Hugh Goodacre

Published items on the history of economic thought.

 

Books:

The economic thought of William Petty: exploring the colonialist roots of economics. London and New York: Routledge. 2018. Routledge Studies in the History of Economics, 205. Hb: 978-0-815-34815-3.

 

Peer-reviewed periodical items:

“The William Petty problem and the Whig history of economics”. Cambridge Journal of Economics. Vol. 38, Issue No. 3. May 2014. ISSN 0309-166X

“Technological progress and economic analysis from Petty to Smith”. European Journal for the History of Economic Thought. Vol. 17, Issue No. 5. pp. 1149-1168. December 2010. [Special issue on technology and economics with keynote article by Robert Solow.] ISSN: 0967-2567.

“Limited liability and the wealth of ‘uncivilised nations’: Adam Smith and the limits to the European Enlightenment”. Cambridge Journal of Economics. Vol. 34, Issue No. 5. pp. 857-67. September 2010. ISSN: 0309-166X.

“From Petty to Ricardo up to Sraffa”. Review article on The Wealth of Ideas: a History of Economic Thought by Alessandro Roncaglia. Cambridge University Press, 2005. pp. xiv, 582. [Originally published in Italian in 2001 as La ricchezza delle idee.] Economic Issues 13 (1) March 2008. pp. 106-8. ISSN: 1363-7029.

 

Book chapters:

“Economics, geography and colonialism in the writings of William Petty”. In Arena, Richard, Dow, Sheila, and Klaes, Matthias, eds Open Economics: economics in relation to other disciplines. London and New York: Routledge. 2009. pp. 233-46. ISBN: 978 0 415 46012 5 (hbk). ISBN: 978 0 203 87879 8 (ebk).

“Colonialism, displacement and cannibalism in early modern economic thought”. In Balfour, Robert, ed. 2010. Culture, capital and representation. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Sponsored by the Institute for Commonwealth Studies, and the Jane Austen Society. pp. 16-34. ISBN: 978 0 230 24645 4 hardback.

“William Petty and early colonial roots of development economics”. In Jomo, Kwame Sundaram, ed., 2005. Pioneers of Economic Development. New Delhi: Tulika Books; London: Zed Press. pp. 10-30. ISBN: 1 84277 644 4 hb 1 84277 645 2 pb. [Also published in Vietnamese as Kinh tê hoc phåt triên cåc nha kinh têe vi dai vê phat triên, 2007, translated by Trån Doàn Lâm. Hanoi: Nhà Xuất Bån Thế Giối.]

“Development and geography: current debates in historical perspective”. In Jomo, Kwame Sundaram, and Fine, Ben, eds, 2005. The New Development Economics: after the Washington Consensus. New Delhi: Tulika Books; London: Zed Press. pp. 249-68. ISBN: 1 84277 642 8 hb. 1 84277 643 6 pb.

“Classical political economy”. In B. Fine and A. Saad-Filho, eds, 2012. Elgar Companion to Marxist Economics, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar. pp. 53-59. ISBN: 978 1 84 844 537 6 (cased).

 

Outline of selected publications

 

Books.

The economic thought of William Petty: exploring the colonialist roots of economics. London and New York: Routledge. 2018. Routledge Studies in the History of Economics, 205. Hb: 978-0-815-34815-3.

This book has been assessed by the relevant authorities as having explored its subject “in a more thoroughgoing manner than perhaps has ever previously been proposed… It is a book bristling with scholarship, drawing on a large set of primary sources and a vast body of secondary literature—and an unusually wide-ranging body of secondary literature, across multiple disciplines”. The book shows how the ideas that have characterised much of the economic thought of the subsequent ‘mainstream economics’ dominating in the capitalist countries today was initially formulated in the context of Petty’s active involvement in the military-colonial administration of Ireland following its invasion by Oliver Cromwell. The book’s anti-colonialist orientation thus adds an original and timely dimension to the growing critical literature on ‘mainstream economics’, arguing that it continues to reflect the influence of the world of military-bureaucratic officialdom, neo-feudalism, and colonialism served by this writer, who was described by Marx as the “father of English political economy”.

 

Peer-reviewed journal articles

“The William Petty problem and the Whig history of economics”. Cambridge Journal of Economics. Forthcoming, 2012. Unconditionally accepted; prior to print edition, will be published online (ISSN: 1464-3545).

