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Books > Business & Economics > Economics > Economic theory & philosophy
Normative Social Theory James M. Dean and A. M. C. Waterman University of Manitoba 1. Economics and Religion Once Again This hook is a sequel to Economics and Religion: Are They Distinct? (Brennan and Waterman 1994). That volume was motivated by a frustration born of many disappointing encounters between economists and theologians in the 1980s. Can bishops, synods, and other voices of organized religion bring any interesting (and disinterested) contribution to the public policy debate? If so, what is the relation of their contribution to that of the purely "secular" knowledge economists believe they can supply? Can economists bring any interesting (and disinterested) contribution to the public policy debate? If so, what is the relation of their contribution to the fundamental values that inform social ethics and that are still guarded to a large extent by religious tradition? All too often the two sides talked at cross-purposes. Well-intentioned economists coexisted for a few hours or days with well intentioned theologians whose manner of conceiving social reality was radically incompatible with their own. There seemed to be no common ground. The first requisite of any genuine conversation is an agreed conceptual framework that is able to accommodate the peculiar social vision both of the economist and of theologian, and to display the logical relation between the two."
This 32 volume set reissues key out-of-print titles that will prove invaluable in understanding the current resurgence of economic nationalism. Covering all aspects of international trade policy, and focusing particularly on tariffs and protectionism, this set will be invaluable to the modern student.
This is the first book-length work to integrate the insights of cognitive science fully into economics. It reviews a wide range of related work in both fields and proposes new approaches to choice theory, rationality, and interaction (equilibrium) that are consistent with the limited cognitive capacity of real human beings. While joining with neoclassical economics in supporting the validity of supply-and-demand theory where it is literally applicable, McCain challenges most neoclassical theory, especially monopoly, oligopoly, and general equilibrium theory and welfare economics. His work aims to further and unite recent notions of behavioral and social economics. This important work will be of interest to behavioral, social, and Keynesian economists, as well as other social scientists and philosophers interested in economic phenomena.
As a collection of alternative views on societies, methodologies, policies, and assessment of the current elements of the society, Alternative Perspectives of a Good Society brings together different authors to answer different questions all within the context of visions of a good society. From the visions of institutionalist views of what constitutes a good economy in the twenty-first century to a feminist perspective on the meaning and characteristics of a good society, this discussion will provide a framework for examining the current economic crisis among other pressing topics of the times. Marxist ideas about human nature are explored along with a number of the issues involved in the transition from our capitalist society, to a better post-capitalist society and post-capitalist human being, concluding with the consideration of the good society perspective from a development ethics point of view. The contributors to this volume offer methodological principles and alternative policies for building alternative socio-economic models that can contribute to the design of strategies for building a better world.
From Catastrophe to Chaos: A General Theory of Economic Discontinuities presents and unusual perspective on economics and economic analysis. Current economic theory largely depends upon assuming that the world is fundamentally continuous. However, an increasing amount of economic research has been done using approaches that allow for discontinuities such as catastrophe theory, chaos theory, synergetics, and fractal geometry. The spread of such approaches across a variety of disciplines of thought has constituted a virtual intellectual revolution in recent years. This book reviews the applications of these approaches in various subdisciplines of economics and draws upon past economic thinkers to develop an integrated view of economics as a whole from the perspective of inherent discontinuity.
An examination of the future of economic policy in the next millennium, assessing the reasons for the shift to a more sceptical view of the role of government given the power of the financial markets and the impact of globalization. These contributions from within the political economy tradition emphasise the important lessons from the past about the varieties of forms of capitalism, the importance of public institutions and public policy and the limitations of the rival laissez-faire approach. The dangers of an unregulated and powerful financial sector for the real side of the economy are a particular focus of attention. Proposals to rectify the shortcomings of financial markets and shift the focus of policy to a greater concern for the poor and excluded are put forward. The message to the economic policy-makers of the future is that markets perform valuable economic and social functions, but perform these better when appropriately regulated and controlled.
