The main theme of this book is the methodological problem of rationality in economic thought. The author investigates the different interpretations of this problem advanced by major figures in the history of economic thought.The book examines the history and rationality of the 'theory of value' from Adam Smith to Alfred Marshall and attempts to understand these arguments and criticisms within a general methodological vein. It goes on to provide a complete historical account of the ideas and arguments on value propounded by Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Jevons, Walras and Marshall as well as by more recent scholars such as Sraffa and Debreu and interprets their methodological differences. The author proposes a novel 'pragmatic-pluralist' methodological interpretation which borrows and creatively synthesizes ideas from many sources, including Wittgenstein (language-games), Searle (performatives), Habermas (communicative reason), hermeneutics, Marx and the pragmatic tradition. Rationality in Economic Thought will be of interest to students and scholars of the history of economic thought, economic methodology and the philosophy of the social sciences.

In this widely acclaimed study of global politics, Chomsky offers a devastating critique of conventional definitions of the anew world orderA. It is, he argues, nothing more than an ingenious piece of ahistorical engineeringA, whereby the pretexts for the Cold War - nuclear threat, Eastern Bloc menace - have been deftly replaced by a new set of convenient justifications for a Western agenda that remains largely unchanged. Now with a new and extensive epilogue on the Middle East, World Orders Old And New is as relevant now as when it was first published.

In the second edition of his Global Political Economy, thoroughly revised, David Reisman reexamines the ideological and material underpinnings of the international order in the light of recent research and developments. Taking belief systems such as liberalism, socialism and nationalism as his way into current controversies and debates, he suggests ways in which the conflicting positions can be reconciled. The book ranges widely, from the role of the superpower hegemon and the international organisations to competing currencies, trade agreements, regional pacts, transnational corporations, intellectual property rights and the less developed countries. Global Political Economy is an impartial, multidisciplinary and comprehensive analysis of the lines of force that are pulling the world together even as they are drawing it apart. Offering an insightful picture of economic unions and international trade, this book will be essential reading for students and scholars of economics and finance, global political economy, international relations, and public policy and politics.

This book focuses on one of the major challenges facing countries in Eastern Europe, namely the creation and maintenance of jobs in the agricultural sector. It argues that future employment will critically depend upon the completion of the privatization process, as well as improved efficiency and market opportunity. Privatization in Rural Eastern Europe prescribes radical restructuring of the East European countryside and examines the future prospects for restitution and privatization from both national and regional perspectives. The economic and political history of rural Eastern Europe is examined in the context of the transition process. The discussion then develops with the extensive use of detailed country case studies which analyse the growth of private economic activity in Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia in a clear and systematic way. The book offers careful consideration of the future of the rural economy and emphasizes the importance of rural diversification and the development of the service sector to create new employment opportunities in rural areas. This book will prove invaluable to academics with an interest in agricultural and transitional economics as well as to businessmen interested in East European agriculture, food processing and farm machinery.

This major work provides an assessment of Adolf Lowe's work and explores areas for future research in relation to his important contribution to economics, in particular his belief that economics is inseparable from social inquiry.The book opens with an overall evaluation of Lowe as a perceptive historical, political and sociological observer, presented through a number of personal recollections by Robert Heilbroner, Claus-Dieter Krohn and Marion Countess Donhoff. They analyse Lowe's intellectual and socio-political development during the Weimar Republic and how this period influenced some of his later works. The second part assesses Lowe's major contribution to the development of business cycle theory, and the roots of his analysis of structural and economic change. The book also examines Lowe's pioneering work in the field of traverse analysis. It concludes with a discussion of Lowe as 'economic philosopher' and his concern with the extent to which contemporary Western societies can balance the conflict between freedom and order.

In 1997 the British state relinquished control of Hong Kong. From that point an established prosperous community was faced with reordering its sense of itself and its links with the wider world around the authority of Beijing. This book traces the political relationship between Hong Kong and China, and sketches a number of possible future scenarios ranging from successful mutual understanding, through to breakdown and the imposition of rule from Beijing.Having lived and worked in East Asia, Peter Preston brings a sympathetic outsiders eye to the problems of Hong Kong and Beijing relations. He pursues four main issues including the manner of embedding a new political settlement, the business of governing the territory, the issue of democracy, and the likely future of the extant form of life. Students and scholars specialising in comparative politics, and international relations of East Asia will find this book to be of interest. It will also be of use to those addressing political conflict in that part of the world.

