Contributors

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Interview of John Davis by Jonathan Wight

John B. Davis is Professor of Economics, Marquette University, and Professor of Economics, University of Amsterdam, is author of Keynes’s Philosophical Development (Cambridge, 1994), The Theory of the Individual in Economics (Routledge, 2003), Individuals and Identity in Economics (Cambridge, 2011), and co-author with Marcel Boumans of Economic Methodology: Understanding Economics as a Science (Palgrave, 2010). He has been a visiting professor at the Sorbonne, Cambridge University, Erasmus University, and Duke University. He is a former editor of the Review of Social Economy, and is currently co-editor of the Journal of Economic Methodology and the Routledge book series Advances in Social Economics. He is a past president or chair of the History of Economics Society, the International Network for Economic Method, the Association for Social Economics, and past vice-president of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought. He is a Tinbergen Institute Fellow, and has taught two dozen different courses

The Human Development Index: A History

This article recounts the intellectual history of the UNDP’s Human Development Index. It begins with the early history of welfare economics and follows this field through three successive revolutions in thought, culminating in the theory of human development. The first section traces this history from the origins of economic “utility” theory to Amartya Sen’s human capabilities approach. The second section chronicles past and present measures of social welfare used in the fields of economics and development, including national income and a variety of composite measures, up to and including HDI.human development; well-being; human development index; economic history of thought; social welfare measurement

The attractiveness of the project of practical methodology and virtue epistemology for the economic history research

Ewa Domańska, a distinguished historian of historiography and the methodologist of history, has provided an insightful commentary on the state of humanities and social sciences. The development of interdisciplinary research in social sciences and humanities has resulted in varying outcomes and interpenetrations. Interdisciplinary research helps the development of science. However, studies undertaken with less rigor may pose some threats into the long term. According to Domańska, the lack of qualifications and care (especially with respect to theory and methodology) may undermine the autonomy of a disciplines and the credibility of research in the given field. This timely warning prompted the author to create the project with the aim to assert the independence of the threatened disciplines and to “re-professionalize” these areas of study. This is to be achieved by emphasizing the role of theory in science—a strong embeddedness of a discipline in the theory. Domańska’s concept, in the form of a dichotomous project, seems to be a recipe for achieving this goal. It presupposes, on the one hand, a “practical methodology”, i.e. constructing the theory basing on empirical research material, and on the other hand the so-called “virtue epistemology”, which stresses an ethical aspect of the researcher’s attitude and labour. The aim of the paper is to discuss Domańska’s project and to draw attention to the originality of her concept in the context of economic and social sciences. The economic history is a peculiar discipline founded at the intersection of history and economics. Thus, it is possible to put forward the thesis that Domańska’s suggestions are relevant to the research of economic history. The author will seek to determine what cognitive opportunities arise from the ontology of economic history and their potential threats to the main disciplines of history and economics. The article will also examine if Domańska’s project is appropriate for the economic history research as it is deeply embedded in “practical methodology”, and so in theory. Next, the author aims to consider the role of new theoretical approaches in this field, and whether it is possible to formulate novel concepts within the scope of the economic history. Finally, the author will attempt to assess the significance of “virtue epistemology” or the ethical aspect of an economic historian’s work.Publication of English-language versions of the volumes of the “Annales. Ethics in Economic Life” financed through contract no. 501/1/P-DUN/2017 from the funds of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education devoted to the promotion of scholarship

Trade, urban hinterlands and market integration, 1300-1600: a summing up

Paper given at a conference organised by the Centre for Metropolitan History and supported by the Economic and Social Research Council, 7 July 199

On Custom

Custom is a key factor for economic performance. Social and economic institutions build on it. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the motivational force of custom per se, as brought about by history. History creates entitlements, and these influence behavior. Custom is thus understood as a set of behavioral dispositions inherited from the past. In this, the present considerations deviate from earlier approaches that take custom as being stabilized by external rewards and sanctions alon

On Custom

Custom is a key factor for economic performance. Social and economic institutions build on it. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the motivational force of custom per se, as brought about by history. History creates entitlements, and these influence behavior. Custom is thus understood as a set of behavioral dispositions inherited from the past. In this, the present considerations deviate from earlier approaches that take custom as being stabilized by external rewards and sanctions aloneCustom; conventions; social capital; entitlements

Divergent historical experiences and inequality in academic achievement: the case of Poland

Divergent histories and changing country boundaries can lead to substantial within country variation in economic and social structures and inequality in economic and social outcomes. Given its changing borders and turbulent history, Poland provides a fertile setting for an examination of the effects of social and economic structures. In this paper we investigate regional variation in academic achievement in Poland in order to gain a better understanding of the effects of local social and economic structures on educational outcomes. The results suggest that economic dislocation following the transformation and the absence of long-lasting social institutions as a result of population relocation have had longer term adverse effects on academic achievement.school achievement; regional differences; Poland

African Immigration Research

Outlines the findings, activities, and impact of an oral history research project about African immigrants' experiences in the Bronx and their social, cultural, economic, political, and intellectual institutions and contributions. Makes recommendations

Indiana Territory and Early Statehood, 1800-1825

This handbook was developed to encourage more effective state citizenship through the teaching of state history. Attention is given to geographical factors, politics, government, social and economic changes, and cultural development