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Preliminary Inventory of the Sidney Weintraub Papers, 1938-1983

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Descriptive Summary

Repository
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University
Creator
Weintraub, Sidney, 1914-
Title
Sidney Weintraub Papers, 1938-1983
Language of Material
Material in English
Extent
16 Linear Feet

18167 Items
Abstract
Sidney Weintraub was a professor and economist specializing in Post Keynesian economic theory. He spent the majority of his career at the University of Pennsylvania, and founded the Journal of Post Keynesian Economics.
These files document much of Sidney Weintraub's career as an economist; material dates from the early part of his professional career, 1938, until his death in 1983. Also included is a later accession with personal correspondence between him and his family.
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Administrative Information

Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
However, collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this form before using this collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Copyright Notice
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Sidney Weintraub Papers, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The Sidney Weintraub Papers were received by the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library as a gift in the 1990s and in 2009.
Processing Information
Processed by Meghan Lyon, August 2009
Preliminary finding aid written by David J. Hoaas, January 1985
Encoded and updated by Meghan Lyon, August 2009
This collection is minimally processed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and our local Style Guide.
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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Biographical Note

Sidney Weintraub (1914-1983) was an American economist and a professor who specialized in the Post Keynesian school of economics. He was best known for his proposal to use the federal income tax to discourage wage and price inflation in a tax-based incomes policy (TIP). Raised in New York, Weintraub studied at the London School of Economics before being forced to return to the United States at the outbreak of World War II. He earned his Ph.D. from New York University in 1941, and began teaching economics at St. John's University following the war. He joined the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1950, where he remained for the rest of his career. Weintraub also founded and co-edited the Journal of Post Keynesian Economics.

Weintraub married Sheila Ellen Weintraub and had two sons, E. Roy and A. Neil Weintraub. E. Roy Weintraub is an economics professor at Duke University.

This note includes information gathered from: Saxon, Wolfgang, "Sidney Weintraub Dies at 69; An Economist and Professor," New York Times, 21 June 1983.

