A History of Colombian Economic Thought : The Economic Ideas That Built Modern Colombia

Ever since the quest for independence between 1810 and 1819, economic thought in Colombia has been shaped by policy debates and characterized by a pragmatic and eclectic approach. Economic thought in Colombia can only be revealed through the exploration of economists'practices and the role of economic arguments within broader public debate. This history of Colombian economic thought provides a detailed account of major issues that have marked the constant feedback between economic ideas and economic practice in Colombia during the 19th and 20th centuries. This volume is thus a history of the interaction between ideas and policy. Those involved in these debates – politicians, public officials, journalists, and, latterly, professional economists – established direct contact with what can be identified as the centers of production of economic theory (both in Europe and the US) and entered regional and local networks in economics, but were not just importers of ideas or theories. The way in which they read, discussed, transformed and applied economic theories in Colombia makes for a rich environment for the production and implementation of economic policies that drew, diverged and transformed the way economics was understood and used as a source of knowledge for practical concerns. This is why the history of Colombian economic thought does not fit into traditional typologies of economic schools and why it must be understood as part of a political debate and within a political, social and cultural context that demanded specific solutions to urgent social demands. Through the study of what was taught, when and how, at the beginnings of the republican era, and why and how professional economists came to lead public debate and economic policy making in the 20th century, this book explores the foundations of this permanent interaction between theory and practice. This book will be of significant interest to readers of history of economic thought, economic history and the history of Colombian and Latin American economic, political and social life more broadly. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables Preface Acknowledgements Contributors Part I: The Long First Century of a Nascent Republic Chapter 1: Teaching Political Economy in the Awakening of a Modern Republic: Colombia 1825–1885 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Political Economy as Civic Education in Universities 1.2.1 Public Debates on Bentham and Destutt de Tracy’s Books 1.2.2 Public Consensus on Say’s Books 1.3 Courses, Professors, and Institutions 1.4 The Conservative Repression 1.5 Concluding Remarks Notes Bibliography Chapter 2: Revolutionaries, Conservatives, and Reformists: The Political Economy of Debasement and Recoinage in New Granada 1780–1821 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Mechanics of Late Colonial Mintage 2.3 Late Colonial Monetary Landscape 2.4 Viceregal Money Doctors 2.5 Transforming the Monetary Landscape 2.6 Monetary Ideas in the Context of Revolution and Counterrevolution 2.7 Recoinage and Sovereignty 2.8 Final Remarks Archival Sources Newspapers Printed Sources Notes Bibliography Chapter 3: Rhetoric and Practice: Protectionism and Free Trade in the Second Half of the 19th Century 3.1 Introduction 3.2 1845–1863: Between Self-education, Travel, and Opinion Forming 3.3 1864–1885: Greater Definition of Concepts, Expansion of the Ideological Spectrum, and Development of Pedagogy 3.4 1886–1900: From Moderate Interventionism to Protection Policy 3.5 An Approach to the Legislative Debate 3.6 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 4: The Role of Economic Thought in the Administration of Justice in Colombia in the Second Half of the 19th Century 4.1 Introduction 4.2 The rise of rationalism in criminal law: Beccaria and Bentham 4.3 Moral philosophy and utilitarianism in Colombia 4.4 The administration of justice in practice: a statistical approach 4.5 Conclusion Archival Sources Notes Bibliography Chapter 5: Fiscal Reform and the Origins of Social Spending in Colombia 1850–1886 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Christian charity and the state-building process 5.3 Public charity and fiscal reform 5.4 Government spending and taxation on public charities in a decentralized context 5.5 Conclusion Archival Sources Notes Bibliography Chapter 6: Overtones of a Novel Political Philosophy: Mariano Ospina Pérez and Catholic Social Thought in the Rise of Public Banking in the 1930s 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Precedents: Rafael Núñez and Miguel Antonio Caro 6.3 Ospina’s Political Philosophy: Leo XIII and not Lenin 6.4 Banking