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.

The Austrian School forms a concise but comprehensive exposition of the main tenets of the modern Austrian School of Economics while also providing a detailed explanation of the differences between the Austrian and the neoclassical (including the Chicago School) approaches to economics. The book also includes: * reviews of the contributions of the main Austrian economists, critical analysis of the major objections to Austrian economics and an evaluation of its likely future development * complete exposition on the concepts and implications of entrepreneurship and dynamic competition * a new concept of dynamic efficiency (as an alternative to the standard Paretian criterion) and a generalised definition of socialism (as a systematic aggression against entrepreneurship) * evaluation of the role of Spanish Scholastics of the 16th century as forerunners of the Austrian School, as well as the influence and contributions of the main Austrian Scholars of the 19th and 20th centuries. This book will most notably appeal to Austrian economists but also to other free market economists as well as researchers and academics of economic methodology, the history of economic thought, institutional economics and comparative economic systems.

Economics can be inspiring - often taking a stand against convention, achieving challenging results, discussing unorthodox viewpoints and suggesting new policies. Bruno S. Frey illustrates what he perceives to be the inspirational quality of economics and how this differs from the type of economics studied in many academic institutions. He introduces insights into economics from a psychological perspective, dealing with issues such as transformation of anomalies, identification in democracy and crowding effects, and focuses on intrinsic motivation and how it is undermined. Inspiring Economics also looks at the integration of economics and politics, covering topics including popular initiatives and referenda, authoritarian nations and foreign aid, and the way in which the cost of war is reflected on the capital market. This groundbreaking empirical study of human motivation and behaviour will be a fascinating read for those interested in economics and economic theory.

Few social scientific concepts have gathered so much attention and so many followers in such a short period of time as the concept of social capital. The purpose of this authoritative volume is to review the foundations for this fast growing field. The selected articles embed the concept in core theoretical work in economics, political science, sociology, development theory, and philosophy. Topics include: contemporary conceptual and philosophical foundations; forms of social capital; and the relation of social capital to both development and democracy. This collection will provide an insightful reference source to students and researchers alike.

This provocative book examines the standing of Say's Law two centuries after its initial statement in 1803. From the 30 year General Glut debate at the start of the nineteenth century which focused solely on its truth, to the Keynesian revolution and Keynes's successful attempt to convince his fellow economists that Say's Law was wrong, it remains the most controversial principle in the history of economic theory. The central question - not resolved to this day - is this: can demand deficiency ever be the cause of recession and, if so, are greater levels of unproductive spending an appropriate response? The thrust of the argument is that if Say's Law is valid, much of modern macroeconomic theory is fatally flawed. The book explores the validity of this problematic principle, reminding us that this 200 year debate has not yet been laid to rest. The specially commissioned papers within this volume - by authors representing the full range of economic opinion today - spell out where this two hundred year old debate now stands. The book seeks to provide an understanding of the place of this principle in the minds of economists 200 years after it was first made explicit in the works of Jean-Baptiste Say. Providing a spectrum of perspectives both for and against the principles underlying Say's Law, this accessible book will be a captivating read for economists, economic historians and non-specialists alike.

Is the theory of money that underlies most modern macroeconomics well-grounded? What determines the value of a currency, and how is the state's power over its currency related to its ability to stabilize prices and employment? Charles Goodhart's classic paper 'The Two Concepts of Money: Implications for the Analysis of Optimal Currency Areas' which first raised these questions is reprinted here, and the distinguished authors expand its line of argument and comment on its central themes. The issues discussed are of fundamental importance in contemporary monetary theory and policy. The State, the Market and the Euro presents two sharply contrasting theories of money - Chartalist and Metallist - and the resulting equally sharply contrasting approaches to macroeconomic policy. Academic monetary, financial and political economists will find this book of great interest as will policymakers, financial analysts and journalists.

Since the celebration of the bicentenary of The Wealth of Nations, the last twenty years have seen a burgeoning interest in Adam Smith's contribution to economics. Jan Peil's book aims to provide a new model for interpreting Smith's contribution to economic science. This model elucidates Smith's vision of the free market economy by placing it in the historical circumstances of the time. In the first part of the book the author discusses how we should read Smith and outlines the new hermeneutical model of interpretation of his economic thought. For example, in reviewing The Wealth of Nations, the author places Smith's work firmly in the context of moral philosophy and the debate on the sense and meaning of the emerging commercial society which was taking place in the 18th century. In discussing Smith's economics, the author clearly focuses on the question: why should we re-read Smith and according to which model of interpretation? Finally, he discusses the relevance of reinterpreting Smith's economics as part of moral philosophy for today's debate on the principles of economics. This innovative book will be of great interest to historians of economic thought and political economy, scholars and students of the philosophy and methodology of economics and all those interested in Adam Smith and his relevance for economics today.

