B31 - History of Economic Thought: IndividualsReturn

Karel Engliš (1880 - 1961) one of the most prominent Czech economists, politicians and statesmen of the period between the two world wars died fifty years ago on the 30th of June 1961. He is valued for his contribution to the development of the economic theory as well as for his very significant part in making the Czechoslovak fiscal and monetary policy, which he formed both as the Finance Minister in six governments and the Governor of the National Bank of Czechoslovakia. His friend and follower František Vencovský (*1923) one of the most prominent Czech economists of the second half of the XX century died five years ago on the 5th of July 2006. He is valued for his contribution to the development of the history of the Czech economic thought, banking and monetary policy. He employed Engliš's teleological method while finding solutions for contemporary issues especially in the area of money, exchange rate and monetary policy.

On the 22nd of May, 2009 professor Milan Sojka, the external co-operator of the Department of Monetary Theory and Policy, died. He had been the head of the Department of the Institutional Economics at the Institute of Economic Sciences of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Charles University and the head of the Institute of Economics at the Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry in Brno. He was one of the most significant contemporary theoreticians and historians in the field of the history of economic theories. He was a well known specialist in the area of the contemporary development of economic theory. He helped very significantly to describe the main streams in economic theory and published many excellent works, which are highly appreciated by his contemporaries and which will be very important for the next generations of economists. He will never be forgotten.

The article deals with the question how important is the knowledge about the history of the economic theory for the students of the University of Economics of Prague (UEP) in the time when the courses of standard micro and macro economics are one of the main parts in the education of the young economists. History of Economic Theories (HET) had been taught at the Czech universities of economics since 1945. At the beginning of this period HET was oriented mainly on the critique of selected non-Marxian economic theories, especially of the Austrian school, but in the course of time the critique was displaced by the positive explication of the development of economic theory. In 1993 HET ceased to be obligatory in the new system of education in the UEP. The importance of knowledge of the history of economic theories caused, that the new subject Economic History, in which HET is included, begins to be obligatory for all students of the UEP.

On the 5th of July, 2006 professor Frantisek Vencovský, the member of the Department of Monetary Theory and Policy, died. He was one of the most significant contemporary theoreticians and historians in the field of the monetary theory and policy. Prof. Vencovský became a well known specialist at the beginning of the 60´s, when he was involved in solving at that time key issues of monetary theory and policy. In the 90`s he acquired an impetus for his scientific work. He helped very significantly to describe the development of the Czech monetary theory and published many excellent books, which are highly appreciated by his contemporaries and which will be very important for the next generations of economic historians. Prof. Vencovský performed many honorary functions and was decorated many times. He will never be forgotten.

The article deals with the question in which extent the students of the University of Economics Prague (UEP) could get knowledge about the development of the economic theory. In the time, when it was impossible to buy any of foreign economist (with exception of Marxian authors form the socialist countries), the only way was the study of History of Economic Theories (HET), which had been taught at the UEP since its foundation in 1953 until 1993. At the beginning of this period HET was oriented mainly on the critique of selected non-Marxian economic theories, especially of the Austrian school, but in the course of time the critique was displaced by the positive explication of the commented theories. In 1993 HET ceased to be obligatory due to the bad assessment of the ability of the Department to ensure lessons in the new system of education in the UEP. But now the importance of knowledge of development of economic theories is stressed again and the new subject Economic History, in which HET is included, begins to be obligatory for all students of the UEP.