100 years of Cambridge Economics

2003 is the centenary of the Cambridge Economics Degree. Cambridge Economics has always been characterised by an approach which emanates from cool heads but warm hearts (Marshall's phrase). Originally grounded in moral philosophy, its raison d'être has been to understand why societies malfunction and then to devise policies to offset the impact of such malfunctions and, especially, to protect those most vulnerable to their impact. It is no accident that theoretical and applied analyses of inequality, poverty and unemployment have figured prominently in the writings of the greatest Cambridge economists, together with emphasis on the processes of price-setting, distribution, accumulation and growth. At its best, Cambridge economics is hands-on political economy erected on the major innovative theoretical foundations of, for example, Marshall, Pigou, Keynes, Sraffa, Joan Robinson, Austin Robinson, Kaldor and Dobb.