These investigations identify and clarify some basic assumptions and methodological principles involved in ecological explanations of plant associations. How are plants geographically distributed into characteristic groups? What are the basic conditions that organize groups of interspecific plant populations that are characteristic of particular kinds of habitats? Answers to these questions concerning the geographical distribution of plants in late 19th century European plant geography and early 20th century American plant ecology can be distinguished according to differing logical assumptions concerning the habitats of plant associations. Through an analysis of several significant case studies in the early history of plant ecology, Konopka distinguishes a logic of habitats that conceives of plant associations in an analogy to individual organisms with a logic that conceives of plant associations in a reciprocal relation to habitat physiography. He argues that a phenomenological conception of the logical attributes of habitats can philosophically complement the physiographic tradition in early plant ecology and provide an attractive alternative to standard reductionism and holism debates that persist today. This wide ranging and original analysis will be valuable for readers interested in the history and philosophy of ecology.

The concept of "nudging" has hit news headlines in recent years following the implementation of nudge policies in many parts of the world, the establishment of behavioural policy units in some countries, and the award of the Nobel Prize in Economics to the behavioural economist Richard Thaler in 2017. However, questions remain about whether nudging is an optimal approach to policy-making. This book presents a critical approach to the study of nudging to highlight the foundations, rationale and effects of current policy-making trends in the neoliberal age of behavioural economics. In this provocative book, the author presents a re-examination of the methodological foundations of behavioural economics and its consequences for addressing the deep social and economic policy challenges of our times. It is argued that, although the concept of nudge proposed by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein rejects the theorization of economic behaviour under models of strict rationality, nudge policies focus on methodological individualism in economic thinking and economic policy. The complexity of social and economic policy problems of the twenty-first century calls for a revision of our conceptual outlooks, and to increase recognition of the failure of methodological individualism in economics to address the unprecedented social, political, and environmental challenges of globalization. Offering a new take on the epistemological assumptions underlying behaviourally-informed policies, this book will prompt the general public to consider new ideas about the darker side of behavioural economics.

Social science theorists from various scholarly disciplines have contributed to a recent literature that examines how the finance industry has expanded and now wields increasing influence across a variety of economic fields and industries. In some cases, this tendency towards a more sizeable and influential finance industry has been referred to as "the financialization" of the economy. This book explains how what is referred to as the finance-led economy (arguably a more neutral and less emotionally charged term than financialization) is premised on a number of conditions, institutional relations, and theoretical propositions and assumptions, and indicates what the real economic consequences are for market actors and households. The book provides a theoretically condensed but empirically grounded account of the contemporary finance-led economy, in many cases too complicated in its design and rich in detail to be understood equally by insiders-empirical research indicates-and lay audiences. It summarizes the relevant literature and points at two empirical cases, the construction industry and life science venturing, to better illustrate how the expansion of the finance industry has contributed to the capital formation process, and how the sovereign state has actively assisted this process. It offers a credible, yet accessible overview of the economic conditions that will arguably shape economic affairs for the foreseeable future. The book will find an audience amongst a variety of readers, including graduate students, management scholars, policymakers, and management consultants.

This major three-volume collection - offered in the centenary year of Hayek's birth - celebrates a lifetime of scholarship and original contributions that cross the disciplines of politics, philosophy and economics. Hayek rose to fame as a young technical economist engaged in debate with Keynes and became infamous in middle age for his harsh critique of socialist planning. For much of the 1950s and 1960s Hayek was ignored as a relic of 19th century economic liberalism as the tide of intellectual and political fashion moved against both his warnings about Keynesian demand management and his critique of socialist planning. Late in life, Hayek was celebrated as a prescient scholar who foresaw the decline in both the Keynesian and socialist systems of economic control. Hayek made major analytical contributions which have yet to be appreciated by either friend or foe. Through this selection of classic articles The Legacy of Friedrich von Hayek attempts to place Hayek's contributions to political economy in a proper perspective.

The theory of the firm is one of the most exciting fields of current economic research. Transaction cost theory, agency theory, contract theory and competency-based theories have all made important contributions. Both the classic and key contemporary papers are included hence The Theory of the Firm gathers together in one volume the major key thinking within the literature.The main topics covered are the scope and boundaries of the firm, international organization and information costs, vertical integration, growth competence and flexibility, the employment relation, inter-firm collaboration and networking. A substantial analytical introduction by Mark Casson provides a state-of-the-art review of current thinking in the area.

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modelling is a relatively new field in economics, however, it is rapidly becoming one of the most useful tools for policy evaluation. This book applies CGE modelling to some of the most urgent international economic policy problems, including the Kyoto Protocol, pension reform, and income taxation, and also analyses the methodological issues that arise.

