Mark Blaug has with good reason been described as the most widely read economist of his generation. He has made important contributions to economic history, cultural economics, the history of economic thought, the methodology of economics and the economics of education.Not Only an Economist reflects the wide range of Professor Blaug's interests and includes new and recent work on Adam Smith, Hayek and Keynes and studies in methodology, as well as new contributions to the economics of education. These are supplemented by essays arguing the economic case for subsidies to the arts. The book concludes with a selection from the one hundred book reviews that he has written over the years.

Economics is full of puzzles and paradoxes that often frustrate and challenge everyone, including economists. This engaging book includes fifty puzzles and focuses on three types of paradox. First, everyday observations that appear to belie common sense (such as, why do some supermarket items sell for more per ounce in larger sizes?). Secondly, those paradoxes which have perplexed economists in the past but have since been fairly resolved (such as, the diamond-water paradox). Finally, empirical or conceptual anomalies that remain unresolved and present a challenge to today's economists (such as the voting paradox).Fifty puzzles and paradoxes are analysed in a clear framework. Examples include: the fairness of market wages, the alleged gold absurdity, Giffin goods and the Irish potato famine, the paradox of thrift, the supposed perversity of Wall Street, the leisure paradox, why the best Washington apples are shipped out of state (the Alchian-Allen theorem), the question of whether teachers are underpaid, whether studying economics makes people immoral and whether war is good for the economy. This original and unusual book will have a wide appeal, ranging from the lay person with an interest in everyday economic puzzles, to the student and teacher wishing to develop their understanding of some of the paradoxes that have existed and continue to exist in economics. It will serve as an ideal source for teachers who want to challenge their students with unusual economic problems.

The Economic Theory of Socialism and the Labour-Managed Firm focuses on market socialism and the relevant debate among economic theorists. It argues that market socialism is the only rational form of socialism and that market socialism with labour-managed firms is by far the best form of market socialism. The book begins with a critical review of the contributions to the economic theory of socialism. The second part discusses the economic theory of labour-managed firms and pays particular attention to the adverse labour-supply curve, underinvestment, monitoring and the separation of ownership and control. The final chapters discuss problems such as the control of economic activity in labour-managed firms, worker motivation and incentives. This book will be of particular use to students and academics interested in comparative economic systems and to specialists in politics and sociology with an interest in alternative forms of economic organization.

This is the first extensive treatment from a modern Austrian perspective of the history of economic thought up to Adam Smith and as such takes into account the profound influence of religious, social and political thought upon economics. In Economic Thought before Adam Smith, Murray Rothbard contends that laissez-faire liberalism and economic thought itself began with the Catholic scholastics and early Roman and canon law, rather than with Adam Smith. The scholastics, he argues, established and developed the subjective utility and scarcity theory of value, as well as the theory that prices, or the value of money, depend on its supply and demand. This continental, or 'pre-Austrian' tradition, was destroyed, rather than developed, by Adam Smith whose strong Calvinist tendencies towards glorifying labour, toil and thrift is contrasted with the emphasis in Scholastic economic thought towards labour in the service of consumption. Tracing economic thought from the Greeks to the Scottish Enlightenment, this book is notable for its inclusion of all the important figures in each school of thought with their theories assessed in historical context. Classical Economics, the second volume of Professor Rothbard's history of economic thought from an Austrian perspective, is also available.

Beyond Neoclassical Economics is a remarkable introduction to the main heterodox schools of economic thought which examines their main concepts and their critiques of mainstream theory.Offering a wide spectrum of theory and viewpoints that both complement and challenge mainstream and conventional thought, this substantial volume explores schools of thought and traditions poorly covered in most conventional economics textbooks. The schools presented include Austrian economics, Geo-economics, the Virginia School of Political Economy, Institutional economics, Feminist economics, Humanist economics and Non-determinist Marxism. The papers in this volume have been prepared by leading scholars who offer new perspectives on conventional thought, as well as dialogue and commentary between their different approaches to economics. The aim of this major book is not only to understand the thought, methodology, and approach of various economic schools, but also to explain why there are different approaches to economics and how the different schools relate to one another.