In t.lw fHll of !!)!)2, Professor Dr. M. Alt.ar, chairman of tIw newly established dppartnwnt or Managenwnt. wit.h Comput.er Science at thp Homanian -American Univprsity in Bucharest (a private univprsil.y), inl.roducod in t.he curriculum a course on DiffenHltial Equations and Optimal Cont.rol, asking lIS to teach such course. It was an inter8sting challengo, since for t.Iw first tim8 wo had to t8ach such mathemaLical course for st.udents with economic background and interosts. It was a natural idea to sl.m't by looking at pconomic models which were described by differpntial equations and for which problems in (\pcision making dir! ariso. Since many or such models were r!escribed in discret.e timp, wp eleculed to elpvolop in parallel t.he theory of differential equations anel thaI, of discrete-timo systpms aur! also control theory in continuous and discrete time. Tlw jll'eSPlu book is t.he result of our tpaehing px!wripnce wit.h this courge. It is an enlargud version of t.he actllal lectuf(~s where, depending on t.he background of tho St.lI(\('Ilts, not all proofs could be given in detail. We would like to express our grat.itude to tlw Board of the Romanian - American University, personally 1. 0 the Rector, Professor Dr. Ion Smedpscu, for support, encouragement and readinpss to accept advancnd ideas in tho curriculum. fhe authors express t.heir warmest thanks 1.0 Mrs. Monica Stan . Necula for tho oxcellent procC'ssing of t.he manuscript.
Joseph Alois Schumpeter is arguably the most important economist of the 20th century. Most readers are familiar with his Theory of Economic Development and his classic Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. Less well-known are his seminal works published before he left Europe for the United States in 1942. In particular for the first time the missing Chapter Seven of his Theory of Economic Development has been published in this volume. It tries to put Economic Development into the broader context of culture, law and policy. Many of his earlier writings display a similar integrative approach and are therefore often treated as sociological writings. As Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy shows, he did not dissociate the different social sciences in his own mind but rather strove to keep the unity of the social sciences. Entrepreneurship, style and vision are the unifying concepts of his work.
This book presents the latest findings on network theory and agent-based modeling of economic and financial phenomena. In this context, the economy is depicted as a complex system consisting of heterogeneous agents that interact through evolving networks; the aggregate behavior of the economy arises out of billions of small-scale interactions that take place via countless economic agents. The book focuses on analytical modeling, and on the econometric and statistical analysis of the properties emerging from microscopic interactions. In particular, it highlights the latest empirical and theoretical advances, helping readers understand economic and financial networks, as well as new work on modeling behavior using rich, agent-based frameworks. Innovatively, the book combines observational and theoretical insights in the form of networks and agent-based models, both of which have proved to be extremely valuable in understanding non-linear and evolving complex systems. Given its scope, the book will capture the interest of graduate students and researchers from various disciplines (e.g. economics, computer science, physics, and applied mathematics) whose work involves the domain of complexity theory.
This book addresses how China could avoid the middle-income trap. Professor Li Yining proposed the framework and wrote the first article. Under Li's guidance, other articles were written by researchers at the Guanghua School of Management, Peking University. It is well known that China's reform has been highly successful, but there are still many unsolved institutional problems. The book's authors suggest that the middle-income trap is composed of three traps. Firstly, there is the "development system trap". Secondly, the "social crisis trap " and finally, the "technology trap". In order to avoid these traps, it is important for China to intensify its economic reform, to lessen the gap between the rich and poor, and to enhance innovations in technology as well as the capital market.This book uses both theoretical and case studies to discuss agricultural modernization, new urbanization, the urban-rural gap, income growth, community management, pastoral areas of medicine and the newly-industrializing economy, etc.
In this book the theory of social production is systematically formulated in terms and concepts of classical political economy and neo-classical economics. In this way the subject becomes accessible not only to professional researchers in areas of the theory of production and economic growth, but also to the educated reader who is curious about the principles behind the functioning of a national economy. The book can be considered as an introduction for students with a background in physics, chemistry and engineering, who wish to specialize in economics. It is explained how the growth of production is connected with achievements in technological consumption of labour and energy. The theory allows one to analyse the past and the present of the social production system and to build scripts of the future progress. The book could be interesting for energy specialists who are engaged in planning and analysing production and consumption of energy carriers and determining energy policy, and for economists who want to know how energy and technology are affecting economic growth.
