In standard economic theory human beings are portrayed as selfish money-maximizing actors. This book investigates the conditions under which people deviate from this prediction and when they are prepared to contribute to the common good in a more altruistic fashion. Based on field experiments from charitable giving, Stephan Meier analyses people's decisions to contribute to public goods. He argues that people are more likely to contribute if their giving is matched by more money - people are generous if their peers also show this trait. He investigates the conditions under which people are willing to voluntarily contribute and draws conclusions on how the empirical findings influence economic theory and policy. Academic economists interested in behavioural economics or public economics will find The Economics of Non-selfish Behaviour of great interest as will the general public interested in developments in economics.

In Crisis, Inequalities and Poverty, Schettino and Clementi provide an empirical and theoretical analysis of the economic breakdown that has characterised the last two decades of capitalist development - from the Lehman collapse to the Covid-19 pandemic - with a particular focus on the impact on poverty and inequality. The book provides a materialist account of the current global crisis of overproduction and looks at the link between capitalist crisis and systemic inequity, making the case through detailed quantification that the principal engine of these structural phenomena is in fact the general law of accumulation of the capitalist mode of production.

Complexity and the Economy brings together a range of perspectives from internationally-renowned scholars. The book surveys conceptual approaches to understanding complexity as a key subject in evolutionary and political economy. The authors examine the causes and consequences of complexity among the broadly economic phenomena of firms, industries and socio-economic policy. The book makes a valuable contribution to the increasingly prominent subject of complexity, especially for those whose interests include evolutionary, behavioural, political and social approaches to understanding economics and economic phenomena. Complexity has become something of a leitmotif among scholars with these interests. This book contributes specific, distinctive and policy-oriented elaborations, criticisms, applications and analyses of economic phenomena as interpreted complexly. Drawing together strands of research with the aim of applying complexity theory, this book will be of great interest to researchers of political economy and evolutionary economics.

This book is a welcome consolidation and extension of the recent expanding debates on happiness and economics. Happiness and economics, as a new field for research, is now of pivotal interest particularly to welfare economists and psychologists. This Handbook provides an unprecedented forum for discussion of the economic issues relating to happiness. It reviews the more recent literature and offers the interested reader an insight into the vast scope of the field in terms of the theory, its applications and also experimental design. The Handbook also gives substantial indications as to the future direction of research in the field, with particular regard to policy applications and developing an economics of interpersonal relations which includes reciprocity and social interaction theory. Reflecting the contribution of a major research activity on the study of happiness, economics and interpersonal relations, this book will be of great interest to economists and psychologists in general, as well as welfare economists and postgraduate scholars of cooperation, welfare, social planning, non-profit, corporate social responsibility and related fields.

On the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of the 20th century's most accomplished and controversial economists, scholars from around the world reflect on the legacy of Joan Robinson's work. Addressing Robinsonian themes in growth, money, trade and methodology, their essays provide fresh perspectives on old questions. Joan Robinson's first priority was not theoretical perfection or abstract rigor. The arcane debates of the profession had little practical relevance and became increasingly tedious to her. Ironically, much of current economic theory embraces the realism she was striving toward. Indeed, as the essays in this volume show, she was in many ways ahead of her time. The volume begins by tracing the intellectual contours of her work and discussing the people and events that shaped her thinking. The succeeding chapters address her theories on accumulation, capital, and equilibrium, her interpretation of Marx, as well as the influence of Piero Sraffa. Several chapters analyze and extend her theory of growth, illustrating the wide applicability of her approach. A compelling exploration of Joan Robinson's contributions, this volume will be of great interest to scholars interested in growth, income distribution, post-Keynesian economics, macroeconomics, history of thought, money, capital theory, international trade and finance.

Erudite, accessible and lucidly written, this book provides a stimulating introduction to the careers and main published works of the Nobel Memorial Laureates in Economics. It will prove to be an invaluable reference book on key figures in economics and their path-breaking insights. The vignettes should also encourage the reader to sample some of the Laureates' original works and gain a better understanding of the context in which new ideas were first put forward. Original features of the book include: * a foreword by Professor Mark Blaug * a review of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, including a biographical guide to potential future winners * a table summarising the Laureates': year and country of birth; university and year of their first and higher degrees; their affiliation at the time of the award; broad field of study; and Prize citation * comprehensive individual entries on each of the Laureates (including their photographs), covering their careers and main published works * a glossary of selected associations, awards, institutions and societies. Written primarily for undergraduate and postgraduate students, this is also a book that many teachers and lecturers will want on their shelves. It will prove to be an invaluable reference tool for anyone wanting to understand how past events and individuals have helped mould contemporary economi

