Teaching and Learning Schumpeter: A Dialogue Between Professor and Student

Dalton, John and Logan, Andrew (2019): Teaching and Learning Schumpeter: A Dialogue Between Professor and Student.

Abstract

Joseph Schumpeter's contributions to economics, including theories about innovation and entrepreneurship, creative destruction, and the debate over capitalism versus socialism, all remain relevant today. There is evidence, however, that Schumpeter's ideas have long received less attention in the classroom than they deserve given the importance economists attach to them. This paper provides a description of a discussion-based course on Schumpeter. Using a dialogue between professor and student before, during, and after the course, we describe the structure of the course and specific details related to content. We also include a syllabus, sources for class materials, and a list of over forty discussion questions. The dialogue allows us to show the dynamic nature of a discussion-based class, something we think Schumpeter would approve.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Joseph Schumpeter; Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Creative Destruction; Education
• Subjects: A - General Economics and Teaching > A2 - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights; P - Economic Systems > P0 - General

References

Aghion, P., U. Akcigit, and P. Howitt (2014): "What Do We Learn From Schumpeterian Growth Theory?," in P. Aghion and S. N. Durlauf, editors, Handbook of Economic Growth, Volume 2, 515-563.

Allen, R.L. (1991): Opening Doors: The Life and Work of Joseph Schumpeter, 2 volumes. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.

Antioco, J. (2011): "How I Did It: Blockbuster's Former CEO on Sparring with an Activist Shareholder," Harvard Business Review, April.

Birkinshaw, J. (2017): "Uber--A Story of Destructive Creation," Forbes, October.

Bogart, W.T. (1995): "Looking Backward at Feasible Socialism: Using Bellamy to Teach Schumpeter," Journal of Economic Education, 26(4), 352--356.

Cowen, T. (2011): The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All the Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better. New York, NY: Dutton.

Dalton, J.T., and L.R. Gaeto (2018): "Schumpeter vs. Keynes Redux: "Still Not Dead"," working paper.

Diamond, A.M. (2007): "The Neglect of Creative Destruction in Micro-Principles Texts," History of Economic Ideas, 26(4), 352--356.

Diamond, A.M. (2009a): "Using Video Clips to Teach Creative Destruction," Journal of Private Enterprise, 25(1).

Diamond, A.M. (2009b): "Schumpeter vs. Keynes: "In the Long Run Not All of Us Are Dead"," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 31(4), 531--541.

Editorial Board (2018): "What Will New York Do About Its Uber Problem?," New York Times, May 7.

Gordon, R.J. (2016): The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil War. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Gwartney, J. (2012): "What Should We Be Teaching in Basic Economics Courses?," Journal of Economic Education, 43(3), 300--307.

Hansen, W.L. (1983): "Improving Classroom Discussion in Economics Courses," Journal of Economic Education, 14(1), 40--49.

Jensen, E.J., and A.L. Owen (2003): "Appealing to Good Students in Introductory Economics," Journal of Economic Education, 34(4), 299--325.

McCannon, B.C. (2011): "Teaching Austrian Economics in Austria as a Non-Austrian: A Note," Journal of Economics and Finance Education, 10(2), 1--5.

McCraw, T.K. (2007): Prophet of Innovation: Joseph Schumpeter and Creative Destruction. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

McCraw, T.K. (2008): "Introduction to the Harper Perennial Modern Thought Edition," in J. A. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, New York, NY: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, IX-XXXII.

Marz, E. (1991): Joseph Schumpeter: Scholar, Teacher and Politician. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Muller, J.Z. (1999): "Capitalism, Socialism, and Irony: Understanding Schumpeter in Context," Critical Review, 13(3-4), 239--267.

Phipps, B.J., R.J. Strom, and W.J. Baumol (2012): "Principles of Economics Without the Prince of Denmark," Journal of Economic Education, 43(1), 58--71.

Schmidt, S. (2017): "Blockbuster has Survived in the Most Curious of Places--Alaska," Washington Post, April 26.

Schumpeter, J.A. (1950): Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. New York, NY: Harper & Row.

Simonson, G.R. (1964): "Missiles and Creative Destruction in the American Aircraft Industry, 1956-1961," Business History Review, 38(3), 302--314.

Stolper, W.F. (1994): Joseph Alois Schumpeter: The Public Life of a Private Man. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Swedberg, R. (1991): Schumpeter: A Biography. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Watts, M., and G. Schaur (2011): "Teaching and Assessment Methods in Undergraduate Economics: A Fourth National Quinquennial Survey," Journal of Economic Education, 42(3), 294--309.