Social forces are important determinants of how people behave, how economies work at the macroeconomic level, and the effectiveness of economic policies. However, this dimension is generally overlooked in mainstream economics. How Social Forces Impact the Economy demonstrates that a broader conception of social economics provides for a better understanding of how economies work as a whole. This book argues that adopting a truly social approach to economics opens the door to studying how people form preferences, and how they learn by taking cues from others about how to behave and what to consume. Each chapter contributor works to highlight the breadth of new insights and possibilities that emerge from a fuller understanding of social economics. Part I focuses on microeconomics, bringing individual behaviors and individual entrepreneurs into a more social context. Part II focuses on macroeconomic topics, such as how money and quasi-monies (like Bitcoins) are social, how money developed as a social institution, and how social forces matter for economic development. Finally, Part III looks at the consequences of considering social factors when it comes to policy: environmental policy, industrial policy, and policies promoting greater equality. This book is invaluable reading to anyone interested in the relationship between economics and sociology, how social forces affect policy effectiveness, human behavior, and the overall economy.

This book, first published in 1990, examines the works of Theodore Limberg and Fritz Schmidt and their contribution to the development of the case for replacement price valuations. It analyses which of Limberg's and Schmidt's contributions was the most prominent and whether either was the genesis of an evolutionary development of replacement price valuations. This analysis is apposite. History indicates we will experience further periods of inflation and accompanying debate on the serviceability of accounting proposals to incorporate the financial effects of price and price-level changes.

Gathering together the papers presented at the Madrid Conference on Optimum Currency Areas in 1970 this volume represents one of the first complete surveys of the theory and policy implication of monetary integration. The book discusses: the economics of fixed exchange rates relevant to monetary relations within an integrated monetary area the evolution of economic doctrine and a survey of optimum currency area theory problems of policy co-ordination within a currency area relevance of the monetary-fiscal policy mix problems of monetary union in developing countries the book predicted the establishment of an European currency but presented the case for greater flexibility of exchange rates as an alternative to currency unification.

First published in 1969, Advising Ministers is a general account of the arrangements for 'advising Ministers', based on a case-study, enabling the reader to judge the effectiveness of an advisory body in a particular case, which itself gained much publicity and in which hopes were high that results would be achieved. Mr. Smith's conclusions are based on published material and informed, shrewd deduction to provide a valuable addition to the all too meagre case-study material on British administration. This book will be of interest to students of history, sociology, economics and political science.

Economic Welfare presents an important collection of leading writings in the fields of policy evaluation. The volume focuses on the conceptual issues behind welfare economics, drawing upon contributions from economics, moral philosophy and social philosophy. The selected readings are designed to present the case both for and against extant approaches to economic welfare. Modern welfare economics comprises three contrasting approaches. Pure Paretianism focuses on cases where everyone is made better off or worse off. This approach commands broad (although not universal) assent but does not apply to most real world choices. Cost-benefit analysis does most of the practical work for economic policy evaluation, but does not offer fully sound foundations. Newer approaches treat economic welfare as either cardinal or measurable in nature, often dropping the traditional strictures against interpersonal utility comparisons. This collection brings together these three approaches, examines their strengths and weaknesses and asks whether they share a common future. Economic Welfare will provide an indispensable reference source for students, academics and practitioners.