In the 1970s, the Keynesian orthodoxy in macroeconomics began to break down. In direct contrast to Keynesian recommendations of discretionary policy, models advocating laissez-faire came to the forefront of economic theory. Laissez-faire no longer stood as an exceptional policy endorsed for rare occurrences of market clearing; rather it became the policy standard. This book provides the definitive account of this watershed and traces the evolution of laissez-faire using the cases of its proponents, Frank Knight, Henry Simons, Friedrich von Hayek, Milton Friedman, James Buchanan and Robert Lucas. By elucidating the pre-analytical framework of their writings, Sherryl Kasper accounts for the ideological influence of these pioneers on theoretical work, and illustrates that they played a primary role in founding the theoretical and philosophical use of rules as the basis of macroeconomic policy. A case study of the way in which interwar pluralism transcended to postwar neoclassicism is also featured. The volume concludes that economists ultimately favoured new classical economics due to the theoretical developments it incorporated, although at the same time, since Lucas uncritically adapted some of the ideas and tools of Friedman, an avenue for ideological influence remained. Tracing the evolution of American macroeconomic theory from the 1930s to the 1980s, this book will appeal to those with an interest in macroeconomics and in the history of scholars associated with the Chicago School of economics.

Around the globe, contemporary protest movements are contesting the oligarchic appropriation of natural resources, public services, and shared networks of knowledge and communication. These struggles raise the same fundamental demand and rest on the same irreducible principle: the common. In this exhaustive account, Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval show how the common has become the defining principle of alternative political movements in the 21st century. In societies deeply shaped by neoliberal rationality, the common is increasingly invoked as the operative concept of practical struggles creating new forms of democratic governance. In a feat of analytic clarity, Dardot and Laval dissect and synthesize a vast repository on the concept of the commons, from the fields of philosophy, political theory, economics, legal theory, history, theology, and sociology. Instead of conceptualizing the common as an essence of man or as inherent in nature, the thread developed by Dardot and Laval traces the active lives of human beings: only a practical activity of commoning can decide what will be shared in common and what rules will govern the common's citizen-subjects. This re-articulation of the common calls for nothing less than the institutional transformation of society by society: it calls for a revolution.

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 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 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.

This collection of essays examines the methodological problems confronting economists in the face of two major developments in the second half of the twentieth century. The first is the vast increase in the number and variety of writings on the methodology or 'philosophy' of economics, especially from those intensively specialising in methodology. This has led to the virtual breakdown in communication between methodologists and mainstream economists, with methodology becoming increasingly isolated from mainstream economics. The second major development has been what Benjamin Ward first called 'the formalist revolution' which he, not unjustifiably, described as 'more important than the Keynesian Revolution'. Professor Hutchison attempts to contribute to serious methodological analysis of this 'revolution' and, at the same time, suggests how communication between mainstream economists and methodologists might be improved.

The re-emergence of institutional economics in the final quarter of the twentieth century is one of the most important and fruitful developments in social science. In bringing together some of the most significant previously published papers by leading scholars in the field, this authoritative collection explores the major changes in the 'new' and 'old' institutional economics, the developments of new approaches and the extension of applications to new areas which have taken place since the early 1990s. This volume is a definitive collection of readings showing both changes in the research agenda and new developments at the cutting edge. It is an ideal reference source for students and researchers in the fields of economics, sociology, business and other related disciplines.

This book makes the bold attempt at proposing a new general theory of economic development founded on the fact-based perspective of economic behaviour. The main premise is that economic institutions and policies must embody 'economic discrimination' if there is to be any chance of real economic development. By economic discrimination, the author means 'treating differences differently' by selecting and supporting economic entities and behaviour that contribute positively to the economy. By presenting a general theory that goes beyond mainstream and ad hoc economic theories, Sung-Hee Jwa provides a new way to look at capitalism beyond the Marxian interpretation, explaining why some economies develop and others don't. The book identifies markets, government and corporations as the 'holy trinity of economic development', that is, the three most important institutions that must work together via economic discrimination to steer the economy towards real transformative progress. It also warns against the current trend of economic egalitarianism or 'not treating differences differently' because it destroys economic incentives and results in an array of economic problems including growth stagnation and worsening income distribution. The theory presented in this book and its implications for development management will be an invaluable resource for development economists, scholars, instructors, researchers and policymakers.

