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Books > Business & Economics > Economics > Economic theory & philosophy
The recent financial and economic crisis has spurred a lot of interest among scholars and public audience. Strangely enough, the impact of the crisis on innovation has been largely underestimated. This books can be regarded as a complementary reading for those interested in the effect of the crisis with a particular focus on Europe.
Economists have traditionally regarded "Treatise On Probability" by Keynes as an anomaly amongst his published writings. This volume attempts to fix "Probability" firmly in its early 20th century philosophical setting and to link its concerns to a lifetimes' work as an economist.
War often comes down to one thing: money. The role of economics in the study of both peace and war is arguably then the most important single factor when it comes to the study of defence. This excellent new book from Fanny Coulomb will be of interest not only to those involved in the burgeoning field of defence economics - it will also be of vital interest to students and academics from international relations, defence studies, philosophy and political science backgrounds.
Economists need to understand some fundamental aspects of science in order to measure and analyse the process of technological change. This book explores the interrelationships between economics, science and technology in order to find ways of improving economists' approaches to technical change. Dr Payson begins by offering a scientific critique of economic discourse and presents a unique, unconstrained and critical view of the behavioral differences between economists and scientists. The economic literature on technological change is analysed in order to assess economists' approach to science. The author then offers concrete solutions for the useful economic study of technological change including alternative methods of classifying data based on scientific principles, a characteristics approach to measuring physical capital, and a futuristic exploration into how artificial intelligence may improve economics.
In studying General Equilibrium Theory the student must master first the theory and then apply it to solve problems. At the graduate level there is no book devoted exclusively to teaching problem solving. This book teaches for the first time the basic methods of proof and problem solving in General Equilibrium Theory. The problems cover the entire spectrum of difficulty; some are routine, some require a good grasp of the material involved, and some are exceptionally challenging. The book presents complete solutions to two hundred problems. In searching for the basic required techniques, the student will find a wealth of new material incorporated into the solutions. The student is challenged to produce solutions which are different from the ones presented in the book.
This unique troika of Handbooks provides indispensable coverage of the history of economic analysis. Edited by two of the foremost academics in the field, the volumes gather together insightful and original contributions from scholars across the world. The encyclopaedic breadth and scope of the original entries will make these Handbooks an invaluable source of knowledge for all serious students and scholars of the history of economic thought. Each Handbook can be read individually and acts as a self-contained volume in its own right. It can be purchased separately or as part of a three-volume set. Volume I contains original biographical profiles of many of the most important and influential economists. These inform the reader about their lives, works and impact on the further development of the discipline. The emphasis is on their lasting contributions to our understanding of the complex system known as the economy. The entries also shed light on the means and ways in which the functioning of this system can be improved and its dysfunction reduced. Contributors include: T. Asada, T. Aspromourgos, M. Assous, V. Avtonomov, R. Baranzini, A. Baujard, A. Beraud, E. Bertrand, O. Bjerkholt, P. Boettke, D. Boegenhold, A. Brewer, G. Campagnolo, V. Caspari, V. Chick J. Creedy, F. Dal Degan, M. Dal Pont-Legrande, M. Dardi, J. de Boyer des Roches, D. Diatkine, V. Di Giovinazzo, R.W. Dimand, R. Dujmovits, I. Eliseeva, R.B. Emmett, N. Eyguesier, G. Faccarello, O. Favereau, A. Fossati, W. Gaertner, C. Gehrke, A. Giuliani, J. Glaeser, M. Goedl, R. Gomez Betancourt, H. Gram, M.E.L. Guidi, D. Haas, H. Hagemann, G.C. Harcourt, M.J. Holler, H. Janssen, J. Jespersen, J. Joachim Zweynert, P. Kalmbach, Y.-F. Kao, J.E. King, A. Kirman, H. Klausinger, M. Knell, S. Kolev, H.D. Kurz, B.J. Loasby, N. Makasheva, C. Martin, M. McLure, A. Molavi Vassei, A.E. Murphy, L. Nellinger, S. Oliver, A. Opocher, A. Orain, T. Raffaelli, A. Rainer, G. Rubin, M. Rutherford, M. Salles, N. Salvadori,B. Schefold, M. Schneider, C.P. Schroeder, M.H. Schutz, U. Schwalbe, R. Signorino, N. Skaggs, P. Spahn, P. Steiner, R. Sturn, H.-M. Trautwein, K. Tribe, R. Van den Berg, V. Vanberg, K. Velupillai, R. Venkatachalam, C.C. von Weizsacker, L.R. Wray, K. Yahia
This description of real-world models and interpretive perspectives on Soviet economic and political theory and practice from 1917 through 1991 encompasses War Communism, New Economic Policy, Stalinism, and the reforms and debates of Krushchev, Brezhnev, and Gorbachev. The work focuses on political economy as contrasted with pure economy, and it is organized on a more or less historical basis. The work demonstrates the forces that led to the disintegration of the Soviet state.