This article strongly argues the case expressed by Professor Mark Blaug in the words: “History of economic thought is not a specialization within economics. It is economics – sliced vertically against the horizontal axis of time.” The secondary literature on the seventeenth-century writer William Petty provides an ideal case study in the substantiation of this case. Comment on Petty dates back to even before the origins of the history of economic thought as a systematic field of inquiry, and the secondary literature exceeds in scale and scope that on any other early modern English-language writer on economic affairs prior to Adam Smith. In its course, this literature has embraced writers from a wide range of schools of economic thought, from classical political economy to marginalism, and from the most ‘orthodox’ adherents of neoclassical economics to heterodox currents of extreme diversity, from the ‘surplus’ to the Austrian schools. It illustrates how standpoints on some fundamental issues in economics have changed over the course of history, and that crucial lessons for the application of economic ideas today may be lost if no attempt is made to understand the roots of those ideas in their historical rather than their contemporary contexts.

 

“Limited liability and the wealth of ‘uncivilised nations’: Adam Smith and the limits to the European Enlightenment”. Cambridge Journal of Economics. Vol. 34, Issue No. 5. pp. 857-67. September 2010. ISSN: 0309-166X.

This article was published in a Special Issue on “Corporate Accountability, Limited Liability and the Future of Globalization”. It consists of proceedings of an interdisciplinary conference at SOAS which received publicity in the media, and from which further activities have resulted on a sustained basis, in which I hope to participate further. I contributed to the publicity with correspondence in the press, and also gave a companion paper at the University of Westminster to broaden the impact of the project. The publication of this article has had a positive result in establishing interdisciplinary contacts in and around the University of London, and internationally, some of the participants in the conference having been former research colleagues from other countries, particularly India.

 

“Technological progress and economic analysis from Petty to Smith”. European Journal for the History of Economic Thought. Vol. 17, Issue No. 5. pp. 1149-1168. December 2010. [Special issue on technology and economics with keynote article by Robert Solow.] ISSN: 0967-2567.

This article was published in a journal issue made up of proceedings of the annual conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought, and has helped to establish my work in that growing forum and its equivalents internationally. The fact that the keynote article is by Robert Solow, in which he comments self-critically on the lack of attention to the history of economic thought in recent decades, has given this issue an especial impact; other articles are by Nicholas Crafts and other established authorities.

 

 

Book chapters

“William Petty and early colonial roots of development economics”. In: Jomo, Kwame Sundaram, ed., Pioneers of Economic Development. New Delhi: Tulika Books; London: Zed Press. 2005. pp. 249-68. ISBN: 1 84277 644 4 hb 1 84277 645 2 pb. [Copy available.]

The editor was a Professor in Kuala Lumpur, but during the editing process was appointed Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations for Social and Economic Development. I worked closely with him on the editing of a number of contributions to the volume, besides contributing my own chapter, which opened the book. The sponsoring organisation was the SEPHIS, the South-South Exchange Programme for Research on the History of Development, which sponsors a number of initiatives around the world, such as the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta. The book has now also appeared in Vietnamese translation as Kinh tê hoc phåt triên cåc nha kinh têe vi dai vê phat triên. It has been noticed and reviewed in a number of periodicals and newsletters. Other chapters by John Toye and other well-established authorities.

 

“Development and geography: current debates in historical perspective”. In: Jomo, Kwame Sundaram, and Fine, Ben, eds, The New Development Economics: a critical introduction. New Delhi: Tulika Books; London: Zed Press. 2005. pp. 10-30. ISBN: 1 84277 642 8 hb. 1 84277 643 6 pb. [Copy available.]

A companion volume to the above, also widely noted and recommended reading at SOAS. My article, largely concerned with Paul Krugman and Jeffery Sachs, has provided the basis for seminar papers, as well as letters to the press and general participation on the role of economics. I have subsequently up-dated this work following Krugman’s Nobel prize, and I am revising it for submission to peer review as a journal article.

 

“Classical political economy”. In B. Fine and A. Saad-Filho, eds, 2012. Elgar Companion to Marxist Economics, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar. pp. 53-59. ISBN: 978 1 84 844 537 6 (cased).

This article shows that Marx’s grasp of the history and source of economic ideas was an essential aspect of his ideology, centring on a detailed analysis of the outline history of classical political economy in his Contribution to the critique of political economy.