One of the most striking phenomena in all of economics is the absence of a deep tradition of criticism focused on Keynesian economic theory. There have been critics but they are few and far between, even though Keynesian demand management has been at the centre of some of the worst economic outcomes in history, from the great stagflation of the 1970s to the twenty-year 'lost decade' in Japan that has been ongoing since the 1990s, and now, once again, the dismal recoveries that have followed the Global Financial Crisis. This book brings together some of the most vocal critics of Keynesian economics of the present time. Each author attempts to explain what is wrong with Keynesian theory for those seeking guidance on where to turn for a more accurate explanation of the business cycle and what to do when recessions occur. The contributions are by scholars from a wide number of schools of economics, include but are not restricted to Austrian, monetarist and classical perspectives. Written not just for economists, this accessible book is one of the few anti-Keynesian texts available and explains the inability of public spending and lower interest rates to have restored robust economic growth and full employment after the GFC. The collection offers an antidote to contemporary macroeconomic theory. It is an essential text for anyone wishing to understand why no stimulus has been able to bring recovery to any economy in which it has been tried. Contributors include: P.Boettke, P.L. Bylund, T. Congdon, R.M. Ebeling, R.W. Garrison, S. Horwitz, S. Kates, A. Kling, A.B. Laffer, P. Newman, G. Reisman, D. Simpson, M. Skousen, P. Smith

American Economists of the Late Twentieth Century is a collection of essays on the work of 22 contemporary US economists. The essays summarize, place in perspective and appraise the work of a diverse array of accomplished scholars whose writings respresent the best, the most promising and the most innovative in the US. The economists whose work is discussed include Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Paul Davidson, Nancy Folbre, Robert H. Frank, Robert Heilbroner, David Kahneman and Amos Tversky, Paul Krugman, William Lazonick, Gregg Lewis, Richard R. Nelson and Sidney G. Winter, Mancur Olson, Nathan Rosenberg, Thomas Schelling, Vernon Smith, Robert A. Solo, Joseph Stiglitz, Richard Thaler, Lester Thurow and Oliver E. Williamson. The emphasis of the collection is on both the quality and diversity of the work - of different ways of doing economics as it is presently practised. Warren J. Samuels has brought together a series of original essays written by economists who are distinguished in their own right. Historians of economic thought, methodologists, general economists and specialists in the fields represented by the subjects will welcome American Economists of the Late Twentieth Century as a significant contribution to our understanding of contemporary American economic scholarship.

In 1876, Carl Menger, then a young professor at the University of Vienna, was asked to teach the principles of political economy to Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, the 17 year old only son of Emperor Francis Joseph, who was to die tragically before he could inherit the throne.Rudolf's recently discovered Notebooks of these lectures, corrected by Menger, are a fascinating record of what the founder of the Austrian marginalist school thought worth teaching to the heir presumptive of a great power. Without referring to his own theories, Menger delivered a course on the economics of Adam Smith - as presented in the mainstream German textbooks of the time - in such a way that the Notebooks can be viewed as a key document on classical economic liberalism, pure and unadulterated. They cast new light on Menger's own theoretical discoveries, his view of government and his interpretation of classical economics. In this important volume Rudolf's Notebooks are published for the first time both in German and an English translation. The editor's detailed introduction provides the historical and intellectual background to the Notebooks as well as a thorough analysis of classical economics and its treatment by Menger. The text is fully annotated in German and English with its surprising sources traced passage by passage.

In Explaining Economic Growth David Lim presents a new analytical framework for explaining the different growth performances of developing countries.Drawing on the growth experience of the newly industrializing economies of East Asia, the author begins his analysis by identifying the sources of output growth and the factors behind them. Recognizing that no one explanation of economic growth is entirely satisfactory, Professor Lim's analysis enables the strengths of existing explanations to be highlighted and used in the construction of more convincing hypothesis of economic growth. An operational framework for identifying the policies needed to produce greater economic growth is also developed. Explaining Economic Growth presents the large and often unstructured development literature within a systematic framework allowing for a series of policy-oriented conclusions. Accessible and yet rigorous, this major new book will be widely used by students, researchers and policy makers concerned with economic growth and development.

Patrick Minford has been a close adviser to Mrs Thatcher during the last decade. He has made an important contribution to the ideas of Thatcherism and Britain's monetarist/supply side programme in the 1980s.This book brings together, for the first time, essays written as a contribution to the supply side revolution in Britain. Some focus on monetary and fiscal policy, while others deal with the principles and mechanisms for supply side reform. Taken together, they represent an invaluable source book and reference point on the political philosophy and economic strategy of the Thatcher era. The essays were all written for a wide audience and will be essential reading for both economists and non-economists alike.