The Elgar Companion to Hayekian Economics provides an in-depth treatment of Friedrich August von Hayek's economic thought from his technical economics of the 1920s and 1930s to his broader views on the spontaneous order of a free society. Taken together, the chapters show evidence both of continuity of thought and of significant changes in focus. Providing a thorough and balanced account of Hayek's work, the authors examine his wide-ranging contribution to thought in the areas of business cycles, socialism and trade unions and the socialist calculation debate, as well as social justice, spontaneous order, globalization and free trade. The authors provide enlightening comparisons between Hayek's views and those of Ludwig von Mises, Ludwig M. Lachmann, Milton Friedman and John Maynard Keynes. Scholars working in the classical liberal tradition as well as academic economists and political scientists will find this in-depth account to be an invaluable resource. Contributors: R.E. Backhouse, C.W. Baird, P.J. Boettke, E. Colombato, C.J. Coyne, R.M. Ebeling, R.W. Garrison, S.G. Horwitz, P.T. Leeson, P. Lewin, P. Lewis, R. Nef, D. O'Brien, M. Pennington, M. Ricketts, C. Smith, G.R. Steele

In light of the recent and ongoing surge of interest in Alfred Marshall's work, this new and original reference volume fills a gap in the literature through a detailed examination of his thought and of his contributions to economics and social science. The Companion places Alfred Marshall's ideas in their historical context, highlighting the many streams of social research originating from them. The contributors form a remarkable cast of leading experts, covering a spectrum of Marshallian themes and issues, including: * his life and work * background and influences * scope and methodology of economics * economic analysis - including distribution theory, industrial economics and money * social and political issues * relations with his contemporaries * the Marshallian tradition * relevance to contemporary economics. This comprehensive and multidisciplinary Companion illustrates the relevance of Marshall to present-day economic reality and as such will prove an invaluable reference tool for general economists and a wide ranging audience: historians of economic thought; economic, political and cultural historians; industrial, regional and development economists; economists interested in institutional, cognitive and evolutionary economics.

The Economics of Demand-Led Growth is a collection of specially written essays that develop and apply the theory of demand-led growth. Long-run growth is usually portrayed as a supply-determined process. The contributions to this volume, however, are rooted in the theory of demand-led growth. In addition to general discussions of the role of demand in the long-run, the volume contains essays in the Kaldorian and Kaleckian traditions, and a section on the relationship between demand-led growth and structural change. The conclusion reached is that current neglect of the role of demand in analyses of long-run growth is unwarranted. This book will prove indispensable to academic economists and graduate students in economics for its contributions to the field of macrodynamics and, in particular, its development of non-neoclassical approaches to macrodynamics.

A collection of one-on-one discussions with 40 of the world’s greatest thought and action leaders and prominent philanthropic figures.

THE BUSINESS OF PHILANTHROPY features diverse insights into the power of strategic philanthropy to inform, inspire and mobilise the next generation of social innovators in their pursuit of positive social and environmental impact.

In conversation with social entrepreneur Badr Jafar, philanthropic leaders including Bill Gates, Baroness Valerie Amos, Kristalina Georgieva, David Miliband, Razan Al Mubarak and many more discuss their hopes and priorities for the world of today and tomorrow. Their insights shed new light on the increasingly important role that strategic philanthropy is playing in helping to address some of the world’s greatest challenges.

In a world that is confronting a host of grave interconnected risks, this book reveals fresh perspectives on old and new problems, and provides a much-needed infusion of hope and optimism in our collective capacity to meet this historic moment.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1954.

This ground-breaking book focuses on the implications of the complexity vision, such as that held by economists at the Santa Fe Institute, for the teaching of economics. This complexity vision suggests that answers to questions such as how do markets develop and how do they evolve need to be approached head on. Complexity economics is beginning to do just that. Most of the work in complexity is highly formal and technical; it seems far away from issues such as the teaching of economics. This book is different. The focus of this book is not on the grand theories, or technical aspects, of complexity. Instead it is on the teaching of economics. It asks the question: how would the teaching of economics change if complexity is taken seriously? An outstanding group of contributors, including Brian Arthur, Buz Brock, and Duncan Foley, provide interesting and provocative answers to that question in a non-technical and highly accessible style. It is a book that should be read by all those teaching economics, as well as those who are interested in where the complexity revolution in science might be leading.

