Information Bulletin of the Union of National Economic Associations in Japan No.10 (1990) pp. 32-34.

Partly because of the difficulty of identifying a subject which would interest the general membership and partly to encourage active involvement of many members, it was decided not to recommend any one theme for this year's conference. This report will therefore consist of an overview of the conference with reference to the main themes which were discussed.

The political economy in the age of enlightenment was explored by two speakers. Shoji TANAKA (Kanagawa University) argued the methodological importance of Adam Smith's idea of natural teleology in the making of his jurisprudence in "Natural theology and social sciences' and emphasized the critical roles played by his precursors, notably Francis Hutcheson and Lord Kames. "On property in John Locke's Two Treatise " by Toyomitsu OKAMURA (Kyushu Industrial University) made it point of the social character of Lock's concept of property its shown in Locke's discussion of the communal bond of human individuals, particularly the social division of labour.

Classical political economy was considered by five speakers. Yuji SATO (Keio University) shed new light on David Ricardo's relatively neglected monetary theory, as developed in the course or the Bullionist Controversy during the Napoleonic Wars in "The rise and development of Ricardo's theory of the measure of value" and Hiroji NAKAMURA (Hiroshima University) in "A new phase in Ricardo's theory of value" pointed out the specific importance of the third edition of his Principles . "Ricardo and Sismondi on the machinery questions" by Ryoichi EBIHAIIA (Niigata University) emphasized the similarities between their respective treatments. A wider view of the social and ideological background was taken into account in Kayako KONDOH (Nagoya University), "The organic combination between Malthus's two Principles " and in Naobumi HIJIKATA (Chuo University), "Robert Owen's political thought and his criticism of religion".

Whist many Call the British historical school has now long been a subject of hot debate by British scholars, and has just begun to be the object of serious studies here. "The Corn Law controversy after its repeal" by Masaharu HATTORI (St. Paul's University) discussing in a refreshing manner the theoretical as well as the historical implications of J. S. Nicholson's opposition to J. Chamberlains campaign for tariff reform clearly reflected such it growing concern about limitations of the classical school as understood in a schematic fashion. "Historical method and the theory of capital accumulation of Richard Jones" by Kensaku SUMI (Keio University) was an attempt to re-instate the alleged founder or the historical school.

The recent tendency of declining number of papers on Marxian economics was once again confirmed. Akira MIYAKAWA (Tokyo Metropolitan University) in "The central question of Marx's theory of reproduction on an extended scale" made an attempt or reading Marx's manuscript No. 8 for the second volume of his Capital to establish a logical connection between circulation of capital and extended reproduction. Shigeyoshi SENGA (Yokohama Municipal University) in "Hilferding's concept of the theory of value" treated of Hilferding's criticism of Ricardo's value theory and suggested the former's emphasis on exchange process. Shinichi AIDA (Hokkaido College, Senshu University) argued the central place of the idea of a national economy in Karl Kautsky and pointed to its similarities with later German liberalism in "The idea of national economy of the German Marxist school".

No less than five papers were presented on moderns economic theory which reminded us of our members' growing concern with this field or study. Takashi NEGISHI (The University of Tokyo) asked Conference to consider von Thunen, the pioneer of the marginal productivity theory, and he discussed the neglected theoretical implications of his theory of natural wages in "Von Thunen's theory of natural wages V. Pareto's socio-economics" was the subject of "The rise and fall of elites and economic fluctuations" by Tadashi DATAI (Kurume University) and Alfred Marshall's Principles was analyzed from A Comprehensive viewpoint by Shinto IWASHITA (Kyushu University), "Marshall's economic system and the representative firm". "A structural analysis of Schumpeterian system" by Motoi KANAZASHI (Nihon University) and "The formation of the General Theory and the analysis of the causal structure by the Post-Keynesians" by Masaaki YOSHIDA (Kyoto University) both attempted to demonstrate the systematic character of the economist's theoretical writings from their respective standpoints.

A remarkable feature of the conference was a series or five papers presented on topics related to French and Italian political economies. They covered a wide range and were devoted to timely and attractive subjects presented by both young and more senior scholars. Shohei YONEDA (Shimonoseki City College), in "Boisguilbert's concept or equilibrium", provided a comprehensive analysis of the concept arid pointed to its importance as a pioneering attempt later developed by Adam Smith's idea of the system of natural liberty. Kazuhiro OTA (Hannan University) discussed in detail Dutot's neglected work from an analytical viewpoint of monetary circulation and indicated the indispensable place occupied by post-Law economists including Dutot in the history of the French economic thought before Quesnay. Economic and social thoughts in post-Revolutionary France and Italy were discussed by three speakers. "Reform and revolution in Calabria" by Takashi OKUDA (Hitotsubashi University) shed a light on G. M. Galanti as a leading figure of the enlightenment in Napples and gave a detailed discussion of the social and economic background or the movement by way of reading Garanti's newly published writings. Takumi TSUDA (Hitotsubashi University) in "The French Revolution and political economy", presented an illuminating analysis of some remarkable economic writings, so far neglected or unknown, in the period between 1795 and 1799. Takashi UENO (Toyo University) reviewed economic trends in the age of Napoleon III as reflected in the writings or Michel Chevalier in "M. Chevalier's Introduction in his report on the Universal Exposition in 1867."

By way of conclusion, there is no doubt that the conference was it success in impressing participants with a variety or subjects and issues in each specialized field. The next annual conference was scheduled to be held at Kanto Gakuin University on November 10 and 11, 1990.

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