The Foundations of Monetary Economics presents an authoritative collection of key articles on monetary economics - one of the most contentious areas of economics. David Laidler - who has himself made important contributions - has selected those articles which are essential to an understanding of the origin and development of monetary economics. This important three-volume collection includes classic papers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries but places the emphasis on those papers written in the last half century. Particular weight is given to work that pays explicit attention to money's role in processes of exchange. Topics include the origins of money; cash in advance; overlapping generations and legal restrictions; theories of the demand for money; empirical studies of the demand for money; money, prices and output; money in general equilibrium and disequilibrium; money and clearing markets; credit market effects; monetary explanations of the cycle; money and the Great Depression; money and growth; monetary policy and the price level; rational expectations and monetary policy; central banking; free banking and the new monetary economics.

This book presents a comprehensive account of more than 200 years of controversy on the classical theories of value and distribution. The author focuses on four, perhaps most critical classics - Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, David Ricardo's Principles of Political Economy, Karl Marx's Capital and Piero Sraffa's Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities. The book highlights several significant differences in the widely celebrated theories of the four authors as it searches for the 'classical standpoint' that separates them from the 'moderns'. It also challenges canonical interpretations to analyse their flaws and weaknesses, in addition to the already obvious strengths, and critically engages with the major alternative interpretations and criticisms of the theories. With a new Afterword that follows up on the debates and developments since the first edition, this book will appeal to scholars and academics of economic theory and philosophy, as well as to the general reader.

This authoritative collection presents an overview of the widespread significance of Schumpeter's thought. Part I examines the reception accorded to Schumpeter's ideas by his contemporaries. In Part II the impact of his scientific ideas from the 1950s to the 1970s is investigated. Part III covers the renewed influence of Schumpeter's thought in the 1980s. Whilst the contributions on industrial economics are presented in neoclassical fashion, the studies of innovation economics and evolutionary modelling reveal further ramifications of Schumpeter's legacy. Part IV highlights the importance of Schumpeterian ideas on modern macroeconomic theories and the final part demonstrates the influence of his thought in other fields such as public finance, sociology, politics and history.

Values-based organizations are institutions, communities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which are inspired by a mission or a vocation - for these groups it is their ideals which are most important to them and economics does not have a way to incorporate that into its analysis. This book provides a short introduction to the economics of values-based organizations. The book opens with an analysis of some phenomena common to all organizations: the management of vulnerabilities in relationships and the role of incentives, especially in relation to loyalty. Turning to values-based organizations more specifically, the book explores the motivations of their members, how they retain their most motivated people, what happens when the ideals of the organization are perceived to have deteriorated, and the decisions made by those in charge, who focus on efficiency, oblivious to values and identities. The second part of the book explores the narrative dimensions of values-based organizations. "Narrative capital" is a precious resource in many of these organizations, particularly through periods of crisis and change. But problems can also be caused if the second and later generations after the foundations continue to use the original narrative without enough innovation. Finally, the book discusses the gaps - the surpluses and misalignments - between people, their ideals and the organizations and how these can be managed. The book is written for academics, students and others interested in the role of values and ideals in organizations - economists, sociologist, business scholars, theologians and philosophers.

This major two volume collection of previously published articles assesses the intellectual legacy of Michal Kalecki (1899-1970), combining a selection of Kalecki's own writings with papers which evaluate and extend his work.Volume I focuses on Kalecki's work on capitalist economies, notably the effective demand, pricing and distribution of income based on the degree of monopoly, cycles and growth and the political economy of full employment. Discussion of capitalist economies, with an emphasis on money, finance and taxation continues in Volume II, which also considers Kalecki's work on socialist economies and developing economies. In the centenary year of Kalecki's birth, these volumes provide a fitting tribute to his important contributions in the fields of economics and politics.

Originally published in 1995, Beyond Capital Labor is a comprehensive empirical study about how and how much technology and regional contextual factors may influence company production and productivity growth. The book constitutes a conceptually consistent and empirically efficient study and provides a consolidated model and an analytical framework to examine the contributions of technology and regional factors to company production and productivity growth. This work goes beyond the current state and brings many scattered theoretical components together to establish an integrated model.

First published in 1991, The Greatest Happiness Principle traces the history of the theory of utility, starting with the Bible, and running through Plato, Aristotle, and Epicurus. It goes on to discuss the utilitarian theories of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill in detail, commenting on the latter's view of the Christianity of his day and his optimal socialist society. The book argues that the key theory of utility is fundamentally concerned with happiness, stating that discussions of happiness have been largely left out of discussions of utility, it also argues utility as a moral theory, posing the question ultimately, what is happiness?