Microeconomics, Growth and Political Economy is the first of two volumes which collect together many of Professor Lipsey's writings on economics, some of which are previously unpublished or currently inaccessible. This book contains papers on economic growth and technical change, monetary and value theory, the theory of second best, international trade theory, political economy and methodology. A separate book, On the Foundations of Monopolistic Competition and Economic Geography, contains works on oligopoly and location theory, all coauthored with Curtis Eaton. The book begins with a new autobiographical introduction to the intellectual development, personal achievements and the fields of interest of Richard G. Lipsey and is divided into five parts. The first part considers various aspects of economic growth and technical change taking into account the structuralist view, markets and the globalization of the economy. Part two is concerned with the microeconomic issues of second-best theory and monetary and value theory. The third part looks at trade theory and surveys customs unions and competitiveness. Political economy is considered in the fourth part, which contains essays on topics such as the balance of payments, the survival of the market economy, international liquidity theory and American trade policy. The final part features papers on methodology. Microeconomics, Growth and Political Economy is an essential reference companion to the work of Richard G. Lipsey, one of the most important economists of our generation.

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

The Chinese Economy in Transition provides an analysis of the economic reforms introduced under Deng Xiaoping. It attempts to answer the question: what was the economic system that the Chinese were trying to reform and what approach have they adopted to reform it?Whilst the book focuses primarily on economic issues, it also explores the political and social environment and concentrates on three broad areas of the Chinese economy: agriculture, industry and macroeconomic management. Within these broad areas the focus is on two major themes: competition and cooperation, and central authority and regional autonomy. This book will be of special interest to senior undergraduate and postgraduate economics students, academics and China analysts.

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

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

Winner of the 2022 Eric Zencey Prize in Ecological Economics Capitalism is broken. The relentless pursuit of more has delivered climate catastrophe, social inequality and financial instability - and left us ill-prepared for life in a global pandemic. Tim Jackson's passionate and provocative book dares us to imagine a world beyond capitalism - a place where relationship and meaning take precedence over profits and power. Post Growth is both a manifesto for system change and an invitation to rekindle a deeper conversation about the nature of the human condition.

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

Institutionalist analysis is increasingly used as a key research tool for economists confronted with the shortcomings of mainstream economic analysis and the problems presented by the transformation of socio-economic systems in Eastern Europe. On Economic Institutions brings together leading economists working in a wide range of research traditions who examine theories of institutions and institutional change. This important volume shows that the failure of most neoclassical economic analysis to consider economic institutions is a major shortcoming in scholarship which seeks to describe and understand crucial economic phenomena. After discussing the dynamics of institutional change, the contributors examine the explanatory variables necessary for researching institutions and pay particular attention to 'efficiency' as the key variable used by neoclassical institutional analysis. Later chapters examine the processes of institutional change focusing on issues such as path dependency, selection mechanisms and institutional dynamics, and methodological issues in analysing economic institutions. An introduction by the editors places these papers in context and traces the development of economic research across the various schools. Economists from both neoclassical and institutionalist schools, as well as economic historians, are making increasing use of institutionalist analysis as a key research tool. In bringing together cutting-edge theory and research on economic institutions, this important volume will be welcomed by scholars working in evolutionary and institutionalist research traditions, as well as by organizational theorists and sociologists.

Public administration is under increasing pressure to become more efficient, better geared to the demands and opinions of citizens, more open to contacts with transnational bureaucracies, and more responsive to the ideas of elected policymakers. Bureaucracy in the Modern State offers a comparative analysis of how these challenges affect public administration in France, the United States, Germany, Japan, Britain, Sweden and the developing countries of the Third World. Specialist chapters written by acknowledged experts on the public policy of each country are brought together in a comparative framework in order to assess the impact of recent changes on the relationship between policy makers and the civil service, and the organizational challenges presented by the introduction of market-based ideology. Assessing public administration from a state-society perspective, the authors focus on four basic factors which they believe determine the role of the bureaucracy in modern societies: the configuration of the state, the relationship between policymakers and the bureaucracy, the internal organizational dynamics of the bureaucracy, and the relationship between the public bureaucracy and civil society. A special analysis of the relationship between domestic and transnational bureaucracies is also included, with particular reference made to the European Union. Addressing one of the key public policy issues of our time, this book will be widely used by teachers, students and researchers who will welcome the combination of in-depth studies of selected countries, from capitalist democracies to developing countries, with an authoritative comparative analysis held together by a distinct theoretical framework.