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Collection Overview

These files document much of Sidney Weintraub's career as an economist; material dates from the early part of his professional career, 1938, until his death in 1983. The materials are divided into eight series with a limited amount of documentation or indexing for each category. These divisions were created by the Manuscript Department of the Library, since Weintraub did not seem to have an established order to his files. The series are: correspondence, subject files, writings, miscellany, clippings, photographs, volumes, and additions.
Accession (2009-0178), received in August 2009, consists largely of Weintraub's personal correspondence to his wife, Sheila Ellen Weintraub, during World War II and his post-war travels. It has been added to the end of the collection.
The correspondence series contains letters between 1939 and 1983. Weintraub, who did much of his own typing, scrupulously preserved carbon-copies of the letters that he sent to others which are included in the files, along with original letters sent to him by others. The bulk of the correspondence is dated between 1970 and 1983, a time when Weintraub was at the University of Pennsylvania and Waterloo in Canada (see Accession 2009-0178 for earlier correspondence). Weintraub regularly corresponded with a number of economists, including: Joan Robinson, Martin Brofenbrenner, Nicholas Kaldor, Abba Lerner, Henry Wallich, John K. Galbraith, Roy Harrod, Francis Seton, E. Roy Weintraub, Alice Vandermeulen, G.C. Harcourt, and many others. He also corresponded with many non-economists, including: Senators Barry Goldwater, William Proxmire, Gary Hart, and Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey.
One problem arises when using the material in the correspondence series of Weintraub's papers, since this section is indexed and stored by year or portion of a year and not by author or receiver of the correspondence. Therefore, for the years 1970 through 1983, it is difficult to find particular letters for particular individuals if the date for the correspondence is unknown. For earlier years this is not such a problem given the smaller number of letters in the files prior to 1970.
The second series in the Weintraub collection, the subject files, is the largest, comprising nearly one-fourth of the initial collection. The material in this series grows out of research undertaken by Weintraub primarily during the period 1970 to 1983 when he was attempting to influence government policy by promoting the merits of a Taxed-Based Incomes Policy (TIP). Of particular interest here is the early work on the publication of Capitalism's Inflation and Unemployment Crisis. Also of interest is the work that Weintraub did for the Canadian Institute for Economic Policy. In this series the material concerning the founding of the Journal of Post Keynesian Economics is included. This includes correspondence with co-editor Paul Davidson and publisher M.E. Sharpe, Inc. There is also some preliminary correspondence having to do with the publication and writing of Keynes and the Monetarists. These files contain material dealing with Weintraub's extensive national and international lecturing tours, with materials from trips to Europe, Asia, Puerto Rico, and much of the United States. Finally, material on the writing of Modern Economic Thought, editorials for the New York Times, and the Puerto Rico Economic Quarterly is included in this category.
The writings series includes work both by Weintraub himself and by others, both published and unpublished. Of Weintraub's own work, there are early versions and drafts of works later published. For example, one finds early work on the published piece Keynes and the Monetarists and Other Essays, by Sidney Weintraub along with Hamid Habibagahi, Henry Wallich, and E. Roy Weintraub (1973). Also included is some early work on the 1981 book Our Stagflation Malaise. Several unpublished drafts can also be found here including portions of the uncompleted work "Economic Thought: 1945-1965" , which also had the title "Recent Developments in Economic Theory" . Other uncompleted works are "Economics of Capitalism and Keynesian Evolution: A Theory of Employment, Growth, Income Distribution, Inflation and Money, with Policy Implications." This rather lengthy title was the second revised title of a proposed book that assessed both the microeconomic and macroeconomic components of Post Keynesian monetary theory. Finally in this section are the completed, yet unpublished, works "Pricing Interstate Telephone Services: Some Aspects of FCC Regulations of the Bell System Pricing Policies" and "The Theory of the Structure of Interest Rates."
The miscellany series contains other writings by Weintraub at different times in his professional career. Of particular interest is Weintraub's testimony to various congressional committees and federal regulatory bodies. Also included are Weintraub's handwritten notes on several of the graduate and undergraduate classes that he taught, including The History of Economic Thought, Recent Developments of Economic Theory, Theories of Business Cycles, Theory of Value and Distribution, an Introduction to Mathematical Economics, Price and Distribution Theory, Seminar in Selected Problems of Economic Theory, Public Finance and Modern Economic Theory, Keynesian Economics, Topics in Macroeconomics, and partial notes on other courses and subjects as well.
The clippings series contains newspaper and magazine articles by Weintraub or about his economic theories. They are written pieces from the popular press. Included in the clippings are letters to the editor from publications throughout the United States and Canada. For the most part, these articles by Weintraub or mentioning Weintraub deal with aspects of Taxed-Based Incomes Policy (TIP). Though not all of these clippings related to economics, the majority of them do.
Both the photographs and the volumes series of the files are limited. The photographs series contains only a few black and white publicity pictures from one or more of Weintraub's speaking tours. The volumes section does not include all of Weintraub's published work, but only a few journal reprints. Of special interest in the volumes series is an unpublished manuscript sent to Henry Wallich at the time of their first collaboration on Taxed-Based Incomes Policy. It outlines, in detail, Weintraub's ideas on the subject from Professor Wallich.
The final series is additions. Most of this series deals with research that Weintraub was considering at the time of his death. This includes an early draft of a book, titled Post Keynesian Evolution. In these files are also condolence letters received by Mrs. Weintraub at the time of her husband's death, along with various obituaries and eulogies.
Accession (2009-0178) (1.2 lin. ft.; 900 items; dated 1937-1971) consists largely of Weintraub's personal correspondence to his wife, Sheila Ellen Weintraub, during World War II and his post-war travels. Other correspondents include his brother and his son. These letters offer excellent insight into Weintraub's activities during the war, as well as descriptions of London and India in the pre-war and post-war period. This accession has been added to the end of the collection; see below for box numbers.
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Subject Headings

These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
List of Series in Collection
Correspondence, 1939-1983
Subject Files
Writings
Miscellany
Clippings
Printed Material
November 1984 Addition
Addition (2009-0178)
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Preliminary Description of Collection

Correspondence, 1939-1983

(6 boxes)
The correspondence series contains letters between 1939 and 1983. Weintraub, who did much of his own typing, scrupulously preserved carbon-copies of the letters that he sent to others which are included in the files, along with original letters sent to him by others. The bulk of the correspondence is dated between 1970 and 1983, a time when Weintraub was at the University of Pennsylvania and Waterloo in Canada (see Accession 2009-0178 for earlier correspondence). Weintraub regularly corresponded with a number of economists, including: Joan Robinson, Martin Brofenbrenner, Nicholas Kaldor, Abba Lerner, Henry Wallich, John K. Galbraith, Roy Harrod, Francis Seton, E. Roy Weintraub, Alice Vandermeulen, G.C. Harcourt, and many others. He also corresponded with many non-economists, including: Senators Barry Goldwater, William Proxmire, Gary Hart, and Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey.
Box 1
1939-1969
Box 2
1970-1972
Box 3
1973-1976
Box 4
1977-1978
Box 5
1979-1981
Box 6
1982-1983
Undated correspondence

