The Social Scientific Gaze by Per Wisselgren

Author:Per Wisselgren [Wisselgren, Per]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781138501942
Google: Cj08tAEACAAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2017-06-30T02:52:42+00:00

Classes in Economics: Johan Leffler

Johan Leffler’s financial problems had not been solved by the sale of his private book collection. After the Lorén Foundation board had gained access to the funds of the estate and Mittag-Leffler and Palme were repaid the amounts they had advanced, Johan Leffler was obliged once again to turn to Mittag-Leffler to ask for a loan – this time of 2,500 crowns. To offer the prospect of speedy repayment Leffler informed him that he would probably be asked to lecture on economics at Stockholm University College in the coming autumn term. His letter was written in the summer of 1887. In addition the University College was about to appoint someone to a new chair in economics. If he failed to acquire the professorship, Leffler writes, “I have on the other hand fairly certain hope of being employed in Gothenburg, where a chair in economics will shortly – probably no later than from the autumn term of 1888 – be created”.61

Here Leffler turned out to be too optimistic. It was to be more than ten years before the two professorships in Stockholm and in Gothenburg were advertised. On the other hand, Johan Leffler was soon appointed to be the University College’s first temporary lecturer in economics. The status of economics at the University College was to remain insecure, however, right through the 1890s and there were repeated threats of closure. The Lorén Foundation was not slow in coming forward to offer funding. Even so in some years these classes were not offered at all. And this even though for a long time two donations to Stockholm University College remained dormant: one intended for a position as docent, funded by C.C. Söderström, the other for a chair funded by the Lars Hierta endowment. It was these donations that had caught Johan Leffler’s eye and aroused his hopes. But when the funds could finally be put to use in the early years of the following century new and more qualified candidates appeared. The role of the Lorén Foundation, however, in the process through which economics was institutionalised at Stockholm University College, where otherwise the natural sciences predominated, should not be underestimated. It is the many vicissitudes of this institutionalisation process that we shall now study more closely.

Johan Leffler was not the only applicant for the post as lecturer at the University College when it was advertised in the spring of 1888 – at least not to begin with. The board meeting of the University College on 7 June was informed that two individuals had applied for the appointment as lecturer for the autumn term. One was Johan Leffler, the other Knut Wicksell. The matter was adjourned.62 At that time Wicksell was travelling in Europe to study social science on a bursary he had received from the Lorén Foundation. Cooperation with the Foundation’s board had not been free of friction and from time to time Wicksell felt that the studies he had commenced was in lack of a clear goal.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.