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The economist quae political economist: Lionel Robbins and the economic adivisory council

Author

Listed:
  • Thiago Dumont Oliveira

    (N/A)

  • Carlos Eduardo Suprinyak

    (Cedeplar-UFMG)

Abstract

This paper assesses Robbins's participation in the Economic Advisory Council in 1930, drawing mostly on The Lionel Robbins Papers held atthe LSE. The divergences between him and Keynes are highlighted and an attempt is made to shed some light on Robbins' overarching interest on the interplay of economics as a science and political economy as a broader field that includes normative considerations. This renders invalid criticisms related to the absence of ethical considerations in Robbins' approach to economics. Specifically, some elements that would resurface in Robbins' later works are identified, and it is argued that the Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science should be situated within his larger purpose of illuminating the extent to which the science of economics could serve as an important tool – necessary, though not sufficient –to orient the formulation of public policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Thiago Dumont Oliveira & Carlos Eduardo Suprinyak, 2016. "The economist quae political economist: Lionel Robbins and the economic adivisory council," Textos para Discussão Cedeplar-UFMG 535, Cedeplar, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdp:texdis:td535
    as

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    File URL: https://www.cedeplar.ufmg.br/pesquisas/td/TD%20535.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Colander, David, 2009. "What Was “It” That Robbins Was Defining?," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(4), pages 437-448, December.
    2. Robert Sugden, 2009. "Can Economics be Founded on ‘Indisputable Facts of Experience’? Lionel Robbins and the Pioneers of Neoclassical Economics," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 76(s1), pages 857-872, October.
    3. Wright, Richard, 1989. "Robbins as a Political Economist: A Response," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(396), pages 471-478, June.
    4. A. B. Atkinson, 2009. "Economics as a Moral Science," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 76(s1), pages 791-804, October.
    5. Susan Howson, 2004. "The Origins of Lionel Robbins's Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 36(3), pages 413-443, Fall.
    6. Lord Robbins, 1971. "Autobiography of an Economist," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-01164-3, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Thiago Dumont Oliveira & Carlos Eduardo Suprinyak, 2016. "Lionel Robbins’ first-step individualism and the prehistory of microfoundations," Textos para Discussão Cedeplar-UFMG 537, Cedeplar, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.
    2. Carlos Eduardo Suprinyak & Thiago Dumont Oliveira, 2018. "Economists, social scientists, and the reconstruction of the world order in interwar Britain," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(6), pages 1282-1310, November.
    3. Thiago Dumont Oliveira & Carlos Eduardo Suprinyak, 2018. "Of time, uncertainty, and policy-making : Lionel Robbins’ lost philosophy of political economy," Textos para Discussão Cedeplar-UFMG 580, Cedeplar, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    onel Robbins; Economic Advisory Council; Economics x Political Economy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B20 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - General
    • B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals

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