Barnett presents the first in-depth analysis in English of the pioneer of long cycle analysis, N.D. Kondratiev (1892-1938), who was a key policy adviser to the Soviet government in the early part of the 1920s. Kondratiev developed a market-led industrialization strategy for the USSR, in direct opposition to Stalin's centrally-planned industrialization programme, and was the director of the Conjuncture Institute, a centre for the study of business cycles and forecasting between 1920 and 1928. It was within the Conjuncture Institute that Kondratiev developed his analysis of long cycles. Barnett covers all aspects of Kondratiev's work.
This book provides a comprehensive overview of the financial integration of emerging economies through an in-depth analysis of the international monetary system, how it impacts capital flows and exchange rates, and its implications for policy making. The financial integration of emerging economies has been a remarkable development of the past two decades. The growth of cross-border transactions and asset ownership, not least through the accumulation of foreign exchange reserves, has put many of these countries in a more prominent, if still peripheral, position within the global financial system. This has not been a smooth process, as integration has been marked by cyclical waves of capital flows, with financial and currency instability often accompanying the acute phases of these cycles. While conventional economic theory traditionally sees financial integration as a positive development, Post-Keynesian economists, working in the tradition of Keynes, Minsky and Kalecki, have long taken a more sceptical viewpoint. By centring the analysis of financial dynamics on concepts as liquidity, uncertainty, balance-sheet structures and institutions, Post-Keynesian theory highlights the intrinsic character of shocks imposed by financial integration upon emerging economies, and their implications for economic growth and distribution. This book demonstrates that these analyses can be fruitfully used to gain a better understanding of financial (in)stability and economic development in emerging economies as they integrate into the global financial system. This work provides key reading for students and scholars of economics, political economy and finance that are interested in the financial integration of emerging economies, and how the heterodox tradition of Post-Keynesian economics contributes to its analysis.
It is unlikely that any frontier of economics/econometrics is being pushed faster, further than that of computational techniques. The computer has become a tool for performing as well as an environment in which to perform economics and econometrics, taking over where theory bogs down, allowing at least approximate answers to questions that defy closed mathematical or analytical solutions. Tasks may now be attempted that were hitherto beyond human potential, and all the forces available can now be marshalled efficiently, leading to the achievement of desired goals. Computational Techniques for Econometrics and Economic Analysis is a collection of recent studies which exemplify all these elements, demonstrating the power that the computer brings to the economic analysts. The book is divided into four parts: 1 -- the computer and econometric methods; 2 -- the computer and economic analysis; 3 -- computational techniques for econometrics; and 4 -- the computer and econometric studies.
Starting from a distinction made by the American philosopher, John Rawls, in 2000 between two kinds of liberalism, "liberalism of freedom" and "liberalism of happiness," this book presents a range of articles by economists and philosophers debating the most fundamental aspects of the subject. These include the exact significance of Rawls' distinction and how it can be related to European political philosophy on the one hand and to utilitarianism on the other hand; the various definitions of happiness and freedom and their implications and the informational basis of individual preferences. The objectives of the book are twofold: first, it is devoted to a thorough analysis of the founding texts of both liberalisms. It aims to determine the logic of selection of the concepts which these traditions consider as relevant. The Kantian pair "Reasonable"/"Rational" can be seen as the basis on which these concepts are defined, our final concern being to reveal the profound relations of complementarity between them: we call it reconciliation. Secondly, we consider a fundamental issue of welfare economics -- how to appraise individual preferences -- in light of the Rawlsian distinction. It is emphasized that neither a criterion based on liberalism of freedom by itself, nor an evaluation in terms of liberalism of happiness by itself exhausts the question of utility. One must combine both aspects in order to cope with that issue. To do so, it is claimed that one can resort to the concept of metaranking of preferences. All the contributions included in this book are the outcomes of a collective research project of three years. The contributors come from a variety of backgrounds and yet are unified in developing a specific position about freedom and happiness. This book should be of interest to those focusing on the history of economic thought as well as moral, political and economic philosophy.
