Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / It is the purpose of this Thesis to analyze and examine the Institutional Economics of Rexford Guy Tugwell. Tugwell is a product of the change in economic thinking that was witnessed at the beginning of the twentieth century. Through the means of such economists as Thorstein Veblen and Simon Nelson Patten, economic thinking underwent its great reformation. The economic heterodoxy that permeated American thinking was in sharp contrast to that which had prevailed, before the turn of the century. There had come into being a greater empiricism, a more rational outlook, and a more practical application. While closing the gap between economic theory and practice, these heterodox economists provided a significant challenge to what had been known as economic orthodoxy. The Institutional Economists find their strength in the fact that their theorizing is quite relevant to the problems that face the American economy. Adopting a pragmatic outlook, relying upon cultural sciences for support, and penetrating deeply into the individual's thinking, Institutional Economists have been able to present a body of doctrine which has the public's welfare as its goal [TRUNCATED]