Skip to Main Content

Rubenstein Library Resources on Diplomacy and International Relations

Designed to support the Rethinking Diplomacy Program, this guide provides an overview of resources available in the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Overview

Duke's Rubenstein Library has the most extensive collection of economists' papers in the world. Those listed on this page made notable contributions to international economics. The complete guide to our Economists' Papers Archive is here.

Asia

Arthur I. Bloomfield Papers, 1927-1995.

Collection documents Bloomfield's career as economist and professor of economics, with special emphasis on his work as economic consultant for the United States federal government, particularly for the New York Federal Reserve Bank, and for the governments of post-World War II South Korea and Indo-China. His chief areas of research activity focused on international banking; evaluating foreign aid programs; the pre-1914 gold standard; economic development in the U.K. and British Commonwealth countries (including the British West Indies); and economy and banking in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, the Congo, and Zaire.

Martin Bronfenbrenner Papers, 1939-1995.

Economist and William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor Emeritus of Economics at Duke University. Collection relates chiefly to Bronfenbrenner's research and associations in the field of economics. Topics include distribution theory, macroeconomics, Joseph Schumpeter, the Japanese economy, Chinese economic development, and U.S.-Japan trade relations.

Lauchlin Bernard Currie Papers, 1931-1994 and undated (bulk 1950-1990)

Influential economist, advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1939-1945, and to the government of Colombia, 1949-1993. He was involved with the Lend-Lease Program with China during WWII, and became acting director of the Foreign Economic Administration in 1943-1944. This work resulted in his being a target during the McCarthy era and he lost his U.S. citizenship in 1954. He settled in Colombia after 1954 and continued to serve as an advisor to the leaders of that country until his death in 1993. The bulk of the materials focuses on his analysis of macroeconomic policy during the New Deal; and growth, housing and export policies for developing countries, especially Colombia. There is also material on China.

Frank Whitson Fetter Papers, 1902-1992

American economist on the faculty of Northwestern University, and economic advisor to international banks and governments.The collection highlights the academic and consulting experiences (particularly the Kemmerer Commission) of a twentieth-century American economist, and documents his intellectual development as an historian of economic thought, as well as his many years of consulting and government service regarding international monetary issues. His publications and research focused on the study of the history of economics, British banking and monetary policy, inflation, and international economic thought. The Commissions, Consulting and Government Services Series includes the materials used to produce various economic reports for the foreign governments of Guatemala, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, Poland, and China.

Latin America

Lauchlin Bernard Currie Papers, 1931-1994 and undated (bulk 1950-1990)

Influential economist, advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1939-1945, and to the government of Colombia, 1949-1993. He was involved with the Lend-Lease Program with China during WWII, and became acting director of the Foreign Economic Administration in 1943-1944. This work resulted in his being a target during the McCarthy era and he lost his U.S. citizenship in 1954. He settled in Colombia after 1954 and continued to serve as an advisor to the leaders of that country until his death in 1993. The bulk of the materials focuses on his analysis of macroeconomic policy during the New Deal; and growth, housing and export policies for developing countries, especially Colombia. There is also material on China.

Frank Whitson Fetter Papers, 1902-1992

American economist on the faculty of Northwestern University, and economic advisor to international banks and governments.The collection highlights the academic and consulting experiences (particularly the Kemmerer Commission) of a twentieth-century American economist, and documents his intellectual development as an historian of economic thought, as well as his many years of consulting and government service regarding international monetary issues. The Commissions, Consulting and Government Services Series includes the materials used to produce various economic reports for the foreign governments of Guatemala, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, Poland, and China.

Bruno Foa Papers, 1927-2005

Italian-born economist, lawyer, consultant, and professor. Collection contains Foa’s published and unpublished writings; files and correspondence from positions he held including his term as a fellow at Princeton University (1940-1942), as Director of the Bureau of Latin American Research (1941-1943), on the Federal Reserve Board, as a consultant for other economics projects, and as professor and guest lecturer at several Universities.

Eastern Europe and Eurasia

Frank Whitson Fetter Papers, 1902-1992

American economist on the faculty of Northwestern University, and economic advisor to international banks and governments.The collection highlights the academic and consulting experiences (particularly the Kemmerer Commission) of a twentieth-century American economist, and documents his intellectual development as an historian of economic thought, as well as his many years of consulting and government service regarding international monetary issues. The Commissions, Consulting and Government Services Series includes the materials used to produce various economic reports for the foreign governments of Guatemala, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, Poland, and China.

Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen Papers, 1930-1994

The bulk of the collection consists of Georgescu's writings and lectures, correspondence, research and subject files, audiovisual recordings, and engagement files. Most materials date from the 1960s-1980s and relate to Georgescu's professional life as a professor at Vanderbilt University. Notable correspondents include Joseph Schumpter, Friedrich von Hayek, Paul Samuelson, and other preeminent economists. A small portion of materials date from his administrative work as a Romanian official. Typed transcripts and other documents reveal details concerning political conditions in Romania during the period of the provisional government and the Armistice trials following World War II. During this period Georgescu-Roegen served the new government in various capacities before he fled the country with his wife in 1948.

Calvin Bryce Hoover Papers, 1922-1970

Calvin Bryce Hoover (1897-1974) was an economist, a scholar, and a leader in public service. A member of the Duke faculty from 1925 until his retirement in 1966, Hoover served as chairman of the Department of Economics from 1937-1957, and Dean of the Graduate School from 1938-1948. Hoover is widely accepted as the founder of the field of comparative economics.Major subjects of the collection are the economic conditions in the Soviet Union, Germany, and the United States in the 20th century; the administration of an academic department during wartime; Soviet economic policy; Soviet politics and government; the formation of New Deal agricultural policies in the South; and the Office of Strategic Services.

Australia

Warner Max Corden papers, 1958-2012 and undated.
 
German-born research economist working in the fields of Australian and international economics. The collection includes six published short essays and occasional papers by Corden, including "The Nieo Proposals: A Cool Look, Monetary Integration"; "The Revival Of Protectionism"; "Recent Developments In The Theory Of International Trade"; "Pragmatic Orthodoxy: Macroeconomic Policies In Seven East Asian Economies"; and "Protection And Liberalization: A Review Of Analytical Issues." There are also two bibliographies (2002) of his main and minor publications.
 

Western Europe

Arthur F. Burns Papers, 1911-2005 and undated, bulk 1940-1987

Arthur Frank Burns was an Austrian-born economist, policy maker, and diplomat; chair of U.S. Federal Reserve Board from 1970-1978 and economic advisor for six U.S. presidencies.The bulk of the material was created between 1940 and 1987 and pertains to Burns's career as an economic advisor, particularly to Republican administrations, as the chair of the Federal Reserve, and as ambassador to Germany. Topics of interest in this collection include but are not limited to: the United States economic system and fiscal policies; the Federal Reserve Board and related committees; recessions, unemployment, and inflation; the world economy and finance; the U.S. presidency during the time period; the Nixon presidency in particular, including the Watergate affair; presidential campaigns and elections; and U.S. diplomacy. The most significant component of the collection is the correspondence between Arthur Burns and Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, Kennedy, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, as well as substantive exchanges with economists Milton Friedman and Wesley Clair Mitchell.

Calvin Bryce Hoover Papers, 1922-1970

Calvin Bryce Hoover (1897-1974) was an economist, a scholar, and a leader in public service. A member of the Duke faculty from 1925 until his retirement in 1966, Hoover served as chairman of the Department of Economics from 1937-1957, and Dean of the Graduate School from 1938-1948. Hoover is widely accepted as the founder of the field of comparative economics.Major subjects of the collection are the economic conditions in the Soviet Union, Germany, and the United States in the 20th century; the administration of an academic department during wartime; Soviet economic policy; Soviet politics and government; the formation of New Deal agricultural policies in the South; and the Office of Strategic Services.

Benjamin U. Ratchford Papers, 1924-1980.

Professor of economics at Duke University from 1928-1960, Ratchford left Duke in 1960 to become vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond, Va. Retired from that position in 1967, and returned to Durham, N.C. An expert in public finance, Ratchford was involved in a number of economic policy projects, including the reconstruction of Germany after World War II. Major subjects include the economy of Germany after World War II, the U.S. War Department and monetary regulation.

Africa

Arthur I. Bloomfield Papers, 1927-1995.

Collection documents Bloomfield's career as economist and professor of economics, with special emphasis on his work as economic consultant for the United States federal government, particularly for the New York Federal Reserve Bank, and for the governments of post-World War II South Korea and Indo-China. His chief areas of research activity focused on international banking; evaluating foreign aid programs; the pre-1914 gold standard; economic development in the U.K. and British Commonwealth countries (including the British West Indies); and economy and banking in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, the Congo, and Zaire.

Wolfgang F. Stolper Papers, 1892-2001 (bulk [1930s-1990s]

Professor of economics, University of Michigan.  The papers of Wolfgang F. Stolper (ca. 9900 items) span the period from 1947-1988, with the bulk of the materials dated between 1960 and the mid 1970s. Most of the collection is comprised of Professor Stolper's files and notes from his work in Nigeria, Tunisia, and other missions to Africa. These work files document his career as a practitioner--literally working "in the field"--of development economics.