Profile Major Works Resources

Edwin R.A. Seligman, 1861-1939.

Portrait of E.R.A. Seligman

American Institutionalist economist and public finance expert at Columbia.

Born to a New York banking family of Jewish extraction, Edwin Robert Anderson Seligman was educated at Columbia, receiving his B.A. in 1879.  Like many of  "new generation" of US economists, E.R.A. Seligman undertook a sojourn for three years in Europe, studying at Heidelberg, Berlin, Paris and Genoa, where he came under the influence of the German Historical school.

Seligman returned to the US in 1882 and obtained his Ph.D at Columbia in 1884, under Richmond Mayo-Smith.  Seligman was promptly appointed lecturer at Columbia from 1885, and raised to professor of political economy and finance at Columbia in 1891, where he would remain until his retirement.  Seligman was a founder and long-time editor of Columbia's house journal, the Political Science Quarterly (PSQ) in 1886.

E.R.A. Seligman was an American convert to German Historicism.  Seligman's institutional and historical approach to public finance led him to become one of the foremost authorities on taxation in economics. He was a campaigner for the progressive income tax system and one of the primary researchers on the incidence of taxation.  

Seligman was, together with his more radical comrade-in-methodology, Richard T. Ely, one of the founders of the American Economic Association (AEA) in 1885. While a historicist in method, and thus a founding father of  American Institutionalism, Seligman was nonetheless sympathetic to both Marxian and Austrian economics and he got on quite well with his Neoclassical colleague  John Bates Clark. Seligman and Clark would preside together over the rapid ascent of Columbia, making it arguably the leading social science department in the United States during the early 1900s.

Seligman was also an excellent scholar of economic thought.  His 1902 Economic Interpretation of History was instrumental in introducing Karl Marx's economics to America academia.  Seligman's 1903 articles on "Some Neglected British economists" is largely responsible for digging the old British proto-marginalists out of obscurity.

Seligman was also one of the founders and organizers of the early New School for Social Research, erected in protest against the attempts by the Columbia authorities to interfere in academic freedom.  After his retitrement, Seligman threw himself with Alvin S. Johnson in the editorship of the Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences.

 

  


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Major works of Edwin R.A. Seligman