'Hodgson's masterful review of orthodoxies and heterodoxies focuses on the absurdity of recommending planning, or scorning it, without answering the empirical question asked in the 1930s by the ''socialist calculation debate.'' How well does planning or the market work? Idealism assumes the answer without actually doing the science. - Deirdre N. McCloskey, University of Illinois at Chicago, US 'Every young heterodox scholar should read this book, as should veteran heterodox economists who are puzzled about why important heterodox contributions have not had the impact they deserved to have. The book provides a compelling account of the challenges that heterodox economists have faced, and continue to face, and it leaves the reader with a strong sense that things could have been, and could be, much better if more heterodox economists strove to integrate compatible aspects of the many diverse approaches that constitute heterodox economics.' - Peter E. Earl, University of Queensland, Australia 'Is there a future for the alternatives to mainstream economics? Dealing with this important question does not only require a deep understanding of the current economic theories and of the history of economic thought. It demands also a careful analysis of the institutional mechanisms by which scientific communities commit themselves to certain paradigms and change these commitments. In this excellent book Hodgson deals with all the dimensions of this complex issue.' - Ugo Pagano, University of Siena, Italy 'Drawing a well-balanced picture of heterodox economics with its many political shades and theoretical nuances is no easy task. Professor Hodgson's mastery in solving the task sets new standards. His compelling analysis of the state and the future of the field is a ''must read'' for everyone in the heterodox camp and an invaluable source of information for all scholars in the history, philosophy, and sociology of economics.' - Ulrich Witt, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany and Griffith University, Australia Over the last 50 years, and particularly since the financial crash in 2008, the community of heterodox economists has expanded, and its publications have proliferated. But its power in departments of economics has waned. Addressing this paradox, Geoffrey M. Hodgson argues that heterodox economists are defined more by a left ideology than by a shared understanding of the nature of orthodox economics and of what should replace it. Heterodox economists cannot agree on what heterodoxy means. Employing insights from the sociology and philosophy of science, the author explores the marginalization of heterodox economics in the academic community and its exclusion from positions of power. This perceptive book also shows how the weaknesses of a particular version of heterodoxy stemming from the Cambridge economics of the 1970s have been replicated globally in much of contemporary heterodox economics. The author considers how the field can adapt in order to improve and sustain its presence in academia. Social scientists and economists will find this book both enlightening and useful. In particular, it will be invaluable to student networks and others critical of mainstream economics, and to those teaching economics at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

The Economics of Increasing Returns presents an authoritative collection of the most significant papers by leading scholars in this key area of economics. Increasing returns can change quite radically our view of how the economy operates. They make the economy seem more complicated and pose a challenge to the established wisdom. The papers in this volume cover the main areas in which the recognition of increasing returns makes a significant difference. They are arranged in six main sections: resource allocation and welfare economics, microfoundations of macroeconomics, product variety and imperfect competition, information and information technology, economic growth and international trade. Our understanding of economies with increasing returns is far from complete. This thought-provoking collection gives an insight into existing work on the subject and indicates those areas where further research would bear fruit.

This book follows the intellectual path of Franco Modigliani, Nobel Prize winner and one of the most influential Keynesian economists of the twentieth century, tracing his development and examining the impact of his research. The book begins with Modigliani's early work as a young law student in 1930s Italy and traces his development through his emigration to the US, his introduction to Keynes' General Theory at the New School, and his seminal 1944 article on Keynesian and classical economics. The book also examines Modigliani's pioneering theory of savings: the life-cycle hypothesis (with Richard Brumberg), and the Modigliani-Miller theorem, a cornerstone of modern theory of finance. The book argues that although Modigliani is placed amongst the most prominent Keynesian economists, his connections with Keynesian theory are of secondary importance until the beginning of the 1960s when he joined MIT. This is the first book to place Modigliani's thought in its proper historical context, showing how it related to wider economic concerns and examining the social and political implications of his work. It will be of interest to scholars in the history of economic thought, and especially post-war American Keynesian economics.

Developing a contemporary account of political friendship and synthesizing it with the radical movement of degrowth, this book provides the ethical grounding and the rationale of an alternative economy which serves human flourishing. The Aristotelian political friendship embodies active concern for the others' well-being that contemporary societies lack; the crucial problems of ecological destruction and global poverty illustrate this friendship deficit. Arguing for the need for re-embracing a friendly civic ethos and re-aligning the economy with moral objectives, the author updates the Aristotelian idea and identifies it with democratic-autonomous political-economic praxis that ensures citizens' self-actualization. Degrowth movement questioning economic growth and productivism, and privileging a simpler life with less material goods, favours political friendship precisely because it nourishes its unconscious substratum namely human instinctual sociality. The call for genuine democratic political praxis that political friendship implies could enable the degrowth movement to retain its radical character and accomplish the shift to an economy which serves life. The book is worthwhile studying by students and researchers across social sciences and especially by scholars in the fields of sociology, philosophy, and politics, but also a broader readership sensitive to the issues of social and environmental sustainability will find this work extremely interesting.

