UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #318
WILLIAMSON, JEFFREY G.

WILLIAMSON, Jeffrey G. (1935- )
Professor of Economics
At UW: 1963-1983

Interviewed: 1985	
Series: Department of Economics
Interviewer: Laura Smail
Length: 1.5 hours
 
Background; Arrival at UW in 1963; Work of UW economists in 1960s; Economic history group; Decline of applied economics at UW in 1970s; Comparison of UW and Harvard. 

Tape 1/Side 1

00:00:43	Background.  Father an economist at Wesleyan University.  Mathematics major and Art minor.  Graduate student at Stanford, economic development and international trade, 1957-61.  Thesis on 19th century economic development in U.S.  

00:02:31	Hired at Vanderbilt.  UW hiring economic historians.  Hired by Jim Early, who was expanding the department.  Compares intellectual and financial atmosphere at UW and Vanderbilt.

00:07:16	Question re Guy Orcutt.  JGW not involved with his huge project, microanalytic model of U.S. economy.  

00:09:00	1959-60 the beginning of the quantitative "new economic history."  Econometricians involved with Orcutt's project: Arthur Goldberger, John Kmenta, Arnold Zellner. 

00:12:00	Program linking Economics and History departments.  Morton Rothstein, Rondo Cameron.  Interested in economic development and economic history.

00:13:36	The relationship of these fields to the core of economics.  Wisconsin economics department traditionally strong in history and third world.  Ties with University of Philippines.  

00:18:44	Career activity 1960-83.  Spent two years at University of Philippines.  1972 on leave to Harvard.  Did not like Harvard then, because of temporary position.  Harvard much more elitist, hierarchical.  Describes egalitarian atmosphere at UW during Vietnam war.  

00:26:10	Changes in UW economics department in 1970s.  Economic history group unique alliance between two departments.

00:28:05	End of side.

Tape 1/Side 2

00:28:06	Participants in economic history group: Rondo Cameron, Morton Rothstein, Eric Lampard and JGW.  Cameron and Lampard left University.  Cameron departed to Emery because of student rebelliousness.  Additions to the group: Claudia Golden and Nathan Rosenberg, Peter Lindhert.  All departed but history department remained strong: Rothstein, John Sharpless, Diane Lindstrom, Domenico Sella.  History department resource contraction.  

00:35:58	Operation of the Economic History Group Workshops; grants etc.  Economics department was able to raise money to bring outsiders to the workshops.  Editing of Explorations in Economic History with Rothstein.  Digression re funds for similar projects at Harvard.  

00:42:19	Hosting by UW of Cliometrics Conference.  

00:44:37	All this activity made UW one of three or four centers of economic history in the world. 

00:46:20	Question: why did it decline?  During austere mid-1970s economics department cutting back everything except theory and statistics, the core of the department.  Lindhert replaced by Dahlman, who did not show tenure potential.  Could not replace Lindhert, so JGW was the only one left by the early 1980s.  

00:50:14	Students in economic history.  Requirement abolished at UW in early 1960s.  

00:52:35	End of side. End of tape.

Tape 2/Side 1

00:52:37	Group of economic historians viewed by the department as being too large to replace.  

00:54:19	Attempts by UW to keep JGW.  Could not compete with Harvard.  Have not been able to replace either JGW or Lindhert.  Theory and econometrics people more aggressive about maintaining those fields in the department.

00:57:43	Question re SSRI, IRRI and Poverty institute and coordination and competition with economics department.  

01:00:03	Economic development field also declined in 1970s.  JGW became responsible for both.  True of many applied fields, which are considered peripheral.  

01:04:25	Wisconsin cannot compete for best students.  Had been able to attract better faculty and students than its resources warranted.  Department has lost its prominence in applied fields.  Econometrics remains strong. 
 
01:08:12	Experience with Sociology department, Center for Demography.  Computer use usually supported by NSF.  Wisconsin's computer system better than Harvard, Stanford, or the World Bank.  His wife a computer programmer, very helpful.  

01:14:00	Effect of experience at UW.  Felt as if he was an active part of the university, and responsible to the state.  Student enthusiasm and candor contrasts starkly with Harvard.  The advantages of Wisconsin over Harvard.

01:20:23	End of interview.

END