  • "Change in the tenets of political economy with time", 1886, Science, (Apr 23) p.375
  • "The Continuity of Economic Thought", 1886, Science: Economic discussion, p.1
  • "Review of Sidgwick's Scope and Method and Cohn's System", 1886, PSQ (Mar), p.143 [js]
  • "Owen and the Christian Socialists", 1886, PSQ, (Jun), p.206 [js]
  • "Review of Sartorius's Nordamerkanischen Gewerkeschaften", 1886, PSQ, (Sep), p.512 [js]
  • "Review of E.J. James's Modern Municipality and Gas Supply", 1886, PSQ (Sep), p.514 [js]
  • "Review of Leyen's Nordamerikanischen Eisenbahnen, Hudson's Railways and the Republic, Ulrich's Das Eisenbahntarifwesen and Swann's Investor's Notes on American Railroads", 1886, PSQ (Dec), p.690 [js]
  • "Review of the Quarterly Journal of Economics and the Giornale degli Economisti", 1886, PSQ, (Dec), p.702 [js]
  • -- 1887 --
  • "Review of Delatour's Adam Smith", 1887, PSQ (Mar), p.185 [js]
  • "Review of Graham's Social Problem, HV Mills's Poverty and the State, and McNeill's Labor Movement", 1887, PSQ (Mar), p.188 [js]
  • "Review of Taylor's Factory System and Geering's Handel and Industrie der Stadt Basel", 1887, PSQ (Mar), p.192 [js]
  • "Review of A. Shaw's Cooperation in a Western City and Louguinine Arteles en Russie", 1887, PSQ (Mar), p.194 [js]
  • "Review of Kochtitsky's Great Strike of 1886", 1887, PSQ (Mar), p.196 [js]
  • "Railway Tariffs and the Interstate Commerce Law, I" 1887, PSQ (Jun), p.223 [js] [offprint: bk, av]
  • "Review of H.C. Adams's Relation of State to Industrial Action" 1887, PSQ (Jun) p.352 [js]
  • "Review of the Revue d'Economie Politique", 1887, PSQ (Jun), p.366 [js]
  • "Railway Tariffs and the Interstate Commerce Law. II", 1887, PSQ (Sep),  p.369 [js]
  • "Review of Vocke's Abgaben, Auflagen und die Steuer and Y. Guyot's L'Impot sur le Revenu", 1887, PSQ (Sep), p.526 [js]
  • "Two Chapters on the Medieval Guilds of England", 1887,  Pub AEA (Nov), p.386 [js] [bk]
  • "Review of Gunton's Wealth and Progress", 1887, PSQ (Dec), p.696 [js]
  • "Review of works on railway policy: Gierson's Railway Rates, Alexander's Railway Practice, Jeans's Railway Problems, Waring's State Purchase of Railways and Picard's Traite des Chemins de fer", 1887, PSQ (Dec), p.701 [js]
  • "Review of Oncken's Die Maxime Laissez faire", 1887, PSQ (Dec), p.706 [js]
  • -- 1888 --
  • "Review of Ashley's Early History of English Woollen Industry", 1888, PSQ (Mar), p.176 [js]
  •  "Review of Haldane's Life of Adam Smith", 1888, PSQ (Mar), p.179 [js]
  • "Review of Llewellyn Smith's State Socialism and Burnett et al's Claims of Labor", 1888, PSQ (Mar) p.188 [js]
  •  "Review of the Staatswissenschaftliche Studien - C. Schmidt's Der Naturliche Arbeitslohn, J. Hansen's Preis des Getreides, Kral's Geldwerth und Preisbewegung, von Neumann-Spallart's Methode de statistischen Erhebung, Gruber's Die Haushaltung der Arbeitenden Klassen and Metzler's Einfluss der Getreidepreise", 1888, PSQ (Jun), p.365 [js]
  • "Review of Ely's Report of Maryland Tax Commission", 1888, PSQ (Jun), p.371 [js]
  • "Review of G. Humbert's Essai sur les Finances chez les Romains", 1888, PSQ (Jun), p.377 [js]
  •  "Review of Umpfenbach's Lehrbuch der Finanzwissenschaft, Neumann's Die Steuer and Alessio's Sistema Tribuario in Italia", 1888, PSQ (Sep), p.532 [js]
  •  "Review of Ely's Taxation in American States and Cities", 1888, PSQ (Dec), p.691 [js]
  • "Review of Ingram's History of Political Economy",  1888, PSQ (Dec), p.694 [js]
  • "Review of St. Julien's Histoire des Droits d'Entrie et d'Octroi a Paris", 1888, PSQ (Dec), p.706 [js]
  • -- 1889 --
  • "Review of Oncken's Quesnay, Schelle's Dupont de Nemours, L. Say's Turgot" 1889, PSQ (Mar) p.176 [js]
  • "Review of Raffalovich's Le Logement de l'Ouvrier et du Pauvre", 1889, PSQ (Mar)  p.184 [js]
  • "Review of Alberti's Le Corporazioni d'Arti e Mestieri e la Liberta del Commercio Interno negli Antichi Economisti Italiani",  1889, PSQ (Jun), p.335 [js]
  • "Review of Dowell's History of Taxation in England and De Flaix's Traite des institutions financieres des divers Etats",  1889, PSQ (Jun), p.339 [js]
