THE PLACE OF ECONOMIC HISTORY IN THE DISCIPLINE OF ECONOMICS

Despite the dominance of the field of economic history by trained economists who use the tools of economics, the output and services of economic historians are declining in demand. The explanation advanced in this address is that economic historians have not proved their value to economics. To play an essential role in economics, we must broaden the questions we ask and concommittently devise a set of theoretical tools to provide meaningful and testable theories about the structure and performance of economies over time. This address suggests the direction that such theory should take in order to make the field an indispensable part of the discipline of economics.