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G.C. Harcourt: An economist with accounting sense

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2023

Mauro Boianovsky  and
Constantinos Repapis Open the ORCID record for Constantinos Repapis [Opens in a new window]
Mauro Boianovsky
Affiliation:
Universidade de Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil
Constantinos Repapis*
Affiliation:
Institute of Management Studies, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: c.repapis@gold.ac.uk
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Abstract

Geoffrey Colin Harcourt’s work on the interface between accountancy and economics is a part of his legacy that is less well-known than his work on the capital controversies. This paper argues that the analytical findings of this research effort are an important and integral part of Harcourt’s overall research programme. In this paper, we review Harcourt’s work on the relation between economics and accounting from the time of his undergraduate thesis to 1969, the date of the publication with Robert Parker of the edited volume Readings in the Concept and Measurement of Income. This paper intends to offer insights on (A) the evolution of Harcourt’s thought during this period and a survey of the significant contributions he made to research in this field during this time and (B) the legacy of his approach and findings. We argue that his ideas in this domain offer important insights in doing post-Keynesian economics in the Harcourt mould. We find that Harcourt’s insights on the issues relating to the accounting rate of profit as used by economists remain relevant to today, as well as his implicit suggestions on how to deal with the complexities of the problems that ensue for the theorist, practical economist, businessman, and policy advisor. Harcourt’s work suggests that we should not aim to replace one monolithic way of seeing things with another, indicating that the useful definition of key concepts and tools is determined by the problem and hence by the policy question one wants to answer.

Keywords

accountingeconomic policyHarcourtmeasurementpost-KeynesianismB22B31M41
Type
Original Article
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 34 , Issue 2 , June 2023 , pp. 233 - 249
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of UNSW Canberra

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