Program Description

The history of economic thought deals with different thinkers and theories in the subject that became political economy and economics, from the ancient world to the present day. It encompasses many disparate schools of economic thought. Ancient Greek writers such as the philosopher Aristotle examined ideas about the art of wealth acquisition, and questioned whether property is best left in private or public hands. In the Middle Ages, scholastics such as Thomas Aquinas argued that it was a moral obligation of businesses to sell goods at a just price.

HET courses vary widely. A typical survey course will attempt to chart the development of the discipline. Some courses focus on trying to show how the past has formed the present – how ideas such as demand curves and different market structures first emerged and how they evolved to their present form. In others, the emphasis is on the emergence and submergence of ideas in the controversies of the past. Just because an idea has been forgotten does not necessarily mean that it can be assumed to be without merit, and the fact that it has changed shape need not necessarily imply progress. Other HET modules might illustrate the history of the discipline by reference to a case study – how, for example, economists have articulated the case for the particular economic role of the state that they advocate.

HET is often confused with Economic History, but they are distinct areas. Economic history is the history of the economy (an examination of the depression of the 1930s, for example), rather than the history of the study of the economy (for example, the emergence and reception of Keynes’s General Theory). There is clearly a link: what is happening in the economy should affect the development of ideas in economics. Some HET courses will teach the development of the discipline by referring to changes in the economic world at different times. Others may take a more austerely intellectual approach, with the development of the discipline explained by reference to the inner logic of the ideas themselves.

Program Highlights

An understanding of the history of the discipline is extremely helpful for evaluating the claims of the various minority schools of thought in the discipline today, including Marxians, Austrians, Feminists, Post Keynesians, Institutionalists, and Critical Realists, and some HET courses will give some attention to the emergence of these trends, what divides them, and what they share with the neoclassical mainstream.

Entry Requirements

1. Non-Chinese citizens in good health, with valid passport;
2.Above the age of 18 and below 40, and should abide by Chinese law and the regulations of Sichuan University. They should also respect Chinese social customs and codes of conduct;
3.With degree equivalent to a bachelor in China or just finished a bachelor from a Chinese university, good grades.

Required Documents

1. Application Form

2. Health certificate

3. Current Resume

Written in Chinese or in English

4. MBA Study plan

Including study purpose, research interest and research plan in brief.

5. Two Letters of Recommendation

Two from professor or associate professor or equivalents, one from company leaders or cooperators

6. Bachelor's degree diploma

Graduation certificate in languages other than Chinese or English should be translated into Chinese or English and be certified by notarization.

7. Undergraduate school transcript

8. Passport photo

A recent passport-sized photo of the applicant

9. Photocopy of valid passport

With name, passport number & expiration date, and photo included

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