Reunion of Early Post WW II Economics PhDs

by Maynard Comiez, Ph.D. 1961

Twelve of the more than 200 students who from 1950 to the early 1960s received PhD degrees from the UW-Madison’s Economics Department convened here in October 2008 to get reacquainted and discuss the impact of their “institutional economics” training on their careers in teaching, government service, and private consulting. This period marked the Department’s transition from Wisconsin’s “institutional” tradition in economics to an emphasis on econometrics and subsequently neoclassical economics.

Several U.W. Emeritus Professors who helped bridge the transition period joined the discussion, including Ed Young (PhD 1950), Ted Morgan (1910-2009), W. Lee Hansen, Glen Cain, Art Goldberger (1930-2009), and Fritz Mueller.

The group’s discussion focused on the role and meaning of institutional economics. The big question was “what defines institutionalism and how does it differ from neoclassical economics?” Participants agreed that modern economic emphasizes quantitative techniques to explain how the market allocates resources whereas institutional economics viewed the market as one of a host of institutions that interact with each other in allocating resources. Institutionalism, by contrast, focuses on the behavior of institutions (e.g., legal system) and organizations (e.g., governments, labor unions, businesses, and utilities). Its goal is to understand how they are organized, interact with each other, and exert power and influence on social change and economic performance through the legal system. But participants differed on the significance of this approach. Some saw it as essential in the policy making process (e.g., health care). Others believed economists needed a combination of training in institutionalism and economic theory to develop effective public programs.

The intense discussion produced few conclusive answers which is not surprising. Martin Bronfenbrenner, a UW-Madison economic professor from 1947 to 1957, in a reflective essay on the Department, published in Economists at Wisconsin edited by Robert J. Lampman (1993), argued that “… it was difficult to ascertain exactly what the departmental ideology consisted of. Each institutionalist appeared to be defining institutionalism in his own way.”

Despite continuing uncertainties about the meaning of institutionalism, the participants agreed that their experience as graduate students at Wisconsin provided them with valuable knowledge and tools that enabled them to succeed in their professional careers.