The policy framework advocated by Minford et al. . . . is grounded in economic theory and an incisive empirical analysis of the costs of UK's membership of the EU. Their thesis that the EU is a political union practising economic protectionism in the guise of gradualism towards free trade makes sense. . . . Minford and his associates' analysis suggests that the EU's policy framework of free trade for members but restrictions on trade of non-members with the EU countries is a second best policy adopted to promote political rather than economic objectives.' - V.N. Balasubramanyam, Lancaster University, UK'The EU got the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2012, but such an award is not forthcoming for economics. In fact, the EU faces a stern public discontent throughout Europe. For years EU leaders have been unable to agree on almost anything. The eurozone's toxic monetary embrace is a colossal failure that has provoked misery in most of the participating countries and, worst of all, suffocated the hopes of prosperity for many years to come. The EU is no longer a venture that inspires people to run on barricades to defend it. Should Britain be a part of the crumbling EU project? This book provides a timely and documented answer. It is highly recommended reading.' - Miroslav N. Jovanovi , University of Geneva, Switzerland 'Much too much of the debate about the UK's relationship with the European Union relies upon general declarations unsupported by facts and assertions and claims not substantiated by evidence. This is why we need so badly the careful quantitative analysis provided by Patrick Minford and his colleagues. The UK electorate will have a momentous decision to take when the EU referendum takes place. History and emotions will be important, but getting the facts straight is even more vital.' - John Mills, Founder and Chairman of JML and Co-Chairman of Business for Britain 'Patrick Minford and his team have performed a hugely valuable service by quantifying the costs of Britain's EU membership. In particular, they show that Britain pays too much for too high a proportion of its imports. The EU's protectionism in its trade with the rest of the world costs Britain a significant slice of its national output. Their demonstration of this vital point is thought-provoking and sophisticated, and greatly strengthens the case for the UK to leave the EU.' - Tim Congdon, CBE, International Monetary Research Ltd Placed in the context of the upcoming referendum, this second edition brings up to date a thorough review of all economic aspects of the UK's membership of the EU. It notes the intention of the EU to move to 'ever closer union' and the nature of the regulatory and general economic philosophy of its dominant members, whose position is enforced by qualified majority voting. The book highlights the UK s dilemma that, while extending free markets to its local region is attractive, this European philosophy and closer union are substantially at odds with the UK's traditions of free markets and freedom under the common law. This comprehensive examination of the economic costs and benefits of membership uses state-of-the-art modeling methods and includes estimates of its net costs as a percentage of GDP. The book explains how the decision to leave would follow from a judgement on the political economy of the EU as compared with that of the UK. It details the misconceptions involved in much of the debate about trade with the EU, and argues that the key issue is not access to markets but rather the prices at which trade takes place. Covered in careful detail is the economics of the UK's trade with the EU in the key sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, and services.

This major reference book has been designed to provide a comprehensive coverage of radical political economy. International in scope, The Elgar Companion to Radical Political Economy includes contributions from a very wide range of specialists who discuss topics, ideas and theories in the field. Radical political economy is a term used to encompass a range of different schools of thought. These include post Keynesian, Kaleckian, Marxian, Institutionalist, Sraffian and other approaches to economics which share the common theme of production, rather than the exchange focus of neoclassical and Austrian economics. Their concern with the generation and use of the surplus leads them to an interest in dynamics, income distribution, growth and development, and capital accumulation. With over 100 entries, the companion provides detailed information on a wide range of aspects of radical political economy as well as some important insights into its theoretical underpinning. A special feature of the book is its emphasis upon explaining the positive elements in radical political economy. As the first book of its kind devoted to radical political economy, the companion will be an essential reference source for scholars and students with an interest in the development of economic ideas.

Japan and South Korea are two of the most important success stories in recent economic history. Both countries have succeeded in achieving remarkably high growth rates to transform themselves from isolated agricultural societies to major industrial powers.In The Economics of Rapid Growth, Dirk Pilat uses catch-up theory to explain why countries with lower levels of income can use the technology of more advanced economies to foster growth and industrialization. His analysis emphasizes the importance of pre-existing education levels, financial and commercial institutions and infrastructure to explain the rapid economic growth of Japan and Korea. A growth accounting framework is used to show the contribution of capital, labour and land to the rapid economic growth from the early 1950s. This growth is put in an international perspective by detailed sectoral productivity comparisons which include discussion of some of the measurement problems implicit in international comparisons. The final parts of the book look at the links between productivity and competitiveness, as well as the role of trade policy and exports in productivity growth. This acclaimed book will be widely read by researchers, students and policymakers concerned with growth, development and the emergence of two of the most powerful economies in the modern world.

