This study aimed to review early Pigou’s theory of artificially high wages based on the framework of the interaction between the specific industry in which the high wages are set and the general labor market. This paper raises two points. First, Pigou noted that the increase in the total welfare of society through income redistribution and improvement in the quality of workers were the merits of artificially high wages. He also sought to refute the common criticism against artificially high wages from the perspective that high wages have a positive effect on the whole society. Second, Pigou focused on the emergence of unemployment caused by artificially high wages. The argument was characterized by high wages having different effects on workers who do not earn such wages and on the general labor market, as opposed to benefiting the workers who enjoy them. Furthermore, in Wealth and Welfare, Pigou’s analysis of high wages, which relied on differential or non-differential wages, labor demand elasticity, and methods of labor engagement, was developed, while the difficulties associated with the introduction of high wages was clearly expressed in terms of possible evasion. In summary, Pigou positively assessed Marshall’s basic idea that high wages would improve the quality of the workers. However, Pigou believed that awarding high wages to workers in a particular industry would be very difficult in a practical situation given the interaction between the industry in question and the general labor market.

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This paper examines historical context which underlies J. M. Keynes’s advocacy of high-tariff policies from 1929 to 1931 and his subsequent abandonment of this stance. Keynes began supporting high-tariff policies in December 1929 to aim for full employment within the constraints of a balance of payments. However, his support did not last long; by September 1931, he had distanced himself from high-tariff policies. Several factors contributed to this shift in approach. A significant factor was the UK’s decisive move toward protectionism from late 1931 to 1932, which triggered a global spread of protectionist measures. This shift influenced Keynes’s understanding of the reciprocity of tariff policies, making him realize that it would be difficult for the UK to adopt high-tariff policies without facing retaliation from other countries. This change in Keynes’s perspective can be seen within the context of the traditional doctrine of “unilateralism” in British free trade from the 19th century to the early 20th century. Keynes’s views changed regarding the impracticality of the tariff system as a short-term measure.

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The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that first, F. A. Hayek incorporated an empiricist approach into his methodology as early as in the 1930s, and second, he approached David Hume and Adam Smith as “empiricists” from then onward. This clarifies that Hayek’s transition from theoretical economics to social philosophy was natural and allows us to view the “transformation problem” in the context of a positive “development” of Hayek’s thought. T. Hutchison argues that Hayek’s article “Economics and Knowledge” (1937) marks his shift from Misesian apriorism to Popperian falsificationism, thus identifying a methodological break in Hayek’s approach in the 1930s. However, while studying in the United States in the 1920s, W. C. Mitchell taught Hayek that the theory should not diverge from reality. Mitchell helped Hayek recognize the usefulness of empirical methods, including statistics, as tests for theories. In other words, the early Hayek considered economics an empirical study, not an a priori pure theory of human action like L. v. Mises did. This was the germ of the concept of “pattern prediction,” which B. Caldwell identified as a distinctive feature of the late Hayek’s methodology. The early Hayek stated that the role of theory was to make predictions, but these predictions were not specific to the consequences of events. Instead, they were “collective forecast[s]” describing general trends, which corresponded precisely to what the late Hayek called “pattern prediction.” Hayek emphasized this method because social phenomena are complex and predicting concrete outcomes of specific phenomena is impossible. From the 1930s onward, Hayek recognized this fact, asserting that Hume and Smith laid the foundation for social science methodologies as an approach to complex phenomena, such as social phenomena.

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This review examines five textbooks on the history of economics, all published within the past five years. I analyze the content of each textbook and explore the broader significance of studying the history of economics, particularly how these textbooks can be used as educational tools. A central theme across these works is the “diversity of economics,” although the ways in which this diversity is addressed vary between textbooks. This review also considers how to teach students to navigate the balance between mainstream and heterodox economics. Ultimately, the goal is to assess whether studying the history of economics can help students better understand the most pressing issues of our time.

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