The patterns and impact of globalization have become a common concern of all international jurists, sociologists, political scientists, and philosophers. Many have observed the erosion of the powers of nation states and the emergence of new transnational governance regimes, and seek to understand their internal dynamics, re-regulatory potential, and normative quality. Karl Polanyi's seminal book - The Great Transformation - is attracting new attention to such endeavors, mirroring a growing sensitivity to the social and economic risks of dis-embedding politics. Their re-construction by Polanyi - including his warning against a commodification of labor, land, and money - provide the trans-disciplinary reference point for the contributions to this book. Political economy, political theory, sociology, and political science inform this discussion of Polanyi's insights in the age of globalization. Further theoretical essays and case studies look at his 'false commodities': money, labor (and services), and land (and the environment). Jurists have hardly ever discussed Polanyi, and the law has not been taken very seriously among 'Polanyians.' It is nevertheless clear that economic stability and social protection are simply inconceivable without the visible hand of law. The legal discussion in this book's concluding chapters do not, and cannot, depart directly from such premises. The framework of their analyses is, instead, informed by current debates on the emergence of para-legal regimes, the fragmentation of international law, and the prospects of constitutional perspectives within which the rule of law and the notion of law-mediated legitimate governance are established. Polanyi's notion of the co-originality of dis-embedding moves and re-imbedding countermoves can, however, be usefully employed in the re-construction of the sociological background of the moves and tensions which jurists discern.
'This book is a thoroughly researched and well written exploration of one of the most divisive topics in modern democratic discourse. Novak brings careful and clear thinking to a topic too often clouded in emotion and guided by moral intuition. ' -Peter Boettke, Professor of Economics and Philosophy, George Mason University, USA 'Inequality has bred a climate of hostile political discourse reminiscent of the cold war. In this lucid book, Novak explains how we can transcend that hostility by recognizing the deeply entangled character of politics and economics within modern societies.' -Richard E. Wagner, Hobart R. Harris Professor of Economics, George Mason University, USA 'Mikayla Novak has provided a bold new intellectual foundation for social policy analysis.' -Jason Potts, Professor of Economics, RMIT University, Australia In recent years the degree of income and wealth inequality within developed countries has been raised as a central issue in economic and social policy debates. Numerous figures across diverse ideological affinities have advocated policy measures to significantly alter income and wealth distributions, while the inequality debate has become infused with other subjects such as social justice and identity politics. This book presents an account of economic inequality from a contemporary classical liberal perspective. Inequality is seen as a by-product of entangled relationships within society, bringing to the fore key ideas from complexity, evolutionary and network sciences. Novak illustrates that inequality is problematic insofar as it generates pro-rich redistribution and constrains progress by the less well off. Economic inequality has important links with issues such as fiscal and regulatory policies, discrimination and social exclusion, and institutional design. This unique book is important reading for social science academics, policy makers and people interested in exploring the dimensions and solutions to inequality, a critical issue of our time.
In this book, internationally renowned scholars, including two Nobel Laureates, have been drawn together to celebrate Arnold Heertje's rich contribution to the field of economics. Their essays reflect his influence in the areas of economic theory and policy. In particular, they follow in the tradition of his work on oligopoly and price theory, welfare theory and policy, growth theory, environmental economics, technical change and the history of economic thought and methodology.The contributors offer penetrating insights into the structure and functioning of different types of market structures and the character of technical change. In addition, they address current topics such as the recent problems in East Asian economies, the money supply in the European Monetary Union and economic development. Finally, they pay tribute to Arnold Heertje's work on the history of economic thought, discussing the writings of David Ricardo, the German historical school, Herbert Robinson, Alfred Marshall and Herbert Foxwell. This book will attract economic theorists, and scholars and students who are interested in the history of economic thought or in empirical subjects such as the policy implications of studies of labour markets, property rights and European Monetary Union.