Few writers have had a more demonstrable impact on the development of the modern world than has Karl Marx (1818-1883). Born in Trier into a middle-class Jewish family in 1818, by the time of his death in London in 1883, Marx claimed a growing international reputation. Of central importance then and later was his book Das Kapital, or, as it is known to English readers, simply Capital. Volume One of Capital was published in Paris in 1867. This was the only volume published during Marx's lifetime and the only to have come directly from his pen. Volume Two, published in 1884, was based on notes Marx left, but written by his friend and collaborator, Friedrich Engels (1820-1895). Readers from the nineteenth century to the present have been captivated by the unmistakable power and urgency of this classic of world literature. Marx's critique of the capitalist system is rife with big themes: his theory of 'surplus value', his discussion of the exploitation of the working class, and his forecast of class conflict on a grand scale. Marx wrote with purpose. As he famously put it, 'Philosophers have previously tried to explain the world, our task is to change it.'
This book examines sustainable wealth formation and dynamic decision-making. The global economy experienced a veritable meltdown of asset markets in the years 2007-9, where many funds were overexposed to risky returns and suffered considerable losses. On the other hand, the long-term upswing in the stock market since 2010 has led to asset price booms and some new, but also uneven, wealth formation. In this book a broader set of constraints and guidelines for asset management and wealth accumulation is developed. The authors investigate how wealth formation and the proper management of financial funds can help to adequately buffer income risk and obtain sufficient risk-free income at a later stage of life, while also being socially and environmentally sustainable. The book explores behavioral and institutional rules for decision-making that reflect such constraints and guidelines, without necessarily being optimal in the narrow sense. The authors explain the need for such a dynamic decision-making and dynamic re-balancing of portfolios, by putting forward dynamic programming as an approach to dynamic decision-making that can allow sustainable wealth accumulation and dynamic asset allocation to be successfully integrated. This book provides a clear and comprehensive treatment of asset accumulation and dynamic portfolio models with an emphasis on long term and sustainable wealth formation. An important concern in public debate is the sustainability of our economy and this book employs cutting edge quantitative techniques and models to highlight important facts that cannot be disputed under any reasonable assumptions. It has the potential to become a standard reference for both academic researchers and quantitatively trained practitioners. Eckhard Platen, Professor of Quantitative Finance, University of Technology Sydney, Australia This book should be read by both academics and practitioners alike. The former will find intellectually rigorous discussions and innovative solutions. The latter may find a few of the concepts a bit challenging. Yet, theory and technology are there to help simplify the work of those who worry about what time it is rather than how to make a watch--- but they do need a watch. Jean Brunel, Founder of Brunel Associates and Editor of The Journal of Wealth Management
Volume 36A of Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology features a symposium on Bruce Caldwell's Beyond Positivism after 35 years. Contributors to the symposium include Kevin Hoover, Wade Hands, Tony Lawson, and Peter Boettke. The volume also features general-research essays from Luis Mireles-Flores and Alain Marciano. Luca Fiorito presents a new discovery from the archives.
In this volume, continuities and discontinuities between Historical School of Economics and Old Institutional Economics are examined with regard to common research objectives and methods. Similarly, those between these two economic movements and New Institutional Economics as well as new economic sociology are discussed. The following questions functioned as a guideline for the contributing economists, sociologists, historians, and philosophers: Can we meaningfully speak of the Historical School of Economics (HSE) as an economic research program? What are the commonalities between the HSE and American old economic institutionalism? Does the HSE represent a part of the "lost anteroom" of New Institutional Economics and new economic sociology? How and why should the HSE matter to how we do economic and social theory today?
