Publications, research projects and consultancies of Clem Tisdell: a brief review of why, how and what.

Introduction

When John O'Brien suggested to me that I should write an overview of my activities mentioned in the title of this essay, I thought that it would be an easy task. However, it has involved much more research work and thought than I had imagined. I had, for example, no statistical record of the extent and nature of my publications and the variation in these factors with the passing of time. So some rough statistics had to be compiled. Nevertheless, my review is not very statistical nor is it analytical. It is more an impressionistic and personal account which of necessity is selective.

Possibly this review might have been more appropriately written by someone else other than the author. On the other hand, John O'Brien pointed out to me that I would be more familiar with my publications and research than anyone else. Furthermore, I would be the best person to comment on their genesis and my underlying motives. He even suggested that we could be "breaking new ground" in proceeding in this way. So I shall do my best in the time and space available. After providing some statistical data about my publications, I then discuss the genesis of them, particularly my books, and go on to review my research projects and consultancies.

My journey has been full of unexpected but pleasant surprises. It could never have been predicted in advance given the extent to which it has been influenced by chance occurrences. Nevertheless, it has not been entirely random. My path illustrates how diverse and, at least to me, how exciting the study of economics can be. Its study can open up almost infinite opportunities for research and personal contacts.

A statistical overview of my publications

There is always a great deal of controversy about how to best measure academic output, including the extent and nature of one's publications. Much of the argument is futile and sometimes the measure of quality (in terms, for instance, of whether the publication is in a select list of journals) is dangerous, encourages intellectual conformity and can foster intellectual tyranny. From the point of view of advancement of intellectual inquiry, such procedures are anathema. However, with greater scarcity of public funds for academic and cultural pursuits as many governments adopt structural adjustment policies on the advice of international bodies such as The World Bank, competition for available funding for intellectual inquiry has grown. Funds are increasingly distributed according to the priorities of academic oligarchies in many cases desirous of obtaining greater funding from their political masters by emphasizing the "relevance" of their priorities (Huffman and Just, 1994, Industry Commission, 1994, p. 405; Tisdell, 1996) and as a marketing strategy

Furthermore, there are growing pressures to manage academic institutions along the lines imagined to be appropriate to commercial production activities. Thus the freedom and spontaneity of individuals in which the tree of knowledge thrives is greatly endangered. There is a danger of academic institutions diverging radically from the libertarian administrative ideals extolled by John Stuart Mill (1963) and also eloquently explained by the great Tang period prose-writer Liu Zongyuan (AD773-819) in his essay "Camel Gao, the Tree Planter" (Xianyi and Yang, 1984) written more than a thousand years before J.S. Mill.

This essay tells of a hunchback who was a famous gardener of whom all wanted to know his secret. He said he had no special skill but to get the best of each tree, he said he merely respected its nature. "A tree's roots must have room to spread and must be evenly laid; the soil must be old and firmly tamped down. Once a tree is planted you should not move it, but go away without another glance. While planting it, treat it as you would your own child, but then leave it alone. For so it will remain whole and develop to the fall" (Xianyi and Yang, 1984, pp. 149-8). Examples are given of how trees do not respond well to continual interference even when this is well intentioned. This essay continues suggesting that the governing of men might be like the planting of trees. Liu Zongyuan concludes by saying that he has recorded Camel Gao's story as a warning to officials. Many university administrators and modern officials might still benefit by reading Liu Zongyuan's essay or that of John Stuart Mill.

Now let us consider some statistics. Table I and Figure 1 set out the number of pages published by myself or jointly since I first began to publish in 1962. It shows one way or another that I have been involved in something like 16,000 pages of published material, roughly measured. In general, the rate of my publications has been upward and might be roughly approximated by a logistic curve. There is little indication that my rate of publication has begun to decline but it is becoming more difficult for me to sustain the rate as my administrative load increases and pressures for greater commercial management of my department increase. Nevertheless, an eventual decline in my rate of publication is inevitable.

 
Table I. 
 
Pages of publications of Clem Tisdell and joint authors (including 
edited pages) by five-yearly intervals, 1962-1996 
 
Five-year periods      Books     Articles        Total 
 
1962-1966                 0          98             98 
1967-1971                206        117            323 
1972-1976                993        319          1,312 
1977-1981              2,920        192          3,112 
1982-1986              1,422      1,101          2,523 
1987-1991              2,897      1,555          4,452 
1992-1996              2,568      1,930+(a)      4,498+ 
 
Total                 11,006      5,312+        16,318+ 
 
a Including 200 pages of pending articles 

Of course, it is a matter of judgement as to what is cross-disciplinary. Table II gives an indication of my changing relative emphasis on cross-disciplinary work considering the composition of my articles. In general, the extent of my cross-disciplinary writing has expanded with the passage of time. In the last five-year interval, more than half of my published articles were of a cross-disciplinary nature. An increasing proportion of my books are also of a cross-disciplinary character.

The extent to which I have engaged in joint authorship of articles has grown with the passage of time. During the first 15 years of publishing articles virtually none were jointly authored. After that it seems that I became increasingly co-operative in publishing with colleagues and higher degree students (see Table III).

 
Table II. 
 
Pages of publications of articles by Clem Tisdell and joint authors 
between 1962-1996 classified by whether in economics or 
cross-disciplinary 
 
                                               Cross-disciplinary 
Five-year                  Cross-               as a percentage 
intervals   Economics   disciplinary   Total       of total 
 
1962-1966       73           25           98          26 
1967-1971      117            0          117           0 
1972-1976      299           20          319           6 
1977-1981      153           39          192          20 
1982-1986      675          426        1,101          39 
1987-1991    1,076          479        1,555          31 
1992-1996      923        1,007(a)     1,930          52 
 
Total        3,316        1,996        5,312          38 
 
a Including 200 pages of pending articles classified as 
cross-disciplinary 
Table III. 
 
Pages of publications of articles solely authored by Clem Tisdell 
and jointly authored between 1962-1996 
 
                                                  Jointly authored 
Five-year      Solely       Jointly               as a percentage 
intervals     authored     authored     Total         of total 
 
1962-1966         98           0           98             0 
1967-1971        117           0          117             0 
1972-1976        305          14          319             4 
1977-1981        143          49          192            26 
1982-1986        665         436        1,101            40 
1987-1991        670         885        1,555            57 
1992-1996        316+      1,614(a)     1,930+           84 
 
Total          2,314       2,998        5,312+           56 
 
a Including 200 pages of pending articles treated as joint authored 

I have not tried to classify my publications by subject. However, my earliest publications were concerned mainly with microeconomics and decision making under uncertainty. This was the source of my continuing interest in rational behaviour, and led on …