First published in 1986, The Economics of Alfred Marshall is concerned with the theories of demand, supply, market structure and income distribution which the celebrated author of the Principles of Economics developed while standing on the shoulders of giants. It is thus concerned with hidden assumptions, institutional constraints, tentative conclusions and blurred distinctions; for these are an integral part of the contribution of an economist who warned against spurious over-simplification of that which is inherently complex. The economics of Alfred Marshall appears easy when in fact it is fraught with difficulties. The Economics of Alfred Marshall seeks to explain Marshalla (TM)s theories in detail and to evaluate them in depth. The book attempts in that way to help the reader to gain a deeper understanding of an influential thinker whose insights, however difficult, continue to shed a great deal of light on the nature and workings of the economic system.
First published in 1987, Alfred Marshall: Progress and Politics provides an enlightening insight into Marshall's thoughts on social improvement, adaptive upgrading, policy and polity. He planned books on these subjects which he never subsequently wrote, but the thesis of this work is that a close study of such writings as Marshall did complete makes possible a very detailed reconstruction of the important contribution which Marshall was capable of making to Victorian evolutionary thought (much in the shadow of Darwin and Spencer). In the ongoing debate on the political element in political economy, he reveals himself to have been as much an eclectic as was Adam Smith and as much a man of commitment as was T. H. Green.
First published in 1986, 1987 and 1990, this three volume reissue covers the life and times of leading economic theorist, Alfred Marshall - one of the founders of neoclassical economics. David Reisman's incisive and comprehensive study divides Marshall's work into three key areas: economics, progress and politics, and moral principles. The author deals with everything from Marshall's magnum opus Principles of Economics through to his contribution to the progressive evolution in Victorian politics; and finally the way in which his background and upbringing influenced his highly moral approach to economic theory.
Comprising Wage-Fixing (first published 1982), and Demand Management (first published 1983) this two volume reissued set is a vital and stimulating analysis of the causes and consequences of stagflation ? a paralysing combination of mass unemployment and rapid inflation which affected a variety of economies across the developed world in the 1970s and early 1980s. Wage-Fixing, written by James Meade, deals primarily with the needed reform of wage-fixing institutions, contrasting the Great Depression of the 1930s with the Great Stagflation of the 1970s. Meanwhile Demand Management is devoted to the design of fiscal, monetary and foreign exchange-rate policies for the control of the money demand for the products of labour. This volume deals with the theory of demand management, feedback control and the creation of a dynamic model of the UK economy. Written in clear and accessible language, this reissue will appeal to the general reader as well as students of economics and professional economists. It should be required reading for all those who wish to learn the lessons of the Great Stagflation of the 1970s to avoid a repetition in the current economic climate.
This reissue, first published in 1982, is the first of two volumes on the causes and cure of Stagflation - the two-headed monster that combines mass unemployment with rapid inflation, which affected contemporary economies across the industrially developped world in the 1970s. Professor Meade outlines the nature of the problem, contrasting the Great Slump of the 1930s with the Great Stagflation of the 1970s and comparing the Orthodox Keynesian and Monetarist approaches with the New Keynesian strategy. Various proposals for the reform of wage-fixing institutions are discussed, including the limitation of trade-union bargaining powers, an official incomes policy, labour management and ownership in business, and tax or subsidy measures to discourage inflationary rises in wages and prices. The book will be essential reading for all concerned with both the theory and policy of contemporary macroeconomics, industrial relations, labour economics and labour law. It has been written so that the general argument in the main text is accessible to the general reader as well as of interest to the professional economist.