Credit: Nationalize, Decentralize and Democratize 6.5 The Agrarian Credit Bank: Background and Purpose 6.6 The Agrarian Credit Bank: Design (Capital) 6.7 The Agrarian Credit Bank: Policies and Values Primary sources Notes Bibliography Part II: The Short 20th Century Chapter 7: Becoming Economic Experts: Philanthropic Foundations and the Internationalization of Economics in Colombia During the 1960s 7.1 Introduction 7.2 The Rockefeller and Ford Foundations as sponsors of economic education and research in Colombia 7.2.1 From the “ Chicago Boys ” to the “ Rover Boys ”: The Rockefeller at Univalle 7.2.2 Sponsoring applied research in economic development: The Rockefeller at Uniandes 7.3 University reform and the rebellious youth: Ford at the Universidad Nacional 7.4 Conclusion Archives Notes Bibliography Chapter 8: Employment Missions in Colombia: Discovering Informality, 1949–1985 8.1 Introduction 8.2 The context of each economic mission 8.2.1 The IBRD mission (Currie): A first comprehensive mission for development 8.2.2 CEPAL: From technical support to a General Development Plan 8.2.3 ILO: A multilateral view of employment 8.2.4 Chenery: The quest for an independent mission 8.3 Uncovering informal employment since 1949 8.3.1 The IBRD (Currie) mission: The bottlenecks of development 8.3.2 CEPAL: A diagnosis from a Latin American point of view 8.3.3 ILO: Full employment as a goal 8.3.4 Chenery: The causes of informality (macroeconomics and institutions) 8.4 The evolving notion of informality throughout the missions 8.4.1 Unveiling informality through economic sectors, labor typologies, and social security 8.4.2 Possible ways to overcome informality 8.5 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 9: The Failed Cepalino Connection in Colombian Economic Thinking 9.1 Introduction 9.2 The debate on development (1950–1979) 9.3 The neoliberal phase 9.4 Conclusion Statistical sources Notes Bibliography Chapter 10: Between the Hedgehog and the Fox: The Birth of Colombian Economic Historiography, 1942–1955 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Luis Eduardo Nieto Arteta: The Introduction of Historical Materialism 10.3 James Parsons: The Protagonism of Geography 10.4 Luis Ospina Vasquez: Economic History from the Bottom Up 10.5 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 11: Towards the Professionalization of Economics in Colombia 1934–1990: A Crossroads of Different Paradigms 11.1 Introduction 11.2 La Revolución en Marcha (The Revolution in Motion) and Economics: 1934–1942 11.3 The Beginnings of the Institutionalization of Economic Practice 11.4 The Pioneering Paths of Heterodoxies: The Influence of Structuralism, Marxism, and German Historicism 11.4.1 García Nossa and the Structuralist Perspective 11.4.2 Marxism and economic history 11.5 Consolidation of Economics in Higher Education 11.6 The Consolidation of an Applied Economy and the Development of Macroeconomic Policies 11.6.1 Macroeconomic Stabilization Policies and the Keynesianism of the Synthesis 11.6.2 Developmental Keynesianism: the ECLAC 11.6.3 A Marginal Attempt at Dependency Theory Colombian Style 11.6.4 The Institutionalization of Economic Research 11.7 The Development of Economics in the 1970s and 1980s 11.7.1 Academic Marxism and Economics at its Frontiers 11.7.2 From Synthesis Keynesianism to Monetarist Orthodoxy 11.7.3 Neo-Structuralist Resistance 11.7.4 Transformations in the Teaching of Economics 11.8 Conclusion Note Bibliography Chapter 12: 100 Years of Economics on the Board of the Banco de la República 12.1 Introduction 12.2 1880–1923: The Long Road for the Banco de la República Foundation 12.3 1923–1931: The Age of Bankers and Businessmen 12.4 1931–1951: Business Associations on the Rise 12.4.1 The Increasing Power of the Coffee Growers 12.4.2 Industrialists’ Quest for Power 12.4.3 Tragedy and Reconstruction 12.5 1951–1963: Credit Policy and a Corporatist Board 12.6 1963–1991: A Tale of Two Boards... and the Technical Politicians 12.6.1 Dawn of the Technocrats 12.6.2 Dusk of the Junta Monetaria 12.7 1991–2023: Technical Directors in an Independent Inflation- Oriented Central Bank 12.8 Discussion: A Redefinition of the Board in the 21st Century Notes Bibliography Chapter 13: A Mere Guest?: The Slow Process of Women’s Participation in Top Decision-Making Positions (1950–2000) 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Toward Female Participation in Top Economic Positions 13.3 1950 to 1974: “The Slow Awakening” 13.4 1974 to 1989: Participation at the Initiative of Men in Power 13.5 1989 to 2000: The Gap Remains Despite New Legislation 13.6 Women in Top Decision-making Positions: Education and Academic Production 13.7 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index