Undergraduate Discussion Group

Meeting time: Wednesdays at 3:30 - 4:45 pm Central Time
Meeting place: Hybrid format - 737 Heller Hall and online via Zoom

The Undergraduate Discussion Group (UDG) reads and discusses works of mutual interest in the history and philosophy of economics. It concentrates on creating a conversational space where the next generation of scholars can engage with critical issues. This group is for undergraduates by undergraduates and is open to all undergraduates interested in conceptual questions about economics and its relation to the other social sciences, regardless of your declared major. Snacks are provided.

UDG is modeled on activities of the MCPS that aim to interrogate the assumptions and evidence behind scientific models and characterize the diversity of scientific practices so as to advance our understanding of how the sciences work and decipher what kinds of answers they deliver. The readings are accessible for those new to the topic but also allow in-depth discourse for those with prior experience in the subject.

All undergraduate students are welcome to attend whenever they would like (without invitation) and without giving advance notice. To learn more please contact Henri Chastain (chast061@umn.edu).

Spring 2024

This semester, our primary focus in the UGDG will be on the foundational texts across the science(s) investigating the ‘value form’ across the 18th-21st centuries. In its early instantiations, this science was known as Political Economy, serving as the platform on which Economics was later constructed. The first part of the semester will delve into primary sources related to the emerging science of Political Economy through the 18th and 19th centuries. We will pay particular attention to Adam Smith’s initiation of this tradition through his pivotal text Wealth of Nations, followed by Nassau Senior’s reformulation of its scope, and Marx’s identification of the set of abstractions that form Political Economy as a historically specific discourse, which now accessible to historical analysis is critiqued.

Building upon this foundation, we will explore the birth of Economics as a distinct branch of knowledge during the marginal revolution and later mathematical economics in the 20th century. Pioneering texts will be examined, including those by Jevons, Walras, and Menger, which transformed Economics as a mathematically based science. Additionally, we'll explore the pivotal role of diagrams introduced by Alfred Marshall and the Cambridge School, the revolutionary insights of John Maynard Keynes after the Great Depression, and the development of mathematical Economics in the United States in the 1930s onward, as well as contentious debates on the price mechanism and the role of hypotheses and 'realism' in the mid-20th Century.

As the semester progresses, we will conclude with discussions on Behavioral Economics and later the emerging field of neuroeconomics. Behavioral Economics notices that human behavior does not follow what we would expect from economic models, and resorts to psychological processes to explain where we as decision makers are not rational, while neuroeconomics aims to computationally assess the mechanisms underlying human decision-making, providing a contemporary perspective on the evolving landscape of economic thought.

January 24: Introduction: What was Political Economy, and what is Economics?
Optional: 
R. Skidelsky. 2019. What Is Economics About? | How & How NOT to Do Economics with Robert Skidelsky. Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZQLHLFKock&t=416s
Optional:
R. Skidelsky. 2021. What’s wrong with Economics? Chapter 10: Why Study the History of Economic Thought? pp 137-148. Yale. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvxkn7jq.14  

January 31: Forging A New Epoch: Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations
A. Smith. 1776. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (E. Canaan, Ed). Chapter 1-2, 4-7. Liberty Fund. (pdf)

February 7: Changing Foundations: David Ricardo and the Ricardians
N.W. Senior. 1852. Four Lectures in Political Economy. Lecture 4: That Political Economy is a Positive, Not a Hypothetical Science–Definition of Wealth. Liberty Fund. (pdf)

February 14: One Must Construct a Discourse to Critique it: Marx’s Pivotal Intervention in Capital
K. Marx, F. Engels. 1996. Marx & Engels Collected Works Vol 35: Karl Marx Capital: Volume 1. Preface to the First German Edition, and Chapter 1: Commodities, originally published in 1867. London: Lawrence & Wishart. (pdf)

February 21: Old Concepts in New Clothes, Or a New Science?: The 'Marginal Revolution'
W.S Jevons. 1888. The Theory of Political Economy. Introduction: pages 1-23. Macmillan and Co. Originally published in 1888. (pdf)
Optional: 
L. Walras. 1874. Elements of Theoretical Economics, or the Theory of Social Wealth. Part 2: Theory of Exchange, Lesson 5: The market and competition:. The Problem of the Exchange of Two Commodities for Each Other. pp 41-51. English Translation. Cambridge. (pdf)
Optional:
C. Menger. 1871. Principles of Economics. Part 3: The Theory of Value. The Nature and Origin of Value, The Original Measure of Value part 1: Differences in the Magnitude of Importance of Different Satisfactions (Subjective Factor). pp 114-128. English Translation. Von Mises Institute. (pdf)

February 28: The Marshallian Scissors: Cambridge and the Ascendency of Neoclassicism
A. Marshall. 1920. Principles of Economics: An Introductory Volume. 8th Edition. Preliminary Survey: (Introduction, The Substance of Economics, Economic Generalizations or Laws, The Order and Aims of Economic Studies). pp 1-32. London: Macmillan. (pdf)

March 6: Spring Break - No Meeting

March 13:  Proofs and Refutations: Paul Samuelson and the Rise of Mathematical Economics 
Samuelson, P. (1938). A Note on the Pure Theory of Consumer's Behaviour. Economica. (pdf)

March 20: Government in the Age of Extremes: Hayek, Keynes, and the Battle over Minds (pdfs)
Note: Read one piece by Keynes and one by Hayek of your choice.
J.M Keynes. (1926). “The End of Laissez-Faire” In: Johnson E, Moggridge D, eds. The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes. The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes. Royal Economic Society.
J.M Keynes. (1930). “Economic Possibilities for our GrandChildren” In: Johnson E, Moggridge D, eds. The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes. The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes. Royal Economic Society.
F.A Hayek (1944). Road to Serfdom. Chapter 3: “Individualism and Collectivism” pp. 33-44. UChicago Press.
F.A Hayek (1944). Road to Serfdom. Chapter 4: “The "Inevitability" of Planning” pp. 45-58. UChicago Press.

March 27: Realism, Instrumentalism, or Somewhere in-between?:
Friedman, M. (1953) Essays in Positive Economics. Chapter 1: The Methodology of Positive Economics. Chicago:University of Chicago Press. (pdf)

April 3: Against the Tide: Joan Robinson's Writings
J. Robinson (1932). Economics is a Serious Subject: The Apologia of an Economist to the Mathematician, the Scientist, and the Plain Man. Chapter 1, pp 3-14. Cambridge University Press. (pdf)

April 10th: To Modify or Reject Utility Theory?: Behavioral and Neuro-Economics
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1986). Rational Choice and the Framing of Decisions. The Journal of Business, Vol. 59, No. 4, Part 2: The Behavioral Foundations of Economic Theory, pp. S251-S278. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. (pdf)
Steiner, A., & Redish, D. (2014). Behavioral and neurophysiological correlates of regret in rat decision-making on a neuroeconomic task. Nat Neurosci, 17, 995–1002. doi:10.1038/nn.3740 (pdf)

April 17: Selected Topics I: Feminist Economics
Folbre, N. (2021). The Rise and Decline of Patriarchal Systems: An Intersectional Political Economy. Chapter 4: Appropriation, Reproduction, and Production. Verso. (pdf)

April 24: TBD (Neuroeconomics II: On Multiple Decision Making Systems)

Previous meetings