The 2007-2008 financial crisis exposed the shortcomings of mainstream economic theory with economists unprepared to deal with it. In the face of this, a major rethinking of economics seems necessary and in presenting alternative approaches to economic theory, this book contributes to the rebuilding of the discipline. This volume brings together contributions from different perspectives and theoretical approaches that address the challenge of updating the economic theory corpus and seek to recover prestige for this discipline after the failure of neoclassical economics. It addresses a range of topics, including the complexity approach to economics, category theory, the Post-Keynesian approach to micro and macroeconomics, financialisation, multidimensional analysis and ecological economics. The book is aimed at economics scholars, researchers, academics and practitioners, as well as upper undergraduates and graduates in this area of knowledge. It may also be of interest for people interested in methodological issues in economics and the relationship between economic theory and the real world.

This two volume set is a comprehensive collection of historical and contemporary articles which highlight the theoretical foundations and the methods and models of long wave analysis. After examining the beginnings of long wave theory, the book includes discussions of time series methods and non-linear modelling, with an exploration of economic development in its historical context. It investigates the process of evolution and mutation in industrial capitalism over the last two hundred years. Contemporary reviews and critiques of long wave theory are also included. It makes available for the first time much important material that has hitherto been inaccessible. The book will be of immense value to all students and scholars interested in the history of economic thought, time series analysis and evolutionary or institutionalist analysis.

Recent changes in the world economy have made the pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunity increasingly important to wealth creation. Moreover, as business schools worldwide have embraced the study of entrepreneurship, a conceptual framework for the field is beginning to emerge. This book examines the discovery, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities to create future goods and services. It also evaluates the impact of entrepreneurial activity on individuals, firms and society at large. It will be an essential reference for students, researchers and professionals who are interested in this increasingly important field of study.

This three volume set offers an extensive collection of the most significant articles which investigate the foundations of past and current thinking on regulatory economics. The papers cover more than 150 years of contributions to the subject and range from the earliest discussions of controlled markets to some very recent developments. The emphasis of the volumes is on historical, conceptual and empirical studies of regulation: Volume I is devoted to the origins and development of regulatory theory and practice; Volume II examines contemporary theories of regulation; and Volume III addresses issues related to regulation and deregulation and offers some empirical studies of the effects of regulation in past and present markets. In addition to a comprehensive guide to the articles included in his selection, the editor has also written a scholarly introduction, which provides the reader with a short history of the development of ideas on regulatory economics and the establishment of institutions connected with regulation.

Mathematical Economics is an authoritative collection of the most influential contributions essential to an understanding of this important area of economic science. These seminal papers illustrate the development of the field from its inception in the 19th century up to the present, and exhibit the power of mathematics to lead to new thinking which can illuminate the scientific structures underlying economic arguments. Many of these papers started new fields of economics, influencing deeply the way economists think about their world. They illustrate the extensive range of topics to which mathematics has been applied productively, and show the areas of mathematics which have proved valuable, including functional analysis, linear algebra, algebraic and differential topology, stochastic processes and dynamical systems. They also show the extent to which today's policy analysis rests on yesterday's mathematical economics. Anyone with an interest in economics as a science will find this collection indispensable. The collection is an essential part of any course using mathematical economics.

Over the years the theoretical structure of input-output analysis has been refined and its applications have been widened. This three volume set presents an overview of this development and an assessment of the current state of the subject. It offers a comprehensive collection of previously published articles which present some of the most significant theoretical and empirical contributions of leading scholars to multisectoral economic analysis. The first volume is devoted to the foundations of input-output analysis, to dynamic models and to multisectoral extensions of the multiplier principle. Volume II explores approaches to the modelling of economics and the environment, to the analysis of foreign trade and to regional and interregional economic activities. The third volume discusses the methodologies developed for the investigation of economic structures, offers an analysis of various versions of price models and investigates the problems related to the estimation of input-output data.

Economics and Biology is a collection of key essays on the relationship between economics and biology. As the limitations of the mechanistic metaphor in economics are increasingly recognized, this volume explores the potential for the use of evolutionary and other ideas from the science of biology. Topics covered include evaluations of mechanistic and biological analogies in economics in the Darwinian revolution, the use of biology in Alfred Marshall's economics, the concepts of optimisation and rationality in an evolutionary context and the inspirations that biology may offer for modern economics.

