"New Perspectives on the History of Political Economy" is a two-day
conference to be held under the auspices of the Business History Initiative at Harvard Business School on November 1-2, 2013. According to the conference website:
The role of the state in economic life is an issue of tantamount importance, one that directly affects every commercial and financial transaction, that encourages and discourages international trade, and that impacts lives globally on an incredible scale. Now more than ever, with the ongoing crisis of laissez-faire and concomitant renaissance of state capitalism, it is time to rethink the historical role of governments in markets. How, over the past seven centuries, have governments—of cities, states, and empires—understood their role in trade, how have they interacted, and what can this tell us about regulation today? "New Perspectives on the History of Political Economy" will bring together more than two dozen of the world’s leading scholars to discuss these issues and to rethink the history of political economy from the end of the Middle Ages until the present day.The conference aims to bring together international scholars in the field of political economy together with younger scholars at HBS. The preliminary program is now available, as well as information about lodging and travel. Questions should be directed to Felice Whittum.