IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/74481.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Sumner Slichter and Emil Lederer: Central Visions Compared

Author

Listed:
  • Katselidis, Ioannis
  • Vouldis, Angelos
  • Michaelides, Panayotis G.

Abstract

umner Slichter was “perhaps the most influential industrial economist in America”, while Emil Lederer was “the leading academic socialist of Germany in the 1920’s”. However, most aspects of their works remain unexplored. This paper analyzes Lederer’s and Slichter’s central theses. Given the presence of main elements of both economists’ visions in the famous Debate on Technological Unemployment which took place in the U.S.A. (1928-1933), it is surprising that so little attention has been paid to their works. After a careful examination of their writings, their theoretical investigations in a great number of thematic areas seem to converge. Analytically, both economists, attempted to explain the apparent inability of the economic system to readjust and absorb the unemployed workers. Also, both economists disputed the assertion of Say’s law that full equilibrium would be assured by the functioning of market forces. They both emphasised on the role of technical change. Another interesting aspect of both economists’ investigations is their respective theoretical shift around 1930 which could be related to the disastrous consequences of the Great Depression. The paper concludes that, despite some obvious differences between Lederer and Slichter, the parallels are undeniable.

Suggested Citation

  • Katselidis, Ioannis & Vouldis, Angelos & Michaelides, Panayotis G., 2010. "Sumner Slichter and Emil Lederer: Central Visions Compared," MPRA Paper 74481, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:74481
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/74481/1/MPRA_paper_74481.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John Toye, 2006. "Hans Singer's debts to Schumpeter and Keynes," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 30(6), pages 819-833, November.
    2. G. M.P. Swann, 2009. "The Economics of Innovation," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13211.
    3. Robert Leeson, 1997. "Influence (or The Lack of It) in the Economics Profession: The Case of Lucien Albert Hahn," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 29(4), pages 635-638, Winter.
    4. Erik Reinert, 2002. "Schumpeter In The Context Of Two Canons Of Economic Thought," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1-2), pages 23-39.
    5. John Milios & Dimitris P. Sotiropoulos, 2009. "Capitalist Mode of Production and Monopolies," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Rethinking Imperialism, chapter 6, pages 112-120, Palgrave Macmillan.
    6. Gregory R. Woirol, 2006. "New Data, New Issues: The Origins of the Technological Unemployment Debates," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 38(3), pages 473-496, Fall.
    7. Gottfried Haberler, 1950. "Joseph Alois Schumpeter 1883–1950," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 64(3), pages 333-372.
    8. Allgoewer, Elisabeth, 2003. "Emil Lederer: Business Cycles, Crises, and Growth," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(3), pages 327-348, September.
    9. Claude Diebolt, 2006. "Progrès technique et cycles économiques dans la pensée allemande de l’entre-deux-guerres : l’apport d’Emil Lederer," Working Papers 06-09, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC).
    10. Yuichi Shionoya, 2005. "The Soul of the German Historical School," The European Heritage in Economics and the Social Sciences, Springer, number 978-0-387-23085-6, July.
    11. Hagemann, Harald, 2005. "Dismissal, Expulsion, and Emigration of German-Speaking Economists after 1933," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(4), pages 405-420, December.
    12. Panayotis G. Michaelides & John G. Milios, 2009. "Joseph Schumpeter and the German Historical School," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 33(3), pages 495-516, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ioannis Katselidis & Angelos Vouldis & Panayotis G. Michaelides, 2011. "Sumner Slichter and Emil Lederer on technological unemployment," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 38(6), pages 537-556, May.
    2. Panayotis Michaelides & John Milios & Angelos Vouldis & Spyros Lapatsioras, 2010. "Emil Lederer and Joseph Schumpeter on Economic Growth, Technology and Business Cycles," Forum for Social Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(2), pages 171-189, January.
    3. Panayotis G. Michaelides & John G. Milios & Angelos Vouldis & Spyros Lapatsioras, 2010. "Heterodox influences on Schumpeter," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 37(3), pages 197-213, February.
    4. Michaelides, Panayotis G. & Theologou, Kostas, 2009. "Joseph Schumpeter and Gabriel Tarde on Technological Change and Social Evolution," MPRA Paper 67189, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Michaelides, Panayotis G. & Milios, John G. & Vouldis, Angelos, 2007. "Schumpeter and Lederer on Growth, Technology, Credit and Business Cycles," MPRA Paper 74486, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Angelos Vouldis & Panayotis Michaelides & John Milios, 2011. "Emil Lederer and the Schumpeter-Hilferding-Tugan-Baranowsky Nexus," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 439-460.
    7. Panayotis G. Michaelides & Kostas Theologou, 2010. "Tarde's influence on Schumpeter: technology and social evolution," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 37(5), pages 361-373, April.
    8. Angelos T. Vouldis & Panayotis G. Michaelides & John G. Milios, 2012. "Emil Lederer’s Theory of Economic Fluctuations and the Role of Financial Institutions," Forum for Social Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(1), pages 30-45, April.
    9. Ferlito, Carmelo, 2015. "Entrepreneurship: State of grace or human action?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 27(1-2), pages 11-36.
    10. Stefano Lucarelli & Alfonso Giuliani & Hervé Baron, 2019. "The past and future of the social sciences. A Schumpeterian theory of scientific development?," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 43(6), pages 1701-1722.
    11. Michaelides, Panayotis G. & Milios, John G., 2005. "The Influence of the German Historical School on Schumpeter," MPRA Paper 74471, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Dieter Bögenhold, 2018. "Schumpeter’s Split Between “Pure” Economics and Institutional Economics: Why Methodological Individualism Was Not Fully Considered," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 24(3), pages 253-264, August.
    13. Michaelides, Panayotis G. & Milios, John G., 2004. "Hilferding's Influence on Schumpeter : A First Discussion," MPRA Paper 74462, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Helge Peukert, 2015. "Richard Abel Musgrave and Joseph Alois Schumpeter: Two intellectual authorities in economics and their shared and different frameworks, read through the lenses of the Perlman dichotomies," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 253-262, January.
    15. Panayotis Michaelides & John Milios, 2015. "The Schumpeter–Hilferding Nexus," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 133-145, January.
    16. Ferlito, Carmelo, 2015. "Entrepreneurship: State of grace or human action? Schumpeter’s leadership vs Kirzner’s alertness," MPRA Paper 67694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Michaelides, Panayotis G. & Milios, John G. & Vouldis, Angelos, 2007. "Schumpeter, Lederer and Hilferding on Economic Development, Credit and Business Cycles," MPRA Paper 74472, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Frank R. Lichtenberg, 2014. "Has Medical Innovation Reduced Cancer Mortality?," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 60(1), pages 135-177.
    19. Cowling, Marc & Ughetto, Elisa & Lee, Neil, 2018. "The innovation debt penalty: Cost of debt, loan default, and the effects of a public loan guarantee on high-tech firms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 166-176.
    20. Alhassan Abdul-Wakeel Karakara & Evans Osabuohien, 2020. "ICT adoption, competition and innovation of informal firms in West Africa: a comparative study of Ghana and Nigeria," Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(3), pages 397-414, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Slichter; Lederer; Technological Unemployment; Equilibrium;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals
    • J0 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:74481. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.