Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Electric Camelot: An Economist Visits King Arthur's Court

This is the title of an article that was published recently and was actually in Spanish by Rafael Galvão de Almeida. He is at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brasil. The title in Spanish is "Camelot Elétrica: Um Economista Visita a Corte do Rei Arthur."

It was published in the journal "História Econômica & História de Empresas" which means "Economic History & Business History." Click here for more information.

Here is the abstract:

"Mark Twain wrote the book A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court(1889) as a way of reflecting on the changes taking place in the United States of the so-called “Golden Age”. The book tells the story of Hank Morgan, an engineer who ended up in 6th century England, when King Arthur led the Knights of the Round Table in Camelot. Hank attempts to industrialize England twelve centuries earlier, using his knowledge of technology and culture. However, his Electric Camelot project, over numerous setbacks and failure. The novel is relevant to economists because it deals with various topics of interest, such as entrepreneurship and economic development. The literature on the “visiting economist syndrome” identifies numerous problems in a country’s development aid process due to a number of factors, including even the arrogance and naivety of economic models, but that are present when dealing with different contexts. It is argued that these problems were discussed by Mark Twain, who was interested in the nascent neoclassical economics, in the novel in question. Although Hank is an engineer, his trajectory is similar to that of a visiting economist. Thus, the book is a tool to explore through fiction problems and challenges of economic development."

Click here for a link to the entire paper. It is in Spanish.

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Chapter 33 Of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court Is Titled "SIXTH CENTURY POLITICAL ECONOMY" And Deals With "Money Illusion"

Mark Twain On Work And Pay

Mark Twain On Labor Markets And How Wages Should Be Decided-By Government Fiat Or By Markets?

Mark Twain Understood That It Is The Purchasing Power Of Wages That Matters

Mark Twain, Free Trade and Tariffs

Mark Twain, Economist?

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