Presidential Address
Frank H. Knight’s Last Lecture - Pivotal Ideas in the History of Economics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21634880 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ross B Emmett (0000-0002-2891-554X, Arizona State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-18 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of the History of Economic Thought (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1053-8372 • E-ISSN: 1469-9656 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s1053837225101107 |
| OpenAlex | W7152531224 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 17 |
Frank Knight’s work is examined through the lens provided by the posthumous publication of his essay “Economic History” in the Dictionary of the History of Ideas in 1973. Knight identified pivotal ideas in economics from Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations until the time of his retirement from the University of Chicago, with some recognition of earlier contributions. The priority he gave to liberty within economics shows in the connection between Adam Smith and American independence. He then worked his way chronologically through a consideration of eight “moments” from classical economics, almost all declared errors. After identifying marginalism with the turn to economic science in three moments, he identified fifteen more moments that led to the development of a science focused on entrepreneurs and enterprises. Knight’s conclusion provides brief mention of six movements that claimed to conflict with economics, although Knight argued that none of them actually conflict
Adam smith · Economic science · History of economic thought · Knight · Presidential address · Presidential system · Economic Development and Digital Transformation · Economic Theory and Institutions · Political Economy and Marxism
Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology
The eighteenth century antecedents of bureaucracy, the Cameralists
Bourgeois Equality
Frank Knight's Perspective "On the History and Method of Economics"
Cost of Production and Price over Long and Short Periods
Of Empty Economic Boxes
Those Empty Boxes
Mapping the World of Ideas
Introduction by the Editors
Cliometrics and the Nobel
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |