The Market for Political Economy : The Advent of Economics in British University Culture, 1850-1905

The Market for Political Economy presents the first detailed account of the emergence of economics as a university discipline in Britain in the later nineteenth century. The contributors--all historians and economists with considerable research experience in the field--shed light on the history of economics. Although scholars assumed that the complexities of a modern industrial economy would require a greater number of trained economists, this study shows that academic economics actually developed slowly. It was not until the 1920s that businesses and government agencies began to seek employees with academic training in economics. The book traces the development of the teaching of political economy in the second half of the nineteenth century, with particular emphasis on the extension movement, the development of civic universities, and Marshall's work in establishing the Economics tripos at Cambridge. The essays provide a different perspective on the development of adult education and the function of university education in a modernizing society. They also focus on the institutional conditions within which economic ideas develop, and their role in shaping economic thought. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 List of contributors......Page 8 Editorial preface: The institutionalization of political economy in Europe, the United States and Japan......Page 9 Acknowledgements......Page 13 INTRODUCTION: THE SUPPLY OF AND DEMAND FOR ECONOMICS IN LATE VICTORIAN BRITAIN......Page 14 THE TEACHING OF POLITICAL ECONOMY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON......Page 33 OXFORD ECONOMICS IN THE LATER NINETEENTH CENTURY......Page 55 THE TEACHING OF POLITICAL ECONOMY IN THE EXTENSION MOVEMENT: CAMBRIDGE, LONDON AND OXFORD......Page 91 THE TEACHING OF ECONOMICS AT THE QUEEN'S COLLEGES IN IRELAND (BELFAST, CORK, GALWAY), 1845 1900......Page 124 MARSHALL AND THE CAMBRIDGE ECONOMICS TRIPOS......Page 150 JEVONS'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE TEACHING OF POLITICAL ECONOMY IN MANCHESTER AND LONDON......Page 175 POLITICAL ECONOMY IN THE NORTHERN CIVIC UNIVERSITIES......Page 197 THE CITY, THE FABIANS AND THE FOUNDATION OF THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS......Page 240 Select Bibliography......Page 264 Index......Page 265 Why did political economy become pre-eminent in the emergence and development of the social sciences? From a relatively early stage in its development political economy was accepted as a legitimate, if minor, part of a general liberal education. However, economic science did not become firmly rooted in the academic curriculum of the modern English university until after the first world war.The Market for Political Economy argues that whilst it is commonly assumed that the complexities of a modern industrial economy would require a greater number of trained economists, the actual demand amongst employers remained low. The book traces the development of the teaching of political economy in the second half of the nineteenth century Why did political economy become pre-eminent in the emergence and development of the social sciences? From a relatively early stage in its development political economy was accepted as a legitimate, if minor, part of a general liberal education. However, economic science did not become firmly rooted in the academic curriculum of the modern English university until after the first world war. The Market for Political Economy argues that whilst it is commonly assumed that the complexities of a modern industrial economy would require a greater number of trained economists, the actual demand amongst Traces the development of the teaching of political economy in the second half of the 19th century. Particular attention is paid to the extension movement, the impact of the civic universities and to Marshall's work in establishing the economics tripos at Cambridge