While it is central to today's politics, few people fully understand the National Debt and its role in shaping the course of British history. Without it, Britain would not have gained--and lost--two empires, nor won its wars against France and Germany. But Britain has also been moulded by attempts to break free of the Debt, from postwar Keynesian economics to today's austerity. Martin Slater writes a vivid tale coloured with some of the most dramatic incidents and personalities of Britain's past--from clashes between King and Parliament, American independence and war in Europe, to the abolition of slavery, the development of the Union and the role of leading figures such as Pitt, Gladstone, Adam Smith and Keynes. From medieval times to the 2008 financial crash and beyond, The National Debt explores the changing fortunes of the Debt, and so of Great Britain.

Knowledge is fast becoming one of the main sources of wealth, yet it can also become a source of inequalities. The New Knowledge Economy in Europe attempts to determine whether it is possible to hasten the transition towards a knowledge-based economy and enhance competitiveness with increased employment and improved social cohesion across Europe. The book is an amalgamation of the scientific and political agendas which led to the European strategy for the knowledge-based economy adopted by the European Union. Its authors illustrate their own influence on European policy making with contributions on a broad range of subjects, including: * the potential for the growth of a knowledge-based global economy * new challenges for the welfare state * emerging trends in employment * the role of international benchmarking as a policy learning tool * the construction of European identity * the building of multilevel governance required to undertake reforms. The results of the European strategy for the knowledge economy have become apparent throughout the EU in policy areas including research, innovation, single markets, education and employment, amongst others. This is the new blueprint for economic and social modernisation in the EU. The New Knowledge Economy in Europe will be of great interest to academics, managers, public administrators and professional organisations involved in studies of Europe or innovation.

This book attempts to reformulate existing orthodox economic theory in order to improve its conversation with disciplines that have traditionally been seen as the domain of political scientists, sociologists, psychologists and even biologists, and to fit economics into the broader scheme of social science theory. Drawing on general systems theory, Robert Scott Gassler applies economic analysis to a wide range of social phenomena that incorporate motives other than profit or self-interest, such as altruism and non-profit organisations. He debates in depth the means, problems and advantages of adapting economic theory to new sets of assumptions, and of communicating this theory intelligibly to those in related fields. This book should not only be read by political and social economists, but is also accessible to those in the fields of education, health and non-profit administration, public affairs, and urban planning to name but a few.

The rapid rise in the earnings of top executives is a distinctive feature of modern capitalism. This important two volume collection presents some of the most influential published theoretical and empirical papers on executive compensation. Topics include: Theoretical Foundations of Executive Pay; Executive Compensation and Company Performance; Relative Performance Evaluation; Determinants of Executive Compensation; The Effects of CEO Pay; Accounting Measures in Executive Contracts; CEO Turnover; CEO Pay Internationally; Economic Environments and Executive Pay. The Economics of Executive Compensation draws together a wide range of literature and will be an essential reference guide for students, researchers and practioners.

This book investigates the relationship between wages, profits, values and labour employment from a classical-Keynesian perspective. The starting point of this approach is classical political economy (in particular, Smith, Ricardo and Marx), suitably reformulated in modern terms by Sraffa and then integrated with the Keynesian theory of employment. Such an approach proves to be more appropriate in understanding the complexities of current economies and in identifying the instruments to pursue the final goal of economic systems: putting each person in a position to earn what is necessary to live with dignity. The approach undertaken by these chapters is in contrast to the 'marginalist' or 'neoclassical' school, which constitutes the mainstream of economic analysis. Especially in recent decades, several critical analyses of the present state of economic research have emerged due to the failure of contemporary economic analysis to acutely penetrate and guide the workings of actual economic systems. But these analyses have not always been effectively presented in a coordinated manner. This work presents one possible unifying framework-grounded in a solid tradition of economic thought-which aims to describe the basic forces operating in capitalistic economies and to identify the main objectives to pursue in production economies in order to fully exploit their potential. Most importantly, the focus of such classical-Keyensian analysis concerns the production of goods and services, and this book shows how several factors typical of contemporary (post-)industrial societies thus can be understood in a way that the standard economic theory has not been able to explicate (due to the reduction of everything to a question of exchange). The book provides key reading for those on master level economics courses. Moreover, it constitutes a solid introduction to modern classical-Keynesian analysis. It may also be of interest to readers who are keen to develop a critical view of economics, political economy and history of economic thought.

