'Williams has chosen an engaging cast of characters; his collection is full of well-lived lives and grisly endings ... Consume it as a whole or dip in and out. Either way, he leaves you a lot wiser.' - Philip Aldrick, Times Opinions vary about who really counts as a classical economist: Marx thought it was everyone up to Ricardo. Keynes thought it was everyone up to Keynes. But there's a general agreement about who belongs to the heroic early phase of the discipline. Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Malthus, Mill, Marx: scarcely a day goes by without their names being publicly invoked to celebrate or criticise the state of the world or the actions of governments. Few of us, though, have read their works. Fewer still realise that the economies that many of them were analysing were quite unlike our modern one, or the extent to which they were indebted to one another. So join the Economist's Callum Williams to join the dots. See how the modern edifice of economics was built, brick by brick, from their ideas and quarrels. And find out which parts stand the test of time.

Mark Blaug has made a seminal contribution to economic methodology, the history of economic thought and the economics of education. This volume celebrates Professor Blaug's achievement with a series of high quality essays, written by a distinguished list of economists. An essential purchase for any library specializing in economics.

This book is the first systematic treatment of the philosophy of science underlying evolutionary economics. It does not advocate an evolutionary approach towards economics, but rather assesses the epistemic value of appealing to evolutionary biology in economics more generally. The author divides work in evolutionary economics into three distinct, albeit related, forms: a structural form, an evidential form, and a heuristic form. He then analyzes five examples of work in evolutionary economics falling under these three forms. For the structural form, he examines the parallelism between natural selection and economic decision making, and the parallelism between natural selection and market competition. For the evidential form, he looks at the relationship between animal and human economic decision making, and the evolutionary explanation of diversity in human economic decision making. Finally, for the heuristic form, he focuses on the plausibility of equilibrium modeling in evolutionary ecology and economics. In this way, he shows that linking evolutionary biology and economics can make for a powerful methodological tool that can enable progress in our understanding of various economics questions. Structure, Evidence, and Heuristic will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in philosophy of science, philosophy of social science, evolutionary biology, and economics.

Contributing to a better understanding of contemporary issues of environmental sustainability from a historical perspective, this book provides a cohesive and cogent account of the history of ecological economic thought. The work unearths a diverse set of ideas within a Western and Slavic context, from the Renaissance and the Enlightenment to the late 1940s, to reveal insights firmly grounded in historiographical research and of import for addressing current sustainability challenges, not least by means of improving our grasp on how humans and nature can generously coexist in the long term. The history of ecological economic thought offered in this volume is rich and diverse, encompassing views that are bound by the observance of the tenets of the natural sciences, but which differ significantly in terms of the role of energy and materials to cultural development and the normative aspects involving resource distribution, social ideals, and policy-making. Combining the approaches of independent scholarly figures and scientific communities from different historical periods and nationalities, the book brings elements that are still missing in the scarce literature on the history of ecological economic thought and highlights the underlying threads which unite such initiatives. The book brings a fresh look into the historical development of ecological economic ideas and will therefore be of great interest to scholars and students of ecological economics, environmental economics, sustainability science, interdisciplinary studies, and history of economic thought.

An Economic Philosophy of Production, Work and Consumption presents a new transhistorical framework of defining production, work and consumption. It shows that they all share the common feature of intentional physical transformation of something external to the agent, at some point in time. The book opens with a discussion of various theoretical traditions within economics, spanning mainstream and heterodox perspectives, and problems with production definitions in use today. Next, the author outlines various definitions in a more formal manner and provides a discussion on measurement and the production boundary. Unproductive work is redefined as socially reproductive, i.e. such that would not be performed on a Robinson Crusoe Island. Finally, the volume applies the new conceptual framework to various historical cases and discusses the future of production, work and consumption. This essential volume will be of interest to scholars of economic philosophy and methodology, the history of economic thought, economic history and national accounting. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Drawing on an interdisciplinary panel of contributors, this book presents a stimulating dialogue between economics and art theory and considers how this might aid our understanding of both areas of research. The collection explores themes which both fields share, including rationality, abstraction and model building, the nature of social reality, representation and transformation. The contributions employ a broad range of methods to investigate the links between economics and art, and their coverage includes architecture, history of ideas, art theory, literature studies and beyond. This innovative volume will be of interest to advanced students and scholars of economic theory, cultural economics, literary and art theory and it intends to be a starting point for new avenues of interdisciplinary research.

Classical Economics, Keynes and Money casts new light on an approach to economic theory and policy that combines the modern classical theory of prices and income distribution with a Keynesian analysis of money and finance. Structured in four parts, the work considers issues within classical economics, monetary economics, Keynesian and post-Keynesian Economics, rationality and economic methodology. These themes are all central to the work of Carlo Panico, and the chapters both reflect on and build on his key contributions to the field. This collection is of interest to advanced students and researchers in the history of economic thought, monetary theory, financial economics and heterodox economics.