 

Publication work in progress / items under review:

“That which remaineth”: the surplus and its distribution the New Testament to William Petty. [Article in preparation on discussions of this subject prior to Marx’s theory of exploitation.]

Money, land and language: William Petty in the City of London, 1658. [Article in preparation on some background to Marx’s analysis of the early history of banking.]

History of Economic Thought; an introductory textbook. [Based on my module handbook for UCL ECON1006 (see Teaching for details).] A response to the UK Quality Assurance Agency’s prescription that an education in economics should provide students with an “appreciation of the history and development of economic ideas and the differing methods of analysis that have been and are used by economists” and “the ability to think critically about the limits of one’s analysis in a broader socio-economic context”.

William Petty and the Marx’s account of the ‘momenta’ of the primitive accumulation of capital.

A thousand men and a calf: William Petty’s two theories of distribution in their biographical background. [Article in preparation situating the theories in the context of the class dynamics of Petty’s time.]

 

Conference and Seminar Papers  (in reverse chronological order of year):

2018

A thousand men and a calf: William Petty’s two theories of distribution in their biographical background. Paper presented to the Annual Conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought, 2018.  7-9 June 2018, Complutense University of Madrid.

2017

“Homo ricardensis: common ancestor of Marxism and neoclassical economics.” Paper presented to the Annual Conference of the Royal Economics Society, April 2017, Bristol.

“That which remaineth”: surplus and necessity from the New Testament to English political economy. Paper presented to the Annual Conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought, May 2017, Antwerp, Belgium. 

2014

2-4 July 2014
University of Greenwich, LondonWilliam Petty’s ‘par and equation between lands and labour’: Irish lands, English political economy and ‘factors of production’. Paper presented to the 16th Conference of the Association for Heterodox Economics, 2-4 July 2014, University of Greenwich, London.

2013

“That which remaineth”: surplus and necessity from the New Testament to William Petty. Paper presented to the Kingston Conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought, 16-18 May 2013.

Markets and politics: the imperative for the history of ideas. Paper delivered to the conference organised by the University of Westminster on “The Politics of markets – shaping, steering and evaluation”, 13 June 2013.

William Petty and Marx’s analysis of the ‘momenta’ of the primitive accumulation of capital. Paper delivered to the 15th Conference of the Association for Heterodox Economics. 4-6 July 2013,  London Metropolitan University.

Money, land and language: William Petty in the City of London, 1658. Paper presented to the Reading Early Modern Conference, University of Reading, 9-11 July 2013.

William Petty and the intellectual ancestry of development economics. Paper delivered to the 45th Annual UK History Of Economic Thought Conference, University of Sheffield, 4-6 September 2013.

2010

“The first economic policy proposal: William Petty and the origination of the practice of the economist. Paper for the 14th Conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought  on the theme ‘The practices of economists in the past and today’. Amsterdam, 25-7 March 2010.

“Technological progress and economic analysis from Petty to Smith”. Paper for the Westminster Business School, University of Westminster, Research Seminar, 13 April 2010.

2009

“Economists and geographers: Paul Krugman’s Nobel award-winning ‘new economic geography’ and its reception by the incumbent discipline.” Paper for the Westminster Business School, University of Westminster, Research Seminar, 17 March 2009.

“Technological change and economic analysis in early modern English economic writings.” Paper for the 13th Conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought, on the theme “Technological change and economic analysis”. Economic Departments of the University of Macedonia and the Aristotle University, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece. 23- 26 April 2009.

“Paul Krugman’s ‘Nobel award’: economics imperialism, geography and the political economy of development.” Paper for the 11th Conference of the Association for Heterodox Economics, on the theme “Heterodox Economics and Sustainable Development, 20 years on”, Kingston University, London, 9-12 July 2009.

2008

“William Petty and the colonialist roots of development economics”. Paper for the 12th Annual Conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought, University of Economics, Prague, 15-17 May 2008, on the theme: “Development and Transition in the History of Economic Thought”.

2007

“The European Enlightenment and the world economy today; or, Adam Smith and the Wealth of ‘Uncivilised Nations’.” Paper for the Westminster Business School, University of Westminster, Research Seminar, 8 November 2007.

