This paper uses as source material twenty-three autobiographical essays by Nobel economists presented since 1984 at Trinity University (San Antonio, Texas) and published in Lives of the Laureates (MIT Press). A goal of the lecture series is to enhance understanding of the link between biography...

This paper uses as source material twenty-three autobiographical essays by Nobel economists presented since 1984 at Trinity University (San Antonio, Texas) and published in Lives of the Laureates (MIT Press). A goal of the lecture series is to enhance understanding of the link between biography...

This paper revisits Keynes's writings from Indian Currency and Finance (1913) to The General Theory (1936) with a focus on financial instability. The analysis reveals Keynes's astute concerns about the stability/fragility of the banking system, especially under deflationary conditions. Keynes's...

The ‘societal crisis of the present' (Gesellschaftskrisis der Gegenwart) is defined by the German neoliberals Eucken, Röpke and Rüstow as a state of ‘massification' (Vermassung), proletarianization and disintegration – accompanied by a far-reaching moral decadence, an ethical nihilism...

This paper is an account of the history of the attempt by Léon Walras to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1906. It describes Walras’ moves to get three of his Lausanne colleagues to nominate him for the Prize, the arguments advanced in the proposal, and the reception that it received by...

This review assesses the evolution of economic geography over the past two decades, picking up where Scott's (2000) intellectual history of the field's “great-half century” ends. It is part retrospective and prospective; as such, it aims beyond a historical review to outline some ideas about...

Public choice economics, like most economics, typically assigns only a small role to various forms of talk between individuals. By contrast, throughout Richard Wagner's oeuvre, there is an undercurrent of talk about talk. This essay argues that talk matters because of two key assumptions in...

Great achievements in knowledge are produced by older innovators today than they were a century ago. Using data on Nobel Prize winners and great inventors, I find that the age at which noted innovations are produced has increased by approximately 6 years over the 20th Century. This trend is...

For the first time since the 1930s, deflation in both goods and asset prices poses as much, or more, of a threat than does inflation. In this paper we explore public and policy maker perceptions and reactions to deflation covering the period from the late 19th century until the present. We also...

This article documents the sudden creation of a significant entrepôt for French wine, particularly Bordeaux claret, in Boulogne-Sur-Mer starting in 1720. Scottish Jacobites who practiced a rebellious version of "fair trade" dominated this commerce, and their network had direct links to...