Warren Samuels's second and concluding selection of essays focuses on early 20th century economists who, while relatively well-known in their times, have tended to be obscured by the more prominent stars of the discipline. It illustrates that economics is more diverse and complex than conventional histories of economic thought tend to identify. In particular it includes contributions on those economists who were not in the mainstream, or, if in the mainstream, practised economics in a somewhat alternative manner. Warren Samuels has assembled a collection of essays on thirteen economists - six German and seven Italian - who remain noteworthy of study to this day. The economists featured in the volume represent a variety of ways of practising economics - theoretical, methodological and policy-orientated - who all contributed to the understanding of economic processes and institutions at the deepest levels. European Economists of the Early 20th Century will appeal to all those with an interest in the philosophy and evolution of economics and to historians of economic thought.

This is a comparative account of social care services for children and older people in five key industrial nations (Finland, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States). The authors break new ground by moving beyond institutional description and seeking to understand the normative and moral qualities of welfare systems. The book builds on existing theories of welfare state regimes by extending the analysis to the arena of social care. A full and fascinating account is provided of the historical, economic and political origins of childcare and care for older people in each of the five countries. These analyses are then used as the basis for a theoretical account of the developmental trajectories of social care systems. The book proposes that there are common pressures at work in all industrial nations driving their welfare systems to similar forms of organisation and structure. However, these trends are mediated by important differences in culture and history. The Young, the Old and the State is an eminently readable and accessible book, and will be warmly welcomed by academics and researchers in social and public policy, health and social care and welfare economics. It will also be of interest to policymakers and NGOs involved in welfare and social care provision and provide a useful source for students on undergraduate and graduate programmes.

The Theory of Economic Growth compares the main theories of growth from Adam Smith to the present day in order to isolate their logical structures, theoretical domains and methodological underpinnings. The book provides original solutions to theoretical questions still debated in contemporary literature and points out new directions for further research.The authors carry out a 'vertical' or in-depth analysis of the three main schools of thought; classical, Keynesian and neo-classical. They perform a 'horizontal' analysis of a wide range of items connected with growth theory, such as competition, technical change, division of labour, business cycles, the impact on environment, and the financial intermediation. Attention is also given to the evolutionary approach to economic growth. This book will be of great interest to scholars of economic growth, macroeconomics, and historians of economic thought.

In this new book, Clem Tisdell considers combined economic and ecological influences on levels of agricultural and marine production, their variations and sustainability. The book consists mainly of previously published articles gathered together for the first time, while also including new chapters written especially for this collection. The book begins with an overview of the field, followed by an examination of the choice of variety of species for variable environments, new crops and diversification, production and impacts of economic and ecological factors on agricultural production generally. It goes on to consider specific aspects of pest and disease control in agriculture. The final part is devoted to bio-economic aspects of marine production. Interesting and often controversial topics include consequences and economic causes of genetic selection in agriculture, transgenic crops (GMOs), and effects of aquaculture on levels of wild fish stocks. Interdisciplinary in nature, Economics and Ecology in Agriculture and Marine Production covers a broad range of subjects and will attract a wide readership. It will therefore appeal to ecological, agricultural, environmental and natural resource economists, while also being of interest to those involved in land and food science, fisheries and marine studies.

Since the late 1980s, economic growth has again become a central topic in economic theorising. Recent endogenous growth theory has greatly contributed to the development of the field. Old and New Growth Theories analyses the most recent developments in the theory of economic growth and compares these to earlier theories. The book's originality is due in part to the assembly of contributions from scholars of different persuasions - some within the mainstream and others from Keynesian, Kaleckian and Sraffian traditions. The authors deal with a comprehensive variety of research topics including the key elements necessary to generate growth, the mechanisms of endogeneity of growth and technical change, the role of aggregate demand and of investment in physical and human capital. Economic policy issues are also considered. The book will be appreciated by scholars of economic growth, macroeconomics, classical and Keynesian economics as well as historians of economic thought.

This book unites diverse heterodox traditions in the study of endogenous money - which until now have been confined to their own academic quarters - and explores their similarities and differences from both sides of the Atlantic. Bringing together perspectives from post-Keynesians, Circuitists and the Dijon School, the book continues the tradition of Keynes's and Kalecki's analysis of a monetary production economy, emphasising the similarities between the various approaches, and expanding the analytical breadth of the theory of endogenous money. The authors open new avenues for monetary research in order to fuel a renewed interest in the nature and role of money in capitalist economies, which is, the authors argue, one of the most controversial, and therefore fascinating, areas of economics. Providing new theoretical and empirical grounds for the construction of a general, policy oriented theory of money, this thought-provoking collection will appeal to academics, researchers and students interested in monetary economics. It will also be welcomed by monetary policymakers and central bank officials.