Poverty in the History of Economic Thought: From Mercantilism to Neoclassical Economics aims to describe and critically examine how economic thought deals with poverty and the poor, including its causes, consequences, reduction, and abolition. This edited volume traces the economic ideas of key writers and schools of thought across a significant period, ranging from Adam Smith and Malthus through to Wicksell, Cassel, and Heckscher. The chapters relate poverty to income distribution, asserting that poverty is not always conceived of in absolute terms, and that relative and social deprivation matter also. Furthermore, the contributors deal with both individual poverty and the poverty of nations in the context of international economy. By providing such a thorough exploration, this book shows that the approach to poverty differs from economist to economist, depending on their particular interests and the main issues related to poverty in each epoch, as well as the influence of the intellectual climate that prevailed at the time when the contribution was made. This key text is valuable reading for advanced students and researchers of the history of economic thought, economic development, and the economics of poverty.

This two-volume set brings together a selection of the most significant contributions to the field of gender and development. The key emphasis is on economic analysis, with some articles informed by an interdisciplinary approach. The volumes cover a variety of topics, including conceptual and methodological questions, statistical accounting of women's work, issues related to the family, households and caring labour, poverty, employment and labour markets, structural adjustment policies and social change. The collection will be useful for economists as well as for other social scientists interested in the field of development, women's work, labor markets, and feminist economics. Although the volumes are addressed to an academic audience interested in development issues in general and gender and development in particular, they will also be of interest to government agencies, international organizations, NGOs and other institutions and individuals working on development, policy-making and action from a gender perspective.

Dieses Lehrbuch ermöglicht dem Leser einen leichten Einstieg in die Matrixrechnung. Matrizen und Vektoren bilden eine wesentliche Grundlage vieler quantitativer Modelle und Methoden sowohl in der ökonomischen Forschung als auch in der industriellen Praxis. Grundelemente der Matrixrechnung werden anschaulich erläutert und anhand ökonomischer Anwendungen vertieft. Darauf aufbauend führt das Buch in die Vektorraumtheorie und lineare Optimierung ein. Zu jedem Kapitel finden sich zahlreiche Übungsaufgaben mit Lösungen. Die 6. Auflage wurde um ein Kapitel zur Anwendung des Simplex-Algorithmus in MS Excel  ergänzt.

This book examines the writings of seven English women economists from the period 1735-1811. It reveals that contrary to what standard accounts of the history of economic thought suggest, eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century women intellectuals were undertaking incisive and gender-sensitive analyses of the economy. Women's Economic Thought in the Romantic Age argues that established notions of what constitutes economic enquiry, topics, and genres of writing have for centuries marginalised the perspectives and experiences of women and obscured the knowledge they recorded in novels, memoirs, or pamphlets. This has led to an underrepresentation of women in the canon of economic theory. Using insights from literary studies, cultural studies, gender studies, and feminist economics, the book develops a transdisciplinary methodology that redresses this imbalance and problematises the distinction between literary and economic texts. In its in-depth readings of selected writings by Sarah Chapone, Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Hays, Mary Robinson, Priscilla Wakefield, Mary Ann Radcliffe, and Jane Austen, this book uncovers the originality and topicality of their insights on the economics of marriage, women and paid work, and moral economics. Combining historical analysis with conceptual revision, Women's Economic Thought in the Romantic Age retrieves women's overlooked intellectual contributions and radically breaks down the barriers between literature and economics. It will be of interest to researchers and students from across the humanities and social sciences, in particular the history of economic thought, English literary and cultural studies, gender studies, economics, eighteenth-century and Romantic studies, social history, and the history of ideas.

Emphasising a positive approach to dealing with terrorism (the carrot), this book provides a critique of deterrence policy (the stick) which can be ineffective and even counterproductive, and proposes three alternative and effective anti-terrorist policies: * Decentralisation reduces vulnerability to terrorist attacks. A system with many different centres is more stable due to its diversity, enabling one part to substitute for another. * Positive incentives can be offered to actual and prospective terrorists not to engage in violent acts. Incentives include: reintegrating terrorists into society, welcoming repentents and offering them valued opportunities. * Diverting attention by naming several terrorist groups potentially responsible for a particular terrorist act. The government thus supplies more information than the terrorist responsible would wish. The proposed anti-terrorist policy has two important advantages over a coercive policy. The whole interaction between terrorists and the government transforms into a positive sum game and the strategy undermines the cohesiveness of the terrorist organisation. Surveying empirical results on the effects of terrorism on the economy and society, Bruno Frey demonstrates the strength of an economic approach to terrorism, which will be of great interest to social and also political scientists, public policy scholars, international relations experts and researchers, and above all, economists. The alternatives to deterrence illustrated in the book are advantageous for the general public and politicians, and the actuality that a positive policy is better than a coercive policy will be of great appeal to educators.