Financial History and Long Reach of Second 30

but rather to immerse myself in radical theories of economic development. In college, I was often advised that that sort of thinking would lead nowhere. But it led me to Stanford, where healthy doses of economic history and theory quickly produced an informed skepticism for both traditional Marxian and neoclassical views of the process of economic development. The alternative paradigm that I encountered was one combining traditional neoclassical economics with th new economics of asymmetric information, and the “new new ” economic history, which emphasized how historical (path-dependent) processes governed changes in institutions and markets. My first seminar presentation as a graduate student, in Paul David’s workshop, was on the topic of “punctuated equilibrium ” as applied to economic history. It was the most “off-the-wall” seminar I have ever attended, much less given. But at the end of the seminar, Paul and the others in attendance applauded for what seemed (to me) like a long time. Paul has always had an instinctual understanding of the need to nurture his students. I don’t mean spoonfeeding, but rather showing approval when they demonstrated good scholarly values, asked important questions, and 2 tried to answer them carefully. Paul never talked to me about the job market, or about what woul