|Peter Boettke|
David Warsh has a great discussion of the development of modern economic theory from Samuelson to today. The narrative derives mainly from a new book by Roy Weintraub -- that as luck would have it I ordered earlier today to read.
Personally, I think it is extremely difficult for young economist to make sense of their discipline unless they know this story about the evolution of economic theory and more importantly economic education post WWII. And David Warsh is a very good story teller about economic ideas, so it will benefit younger economists (and older economists as well) to pay attention to his column.
The matter of how credit was taken from McKenzie is an old and unfortunate scandal in the profession. As it is, it appears that the guilty party was Debreu, with Arrow coming out of it pretty clean.
Posted by: Barkley Rosser | August 12, 2014 at 11:46 AM
This matter of Lionel McKenzie not getting proper credit for existence of general equilibrium has been a long-running scandal, with Roy Weintraub trying to correct the record. Indeed, he was first with his paper and even first with the publication, but somehow it is "Arrow-Debreu" GE, not "Arrow-Debreu-McKenzie," much less the more appropriate "McKenzie-Arrow-Debreu," with both of them getting Nobels while he did not.
One tidbit coming out of the new book by Weintraub is the role of Debreu, who seems to have played a much more unprofessional and direct role in slowing down and obscuring McKenzie's work than previously known. The highly honorable Kenneth Arrow appears to come out of this relatively cleanly, having been kept in the dark by Debreu about McKenzie's paper at the crucial time, although arguably he should have known about it on his own.
Posted by: Barkley Rosser | August 12, 2014 at 03:10 PM
This new book by Larry Boland may be interesting as well. Systematic investigation among his colleagues prompted the theses that perceptions of theories and models changed around 1980, so there was a before and after effect in the perception of models and the role of maths in teaching. Not yet available but very reasonably priced in paperback.
http://www.cambridge.org/ca/academic/subjects/economics/history-economic-thought-and-methodology/model-building-economics-its-purposes-and-limitations?format=HB
Posted by: Rafe Champion | August 12, 2014 at 03:30 PM
On this subject, I want to recommend highly a paper by Catherine Herfeld "Axiomatic Choice Theory Traveling between Mathematical Formalism, Normative Choice Rules and Psychological Measurement, 1944-1956."
http://hope.econ.duke.edu/sites/default/files/Herfeld_Working%20PaperCHOPE_Axiomatic%20Choice%20Theory%20Traveling.pdf
She is an up and coming first-class scholar.
Posted by: Mario Rizzo | August 12, 2014 at 05:28 PM