“Colonial territory and social surplus: William Petty in the City of London, 1658”. Paper for the 2007 Annual UK Conference on the History of Economic Thought. Queens University, Belfast, 10-12 September 2007.

“Limited Liability and the Wealth of ‘Uncivilised Nations’: Adam Smith and the Limits to the European Enlightenment”. Paper for the conference on ‘Corporate Accountability, Limited Liability and the Future of Globalization’, CISD, School of Oriental and African Studies, 20-21 July 2007. Subsequently published in Cambridge Journal of Economics. Vol. 34, Issue No. 5. pp. 857-67.

“William Petty and the Whig history of economic thought”. Paper for the Conference of the Association for Heterodox Economics. Bristol. 13-15 July 2007.

“William Petty and the economic surplus: a biographical exploration”. Paper for the conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought. Strasbourg, 5-7 July 2007.

2006

“William Petty and the economic surplus: a biographical exploration”. Paper for the annual UK History of Economic Thought Conference, University of Brighton Business School, 13-15 September 2006.

“William Petty and colonialism: a critique of some pluralist perspectives in the a critique of pluralism in the secondary literature.” Paper for the Annual Conference of the Association for Heterodox Economics. London School of Economics, 14-16 July 2006.

“Money, land and language: William Petty in the City of London, 1658”. Paper for the colloquium “Money, power and prose: interdisciplinary studies of the financial revolution in the British Isles, 1688-1756”. Armagh, 8-10 June 2006.

“Economics and its neighbouring disciplines”. Paper for the Westminster Business School. 16 May 2006.

“French Jesuits, English political economy, and a ‘most remarkable accident’”. Paper delivered at the 10th Conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought, Porto, Portugal, 28-30 April 2006.

2005

“Colonialism, displacement and cannibalism in early modern economic thought”. Paper delivered at a colloquium at the Institute for Commonwealth Studies, London, and Institute for English Studies, London, 14-17 September 2005. Subsequently published in Balfour, Robert, ed. 2010. Culture, capital and representation. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan..

“Is the history of economic thought a discipline? Current literature on William Petty as a case study”. Paper for the Conference on the History of Economic Thought, University of Exeter, 5-7 September 2005.

“Pluralism and the economic geography of development”. Papers delivered at the Annual Conference of the Association for Heterodox Economics, City University, London, July 7-11 2005.

“William Petty and the colonialist roots of development economics”. Paper for the Annual Conference of the Association for Heterodox Economics, City University, London, July 7-11 2005.

“The spatial-economic logic of William Petty’s population transfer scheme”. Paper for the 9th Conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought, on the theme “Economics and other disciplines”, University of Stirling, 9-12 June 2005. Subsequently published in Arena, Dow and Klaes (2009) as “Economics, geography and colonialism in the writings of William Petty” (see CV-9.1).

“William Petty and the roots of economics”. PhD Thesis. Currently being revised for publication (see CV-9.2).

2004

“Paul Krugman, Jeffrey Sachs, and development economics”. Paper for the Political Economy of Development Seminar, SOAS, London, February 2004.

2003

“The ‘new economic geography’”. Lecture for the MSc course Economic and the social sciences, SOAS, March 2003; repeated March 2004.

2002

“William Petty and the roots of economics”. Paper presented to the Interdisciplinary Seminar, School of Social and Human Sciences, City University, London. 2002.

“The spatial economy: from William Petty to Paul Krugman”. Paper for the Political Economy of Development Seminar, SOAS, London. March 19 2002.

 

 

2001

“Economic transactions and geometrical form in the work of William Petty: a study in the roots of spatial economics”. Paper presented to the Research Seminar of the Department of Economics, SOAS. November 2001.

2000 and earlier

“Arguments for privatisation in Britain and their relevance for developing countries”. Lecture to British Council course for Chinese economists. University of Oxford. September 1994. Repeated, September 1995.

“Theories of oil supply”. Paper presented to the Research Seminar of the Department of Economics, SOAS. March, 1994.

“Commodity prices, inflation and North-South economic interaction”. MSc dissertation, Birkbeck College, London. 1992.

“Economic management in Korea”. Paper delivered to the annual conference of the British Association of Korean Studies. Oxford. March 1991.

“Economic development in Egypt, 1798-1841”. Dissertation for MSc in Development Studies, London School of Economics. 1970.