This book is an integrated collection of a dozen of Peter Earl's lively and thought-provoking essays, carefully edited and updated. Theoretical topics include the prediction of corporate behaviour, the economic foundations of marketing and shopping mall design, pricing strategy and its relationship with the existence of second-hand markets, and the microfoundations of macroeconomics. Case studies include cooperation in the car industry, managerialist reforms in New Zealand and the university sector, structural change in the advertising industry and the place of G.B. Richardson and G.L.S. Shackle in the literature of economics.Information, Opportunism and Economic Coordination will be of particular interest to historians of economic thought, business economists, behavioural economists and Post Keynesians.

For this important collection, Professor O'Hara has selected some cutting-edge previously-published work on the application of economic analysis to the conflict of laws. This authoritative two-volume set offers theoretical and empirical insights into existing approaches to choice of law and the effects of conflicting choice-of-law approaches on judicial decision-making. It investigates several competing proposals for more efficient choice-of-law systems, including a special section on torts. Further topics include evaluations of contract clauses (including choice-of-law and choice-of-forum provisions), and the effects of party choice on jurisdictional competition by states to provide more desirable laws, with examples relating to securities regulation, bankruptcy rules, law firm rules of ethics, same-sex marriage laws and asset protection trust law. A game theoretic analysis of interstate judgment recognition is also included. These two volumes will be an extremely useful resource for students and for scholars wishing to contribute to the next generation of the economics of conflict of laws.

This major two volume set presents the most important articles and papers in transportation economics. Professor Herbert Mohring has made a careful selection of the most significant work at the frontiers of the subject, covering major issues such as demand and supply, pricing and investment in all forms of transport.

First Published in 1924, The Relation of Wealth to Welfare examines certain definite and fundamental elements of human welfare and their relation to private income on the one hand and various kinds of collective action on the other. The four elements discussed in the book are health, art, work, and education. The author argues that the power of private income to increase the welfare of its possessor in regard to the various elements under examination is as a matter of fact frequently or even always comparatively small; whereas the power of collective action and public expenditure to do so is often comparatively great. This book is an essential read for students and researchers of political economy, political studies, and economics in general.

This book proposes that entrepreneurial practice is often considered an "applicable" paradigm. An "applicable" paradigm - which focus too much on planned, analytical, calculable, tool-based and ready-to-hand modes of decision making action. Hence, the equally important "theory of Nothing" has not received the attention it deserves. With reference to Heidegger's existence oriented philosophy, Heidegger and Entrepreneurship: A Phenomenological Approach indicates how nothing can be a condition for an entrepreneurial applicable paradigm. It is suggested that the "theory of Nothing" bears the possibility of further development and can re-create the entrepreneurial paradigm of applying and decision making. This may also indicate a structure for understanding the new possibilities in entrepreneurship practice, such as entrepreneurial education and research. The book will be of value to students, researchers, and academics with an interest in entrepreneurship, management, and innovation.

Various strains of heterodox economics have sought, and largely failed, to dismount orthodoxy from its dominant position. This book critiques the criticizers, explaining why heterodox economics challenges have faltered, and then presents a coherent alternative paradigm of its own. This simultaneously exposes the vacuousness of neoclassical economics, the limitations of heterodox critique and the subverting of Karl Marx's revolutionary economic thought by his own disciples. The book draws in particular on two key intellectual traditions in making its arguments: critical realism and Marxism. From the refounding of critical realist philosophy of science in the hands of Roy Bhaskar, emphasis is placed upon the position that the ontological nature of the object of study determines the form of its possible science. However, in their theoretical constructions, neither orthodox economics nor heterodox economics problematizes the unique ontology of capitalism to the detriment of knowledge about the social world. The book maintains that a century of misthinking over Marx's corpus has resulted in a missed opportunity to construct a paradigmatic alternative to orthodox economics. Drawing upon the tradition of the Japanese Uno approach to Marxism, and supported by Bhaskar's development of critical realism as underlaborer for science, the book defends Marx's writing in his monumental Capital as founding an economic science adequate to its ontological object of study. It then elaborates upon how Marxian economic theory exposes the hidden scourges of capitalism and what is required to unleash the potential of this theory for comprehensive analysis of capitalist vicissitudes, the study of economic life in precapitalist societies and the design of a desperately needed postcapitalist social order. Broadening its appeal as it sets out to reclaim Marx's revolutionary legacy, this original volume critically traverses writings in mainstream and heterodox economics, cutting edge philosophy of science and Marxian political economy and introduces readers to a reconstruction of Marx's Capital engineered in Japan. This provocative book is essential reading for everyone interested in heterodox economics, critical realism, Marxian economics and critiques of capitalism.