The motivation behind this book is the desire to integrate complexity theory into economic models of technological evolution. By means of developing an evolutionary model of complex technological systems, the book contributes to the neo-Schumpetarian literature on innovation, diffusion and technological paradigms. Recent advances in complexity theory provide a new understanding of technological innovation and complex problem-solving. This book offers an approach based on Stuart Kauffman's NK-model of complex systems to better understand and analyse search strategies that firms apply to develop new technologies. The models deal with a range of topics including bounded rationality, myopia, decomposability, modularity and the emergence of technological paradigms. Empirical applications include the evolution of early 18th century steam engine technology, 20th century aircraft and helicopter designs and recent innovations in personal computers. Innovation, Evolution and Complexity Theory makes excellent use of complexity theory and large datasets on technologies with which to complement the analysis. The book will be of great interest to evolutionary and innovation economists and academics as well as scholars in the interdisciplinary field of complexity theory and industrial organisation.

This book applies a critical focus on the extent to which methodological practices in mainstream economic theory impede our understanding of substantive economic phenomena as the products of human action. Economists, in general, work with a concept and representation of the human agent that is palpably unrealistic. Most do so, not out of ignorance, but rather to maintain the pretence that economics is the only true science among the social sciences because it enforces the use of rigorous and formalist methods of argument. Allen Oakley's inquiry pursues ideas of social ontology pertinent to reconstructing economic theory in a way that addresses this lack of realism. These ideas take the form of a revised metatheory for a humanistic economics in which priority is given to properly understanding and depicting the human origins of economic phenomena, rather than to meeting the imposed demands of scientistic rigour. Indeed, he demonstrates that many ontological ideas pertinent to such a reconstruction are extant in the literature of social philosophy and theory, a literature largely neglected by economic theorists. Economists and social scientists concerned about the nature and problems of mainstream economic theory will gain a great deal from reading this challenging book.

This outstanding book presents new original contributions from some of the world's leading economists including Ronald Coase, Douglass C. North, Masahiko Aoki, Oliver E. Williamson and Harold Demsetz. It demonstrates the extent and depth of the New Institutional Economics research programme which is having a worldwide impact on the economics profession.The book lays out the fundamental dimensions of the research programme with special emphasis on the interaction between institutional factors, both formal and informal, and the performance of different arrangements that organize transactions. After examining the foundations of New Institutional Economics and honouring Ronald Coase's contribution to the field, it presents controversial and conflicting views on the sources of growth. It places special emphasis on organizations and transactions, focusing on issues of trust, corruption, enforcement of contracts and modes of organization. Written by an eminent group of scholars, Institutions, Contracts and Organizations is an important landmark in the development of New Institutional Economics.

Adam Ferguson and Friedrich Hayek, separated by a period of almost two hundred years, made original but similar contributions to the field of theoretical sociology. In this collection of essays, Ronald Hamowy explores the life and work of these two thinkers, giving special emphasis to their insights into the diffusion of knowledge. Ferguson, a giant of the Scottish Enlightenment, can be credited with laying the foundations of theoretical history by first proposing the idea that social institutions undergo evolutionary change. He theorized that while these institutions are formed by the actions of human beings, they are not the product of human design. Less than two centuries later, Hayek extended this insight to dealing with economic and social interaction, arguing that the knowledge requisite for structuring the social institutions under which we live is far too complex to be comprehended by any one mind or group of thinkers, and that these institutions had in fact evolved over long periods of time without deliberate design. Hayek was also the first to introduce the notion that market processes are a function of all participants contributing the limited knowledge that each possesses, out of which an orderly arrangement of enormous complexity emerges. Scholars and students of sociology, economics, history and political theory will find The Political Sociology of Freedom a unique and provocative read.

This innovative book employs the social studies of finance approach, which aims to enhance the dialogue between finance and sociology by addressing the blind spots of economic and financial theories. In so doing, it challenges the accusations made towards financial models in the aftermath of the last economic crisis and argues that they cannot be condemned indiscriminately. Their influence on markets and society is not straightforward, but determined by the many ways in which models are created and then used. Ekaterina Svetlova analyses the various patterns of the application of models in asset management, risk management and financial engineering to demonstrate that their power is far more fragile than widespread criticism would indicate.This unique and stimulating book furthers our understanding of the influence of financial models on markets and society more broadly. It will be of value to academics in the social studies of finance, economic sociology, philosophy of economics and political economy. It will also useful to practitioners who design and apply models within financial markets, regulators and policy-makers involved in the stability of financial markets, as well as any readers with a general interest in these areas.

