Marginalised Voices, Episode 22

In this episode, Maria interviews three scholars who study underrepresented or what she calls marginalised voices in the history of policy and economics. They discuss why they came to study such lesser known figures and how the research can give us new perspectives. They also share the difficulties and constraints that they face. Jaci Eisenberg studied American women who contributed to the League of Nations. Gerardo Serra studies the history of economics and statistics in 20th century Ghana. Sharmin Khodaiji researches the institutionalisation of political economy in India. Listen to find out more about their research!

Till Düppe on Economics in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Episode 21

In this episode, Till Düppe talks with Reinhard about the development of Economics in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), better known as East Germany – a state that existed from 1948 until 1990. We discuss Till’s general approach of historical epistemology of economics before discussing in detail the development of Marxist-Leninist economics in the GDR from its beginning to its abrupt end in 1990. Till also compares this system of knowledge with economics before and after the GDR. Additionally, we discuss some methodological approaches, such as Karl Mannheim’s concept of generations and institutional history.

Till is an associate professor at the Department of Economics Sciences at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Articles by Till Düppe mentioned in this episode:

Also mentioned in this episode is Episode 12 with Adam Leeds on the Development of Soviet and Russian Economics.

Parenting in Academia, Episode 20

Hosts: Maria Bach and Reinhard Schumacher
Production: Maria Bach

In this episode, we interview Beatrice Cherrier to talk about what it is like being a parent in academia – the ups, the downs and all the things we can do to make life and work easier.

South Asian Intellectual History with Andrew Sartori, Episode 19

In this episode, Maria shares a recent interview with Andrew Sartori, an intellectual historian at NYU. Andrew discusses his work in South Asian Intellectual History and how he ended up in this relatively small field when he started. He also talks about how he deals with the international diffusion of ideas. Finally, they debate the need to find a distinct Indian way of thinking and how this perceived need makes it hard to research in this area of study. Check out his publications here.

Dennis Rasmussen on David Hume and Adam Smith, Episode 18

In this episode, Dennis Rasmussen talks with Reinhard about David Hume and Adam Smith. The episode focuses on Dennis’s book The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship that Shaped Modern Thought. We discuss the Scottish Enlightenment, Hume’s and Smith’s lives, their mutual influence, and friendship in science. Additionally, Dennis talks about Adam Smith and economic inequality, as well as writing for a broader academic audience and for the general public.

Dennis is a professor of Political Science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. His research is mostly in the history of political thought.

Books and articles by Dennis Rasmussen mentioned in this episode:

The Mont Pelerin Society and the Origins of Neoliberalism with Ola Innset, Episode 17

In this episode we interview the historian Ola Innset about his award-winning dissertation Reinventing liberalism : Early neoliberalism in context, 1920-1947. He has used the methodology of micro-history to study the first meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society in 1947, including ‘juicy’ details. We discuss Ola’s thesis of the double movement: neoliberalism as response to both planning and the old ideal of laissez-faire. But the conversation turns much broader about the international character of neoliberalism, the uses and abuses of the term, as well as its contemporary relevance. And we discuss other recent literature on neoliberalism including that of Quinn Slobodian and Peter Boettke.

In a piece for the Baffler Ola has described his own visit to the Mont Pelerin Hotel where the conference took place.

In a spin-off article has has explored the relations between Friedrich Hayek and Karl (!) Polanyi, which contains a continuation of the discussion about economic calculation in the podcast.

Defining and Measuring Poverty, Episode 16

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere Source: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/poverty/

In this episode, Maria Bach explores how poverty has been defined and measured over time inspired by her work with Mary Morgan recently published in the History of Political Economy Journal (https://read.dukeupress.edu/hope/issue/50/S1)

The episode features notably Amartya Sen, Frances Stewart, Stephen Marglin and Mary Morgan.