This important volume of original essays by a distinguished group of scholars from the evolutionary, institutional and socio-economic schools makes a major contribution to the reconstruction of political economy as an evolutionary science. The book explores the consequences of adopting a broader approach to economics taking into account issues such as historical time and change, individual-institutional interaction, uncertainty and procedural rationality. This carefully edited selection of papers focuses on four themes: theoretical foundations, policy making, empirical enquiry and modelling. A political economy of diversity is advocated by the contributors with analytical specificity and originality applied to a series of topics including industrial and market restructuring, technological change, ecological sustainability, development, monetary aggregates and governmental policy making. By recognising the importance of accepting diversity and complexity when applying economic analysis, this unique and provocative volume makes a seminal contribution at the frontiers of economic theory and identifies a common theme in non-orthodox scholarship.

The rapid development of a series of technologically advanced, industrial economies in the post-war period has challenged conventional understandings of economic growth. The emergence of these economies has reinvigorated the long-standing debate about why some countries grow quickly, and reach high levels of productivity, while others fall behind. Until the emergence of the new growth theory, few neoclassical economists focused upon this important issue despite the existence of a rich tradition among economic historians and economists from more heterodox traditions. The Dynamics of Technology, Trade and Growth draws upon contributions of scholars from different theoretical backgrounds to discuss why economies succeed, or fail, in creating the infrastructure, finance and technology to develop rapidly and 'catch-up' with others. After an overview by the editors of theoretical and practical developments in the economics of convergence and divergence, the book features chapters which discuss the origins of the post-war catch-up and convergence boom, convergence in trade and sectoral growth, capital accumulation, investment and resource allocation, specialization, technological change, and the potential contribution of information and communication technologies. The distinguished contributors bring together in one volume a breadth of scholarship on economic growth, convergence and divergence, ensuring that this book will be widely read by economists interested in growth, technical change and economic development.

Technical change and its relationship to economic growth are now at the forefront of research in economics. This important book - which contains contributions from leading economists - provides an invaluable state-of-the-art survey and analysis of the most recent work in this area. The book sheds new light on such major themes and issues as: the sources of technological knowledge and growth and time patterns in the growth and innovation process. It also addresses the role of national institutions and social infrastructure in growth, convergence and divergence in the world economy from both the modelling and the empirical perspectives, and the microfoundations of technology diffusion and learning by doing.The Economics of Growth and Technical Change will be essential reading for all economists with an interest in the economics of innovation and economic growth.

Economic Theory and Capitalist Society is a collection of Shigeto Tsuru's most important essays written over the period of the past 60 years in the fields of general economic theory, development and environmental economics, and Marxian political economy. Professor Tsuru has been a leading critic of the major tenets of modern economic theory and has been credited in particular for his comparative studies of aggregate concepts, such as those of Quesnay, Keynes and Marx. Essentially an institutionalist, the author reviews the methodological significance of Marx's contribution, taking up in detail the latter's unique concept of the 'fetishism of commodities' and discussing the relevance of Marxian methodology to the analysis of present-day capitalism. The author's critique of the fundamental equation of growth accounting developed by Robert Solow, 'Effects of Technology on Productivity', is one of a number of theoretical papers included in this volume. It also features a series of important essays on environmental economics which the author, as a founder of the Japanese environmental movement, has written over the past half century. This collection of key articles by one of the most distinguished Japanese economists will be welcomed by students and practitioners in the fields of institutional and radical economics, environmental economics and the history of economic thought. The volume also includes an autobiographical essay which explains the development of Professor Tsuru's thought, his education at Harvard in the 1930s and his experience of post-war Japan. The Economic Development of Modern Japan, the second volume of Shigeto Tsuru's selected essays, is also published by Edward Elgar.

Methodologically rigorous and geographically exhaustive, Post-Communist Welfare States in European Context is an insightful empirical analysis of social policy patterns in Central and Eastern Europe. It is a must-read for everyone interested in comparing hybrid emerging social protection models in the divergent new Europe with established worlds of welfare in Western Europe. Kati Kuitto has written a state-of-the-art study in comparative welfare, emphasizing regime change and variability over regime coherence and stability.' - Pieter Vanhuysse, University of Southern DenmarkWelfare reforms in post-communist countries are determined by economic and social hardship, democratization of the political systems and rapid structural change. This groundbreaking book provides a comprehensive and systematic empirical assessment of the Central and Eastern European post-communist welfare states in the context of their Western European counterparts. Basing the study on new data on welfare entitlements and cluster analysis, Kati Kuitto systematically compares 26 European welfare states across three empirical dimensions. The author employs a multidimensional framework to analyze patterns of welfare policies and highlight spending priorities, financing and the generosity of welfare entitlements. Kati Kuitto thus sheds light on the hybrid patterns of welfare policies in post-communist countries as they have emerged after the period of transformation and discusses their future challenges. Unique and comprehensive, this is essential reading for researchers in the fields of comparative welfare state research and Central and Eastern European studies, as well as students and practitioners of social policy, social security and political economy.