This book surveys how economists engage with knowledge and beliefs in various fields of economic analysis, such as general equilibrium theory, decision theory, game theory, experimental economics, evolutionary theory of the firm, financial markets and the history of economic thought.The contributors to this book also suggest the need for a more integrated perspective on the meaning, as well as the role, of knowledge and beliefs in economics in the future. Possible lines of future research, such as the extension of the concept of rationality in economics or the focus on cognitive processes in economic action, are discussed. A platform for future research and investigation into the role of knowledge and beliefs in economics, this book will be of great appeal to advanced scholars interested in cross-fertilization between different fields of the social sciences and also to post-graduate students interested in the lines of research suggested in the book.

Economics has developed into one of the most specialised social sciences. Yet at the same time, it shares its subject matter with other social sciences and humanities and its method of analysis has developed in close correspondence with the natural and life sciences. This book offers an up to date assessment of economics in relation to other disciplines.

This edited collection explores fields as diverse as mathematics, physics, biology, medicine, sociology, architecture, and literature, drawing from selected contributions to the 2005 Annual Conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET). There is currently much discussion at the leading edges of modern economics about openness to other disciplines, such as psychology and sociology. But what we see here is that economics has drawn on (as well as contributed to) other disciplines throughout its history. In this sense, in spite of the increasing specialisation within all disciplines, economics has always been an open discipline and the chapters in this volume provide a vivid illustration for this.

Open Economics is a testament to the intellectual vibrancy of historical research in economics. It presents the reader with a historical introduction to the disciplinary context of economics that is the first of its kind, and will appeal to practising economists and students of the discipline alike, as well as to anybody interested in economics and its position in the scientific and social scientific landscape.

This collection constitutes an examination of Schumpeter's legacy that is wider than any yet attempted. As one of the key economists of the twentieth century, Schumpeter's economics is viewed in the context of its relation to purer Austrian theories of the free market, Keynesian macroeconomics, the early neoclassicism of Marshall and Walras, and a persuasive argument made for its centrality to the discipline as a whole.

This collection constitutes an examination of Schumpeter's legacy that is wider than any yet attempted. As one of the key economists of the twentieth century, Schumpeter's economics is viewed in the context of its relation to purer Austrian theories of the free market, Keynesian macroeconomics, the early neoclassicism of Marshall and Walras, and a persuasive argument made for its centrality to the discipline as a whole.

Economics has developed into one of the most specialised social sciences. Yet at the same time, it shares its subject matter with other social sciences and humanities and its method of analysis has developed in close correspondence with the natural and life sciences. This book offers an up to date assessment of economics in relation to other disciplines. This edited collection explores fields as diverse as mathematics, physics, biology, medicine, sociology, architecture, and literature, drawing from selected contributions to the 2005 Annual Conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET). There is currently much discussion at the leading edges of modern economics about openness to other disciplines, such as psychology and sociology. But what we see here is that economics has drawn on (as well as contributed to) other disciplines throughout its history. In this sense, in spite of the increasing specialisation within all disciplines, economics has always been an open discipline and the chapters in this volume provide a vivid illustration for this. Open Economics is a testament to the intellectual vibrancy of historical research in economics. It presents the reader with a historical introduction to the disciplinary context of economics that is the first of its kind, and will appeal to practising economists and students of the discipline alike, as well as to anybody interested in economics and its position in the scientific and social scientific landscape.

Why do societies benefit differently from knowledge? How exactly does social interaction interfere with knowledge acquisition and diffusion? This original Handbook brings together a wide range of differing approaches to shed light on these questions and others relating to the role and relevance of knowledge in economic analysis. By illuminating the philosophical roots of the various notions of knowledge employed by economists, this Handbook helps to disentangle conceptual and typological issues surrounding the debate on knowledge among economists. Wide-ranging in scope, it explores fundamental aspects of the relationship between knowledge and economics - such as the nature of knowledge, knowledge acquisition and knowledge diffusion. This important compendium embraces various fields and traditions of economic analysis and discusses the role of knowledge in 21 papers from outstanding international scholars. Advanced scholars and postgraduate students interested in cross-fertilization between different fields of economic analysis will find this Handbook of considerable importance. Contributors: A. Amin, R. Arena, M. Augier, M.C. Becker, T. Brenner, T. Broekel, P. Cohendet, G. Dosi, J. Durieu, V. Dutraive, M. Egidi, A. Festre, D. Foray, T. Knudsen, N. Lazaric, B.J. Loasby, B.-A. Lundvall, P. Nightingale, B. Nooteboom, A. Orlean, R. Patalano, L. Ragni, S. Rizzello, P.P. Saviotti, P. Solal, A. Spada, U. Witt

Ever since Adam Smith, economists have been preoccupied with the puzzle of economic growth. The standard mainstream models of economic growth were and often still are based either on assumptions of diminishing returns on capital with technological innovation or on endogenous dynamics combined with a corresponding technological and institutional setting. An alternative model of economic growth emerged from the Cambridge School of Keynesian economists in the 1950s and 1960s. This model - developed mainly by Luigi Pasinetti - emphasizes the importance of demand, human learning and the growth dynamics of industrial systems. Finally, in the past decade, new mainstream models have emerged incorporating technology or demand-based structural change and extending the notion of balanced growth. This collection of essays reassesses Pasinetti's theory of structural dynamics in the context of these recent developments, with contributions from economists writing in both the mainstream and the Cambridge Keynesian traditions and including Luigi Pasinetti, William Baumol, Geoffrey Harcourt and Nobel laureate Robert Solow.

Market economy has become today the predominant economic system in the world. One of the tasks of the book is to define analytically the essential features of a market economy. The other purpose is to investigate the very working of a market economy which rests on firms defined as organizations and markets seen as institutions. It also supposes a renewed conception of cooperation and competition. The book will permit the reader to acquire a fresh view on market economies, stressing simultaneously their unity and diversity. It will also interest specialists of microeconomics as well as industrial organization, economics of technology and institutional economcis.

Ever since Adam Smith, economists have been preoccupied with the puzzle of economic growth. The standard mainstream models of economic growth were and often still are based either on assumptions of diminishing returns on capital with technological innovation or on endogenous dynamics combined with a corresponding technological and institutional setting. An alternative model of economic growth emerged from the Cambridge School of Keynesian economists in the 1950s and 1960s. This model - developed mainly by Luigi Pasinetti - emphasizes the importance of demand, human learning and the growth dynamics of industrial systems. Finally, in the past decade, new mainstream models have emerged incorporating technology or demand-based structural change and extending the notion of balanced growth. This collection of essays reassesses Pasinetti's theory of structural dynamics in the context of these recent developments, with contributions from economists writing in both the mainstream and the Cambridge Keynesian traditions and including Luigi Pasinetti, William Baumol, Geoffrey Harcourt and Nobel laureate Robert Solow.

The Economics of Alfred Marshall brings together a number of leading international scholars for a timely reappraisal of Marshall's contribution to the development of economics. The aims of the contributors are firstly to revisit the work of Alfred Marshall and to investigate the unity of his projects, which contemporary authors often tend to underestimate; and secondly to show how Marshall's approach is not only a subject for historians of economic thought, but may also provide a message that is relevant for the progress of economics.