This unique troika of Handbooks provide exhaustive and indispensable coverage of the history of economic analysis. Edited by two of the foremost academics in the field, they 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. They can be purchased separately or as part of a three-volume set. Volume II contains entries on the major schools of economic thought and analysis. These schools differ with regard to their 'vision' of the working of the economic system, the major forces and interactions that shape its path, and the policy recommendations proposed. At any moment of time, several such schools typically compete with one another, striving for dominance within the economic and political discourse. Contributors include: F. Allisson, R. Baranzini, M. Bellet, A.A. Belykh, C. Benassi, A. Beraud, C.B. Blankart, A. Brewer, G. Chaloupek, I. Chaplygina, S. Cook, J. Creedy, J. de Boyer des Roches, T. Demals, R.B. Emmett, G. Faccarello, C. Gehrke, G.C. Harcourt, J.E. King, H.D. Kurz, A. Lapidus, M. Lavoie, M.C. Marcuzzo, A. Molavi Vassei, P.L. Porta, A. Rosselli, M. Rutherford, N. Salvadori, B. Schefold, N.T. Skaggs, R. Solis Rosales, H.-P. Spahn, N. Thompson, H.-M. Trautwein, K. Tribe

In Economic Policy in a Liberal Democracy, Richard E. Wagner offers an approach to welfare economics and economic policy appropriate for a classically liberal society.Professor Wagner explains how welfare economics has been unable to fulfil the aspirations of its advocates because it assumes that the consequences of policy measures are sufficiently knowable to achieve specific and intended outcomes. The standard vision of the corrective state, where the state intervenes to repair economic failures and to achieve beneficial consequences, is revealed to be incoherent because the state lacks the competence to influence economic outcomes. Once the full complexity of the economy is recognized, policy measures are shown to generate a plethora of unintended consequences. What emerges instead is a focus on policy for creating and maintaining a constitutional framework that maintains and supports the liberal order in which people organise their activities.

- Sidney Dekker examines how decades of deregulation and privatization have only led to a greater burden of compliance, and why, with so many rules to ensure safety, things can still go spectacularly wrong. - Written for all those with a vested interest in understanding the actual nature of organizational safety and performance, and in doing so make tangible improvements. - The first in a unique trilogy, this book complements Dekker's many best-sellers while broadening his appeal way beyond safety-critical industries.

What impact do random events have on individuals? How do they adapt to living in an uncertain, stochastic environment? Risk and Uncertainty in Economics pays tribute to the significant contribution made by James L. Ford to our understanding of these questions.In keeping with Professor Ford's own research interests, the essays in this volume include relevant, up-to-date research on a wide range of issues. Contributions by Michael Driscoll, Marcus Miller, David Peel and Somnath Sen consider the macroeconomic impact of risk and uncertainty. Colin Dodds, Atul Dar, Andrew Mullineux, Mansoob Murshed and David Dickinson evaluate various implications of risk and uncertainty for financial markets. John Hey, the late George Shackle, Prasanta Pattanaik and Richard Barrett contribute papers on decision making under risk and uncertainty, while Peter Phillips presents some new statistical results on the Dirichlet distribution. This book will be of interest to all economists who want to understand the importance of analysing the impact of risk and uncertainty in economics.

Economic methodologists have traditionally paid very little attention to heterodox economic theories. In this major new book three leading heterodox scholars respond to the influential appraisals of Sraffian, Radical and Marxian economics made by Mark Blaug, the eminent economic methodologist.Heterodox Economic Theories begins with a paper by Ian Steedman on Sraffian economics and the capital controversy. This is followed by papers on radical economics by Michael Reich and Marx's economic analysis by Fred Moseley. Professor Moseley has also written an extensive introduction to the work featured in this volume. Including replies by Mark Blaug and comments by a distinguished group of economic methodologists, this book offers a stimulating debate between heterodox and mainstream economists over the value of three important economic traditions and over the most appropriate methodology for the appraisal of economic theories.