As a book on public policy, this book is unique in addressing explicitly the role of human nature. Only with a good understanding of human nature can policy makers address their foremost needs and anticipate how people may respond to specific designs in policy. This way policy makers can avoid "unintended consequences." The book also provides a new perspective on the meaning of public interest, which is based on intellectual roots dating back to J.S.Mill and more recently Harsanyi and Rawls. Traditionally, economists have referred to either the Hicksian criterion or the Kaldorian criterion as the yardstick to whether a policy is welfare enhancing, not realizing that both of these criteria fail abjectly in producing a convincing test for welfare improvement. This is because ex post, typically some people will gain and some people will lose from any policy. The author argues for an alternative, ex ante welfare increase criterion that is based on how people would assess a policy if they were completely impartial and totally ignored their personal interests. It applies the principles to key policy concerns such as health policy, tort law reform, education and cultural policy, and pension reform. The healthcare reform proposals in the book illustrate the application of the principles. The author proposes a basic protection plan under which standard basic healthcare services are priced the same whether they are provided by public or private caregivers at levels that can contain both demand side and supply side moral hazard. Annual eligible healthcare expenses are capped to alleviate worries. A "Lifetime Healthcare Supplement" that includes an element of risk sharing adds to patients choice and protection without compromising fiscal sustainability.
Throughout his long career as a professional scholar, Paul Dale Bush has been a cogent theorist, a model practitioner and an ardent defender of academic freedom and of democratic practices. Institutionalist Theory and Applications is the second of two volumes celebrating his career and his contribution to neo-institutional economics.This volume presents contributions by a distinguished group of institutionalist scholars: Edythe S. Miller, Philip A. Klein, James A. Cypher, F. Gregory Hayden, John Groenewegen, Peter Soderbaum, Charles M.A. Clark, Catherine Kavanagh and Janice Peterson. The book explores the interdependence of theory and policy and applies institutional theory to several problem areas of governance and performance. This book will be of great interest to postgraduate students and academics in the field of institutional economics, evolutionary economics, political economy, history of economic theory, methodology, social economics, social policy and social value theory.
Analyzing government as the product of exchange among individuals who differ in their bargaining power, this approach shows why individuals agree to political institutions that give their governments extensive power, and why even the most powerful government benefits from constitutional rules constraining the government's power. This foundation is used to examine a wide range of government activities, including its protection of rights, its military activities and democratic political institutions. Randall G. Holcombe is the author of Public Finance and the Political Process, An Economic Analysis of Democracy, Public Sector Economics and Economic Models and Methodology.
Despite the dynamic development of the discipline of economics, the ways in which economics is taught and how it defines its basic principles have hardly changed, resulting in economics being criticised for its inability to provide relevant insights on global challenges. In response, this book defines new principles of economics and seeks to establish economics as the science of markets. A New Principles of Economics provides an alternative conceptual framework for the study of economics, integrating recent developments and research in both economics and neighbouring social sciences. Adopting the structure of a standard principles text, it separates the study of markets as mechanisms and markets in their wider contexts. In doing so, a number of new perspectives are introduced, including approaching the economy as part and parcel of the Earth system; directly connecting the analysis of production with an analysis of technology and thermodynamic principles; explicitly treating markets as forms of social networks mediated by the institution of money; and reinstating the central role of distribution in political economy analysis. Drawing on the latest theories and research on the economy, and including both the natural and social sciences, this text provides a holistic introduction suitable for postgraduates and other advanced students.
The book discusses the nature of Marxist theory of crisis and applies it to the global financial crisis which began in 2007. Is the contemporary crisis simply the usual periodic upturn and downturn or is there something more fundamental? Is there a structural crisis of capitalism, from which there is no immediate solution? Is capitalism managed and does it have a strategy? Is the financial crisis representative of a failure in capitalism itself to subject banks and other financial institutions to the overall economy? The book discusses Marx's view on crises, as well as ideas on money and finance. It considers the different modern Marxist ideas on the causes of crises -- falling rate of profit, disproportionality and underconsumption. It goes into detail as to the nature of the present crisis, its course and causes in a spirited and independent manner. Apart from the United States, it considers the situation in the two countries, in which protests erupted: Iran and Greece. They are taken as examples of the effect of the crisis on the country, the society and the economy as well as its politics. This book was originally published as a special issue of Critique.
First published in 1938 this Routledge Revival is a reissue of the autobiography of influential economist J. A. Hobson. A comprehensive work, it details many aspects of his life including his background, influences, ethical principles, philosophy and religion. In a life which spanned great social, political and economic change - not least that brought about in the aftermath of the first world war - Hobson's humanist economic philosophy had a lasting impact upon economic and sociological thought. |
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