Subject Files

(8 boxes)
Box 6
Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
Primarily correspondence, 1974-1977, concerning the publication of Capitalism's Inflation and Unemployment Crisis.
The American Academy of Political and Social Science, Sept. 1973 issue of Annals
Includes correspondence (1972-1973), papers and miscellaneous essays that were published in this volume, of which Weintraub was special editor, on the subject of income inequality.
Canada--Economic Policy
Box 7
Canadian Institute for Economic Policy
Data for Incomes Policy for Full Employment Without Inflation (See also: Volumes Series)
Economic Council of Canada
Includes correspondence (1976), paper ( "New Avenues to Explore" ) by Weintraub, and papers which document Weintraub's travel expenses and other costs incidental to writing Incomes Policy for Full Employment Without Inflation.
Centre International des Sciences Mecaniques: Round Table
Held in 1980 in Udine, Italy. Its topic was "A Critical Appraisal of the Present State of Economics." This conference was a precursor to the Centro Di Studi Economici Avanzati.
Centro Di Studi Economici Avanzati
The First International Summer School of Economics and the First Conference on Economics
Both were held in 1981 in Trieste, Italy. The conference topic was "Distribution, Effective Demand, and International Economic Development."
The Second International Summer School of Economics and the Second Conference on Economics
Both were held in 1982; the summer school was in Trieste, Italy, and the conference was in Udine. The conference topic was "Theories of Accumulation and the Control of the Economy."
The Third International Summer School of Economics and the Third Conference on Economics
Both were held in 1983; the summer school was in Trieste, Italy, and the conference was in Udine. The topic of the conference was "The Economic Dynamics of Resources, Technology, and Employment--Theories and Policies for Open Economies."
Chilton Book Co. and Greenwood Press
Correspondence, 1971-1974, concerning the following books: Intermediate Price Theory, Keynesian Theory of Employment Growth, Some Aspects of Wage Theory and Policy, A General Theory of the Price Level, Output, Income Distribution and Economic Growth, Classical Keynesianism, Monetary Theory and the Price Level, and An Approach to the Theory of Income Distribution.
Collier-MacMillan Canada, Ltd.
Correspondence, 1971, concerning the essay "An Incomes Policy for a Market Economy," which is included in this folder, and its publication in Canadian Perspectives in Economics.
Derivation of K
"Income Inequality"
Correspondence, 1974, in an unsuccessful attempt to have this work published.
Box 8
Incomes Policy
Correspondence, 1970-1971, clippings, and miscellaneous papers.
ITE Imperial Corporation (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Journal of Post-Keynesian Economics
Correspondence with M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 1976-1981. Also includes correspondence with Paul and Louise Davidson, 1977-1983.
Editorial correspondence, 1978-1981 (2 folders)
Box 9
General correspondence, 1977-1983 (2 folders)
Keynes and the Monetarists
Primarily correspondence, 1971-1977, with University of Pennsylvania Press and Rutgers University Press.
Lecture Engagements
Babson College, March 1981 (Babson Park, Md.)
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Jan. 1972
Middlebury College, April 1979
Society for Advancement of Management, April 1973
Southern Economic Association Meeting, Nov. 1971 (Urbana, Ill.)
Speakers Bureau of Philadelphia, Aug. 1971
United States Information Service (USIS)
Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, July-Aug. 1974
Canada, March 1975
Europe, 1967-1968
Box 10
Europe, 1971-1972; 1975-1976; 1982 (4 folders)
Europe and the Middle East, 1971
Asia, India, and Australia, 1971 and 1979 (2 folders)
United States Office of Personnel Management, Government Affairs Institute, Sept. 1981
University of Arizona, Feb. 1978
University of Pennsylvania Club of Baltimore, Dec. 1972
University of Puerto Rico, Nov. 1974
University of Tampa, 1974
Washington University and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Sept. 1971 and Nov. 1978 (2 folders)
Wharton Graduate School Alumni of Chicago, May 1972
Modern Economic Thought correspondence, 1974-1975
Box 11
National Science Foundation Project
Concerns the proposal Market Oriented Incomes Policies, which was first submitted in 1972 and re-submitted in 1977.
New York Times correspondence, 1971-1981
Puerto Rico Economic Quarterly correspondence and essays, 1979-1981
Research Institute in Contemporary Economic Studies correspondence, 1979-1981
University of the South correspondence, 1980-1981
University of Waterloo, 1969-1971 (4 folders)
Graduate Program of Economics, sabbatical information, staff information, and miscellany.
Box 12
Western Lumber Manufacturers, 1959
Williams College correspondence, 1981