The impact of technical change on employment is investigated in this important new book which offers a critical appraisal of how far current economic analysis and theory can deal with this key policy issue.The Economics of Technology and Employment addresses the impact of technical change on employment from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. After an analytical discussion of theoretical propositions and models put forward by classical and contemporary economists, Dr Vivarelli develops a model to examine the extent to which worker displacement due to technical progress can be offset by compensatory market forces. This model is tested using Italian and US aggregate time-series data. The theoretical discussion and empirical results are combined to demonstrate that the employment impact of labour saving technologies can only be partially counter-balanced by market forces and so economic policy measures could be necessary. This important and innovative volume will be welcomed by economists and policymakers as a major contribution to our theoretical understanding of employment, industrial innovation and technical change.

The problems associated with chronically high inflation and hyper inflation continue to preoccupy policy makers and economists. In Great Inflations of the 20th Century, Pierre Siklos has gathered together major papers by a distinguished group of scholars who use historical episodes to understand and explain a key issue.Beginning with general surveys of historical experiences of hyperinflation and cases of chronic inflation, this volume continues with papers on the conditions which are conducive to generating high inflation. The link between monetary policy and inflation is examined through empirical studies of inflationary episodes in Germany, Hungary and Bolivia. The final part looks at how policy makers can seek to end high inflation with the smallest possible economic cost. Bringing together in one accessible volume a series of acclaimed contributions to the field, Great Inflations of the 20th Century will be a key reference resource for interested scholars and policy makers concerned with the myriad of issues surrounding the beginning and end of high or chronic inflation.

Post Keynesianism offers an appealing alternative to the mainstream approach to economics, which makes this volume particularly welcome. John King draws on his expertise to provide a clear, accessible and cohesive overview. He explains how Post Keynesian economics is different from other schools of thought, including other 'Keynesianisms', emphasizing its distinctive methodology. King explores the nature and evolution of Post Keynesian ideas and spells out their relevance for current economic analysis and policy-making, using the crisis as a case study.' - Sheila Dow, University of Stirling, UK and University of Victoria, Canada'John E. King's Advanced Introduction to Post Keynesian Economics provides a superb overview of this school of thought. It covers the main areas of contribution and distinguishes Post Keynesian economics both from orthodox economics and from other heterodox schools, in a clear and accessible way. In a time of increasing demand for relevance and pluralism in economics, this book will be extremely useful for students and young researchers interested in alternatives to current mainstream economics.' - Eckhard Hein, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This brief but comprehensive account of the Post Keynesian approach to economic theory and policy is ideal for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in economics, public policy and other social sciences. Clear, non-technical and with a strong policy focus, it will also appeal to all of those who are dissatisfied with mainstream economics and wish to explore the alternatives. John King sets out the distinctive features of Post Keynesian economics and their implications for the assessment of alternative proposals for domestic and international macroeconomic policy. He begins by outlining the core elements of Post Keynesian theory and explains how it differs from other schools, including the so-called 'Old Keynesian' and 'New Keynesian' theories. Subsequent chapters deal with the important methodological issues that distinguish the Post Keynesians from mainstream economists, in addition to their treatment of firms, workers and households, the analysis of economic growth and development, as well as international economics. The Post Keynesian approach to monetary and fiscal policy, incomes and the environment is also summarized, with particular attention being paid to controversies over austerity and the reform of the financial sector and international monetary system. The Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 is used as a case study to illustrate many of the significant theoretical and policy questions raised in previous chapters. The relationship between Post Keynesian and other branches of heterodox economics are explored, and the book concludes with a brief discussion of the future prospects for the Post Keynesian school.

Monetarism and the Methodology of Economics is a collection of 14 original essays in honour of Thomas Mayer focusing on the themes of monetarism, the transmission mechanism for monetary policy, the political economy of monetary policy and the methodology of empirical economics.This volume addresses the many areas where Thomas Mayer has made a major contribution and brings together a distinguished group of contributors including King Banaian, Mark Blaug, Martin Bronfenbrenner, Richard C.K. Burdekin, Thomas F. Cargill, Milton Friedman, C.A.E. Goodhart, D. Wade Hands, Abraham Hirsch, Kevin D. Hoover, David Laidler, Thomas Mayer, James L. Pierce, Steven M. Sheffrin, Richard J. Sweeney, Thomas D. Willett, Wing Thye Woo. An autobiographical essay by Thomas Mayer and a short appreciation by Kevin Hoover and Steven Sheffrin are included in this volume, together with a bibliography of Mayer's economic writings.