  • "Review of Davies's System of Taxation in New York", 1889, PSQ (Sep), p.528 [js]
  • "Review of Schmoller's Zur Litteraturgeschichte der Staats- und Sozialwissenschaften", 1889, PSQ (Sep), p.543 [js]
  • "Review of D. Schafer's Hanserecesse", 1889, PSQ (Sep),  p.547 [js]
  •  "Review of Conrad et al's Handworterbuch der Staatswissenschaften", 1889, PSQ (Sep),  p.552 [js]
  • "Review of Faber's Die Entstehung des Agrarschutzes", 1889, PSQ (Dec), p.690 [js]
  •  "Review of Ricca-Salerno's Le Dottrine Finanziarie in Inghilterra", 1889, PSQ (Dec), p.691 [js]
  • "Review of Rabbeno's Le Societa Cooperative di Produzione", 1889, PSQ (Dec), p.692 [js]
  • "Review of works on European tax reform: Koenig's Nouvel Impot, Lorrain's Reformes Fiscales, 'Finance's British Taxpayer, Heinrich's Reform der direkten Steuern, and Eynern's Reform der steuern in Preussen", 1889, PSQ (Dec), p.695 [js]
  • -- 1890 --
  • "The General Property Tax"., 1890, PSQ (Mar), p.24 [js]
  • "Review of Works on English railway policy: Butteworth, Hunter, Findlay, Acworth, Dabney, Baker, Bonham", 1890, PSQ (Mar), p.162 [js]
  • "Review of Wagner's Finanzwissenschaft and Cohn's System der Finanzwissenschaft", 1890, PSQ (Mar),  p.171 [js]
  • "The Taxation of Corporations, I", 1890, PSQ. (Jun), p.269 [js]
  • "Review of H. Denis's L'Impot" , 1890, PSQ. (Jun), p.332 [js]
  • "Review of L. Say & Chailley's Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Economie Politique, Review of Say et al's Dictionnaire de finances, Martin et al.'s Economie Sociale and the Bulletin de la Societe Francaise des Habitations a Bon Marche", 1890, PSQ. (Jun), p.334 [js]
  • "Address of Prof. Seligman on the Single Tax of Henry George", 1890, J of Social Science (Oct), p.34 and "Further remarks" (p.87)  (ASSA debate on the Single Tax of Henry George)
  • "The Taxation of Corporations, II", 1890, PSQ. (Sep), p.438 [js]
  • "Review of E. Engel's Eisenbahnreform", 1890, PSQ. (Sep), p.526 [js]
  • "Review of M. Block's Les Progres de la Science Economique", 1890, PSQ. (Sep), p.533 [js]
  • "Review of Walcker's Adam Smith and Zeyss's Adam Smith und der Eigennutz", 1890, PSQ. (Sep), p.538 [js]  (on Adam Smith)
  • "The Taxation of Corporations, III" , 1890, PSQ. (Dec), p.636 [js]
  •  "Review of Schwab's History of the New York Property Tax", 1890, PSQ. (Dec), p.705 [js]
  •  "Review of Schanz's Die Steuern der Schweiz", 1890, PSQ. (Dec), p.713 [js]
  • -- 1891 --
  • "The Incidence of Local Taxation", 1891, Pub AEA (Jan-Mar) p.78-85 [js] (abstract & discussion)
  • "Review of Ferrara's Esame storico-critico di Economisti e Dottrine Economiche", 1891, PSQ (Mar),  p.181 [js]
  • "Review of Reports on State and Local Taxation", 1891, PSQ (Mar),  p.182 [js]
  • "Review of the Economic Review", 1891, PSQ (Mar), p.193 [js]
  • "Review of Beauregard's Le Monde Economique" 1891, PSQ (Mar),  p.194 [js]
  • "Review of Schulze-Gaevernitz's Zum Sozialen Frieden", 1891, PSQ (Jun),  p.348 [js]
  • "Review of The Economic Journal", 1891, PSQ (Jun), p.376 [js]
  • "Review of LL Price's Short History of Political Economy", 1891, PSQ (Sep), p.564 [js]
  • "Review of Cacheaux's Habitations Ouvrieres and Tenement Houses of New York", 1891, PSQ (Sep), p.569 [js]
  • "Review of Dunbar's Chapters on Banking and Dunbars Laws relating to Currency, Finance and Banking", 1891, PSQ (Sep), p.571 [js]
  • "Review of works on Inheritance Taxes: Dos Passos, Kruger, Buxton", 1891, PSQ (Sep), p.572 [js]
  • "Review of Works on English Local Taxation: Boyle & Davies, Sargant, Munro", 1891, PSQ (Dec), p.748 [js]
  • "Review of Palgrave's Dictionary of Political Economy, v.1", 1891, PSQ (Dec),p.761 [js]
  • "Review of Revue Sociale et Politique", , 1891, PSQ (Dec), p.761 [js]
  • -- 1892 --
  • "Review of works on Railway Transportation: Ringwalt, Stickney, Cook, Acworth, Colson, Laundhart",1892, PSQ (Mar), p.163 [js]
  • "Review of Nitti's Il Socialismo Cattolico", 1892, PSQ (Mar), p.168 [js]
  • "Review of Italian and Dutch works on public finance: Ricca-Salerno, Cao, van der Linden, Pierson, Cohen-Stuart", 1892, PSQ (Mar) p.335 [js]
  • "Review of Schoenberg's Handbuch", 1892, PSQ (Mar), p.339 [js]