If today students of social theory read Jurgen Habermas, Michael Foucault and Anthony Giddens, then proper regard to the question of culture means that they should also read Raymond Williams, Julia Kristeva and Slavoj Zizek. The second edition of the Routledge Handbook of Social and Cultural Theory is fully revised and updated to provide students, teachers and researchers with a comprehensive, critical guide to the major traditions of thought in social and cultural theory, as well as tracing the complex intellectual connections between these distinct but related approaches to understanding society and culture. The Handbook, edited by acclaimed sociologist Anthony Elliott, develops a powerful argument for bringing together social and cultural theory more systematically than ever before. Key social and cultural theories, ranging from classical approaches to postmodern, psychoanalytic and post-feminist approaches, are drawn together and critically appraised. There are also new chapters on mobilities and migrations, as well as posthumanism. The Handbook, written in a clear and direct style will appeal to a wide audience of students and scholars. The extensive references and sources will direct students to areas of further study.

The concept of economic democracy is traditionally identified with workplace democracy and participation at the enterprise level. This is a very important dimension, but the concept of new economic democracy also recognizes that, in a world of increasing complexity, the principles of democratic deliberation and social participation have to be applied to other areas as well. This book takes a fresh look at economic democracy from various perspectives. It provides rich historical narratives of episodes of social participation in the economy and society, more broadly, from the 19th to the 21st century. It dissects the various analytical underpinnings informing the theory of economic democracy connecting it with collective choice, social contract theory, Marxian analysis and libertarian critiques. The book identifies new areas of application of the principles of democratic deliberation and oversight such as the adoption of austerity policies, the signing of free trade agreements, the conduct of central bank policies, international investment treaties and natural resource management. It takes a guided tour through the evolution of economic, social and cultural rights and their impact on the design and implementation of social policy and the welfare/ developmental state. The book expands the notion of economic democracy from factory level to the macro-economy and then to global economic governance. It also discusses the critical links between political democracy and economic democracy and the need for a more democratic and socially equitable economy in the 21st century. This volume will find an audience among economists, political scientists, social activists, philosophers and sociologists.

Ever since Marx, the future of capitalism has been fiercely debated. Marx and his followers predicted capitalism will end by violent overthrow, while others prophesied its demise will be the result of collapsing under its own weight. Still others argue that capitalism will not only continue to exist but continue to expand globally. This book takes a distinctively different approach by presenting solid evidence that capitalism has already ended. The author argues that corporate statutory law, securities laws, and generally accepted accounting principles have combined to cause the extinction of capitalists. Without capitalists as owners of capital, there can be no capitalism. The book examines the factors that converged to contribute to and hasten the extinction of capitalists, and thus of capitalism as an economic system, in an ironic case of the law of unintended consequences. The very things that were intended to promote, protect, and sustain capitalism are the things that caused its death. It exposes the fallacy that capitalism as an economic system not only continues to exist but is expanding globally. Capitalism is extinct and the social system constructed on capitalism as an economic system cannot be sustained. This book will appeal to economists, accountants, historians, political scientists, lawyers and sociologists, as well as students of those disciplines.

Written by a leading influencer in the circular economy who is widely credited for reframing the concept, the book presents complex ideas in an accessible fictional story. The book significantly increases Circular Economy literacy, awareness and appeal, in particular reaching a broader audience than those who are professional economists. Enables non-economists to frame sustainable solutions in economic terms. Gives a sense of hope to widespread societal malaise and concern about sustainability urgencies.

This book offers an assessment of theories of distribution and growth after Keynes. It presents an overview of the main contributions with a particular focus on the development of post-Keynesian/Kaleckian models.In the first part of the book, Eckhard Hein presents a comprehensive overview of the main approaches towards distribution and growth including the contributions of Harrod and Domar, old and new neoclassical theories including the fundamental capital controversy critique, the post-Keynesian contributions of Kaldor, Pasinetti, Thirlwall and Robinson, and finally the approaches by Kalecki and Steindl. In the second part of the book neo- and post-Kaleckian models are gradually developed, introducing saving from wages, international trade, technological progress, interest and credit. Issues of ?financialisation? are also explored and empirical results related to the different models are presented. This unique book is designed for courses in distribution and growth in graduate programmes or at the advanced undergraduate level. It can also be used as supplementary reading for classes in macroeconomics. The book should also be of value for researchers interested in issues of distribution and growth.

