Women Economists and the Changes in the Discipline of Economics in Germany (1895-1961)

Abstract

In Germany, women could attend universities as regular students only in the twentieth century. However, in the 1890s the female pioneers of economics and the social sciences attended seminars as guests. Their research was published in the journals of their supervisors. The changes in the (higher) education system and the discipline of economics are the background to the presentation of four generations of female economists in this paper. Selected biographies and the research of the respective economists are analyzed and the developments of the broader context reflected on this background. The selected works span the time period between 1895 and 1961. Starting with the historical-ethical school the analysis also sheds light on the evolution of the discipline of economics in Germany and the approach towards the Anglo-American mainstream beginning after World War I.

Keywords

• women in economics
• german historical-ethical economics
• history of German economic thought
• history of higher education