  • "On the Shifting and Incidence of Taxation", 1892, Pub AEA (Mar-May), p.119-310  [js]  [1899 revised ed, 1902 repr: av; 1910 3rd ed]
  • The Taxation of Corporations, 1892 [bk] (reprint of 1890)
  • "Review of D.A. Wells's Who Pays your Taxes?", 1892, PSQ (Sep), p.554 [js]
  • "Review of W. Hasbach on Quesnay and Adam Smith", 1892, PSQ (Sep), p.556 [js]
  • "Review of Zeitschrift fur Volkswirthschaft, Socialpolitik und Verwaltung. by Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, Karl Theodor von Inama-Sternegg, Ernst von Plener ", 1892, PSQ (Sep), p.573 [js]
  • "Bastable's Public Finance", 1892 PSQ (Dec),, p.708 [js]
  • "Review of Espinas's Histoire des Doctrines Economiques", 1892, PSQ (Dec), p.741 [js]
  • "Review of Schulze-Gavernitz's Der Grossbetrieb", 1892, PSQ (Dec), p.747 [js]
  • -- 1893 --
  • "The Theory of Progressive Taxation (abstract & discussion)", 1893, Pub AEA (Jan) p.52 [js]
  • "The Classification of Public Revenues, I", 1893, QJE, p.286-321 [js]
  • -- 1894--
  • "Progressive Taxation in Theory and Practice", 1894. Pub AEA (Jan-Mar) p.3 [js] [offprint: Progressive Taxation in Theory and Practice, bk] [1908 revised ed, av]
  • -- 1895 --
  • "The Classification of Public Revenues II", 1895, QJE, p.279-90 [js]
  • "Recent Reforms in Taxation I", 1895, Yale Review (Feb), p.352
  • "Recent Reforms in Taxation, II", 1895, Yale Review (Apr),  p.40
  • "Discussion of HC Adams's :Theory of Public Expenditures", 1895, Pub AEA (Mar-Supp) p.94 [js]
  • Essays in Taxation, 1895. [bk] [1905 ed] [1913 ed, av] [1921 9th ed]
  • "The Theory of Betterment", 1896,  in O. Boenigk, editor,  Staatswissenschafliche Arbeiten: Festgaben fur Karl Knies, p.57
  • "Some Recent Books on Local Taxation", 1897, QJE, p.201 [js]
  • The Economic Interpretation of History, 1902. [bk, av], [1907 2nd ed, 1917 repr ][Brisb]
  • "On Some Neglected British Economists", 1903, EJ,  Part 1 & Part 2,  [offprint: bk]
  • Principles of Economics, with special reference to American conditions, 1905 [bk, av]. [1907 3rd ed, 1909 4th ed, 1912 5th ed]
  • "Economists", 1907, Cambridge History of English and American Literature  [bart]
  • "Introduction: The Crisis of 1907 in the Light of History", 1907, The Currency Problem and the Present Financial Situation, p.vii [offpr]
  • "Taxation: Discussion", 1911, AER p.333  [js] (on T.S. Adams)
  • The Income Tax: A study of the theory, history and practice of ncome taxation, at home and abroad, 1911. [bk, av] [1914 2nd ed]
  • "Recent Reports on State and Local Taxation", 1911, AER (Jun) p.272 [js]
  • "An Economic Interpretation of the War", 1915, Problems of Readjustment after the War, p.37 [av]
  • "Tax Exemption Through Tax Capitalization: A Reply", 1916, AER, p.790 [js] (reply to T.S. Adams)
  • The House Revenue Bill: A constructive criticism, 1917 [bk]
  • How to Finance the War, with R.M. Haig, 1917 [bk, av]
  • "Income Tax - Discussion", 1918, AER (sup) p.36 [js] (on T.S. Adams, etc.)
  •  "Who is the Twentieth Century Mandville?", 1918, AER (Jun) p.339 [js] (reply to S.N. Patten)
  • "Are Stock Dividends Income?", 1919, AER (Sep), p.517 [js]
  • "The Cost of the War and How It Was Met", 1919, AER (Dec) p.739 [js]
  • "Foreword" 1920 AER (Dec) [js], to R.M. Haig, "The Taxation of Excess Profits in Great Britain"
  • "Economists", 1921, in Trent et al, editors, Cambridge History of American Literature, v.18, Pt.3, [ch.24]
  • Currency Inflation and Public Debts: A historical sketch, 1921 [bk, av]
  • A Public Debate, Capitalism vs. Socialism,  between E. R. A. Seligman, affirmative, and Scott Nearing, negative, 1921 [bk, av]
  • Stenographers report of the Seligman vs. Waton debate, 1922 [av]
  • "The State of Our National Finances", 1922, AER, p.21 [js]
  • Studies in Public Finance, 1925.
  • Essays in Economics, 1925.
  • The Economics of Instalment Selling: A study in consumers' credit, with special reference to the automobile, 1927
  • The Economics of Farm Relief: A survey of the agricultural problem, 1929
  • (Editor), Encyclopaedia of the Social Science, 1930-35
  • Price Cutting and Price Maintenance: A study in economics, with R.A. Love, 1932

