In Praise of Historical Economics
Bradford DeLong on growth, development and instability
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Published: March 2002
Professor Bradford DeLong is a leading macroeconomist and economic historian,
and is best known for his work on economic growth, business cycles, finance and
issues relating to international economic history and globalisation. However, his interests and publications cover a vast range of issues and, above all, his research and publications demonstrate the important insights that contemporary
economists can gain from a deep knowledge of history. In this article/interview
the author argues that economists, particularly those interested in economic
growth, have much to gain by paying more attention to the literature of ‘historical economics’. In the interview that follows, Professor DeLong gives his views on economists and economic history, the industrial revolution, long-run changes in living standards, economic growth, US economic leadership, depressions, inflation and instability, the ‘new economy’, and the twentieth century.
More Papers From This Author in World Economics:
Milton Friedman, 1912–2006
Milton Friedman is best known as the founding father and leading exponent of the monetarist school of macroeconomic thought, and for championing the case for the efficacy of free markets in a wide variety of contexts. Without doubt, Friedman’s ideas have influenced the research agenda of a whole generation of economists as well as those who influence public policy throughout the world. Friedman’s extraordinary gifts of communicating complicated ideas allowed him to become one of the very few economists who are well known outside the economics profession. As well as his many scientific contributions, Friedman sought to communicate his views on a wide range of issues to non-economists. His gift for writing about topics in applied economics, accessible to a mass audience, established Friedman as one of the world’s most famous economists. Throughout his professional academic life, because of his high public profile, the ideas of Milton Friedman certainly aroused strong reactions from both opponents and supporters, and, until very recently, with respect to many of his ideas, he swam against a strong and extremely hostile tide of opinion. However, whatever view is held about Friedman’s libertarian political and economic philosophy, most commentators would agree that his recent passing brings to an end the life of the last great economist guru of the twentieth century. In this paper, Brian Snowdon and Howard Vane review his most influential contributions to economic analysis and political economy.
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James Tobin, 1918–2002
Author: An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon & Howard Vane
Professor James Tobin, who died on 11 March 2002, was possibly the most eminent
of the world’s ‘Keynesian’ economists. Described by Nobel Laureate Paul Samuelson
as “the archetype of a late-twentieth century American scholar”, Tobin was
without doubt one of the most influential economists of his time who inspired a
whole generation of students. In this interview, Professor Tobin discusses the
progress and development of economics in the second half of the twentieth century.
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