Most of the existing literature on European history of economic thought concentrates on the major works of leading figures such as von Bohm-Bawerk, Menger, Pareto, Walras, Weber and Wicksell. These economists exerted enormous influences on the development of economics, despite their differing theories and approaches. Yet, there were many other economists whose contribution to the field has not been described in existing literature. This book resurrects these forgotten economists and presents 17 specially commissioned essays on their lives and contributions to economics. As such this book presents a fuller picture of the development of economics in Europe during the late 19th and early 20th century.The authors examine the economists' original ideas, and discuss how their work contributed to the development of economic thought. In addition the contributors look at the spread of ideas, of their acceptance or rejection, which can be explained partly by physical and linguistic or national isolation. They also consider influences on economic thought both between and within countries, and of other disciplines on economics; and as a consequence a sense of national identity in the practice of economics is developed. Finally, the authors present ideas on the path-dependent process of the development of economics and of the alternative paths that were around at the time, as well as on the origins of econometrics and differing attitudes towards statistical and mathematical approaches. This long-overdue addition to the literature will be welcomed by historians of economic thought, those studying the lives of economists as well as those interested in the philosophy and evolution of economics.
The book examines the rapid growth and dramatic changes in capital flows globally and to emerging markets. In the context of relevant economic theory, it analyses benefits and costs of large and volatile capital flows to developing countries; the latter includes damaging currency crises as the Mexican and East Asian economies. The book makes innovative proposals on how best national governments - and especially - international organisations can avoid such crises.
This book brings together important essays by distinguished scholars who have devoted past attention to the study of imperialism and development. It comple ments an anthology of previously published essays that brings together important theoretical perspectives around the issues and debates on these themes; this volume will be published by Humanity Press (forthcoming). Both projects relate to a lengthy chapter "Theories of Imperialism," which will be published in my book The ories of Comparative Political Economy (Forthcoming). These projects represent a culmination of many years of teaching in both economics and political science. During that time I taught two political science courses on development and under development, but I was unable to convince my colleagues of the usefulness of a course on imperialism that linked historical issues and debates with the more recent developmental literature. When in 1990 I was welcomed into economics, my col leagues endorsed a graduate seminar on the political economy of imperialism. Thus, this volume evolved out of that experience in an effort to encourage new analysis that reflects retrospectively on past contributions as well as the prospects for impe rialism and development in the contemporary world."
Nations worry about their shrinking sovereignty as large numbers of immigrants cross borders at will. This collection of essays asks if globalization is killing off the nation state.
This volume features 15 contributors who argue that technical change can fruitfully be interpreted as an institutionally-structured learning process. These essays show that the analysis of knowledge-generating institutions - including firms, industries, patenting systems and occupations - provides insights into the pace, direction and persistence of technological change. The authors use these insights to both reshape economic theory, and reinterpret the economic development of Britain, the United States, Germany and Japan. Other titles by Ross Thomson includes "The Path to Mechanized Shoe Production in the United States", "Business and Economic History", " The Journal of Economic History", "The New Palgrave", "Social Concept" and "Technology and Culture".
Privatising firms and liberalizing their market environment generates in Eastern Europe a variety of problems, many of which are not common to the analogous attempts in industries countries. A first difference between the two experiences resides in establishing the value of the firm or of the assets that are being privatized. A second main difference concerns the lack of the record of market performance for the firm. The book explores these open questions through an overview of on-going and proposed processes in Section 1. In Section 2 theoretical foundations of privatization processes are proposed with respect to the financial market, industrial relations and foreign trade. A final key question is faced in Section 3: 'is there any alternative to privatization?'
In the early 1800s, Robert Owen was a mill owner, political figure, and an advocate for social reform, and his publications attained considerable circulation. He believed that people need good working conditions in order to be encouraged to work and motivated to learn. Despite the higher costs associated with this kind of operation, compared to the traditional ones, Owen's management resulted in increased productivity and profit. His results caught the attention of men of wealth who were interested in social reform. In particular, at a similar time, Jeremy Bentham was developing his own theories. Owen and Bentham seemed to be based on some similar ideas that the greatest happiness creates the greatest results. Their ideas developed against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution, and growing social and economic problems in England. Owen and Bentham were forerunners of highly relevant current theories of economics - marginalism, entrepreneurship, personnel management, and constructivism. They were acquainted with such important authors as James Mill, Malthus, Ricardo and John Stuart Mill. However, their economic theories were ruled out by classical economists, who actively tried to silence perspectives different from the orthodoxy. This book presents an innovative study of these two social thinkers and reformers, who have rarely, if ever, been studied together. This comparative study provides new context both on the social debate taking place during the Industrial Revolution, and on the development of modern social thought, in particular, the relationship between socialism and utilitarianism. Economics, Entrepreneurship and Utopia will be of great relevance to scholars with an interest in the history of economic ideas, the history of entrepreneurship, and social reform in both historical and contemporary contexts.