Economics used to be called political economy, and the loss of the "political" tracks the ascendance of the idea of rational choice within the discipline. Where does this idea of economic rationality - choosing to maximize benefits and minimize costs - come from? What are the consequences of its rise? In this new book, Stephen Engelmann assesses these questions through a consideration of the often-hidden links between choice and government, ranging from the Benthamic utilitarianism that inspired modern economics to the contemporary economic psychologists trying to nudge everyone to choose more rationally. Multiple global crises are exposing how deficient economic rationality is as a political theory, since a focus on choice turns actors away from relations in the common. Political economy once targeted aristocratic rule - heralding a politics and ethics of egalitarian self-command and spurring democratic reform - but economics allows domination and forecloses alternatives to it. This accessible volume will be of interest to students and scholars of politics and economics, and to general readers concerned about the various ways that psychology and management have infiltrated our politics.

This book is a collection of critical engagements with Andrew Sayer, one of the foremost postdisciplinary thinkers of our times, with responses from Sayer himself. Sayer's ground-breaking contributions to the fields of geography, political economy and social theory have reshaped the terms of engagement with issues and debates running from the methodology of social science through to the environment, and industrial development to the ethical dimensions of everyday life. Transatlantic scholars across a wide range of fields explore his work across four main areas: critical realism; moral economy; political economy; and relations between social theory, normativity and class. This is the first full-length critical assessment of Sayer's work. It will be of interest to readers in sociology, economics, political economy, social and political philosophy, ethics, social policy, geography and urban studies, from upper-undergraduate levels upwards.

Our socio-economic innovation ecosystem is riddled with ever-increasing complexity, as we are faced with more frequent and intense shocks, such as COVID-19. Unfortunately, addressing complexity requires a different kind of economic governance. There is increasing pressure on economics to not only going beyond its traditional mainstream boundaries but also to tackle real-world problems, such as fostering structural change, enhancing sustained growth, promoting inclusive development in the era of the digital economy, and boosting green growth, while addressing the divide between the financial sector and the real economy. This book demonstrates how to apply complexity science to economics in an effective and instructive way, in the interest of life-enhancing policies. The book revolves around the non-negligible problem of why economics, to date, seems to be inadequate in guiding economic governance to navigate through real and ever-intensifying complex socio-economic and environmental challenges. With its interdisciplinary approach, the book scans the nuanced nexus between complexity and economics by incorporating, as well as transcending, the state-of-the-art literature. It identifies ways to trigger opportunities for behavioural change in the economic profession with respect to how and what to teach, introducing and developing further complexity economics taking into account the configuration of its main principles and outlining the silhouette of next-generation economic governance. The book deciphers recommendations for economic theory, practice, education and economic governance. It will be of interest to students, scholars, academics, think-tank researchers and economic policy practitioners at the national and/or supranational levels.

This book is a series of vignettes about changes to Australian institutions, organisations and systems that have significantly improved economic and social well-being for Australians. Economic system innovations have had a profound impact on our lives, from the invention of banking in the middle ages to the organisations established by the United Nations post-WWII. However, their intangible nature means that few people identify these changes alongside physical inventions. Although invention is normally an incremental process, with copying and adaption being the norm, the authors focus on reforms that were principally new to the world at the time of implementation. The book is not about the reforms and how well they worked, per se, rather about the people and the political struggle to get them adopted. The authors have chosen to focus on the stories where Australia has either taken a global leadership role or made a considerable advance in a particular new institution. What these stories show is that leadership in institutional innovation can come from many quarters: academia, the community, politics and the bureaucracy. Often the most successful teams combine people from all quarters albeit with support from the fourth estate. The work shows how many reforms began with modest beginnings, often an ordinary person with a vision, and how it takes several attempts to get change accepted. This key volume can be used to teach students of economics, political economy and politics. It illustrates the type of networks, actions and advocacy that is needed to get reform started and implemented and is written in a style to engage policy and think-tank audiences.

An internationally acknowledged authority on all aspects of the theory of international trade and payments, this book collects Harry Johnson's contributions to the study of international trade, including a critique of the theory of effective protection. The book discusses: the integration of income distribution and other aspects of the economy into the positive theory of tariffs the issues raised by the use of tariffs to promote economic development the implications of distortions of various kinds in the working of competition for tariff theory and policy the costs of protection the implications of effective protection for world economic development and the economic effects of trade preferences the question of free trade and the extent to which it requires the harmonization other aspects of economic policy.

This book collects together the basic documents of an approach to the theory and policy of the balance of payments developed in the 1970s. The approach marked a return to the historical traditions of international monetary theory after some thirty years of departure from them - a departure occasioned by the international collapse of the 1930s, the Keynesian Revolution and a long period of war and post-war reconstruction in which the international monetary system was fragmented by exchange controls, currency inconvertibility and controls over international trade and capital movements.