Economic thinking - about climate change, immigration, austerity, automation and much more - in its most digestible form For decades, a single free market philosophy has dominated global economics. But this is bland and unhealthy - like British food in the 1980s, when bestselling author and Cambridge economist Ha-Joon Chang first arrived in the UK from South Korea. Just as eating a wide range of cuisines contributes to a balanced diet, so too is it essential we listen to a variety of economic perspectives. In Edible Economics, Chang makes challenging economic ideas more palatable by plating them alongside anecdotes about food from around the world. Beginning each chapter with a menu, Chang uses the stories behind key ingredients - where they come from, how they are cooked and consumed, what they mean to different cultures - to explore economic theory. For Chang, strawberries are delicious with cream, but they also prophesise a jobless future; chocolate is a wonderful pudding, but more exciting are the insights it offers into post-industrial knowledge economies. Explaining everything from the hidden cost of care work to the misleading language of the free market as he cooks dishes like anchovy and egg toast, Gambas al Ajillo and Korean dotori mook, Ha-Joon Chang serves up an easy-to-digest feast of bold ideas. Myth-busting, witty and thought-provoking, Edible Economics shows that getting to grips with the economy is like learning a recipe: if we understand it, we can change it - and, with it, the world.

The studies in this book deal with the determination of foreign exchange rates and the characteristics of the foreign exchange market. Analysis is made of flexible exchange rates through an approach developed by the authors, called the 'asset-market approach'. Theory is combined with practical application in a clear concise way that will be understood by readers with a basic understanding of economics.

The discipline of law and economics has earned a reputation for developing plausible and empirically testable theories on the social functions and the impact of legal institutions. Property rights are a field in which this has been very successful. In this book, economic property rights theories are applied to case law in order to examine the practice and solution of real life conflicts. The author examines the economic problems which are dealt with in these cases and evaluate the courts' decisions from an economic angle. Cases are examined from across the UK, the US, Germany, Belgium and Canada to allow international comparisons to be made. These comparisons reveal that, regardless of the legal system, many legal issues have similar economic roots and therefore similar models of economic analysis can be applied. The analysis of these cases also shows that the discipline of law and economics is not only successful in developing explanatory models but also useful to generate better considerations and solutions for legal conflicts in individual cases. This book aims to bridge the gap between the academic and professional literature and demonstrate the benefits of the economic analysis of property rights cases to all those who are interested in law and economics.

This Handbook introduces and systematically explores the thesis that the economy, economic practices and economic thought are of a profoundly theological nature. Containing more than 40 chapters, this Handbook provides a state-of-the-art reference work that offers students, researchers and policymakers an introduction to current scholarship, significant debates and emerging research themes in the study of the theological significance of economic concepts and the religious underpinnings of economic practices in a world that is increasingly dominated by financiers, managers, forecasters, market-makers and entrepreneurs. This Handbook brings together scholars from different parts of the world, representing various disciplines and intellectual traditions. It covers the development of economic thought and practices from antiquity to neoliberalism, and it provides insight into the economic-theological teachings of major religious movements. The list of contributors combines well-established scholars and younger academic talents. The chapters in this Handbook cover a wide array of conceptual, historical, theoretical and methodological issues and perspectives, such as the economic meaning of theological concepts (e.g. providence and faith); the theological underpinnings of economic concepts (e.g. credit and property); the religious significance of socio-economic practices in various organizational fields (e.g. accounting and work); and finally the genealogy of the theological-economic interface in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and in the discipline of economics itself (e.g. Marx, Keynes and Hayek). The Routledge Handbook of Economic Theology is organized in four parts: * Theological concepts and their economic meaning * Economic concepts and their theological anchoring * Society, management and organization * Genealogy of economic theology