser, and  Ross Emmett.  Then, in a session on teaching ideas for History of Economics, Levy and I will present a paper on the economist in cartoon.  This is a new project -- we hope to do a book-length treatment.  Here's a paragraph from the introduction:

Though they have rarely been studied by economists, cartoons and caricatures reflect a great deal of economic controversy.  There is, most obviously, the issue of whether an economist is portrayed favorably, or not, by the artist.  But the images below do a great deal more than simply criticize the economist; in addition, they serve as models opposed to the analysis of economists.  When the political economist and MP, John Bright, addresses Irish people who are caricatured as apes, the artist asserts that the Irish are incapable of self-government.

We suggest that the images, spanning over a 100 years in the popular press, are mostly concerned with attacking the economists' notion of scarcity.  You can see a (very) rough copy of the paper here: 

cartoons_assa.pdf .  I'll report on the reaction we get.

A reminder that the HES is hosting its first (!) ASSA reception tomorrow evening at 6!