Writings

(7 boxes)
Box 12
Articles by Weintraub (filed alphabetically by title)
Comments on works by others
A-R
Box 13
S-Z
Articles by Others (filed alphabetically by author)
A-R
Box 14
S-Z
Books: Published Works (drafts) by Weintraub
Keynes and the Monetarists and Other Essays
Authored by Sidney Weintraub along with Hamid Habibagahi, Henry Wallich, and E. Roy Weintraub, 1973.
Our Stagflation Malaise, 1981
Box 15
Books: Unpublished Works (drafts) by Weintraub
"Economic Thought: 1945-1965"
The earlier title for this work, "Recent Developments in Economic Theory," has been crossed out.
"Economics of Capitalism"
This work is subdivided into two divisions: book I is entitled, "The Theory of Affluent Welfare Capitalism," and book II, "The Consumption Sector: Basic Needs and Amenities Plus Frills, Fads, and Flourishes." This work was not completed.
"Keynesian Evolution: A Theory of Employment, Growth, Income Distribution, Inflation and Money, with Policy Implications"
Other titles include: "The Keynesian Evolution: Towards Money Micro-Macro Market Models," and "Some Post Keynesian Evolution in Micro-Macro Money Theory." There are at least four different versions of the Table of Contents. This work was not completed.
Box 16
"Pricing Interstate Telephone Services: Some Aspects of FCC Regulation of the Bell System Pricing Policies"
"The Theory of the Structure of Interest Rates"
Miscellaneous Writings
Capacity as an Economic Concept, Part I
Early Economic Thought, Arthur Munroe, ed., 1951
Box 17
"Employment Growth and Income Distribution" (preface to Japanese edition)
"A General Theory of the Price Level, Output, Income Distribution and Economic Growth" (preface to the Japanese edition)
"Impediments to Entry"
Chapter 19 of unknown work.
The Pricing of Telephone Service: Testimony of Sidney Weintraub
Selections from the history of economic thought
Abridgements of works by the following authors: Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, and Karl Marx.
Statement to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Testimony given to the U.S. Senate Committee on May 23, 1978.
Statement to the Joint Economic Committee
Testimony given on Feb. 23, 1979.
Testimony to the Federal Communications Committee
Statement concerning the possible earnings of AT&T in the future.
Unknown titles

Miscellany

(4 boxes)
Box 17
General
See also Picture Cabinet VI, 15.
Notes
Notes relating to the following courses taught by Weintraub: History of Economic Thought, Recent Developments of Economic Theory, Theories of Business Cycles, Theory of Value and Distribution, Introduction to Mathematical Economics, Price and Distribution Theory, Seminar in Selected Problems of Economic Theory, Public Finance and Modern Economic Theory, Keynesian Economics, Topics in Macro-Economics, and perhaps other courses and subjects as well. Many of the folders contain notes on books.
Box 18-20
Notes
Notes, Economic Thought, 1945-1965
Papers, chapter 1, 3, and 4

Clippings

(1 box)
Box 20
Articles by Weintraub, including letters to the editor
Clippings, 1951-1983
The Evening Bulletin, 1971-1975
Clippings about Weintraub or his economic theories, 1950-1983
Articles and letters to the editor which, for the most part, mention Weintraub and deal with his ideas on economics, especially Tax-Based Incomes Policy (TIP).
General clippings, 1954-1983

Printed Material

(2 boxes)
Box 21
Articles by Weintraub
Miscellany
Box 22
Miscellany
Pictures
Volumes

November 1984 Addition

(2 boxes)
Box 23
Correspondence, 1981-1984
Legal and financial papers, primarily book contracts
Articles by Weintraub
Articles by Others
Post-Keynesian Evolution
Along with drafts to portions of this book are notes and correspondence relating to its development and completion by Paul Davidson and Neil Owen after Weintraub's death. Also includes two floppy discs containing the early chapters of the book.
Box 24
Post-Keynesian Evolution
Clippings, including obituaries

Addition (2009-0178)

(2 boxes)
Accession (2009-0178) (1.2 lin. ft.; 900 items; dated 1937-1971) consists largely of Weintraub's personal correspondence to his wife, Sheila Ellen Weintraub, during World War II and his post-war travels. Other correspondents include his brother and his son. These letters offer excellent insight into Weintraub's activities during the war, as well as descriptions of London and India in the pre-war and post-war period.
Box 25
Correspondence from London, Fall 1938
Correspondence from London, 1939
Correspondence, 1943-1944 (2 folders)
Correspondence and Army paperwork, May 7, 1944-Jan. 1, 1945
Correspondence, 1945 (2 folders)
Box 26
Correspondence from Treasury (1942), New York City (1947), and St. Johns and Penn (1949-1951)
Correspondence from England, 1957
Correspondence, 1959-1971
Correspondence from London, 1963
Correspondence from India, Fall 1964
Photographs, 1940-1945, 1950s, no date
Miscellaneous materials, 1930s-1940s
Passport, UK registration, baseball scrapbook, photographs.
Harold Weintraub materials, 1950s
Sidney Weintraub tax returns, 1946-1967
Obituary materials, etc., 1983