This sequel to Marx and Non-Equilibrium Economics introduces the key advances in modern value theory. Leading authors with contrasting theoretical viewpoints debate equilibrium and non-equilibrium approaches, abstract labour and money, and provide an invaluable introduction to the rapidly growing body of new work in these fields. The authors cover cutting-edge topics in value theory including gender and money, crisis theory, the impact of technology, skilled and complex labour, and the effect of international transfers of value. All of the papers in The New Value Controversy and the Foundations of Economics concentrate on new research. The mathematical content is minimal, allowing both active researchers and new students to introduce themselves to the burgeoning critical reappraisal of the foundations of Twentieth Century economic thinking.

The OECD includes the richest nations in the world. It issues recommendations on economic and social policies. Is its counsel on welfare state policies coherent? And is it followed by member states in Western Europe? These are the guiding questions of this book, which is a first to deal with such issues. The OECD and European Welfare States comprises 14 country studies considering OECD recommendations and their implementation in Western European welfare states, an analysis of the internal processes in the OECD, a theoretical introduction and a concluding comparative chapter. The overall results show a large degree of consistency in OECD analyses and recommendations, though little efficacy is revealed. The authors of this book have compiled a major contribution to the analysis of the impact of international organisations on national welfare states, widening the scope of traditional analyses of national welfare state development. This edited book will be of special interest to those researchers and graduate students in the fields of international business, welfare state policy and comparative politics. It will also appeal to policy makers concerned with the OECD or welfare state development.

The Status of Women in Classical Economic Thought is the first volume to explore how the classical economists explained the status of women in society. As the essays show, the focus of the classical school was not nearly as limited to the activities of men as conventional wisdom has supposed. The contributors explore their insights and how they illuminate contemporary economic debates regarding women's status. The classical school specified a number of fundamental research themes which have since dominated how economists approach this topic. A sophisticated response was developed to the question: why is it that in all human societies women have suffered a lower status than that enjoyed by men? Those who theorized on the question are covered here and include: Poulain de la Barre, John Locke, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, Nicolas and Sophie de Condorcet, Jeremy Bentham, Priscilla Wakefield, Jean-Baptiste Say, Nassau Senior, John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill, Harriet Martineau, William Thompson and Anna Wheeler. Economists interested in the history of their discipline as well as women's studies scholars from history, philosophy and politics will find this an enlightening volume. Non-technical in nature, it will also appeal to anyone interested in how economists have explained the economic and social status of women.

It is fashionable to criticize economic theory for focusing too much on rationality and ignoring the imperfect and emotional way in which real economic decisions are reached. All of us facing the global economic crisis wonder just how rational economic men and women can be. Behavioral economics - an effort to incorporate psychological ideas into economics - has become all the rage. In this book, David K. Levine questions the idea that behavioral economics is the answer to economic problems. He explores the successes and failures of contemporary economics both inside and outside the laboratory, and asks whether popular behavioral theories of psychological biases are solutions to the failures. The book not only provides an overview of popular behavioral theories and their history, but also gives the reader the tools for scrutinizing them. Is Behavioral Economics Doomed? is essential reading for students and teachers of economic theory and anyone interested in the psychology of economics.

Austrian economics is known for extensive-and many economists would say excessive-ruminations on methodology. Attempting to steer a middle course between radical forms of historicism (there are no economic laws) and scientism (economic laws are as precise as physical laws), this approach often appears to diminish the importance of empirical testing and quantitative methods more generally. Since the Austrian revival of the 1970's, social scientists have developed a number of new theoretical and empirical approaches to studying the social world. Experimental and behavioral economics have exploded in popularity. Econometrics has arguably taken a more central role in the discipline than even formal economic theory. And, most prominently, econometricians have developed quasi-experimental techniques for examining real-world data as part of the "credibility revolution." This volume, Contemporary Methods and Austrian Economics, examines the relationship between Austrian economics and these new social scientific methods. Do Austrian critiques of the excessive ambitions of formal theory and empirical measurement still hold water (if they ever did)? Do the findings of these new approaches bolster or undermine distinctively Austrian theories? How should we update our views on the relationship between abstract economic theory and empirical investigations?