 


HET

 

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Resources on E.R.A. Seligman

  • Younger portrait of E.R.A. Seligman
  • "Review of  Seligman's Shifting Incidence of Taxation", by C. Douglas, 1892, Yale Review,  p.323
  •  "Review of Seligman's Progressive Taxation" by H.W. Farnam, 1894, Yale Review, p.223
  • "The Place of the Income Tax in the Reform of State Taxation", by T.S. Adams, 1911, AER, p.302 [js]
  • "Review of Seligman's Local Taxation" by Carl Plehn, 1911, AER p.862 [js]
  • "Review of Seligman's Essays in Taxation" by F.R. Fairchild, 1913, AER
  • "Review of Seligman's Income Tax" by Carl Plehn, 1915, AER p.114 [js]
  •  "Tax Exemption Through Tax Capitalization: A Fiscal Fallacy", by T.S. Adams, 1916, AER, p.271 [js]
  • "Mandeville in the Twentieth Century" by Simon Nelson Patten, 1918, AER, p.88 [js] (review of Hollander and Seligman's AAPSS articles on war finance)
  • "Seligman, E.R.A." in J. Conrad et al, (1891-94) Handwörterbuch der Staatswissenschaften [2nd ed, 1898-1901]
  • Guide to Seligman archives (again), at Columbia
  • Seligman Page at McMaster
  • "Edwin R.A. Seligman and the Beginnings of the U.S. Income Tax", by Ajay Mehrotra, 2005 [online]
  • Seligman entry at Britannica
  • Wikipedia

 

 
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