Masterclass on History of Economic Thought

Staff and postgraduate students were treated to a two-day masterclass on History of Economic Thought presented by Stan du Plessis (previously professor of Economics in the department, dean of the EMS faculty and COO of the university, and currently CEO of STADIO) and Andreas Freytag (professor at Friedrich Schiller University Jena and honorary professor at Stellenbosch University). Participants learned fascinating details about the first scholars who systematically studied the workings of complex economic systems: the French physiocrats and their famed Tableau économique, dating from 1758. The story continued through the era of the classical economists, Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Karl Marx, the German historical school and the Marginalists who shaped the foundations of modern economic theory and gave us many important concepts still vital today for understanding economic relationships.

There were also in-depth sessions explaining the origins of, and critically appraising, the current practice and state of macroeconomics and econometrics, institutional economics (old and new), public finance, information economics and finally trade. During the two days, lively discussions centered around understanding historical context and political environments, how ideas historically lead to disastrous policy mistakes as well as successes, and how these are still critically relevant to the current economic world.