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.

A major book from one of the most influential and well-known economists of the 20th century, who coined the term 'creative destruction' His students include famous economists such as Robert Solow and the former Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan and The Economist magazine even had a column called 'Schumpter' for many years Schumpeter launched the idea of the 'business cycle' in this book, which has become a permanent feature of thousands of curricula in business and economics Includes a new foreword by Richard Swedberg

This book approaches economic problems from a systems thinking and feedback perspective. By introducing system dynamics methods (including qualitative and quantitative techniques) and computer simulation models, the respective contributions apply feedback analysis and dynamic simulation modeling to important local, national, and global economics issues and concerns. Topics covered include: an introduction to macro modeling using a system dynamics framework; a system dynamics translation of the Phillips machine; a re-examination of classical economic theories from a feedback perspective; analyses of important social, ecological, and resource issues; the development of a biophysical economics module for global modelling; contributions to monetary and financial economics; analyses of macroeconomic growth, income distribution and alternative theories of well-being; and a re-examination of scenario macro modeling. The contributions also examine the philosophical differences between the economics and system dynamics communities in an effort to bridge existing gaps and compare methods. Many models and other supporting information are provided as online supplementary files. Consequently, the book appeals to students and scholars in economics, as well as to practitioners and policy analysts interested in using systems thinking and system dynamics modeling to understand and improve economic systems around the world. "Clearly, there is much space for more collaboration between the advocates of post-Keynesian economics and system dynamics! More generally, I would like to recommend this book to all scholars and practitioners interested in exploring the interface and synergies between economics, system dynamics, and feedback thinking." Comments in the Foreword by Marc Lavoie, Emeritus Professor, University of Ottawa and University of Sorbonne Paris Nord

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.

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.

Part of The Elgar Series on Central Banking and Monetary Policy, this book explores the relationship between central banking, monetary policy and the economy at large. It focuses on the specific relationship between central banking, monetary policy and social responsibility as central banks wake up to new realities. The book examines this relationship not only in connection to the economic, monetary and financial impact of the so-called 'unconventional' monetary policies, but also in connection to the functioning of today's democracies. A new framework and model for central banking is proposed in this rethinking of monetary policy, and the role of central banks as institutions in democracies is considered. Scholars and students interested in central banking and monetary policy, the issue of social responsibility and the relationship between central banks and democracy will benefit from the ideas presented by the editors and authors of Central Banking, Monetary Policy and Social Responsibility.

This book proposes a new capital asset pricing model dubbed the ZCAPM that outperforms other popular models in empirical tests using US stock returns. The ZCAPM is derived from Fischer Black's well-known zero-beta CAPM, itself a more general form of the famous capital asset pricing model (CAPM) by 1990 Nobel Laureate William Sharpe and others. It is widely accepted that the CAPM has failed in its theoretical relation between market beta risk and average stock returns, as numerous studies have shown that it does not work in the real world with empirical stock return data. The upshot of the CAPM's failure is that many new factors have been proposed by researchers. However, the number of factors proposed by authors has steadily increased into the hundreds over the past three decades. This new ZCAPM is a path-breaking asset pricing model that is shown to outperform popular models currently in practice in finance across different test assets and time periods. Since asset pricing is central to the field of finance, it can be broadly employed across many areas, including investment analysis, cost of equity analyses, valuation, corporate decision making, pension portfolio management, etc. The ZCAPM represents a revolution in finance that proves the CAPM as conceived by Sharpe and others is alive and well in a new form, and will certainly be of interest to academics, researchers, students, and professionals of finance, investing, and economics.

This accessible and comprehensive textbook explores the role of advertising in the marketplace. It investigates how firms' advertising strategies are informative, persuasive or add value to the product advertised. The book explains in detail empirical methodologies used to identify the impact of advertising on consumer demand and on market structure, and reviews some recent empirical findings. It concludes with an in-depth exploration of digital advertising and auctions along with a framework for current antitrust investigations into two-sided platforms (Google, Facebook) that are funded by advertising revenues. How advertising works in the marketplace, and whether it works well, is a complex question to address because there are three sets of players involved-the firms that advertise their products, the potential consumers who view the ads and the platform or medium that intermediates between them. Understanding how these three sets of players interact is the key to understanding the role of advertising in a market economy. The book begins by looking at the rise of advertising in market economies, a phenomenon not accounted for in standard textbook microeconomic models and carefully explains why. This is followed by an examination, both theoretical and empirical, of how firms strategically use advertising to reach consumers and expand the demand for their products. There are also chapters focused on the challenges of deceptive advertising and regulation. The final chapters investigate how two-sided platforms, such as Google and Facebook, are sustained by advertising revenues, and include a review of auction theory and the structure of advertising auction exchanges. These chapters also provide a detailed analysis of public policy issues, including media bias and antitrust concerns. While designed for use by students in any course that covers the economics of advertising, this book is also an excellent resource for any reader interested in a deeper understanding of this important topic.

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.

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.

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 book includes up-to-date contributions in the broadly defined area of probabilistic analysis of voting rules and decision mechanisms. Featuring papers from all fields of social choice and game theory, it presents probability arguments to allow readers to gain a better understanding of the properties of decision rules and of the functioning of modern democracies. In particular, it focuses on the legacy of William Gehrlein and Dominique Lepelley, two prominent scholars who have made important contributions to this field over the last fifty years. It covers a range of topics, including (but not limited to) computational and technical aspects of probability approaches, evaluation of the likelihood of voting paradoxes, power indices, empirical evaluations of voting rules, models of voters' behavior, and strategic voting. The book gathers articles written in honor of Gehrlein and Lepelley along with original works written by the two scholars themselves.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.