This thoroughly revised and updated second edition provides a comprehensive guide to Post Keynesian methodology, theory and policy prescriptions. The Companion reflects the challenges posed by the global financial crisis that began in 2008 and by the consolidation of the New Neoclassical Synthesis in macroeconomic theory. There are 41 entirely new entries, marking the emergence of a new generation of Post Keynesian scholars. The central issues that were dealt with in the first edition remain at the core of the book, but much more attention is paid in this second edition to financial markets, to Post Keynesian economics outside its traditional Anglo-American heartland and to gender issues and environmental policy. Including major theoretical, methodological and policy issues in Post Keynesian economics, this enriching Companion will strongly appeal to postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students in economics as well as related social science disciplines including international political economy, international relations, politics, public policy and sociology. Contributors: A. Altuzarra, P. Arestis, T. Asada, A. Barba, T. Baskoy, J. Bibow, S. Blankenburg, R.A. Blecker, H. Bloch, A. Brown, D. Bunting, F.J. Cardim de Carvalho, V. Chick, J. Cornwall, W. Cornwall, J. Courvisanos, C. Danby, F. Dantas, P. Davidson, L.F. De Paula, D. Dequech, S.C. Dow, P. Downward, S. Dullien, S.P. Dunn, A.K. Dutt, S. Fazzari, F. Ferrari-Filho, B. Fine, G. Fontana, M. Forstater, G. Fujii, R. Garnett, B. Gerrard, M. Glickman, G.C. Gu, G.C. Harcourt, J.T. Harvey, M. Hayes, E. Hein, J.F. Henry, G. Hewitson, M.C. Howard, P. Howells, T. Jefferson, J. Jespersen, T.-H. Jo, D.W. Katzner, S. Keen, S. Kelton, J.E. King, P. Kriesler, M. Lavoie, J. Leclaire, F.S. Lee, J. Lodewijks, M.C. Marcuzzo, J.S.L. McCombie, E.J. McKenna, A. Mearman, J. Melmies, W. Mitchell, G. Mongiovi, T. Mott, T. Mouakil, Y. Nersisyan, J.W. Nevile, T. Niechoj, R. O'Donnell, P.A. O'Hara, A. Pacella, T.I. Palley, G. Palma, C. Panico, S.D. Parsons, N. Perry, M. Pivetti, R. Pollin, S. Pressman, J. Priewe, A. Razmi, R. Realfonzo, C. Rider, L.-P. Rochon, C.J. Rodriguez-Fuentes, S. Rossi, C. Sardoni, M. Sawyer, R.H. Scott III, M. Setterfield, N. Shapiro, H.J. Sherman, P. Skott, J. Smithin, E. Stockhammer, R. Studart, P.R. Tcherneva, A.P. Thirlwall, Z. Todorova, J. Toporowski, G. Tortorella Esposito, A.B. Trigg, E. Tymoigne, L. Ussher, T. Van Treeck, A. Vercelli, M. Vernengo, M. Watts, E. Webster, A. Winnett, M.H. Wolfson, L.R. Wray, D.C. Zannoni
Coordination is extremely important in economic, political, and social life. The concept of economic equilibrium is based on the coordination of producers and consumers in buying and selling. This book reviews the topic of coordination from an economic, theoretical standpoint. The aim of this volume is twofold: first, the book contributes to the ongoing research on the economics of coordination; and second, it disseminates results and encourages interest in the topic. The volume contains original research on coordination including general game-theoretic questions, particular coordination issues within specific fields of economics (i.e. industrial organization, international trade, and macroeconomics), and experimental research. |
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