Frank Knight and The Economic Organization

Abstract

A genealogical investigation of Frank Knight's little textbook, The Economic Organization (EO), which has a history separate from, and perhaps even in tension with, its author. Where did this text come from? What is its history? What essays and manuscripts are its predecessors? Was the text stable over time or did it change? If it changed, what happened? And what may have prompted the changes? What copyright date, if any, should be assigned to EO? Answers to these questions will also help to contextualize the book, both in its time and in relation to Knight's other work. The paper also asks how EO influenced the transformation of economics textbooks during the mid-twentieth century?

Keywords: Frank Knight, Frank H. Knight, history of economic thought, history of economics

JEL Classification: A22, B13, B20, B31