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Motivation: The year 2018 was celebrated at the Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland as the 50th anniversary of the existence of the Faculty. To celebrate this jubilee, numerous conferences, debates, conventions and occasional meetings were organized. On the occasion of these events, people who contributed greatly to the development of the Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management in the area of science and didactics as well as in the organizational field were recalled and honoured. Undoubtedly, Professor Jerzy Tomala was one of them. Aim: The aim of this article is to present the biography of Professor Jerzy Tomala with special emphasis on his scientific accomplishments, international successes, as well as didactic and organizational achievements at the Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland. Results: During many years of his scientific work, Professor Jerzy Tomala became a scholar who was recognised both in Poland and internationally — first and foremost as an authority in the field of broadly understood macroeconomic problems of economic growth (with particular emphasis laid on the impact of investment, technological progress and efficiency of technical and economic relations on the long-term growth of national income) and in the area of economic policy of developed countries, mainly of the United States of America. His scientific interests also included the issue of full employment, the concept of a potential national product and educational policy. Professor Jerzy Tomala was invited to various study internships at renowned universities in the United States and to renowned scientific and teaching institutions in Western Europe. He also worked as a consultant of the World Bank, and his publications impacted some important decisions made by international organizations such as, for instance, OECD, the European Community, or the World Bank. For his achievements in the field of science, didactics and organizational work, Professor Jerzy Tomala received high state awards, prestigious awards of the Minister of Higher Education and the Rector of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, as well as numerous honours from his students and alumni. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effects which agricultural economists had on developments in economics and on economic policies during the years 1910-1960. These developments are viewed against the backdrop of what was happening in the economy at large and particularly with respect to farmers, and of major books and articles in economics published in the period. Some ideas of agricultural economists and the influence they had are discussed. Agricultural issues and agricultural economists, in the broad sense, had a profound influence on the development of general economics and on economic policies during this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of railroads presented a problem for the developing economic profession. Railroads, by their very nature, often had a localized monopoly. The check that competition was expected to impose on firm behavior was singularly lacking. At the same time, railroads in the United States were national in scope and thus affected interstate commerce. The Interstate Commerce Act and the Commission spawned by the Act represented the first halting steps towards coping with the monopoly power that was a consequence of the Second Industrial revolution. In this paper, the views of prominent economic and legal thinkers regarding the proper legal framework for railroads are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies three scientific research programs in agricultural economics. The farm management approach (1870-1933), the farm problem approach (1933-1982) and the domestic and global welfare approach (1982-). In respect to agricultural policy research two competitive research programs developed out of the farm crisis of the 1920s. One program argued for government intervention in agriculture. The other argued for stability in the general economy. The former program degenerated during the 1970s because of countervailing empirical evidence and a change in the understanding of positive economics. The latter program stayed progressive by adding the international dimension and by applying welfare economic analysis. Two other important factors influenced the development of agricultural policy. First, the unique institutional set up of the land grant system in which agricultural economics was founded as an applied science with a bias to help farmers. Second, the convergence of agricultural economics towards general economics that shifted the approach from applied to basic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines arguments by activists and economists surrounding attempts to establish minimum wages for women in the United States in the Progressive Era. In particular, the paper focuses on analyses based on Beatrice and SidneyWebbs' argument that industries paying less than a living wage were "parasitic" on the society, a net drain on macro-efficiency. This analysis, widely accepted among economists of the time, viewed women as particularly vulnerable workers facing labor markets that were institutionally constructed and predatory. Unequal gender roles, employer power, and the absence of collective bargaining could all result in wages that were socially unacceptable as well as economically nonoptimal. These debates offer insights for modern feminist wage theories, and for current living wage campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]