This book addresses the functioning of financial markets, in particular the financial market model, and modelling. More specifically, the book provides a model of adaptive preference in the financial market, rather than the model of the adaptive financial market, which is mostly based on Popper's objective propensity for the singular, i.e., unrepeatable, event. As a result, the concept of preference, following Simon's theory of satisficing, is developed in a logical way with the goal of supplying a foundation for a robust theory of adaptive preference in financial market behavior. The book offers new insights into financial market logic, and psychology: 1) advocating for the priority of behavior over information - in opposition to traditional financial market theories; 2) constructing the processes of (co)evolution adaptive preference-financial market using the concept of fetal reaction norms - between financial market and adaptive preference; 3) presenting a new typology of information in the financial market, aimed at proving point (1) above, as well as edifying an explicative mechanism of the evolutionary nature and behavior of the (real) financial market; 4) presenting sufficient, and necessary, principles or assumptions for developing a theory of adaptive preference in the financial market; and 5) proposing a new interpretation of the pair genotype-phenotype in the financial market model. The book's distinguishing feature is its research method, which is mainly logically rather than historically or empirically based. As a result, the book is targeted at generating debate about the best and most scientifically beneficial method of approaching, analyzing, and modelling financial markets.

This book focuses on arrangements for redistributing consumption opportunities over the life cycle and for providing compensation for income losses or large expenditures due to reasons such as illness and unemployment. After extensive coverage of the nature of inequalities in income and wealth in a market economy, and various notions of social justice, the author discusses public and private transfers in cash or in kind related to old age, childhood, illness and the like. Importantly, the book takes into account both equity and efficiency aspects. This concise discussion of the welfare state and its alternatives will be of great interest to students of economics at the intermediate level as well as to graduate students of sociology, social work and other social sciences. It will also appeal to politicians and civil service managers with an interest in the fundamentals of social policy.

This title, originally published in 1986, explores the political and economic conditions of the 1980s, and reflects the world-wide interest in industrial democracy. Each chapter analyses the main adaptations in policy, theory and experimentation that have occurred in industrial democracy in the 1980s. In particular, the role of managers is examined in depth and detail, since these personnel have been responsible for a number of recent initiatives. The themes covered are vital for all those seeking new directions in the reform of modern industrial relations in the late 1980s and into the 1990s.

How did economic ''experts'' worldwide fail to predict the financial crisis of 2007-2008? Eminent economist Paul Davidson discusses how mainstream economic theory may not be applicable to the world of experience. Post Keynesian theory, on the other hand, is designed to be applicable to the real world, and this book shows how applying it to policy formulation could help practically resolve economic problems. Davidson goes on to show how many Post Keynesian economists warned of the crisis as early as 2002. Post Keynesian Theory and Policy challenges the axioms on which orthodox economic theory is based and argues against their applicability to a money-using, market-oriented economy. It explores the basis for Keynes's revolutionary general theory and seeks to dispel misconceptions often found in orthodox textbooks. This accessible and expertly constructed book explains why modern economies use money-denominated contracts to organize all market transactions for production and exchange and why the law of comparative advantage's argument for free trade is not applicable to mass production industries' exports and imports. This book is a valuable resource for professional economists as well as students and academics in economics, political Science, and history, who will appreciate its new perspective and analysis of global financial events.

Karl Marx hypothesized that there is a long-term tendency for the profit rate to fall in capitalist economies. Immanuel Wallerstein hypothesized that capitalist development tends to drive up labor cost, material cost, and taxation cost. This book evaluates Marx's and Wallerstein's hypotheses by studying the long-term movement of the profit rate and contributing factors in major capitalist economies. During the twentieth century, leading capitalist economies largely succeeded in stabilizing the profit rate. However, the current decline of the profit rate in China may precipitate the global capitalist economy into a new major crisis. As economic growth slows down in all major capitalist economies, Marx's original hypothesis may be verified by the global economic events in the twenty-first century.

This unique troika of Handbooks provides indispensable coverage of the history of economic analysis. Edited by two of the foremost academics in the field, the volumes gather together insightful and original contributions from scholars across the world. The encyclopaedic breadth and scope of the original entries will make these Handbooks an invaluable source of knowledge for all serious students and scholars of the history of economic thought. Each Handbook can be read individually and acts as a self-contained volume in its own right. It can be purchased separately or as part of a three-volume set.

This work details the theological sources and moral significance of the life and work of the Scottish moral philosopher Adam Smith (1723-1790). The panel of contributors deepens our understanding of Adam Smith in his religious and theological context and the significance of this understanding for contemporary moral, economic, and political challenges to modern social life. The chapters cover a broad range of disciplinary and historical concerns, from Smith's view of providence and his famous "invisible hand" to the role of self-interest and benevolence in Smith's social and economic thought. A better appreciation for the moral and theological dimensions of Smith's thought provides not only a better understanding of Smith's own context and significance in the Scottish Enlightenment but also promises to assist in meeting the perennial challenges of properly connecting economic realities to moral responsibility. The book is of interest to advanced students and scholars of the history of economic thought, historical and moral theology, intellectual history, political science, and philosophy.