Here is a list of the books, websites and articles mentioned in the episode:

1. GSDRC‘s definition of poverty
2. UNESCO‘s definition of poverty
3. The Economist’s article on defining poverty
4. Poverty and Social Exclusion Project based in the UK
5. Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen’s An Uncertain Glory, 2013
6. Howard Glennerster, John Hills, David Pichaud and Jo Webb’s One Hundred Years of Poverty and Policy, 2004
7. Seebohm Rowntree’s Poverty: A Study of Town Life, 1908
8. The New York Times article on How to define poverty? by Louis Uchitelle, 2001
9. The UN Intellectual History Project
10. The IMF and World Bank’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs)
11. Frances Stewart and Michael Wang’s working paper on Do PRSPs empower poor countries and disempower the World Bank, or is it the other way round?

The book that never gets old, Episode 15 with Tiago Mata

In this episode, Christina and Tiago discuss Eric Roll’s book on the History of Economic Thought. A popular history that circulates in many editions and languages, Christina and Tiago explore the book’s making and the reasons for its success. The episode focuses on biographical aspects of Eric Roll, on the book’s critical reception and evolving structure.

Tiago Mata is a Lecturer in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at University College London. Tiago has dedicated himself to the study of “Economics in the Public Sphere”, leading a team of scholars in researching the communication of economic knowledge since 1945. He has worked on political movements in economics, in particular the resurgence of the Left in 1960s and 1970s North America and how it enacted new ways to think the economy, expertise and social justice. He has also worked on the communication of economic knowledge and statistics and the development of business magazines and how they straddle the worlds of print and management, accommodating transformations in American corporate capitalism. Besides these topics, he also works on social science methodology and the funding regimes of the social sciences.

Christina Laskaridis co-hosts the Ceteris Never Paribus podcast, is a PhD candidate at the School of Oriental and African Studies and a former research fellow at the Center for the History of Political Economy.

We would like to thank to Laura Comicini for the clip in Italian, Roger Backhouse and Keith Tribe for sharing his interview with Eric Roll with us.

This episode makes use of the British Library’s Sounds Collection, and the Oral History recording with Eric Roll.

Maria Bach on Indian Economics in the late 19th century, Episode 14

In this episode, Reinhard talks with Maria Bach about her PhD thesis Redefining universal development from and at the margins: Indian Economics’ contribution to development discourse, 1870-1905. We discuss her interest in Indian economic thought, her methodological approach of Positive Discourse Analysis, the development of the Indian economy and of Indian economics in the second half of the 19th century. Maria describes how Indian Economics was influenced by the Indian economic experience and the policy they recommended for Indian development. A focus in the discussion is on the distinct concept of development, which Indian economists developed. In Maria’s thesis, she focuses on three Indian economists: Dadabhai Naoroji, Mahadev Govind Ranade, and Romesh Chunder Dutt. They are also the main protagonists in our discussion.

Maria Bach is an Assistant Professor in the Economics Department at the American University of Paris. She has recently finished her PhD at King’s College London in International Political Economy. In her thesis, she analyses how Indian Political Economists constructed an idea of development at the turn of the 19th century. Before starting her PhD, Maria was a consultant at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris working on a project entitled New Approaches to Economic Challenges. Maria completed her MSc in Development Economics in 2012 at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and her BA in International Economics and Applied Mathematics at the American University of Paris in 2011. And Maria is a co-host of Ceteris Never Paribus: The History of Economic Thought Podcast.

An article based on some of her Phd research has been published in the European Journal of the History of Economic Thought (EJHET): What laws determine progress? An Indian contribution to the idea of progress based on Mahadev Govind Ranade’s works, 1870–1901

Peter Boettke on F. A. Hayek, Episode 13

In this episode Erwin and Reinhard talk with Peter Boettke about his new book on Hayek, F.A. Hayek: Economics, Political Economy and Social Philosophy, published with Palgrave Macmillan. We discuss the various stages in Hayek’s work, Hayek’s relation to neoliberalism, Pete’s contra-Whig methodology for the history of economics (with a hat tip to Kenneth Boulding), Hayek’s relation to the Scottish Enlightenment, what it means to be an epistemic institutionalist, and the extent to which there was continuity between the early neoclassicals and the Austrian School. As well as many other subjects related to Hayek, and what a Hayekian research program looks like.

Peter Boettke is Director of the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, as well as the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and a University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University. He blogs at coordinationproblem.org.