This major new study of the philosophical roots of economics examines the impact on eighteenth century economic thought of the rivalry between two opposing philosophical outlooks: rationalism and anti-rationalism. The economic thought of this period, William Coleman argues, was a synthesis of these two outlooks.Rationalism and Anti-Rationalism in the Origins of Economics examines the history of this key intellectual debate from Locke, Leibniz and Mandeville, to Hume, Condillac, Turgot and Smith. This authoritative study offers new insights on the work of the eighteenth century rationalists and anti-rationalists and the impact they had on the development of economic thought and analysis. Dr Coleman's book addresses an intellectual conflict which remains relevant today. Neoclassical economics is frequently criticized because some of its assumptions, such as those concerning optimization, rationality and equilibrium, are rationalist in character. This important book explores the intellectual archaeology of this continuing controversy over neoclassical economics, and offers new perspectives drawn from the lessons of the past.

Covering Robert Clower's writings over four decades, this collection brings together important papers that have not been reprinted in any other similar volume and recent material on economic method and theoretical foundations. Issues discussed include the doctrine and methodology of economics, price determination, oligopoly theory and Keynesian economics, as well as some of Professor Clower's substantial reviews of the work of other scholars. Above all, they offer an instructive 'history' of one scholar's attempt to enhance scientific understanding of observed economic phenomena during the last half century. The volume concludes with a complete listing of Professor Clower's publications.

Pieter Hennipman, the leading Dutch economist of the post-war period, made many substantial contributions to economic policy, welfare economics and, latterly, the methodology and history of economic thought during a long and distinguished career.Welfare Economics and the Theory of Economic Policy brings together a key selection of Professor Hennipman's papers - many of which have not been published in English before - which express his profound analysis of the theory of economic policy and his masterful discussion of its definition, character and scope. The pioneering work featured here developed his argument that normative economic statements and economic policies can be analysed scientifically and evaluated with the use of objective criteria. Prominent among these papers are the contributions to welfare economics and Pieter Hennipman's examination of the transition from the view that welfare was exclusively dependent on production to one which saw it as a subjective phenomenon dependent upon consumption. This volume also includes his rigorous and insightful essays on the history of the theory of welfare economics. With a thorough introduction by Donald Walker, this comprehensive volume will improve access to Professor Hennipman's outstanding contributions on the nature of the theory of economic policy as well as papers which place welfare theory in relation to other sections of economic theory in a penetrating and sophisticated manner.

Kenneth Boulding has, in the course of a long and distinguished career, made a seminal contribution to many branches of economics. This major book presents in one volume a selection of his most important recent papers and essays. In the first part of the book, Professor Boulding pushes economics towards a more evolutionary type of theory, towards a greater interest in the real world and towards some fairly specific theoretical positions. He stresses the importance of positive-feedback as well as equilibrium processes. The second part focuses on the grants economy, that is the study of the economics of one-way transfers. In part three, he turns his attention to international economic relations particularly the economics of conflict in unilateral national defence. The final part is on ecological systems, stressing that economies are essentially an eco-system of commodities, part of the total eco-system of the world, which is undergoing a constant and irreversible evolutionary change.

The theory of inflation seeks to explain why inflation occurs and why its rate varies, to explain the co-movements betwen the inflation rate and other variables and to permit the design of mechanisms capable of delivering an optimal inflation path.The Theory of Inflation presents in one volume a comprehensive description of the historical inflation record, surveys the current state of knowledge on the fundamental forces that cause inflation and the mechanisms that propagate it, and examines the costs of inflation and the problems of achieving price stability. Professor Parkin's selection draws both upon the contribution of mainstream economists - whose work has been based on market demand and supply - and a new generation whose work has emphasized the importance of technology and preferences. This volume, as the introduction states, indicates that there is much of value to be learnt from both approaches.

This important new book is the first specific study on the classical theory of wages to appear for more than 50 years and as such fills an important gap in the literature. Antonella Stirati argues that the wage-fund theory played no part in the theory of wages expounded by Ricardo and his predecessors. Classical wage theory is shown to be analytically consistent but very different from contemporary theory, particularly as it did not envisage an inverse relationship between employment and the real wage level, and hence a spontaneous tendency to full employment of labour. The author bases her approach not only on a reinterpretation of Smith and Ricardo, but also on the writings of Turgot, Necker, Steuart, Hume, Cantillon and other pre-classical economists. Historians of economic thought as well as other economists will welcome Dr Stirati's careful analysis of classical writings on economics which includes simple but rigorous explanations of phenomena, central to current economic debate, such as the occurrence of persistent unemployment.