This is a lively, intellectual biography of a leading protagonist of 20th century culture and his relations with other protagonists, such as Gramsci, Keynes and Wittgenstein. The book includes an authoritative interpretation of his main work Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities, a survey of the debates which followed its publication, and hence of the subsequent research strategies undertaken by different 'Sraffian schools'

Contents:
Introduction
Chapter 1. Piero Sraffa
1. The early writings: money and banking
2. Friendship with Gramsci
3. Criticism of Marshallian theory
4. Imperfect competition
5. Criticism of the representative firm
6. Cambridge
7. Wittgenstein
8. Friendship with Keynes and the criticism of Hayek
9. The critical edition of Ricardo's writings
10. Production of Commodities by Means of Commdities
11. Critique of the marginalist approach
12. The Sraffian revolution
Chapter 2. 'Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities' between criticism of the marginalist approach and reconstruction of the classical approach
1. Introduction
2. The quantities produced assumption
3. The clash between the classical and marginalist approaches
4. Sraffa and Wittgenstein: the problem of method in economics
5. Sraffa and Keynes
6. Summing up
Chapter 3. The Sraffian Schools
1. Introduction
2. The critique of the marginalist theory
3. The rediscovery of the classical approach
4. The analytical contributions stemming from Sraffa
5. The 'Ricardian' reconstruction: Pasinetti
6. The 'Marxian' reconstruction: Garegnani
7. The 'Smithian' reconstruction: Sylos Labini
8. A preliminary evaluation of the three lines of enquiry
9. Conclusions

In the mid-1980s the world's industrialised economies entered their second decade of stagnant growth and mass unemployment paralleled only by the Great Slump. Neo-conservative policies, which replaced traditional Keynesian remedies, have been no more successful in halting the inexorable increase in unemployment: the stigma of failure to deal with unemployment has touched governments of all political extractions from Conservative to Liberal to Social-Democratic. New perspectives on the unemployment problem are needed and this book provides them.

In the mid-1980s the world's industrialised economies entered their second decade of stagnant growth and mass unemployment paralleled only by the Great Slump. Neo-conservative policies, which replaced traditional Keynesian remedies, have been no more successful in halting the inexorable increase in unemployment: the stigma of failure to deal with unemployment has touched governments of all political extractions from Conservative to Liberal to Social-Democratic. New perspectives on the unemployment problem are needed and this book provides them.

Power is a broad and complex concept that cuts across all fields in humanities and social sciences. Written by a leading historian of economic thought, Power and Inequality presents a wide-ranging and multi-disciplinary analysis of power as an economic and social issue. Its aim is not to formulate a new abstract theory of power but rather to illustrate the different ways in which power is used to exacerbate social and economic inequality. Issues such as division of labour and its evolution, different forms of capitalism up to the money-manager economy, the role of networks (from the family to mason lodges and the mafia), the state and the international arena, culture and the role of the masses are considered. The analysis of these elements, causing inequalities of various kinds, is a prerequisite for devising progressive policy strategies aiming at a reduction of inequalities through a strategy of reforms.

'Why the Economists Got It Wrong' illustrates the origins and development of the financial crisis, tracing its cultural origins in mainstream views which favoured financial liberalization policies. These views are contrasted with those of Keynes and Keynesian economists such as Minsky. Thus, among other things, Keynes's ideas on uncertainty and Minsky's ideas on financial fragility are taken up. The book points to an interpretation of economic events where uncertainty plays a central role, the dichotomy between real and monetary variables is rejected, and elements from the Classical approach are revived. This implies drastic changes in economic policy recipes, and particularly at economic policies aimed at building institutional and regulatory structures in order to counter financial fragility.

Power is a broad and complex concept that cuts across all fields in humanities and social sciences. Written by a leading historian of economic thought, Power and Inequality presents a wide-ranging and multi-disciplinary analysis of power as an economic and social issue. Its aim is not to formulate a new abstract theory of power but rather to illustrate the different ways in which power is used to exacerbate social and economic inequality. Issues such as division of labour and its evolution, different forms of capitalism up to the money-manager economy, the role of networks (from the family to mason lodges and the mafia), the state and the international arena, culture and the role of the masses are considered. The analysis of these elements, causing inequalities of various kinds, is a prerequisite for devising progressive policy strategies aiming at a reduction of inequalities through a strategy of reforms.

The Wealth of Ideas, first published in 2005, traces the history of economic thought, from its prehistory (the Bible, Classical antiquity) to the present day. In this eloquently written, scientifically rigorous and well documented book, chapters on William Petty, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, William Stanley Jevons, Carl Menger, Leon Walras, Alfred Marshall, John Maynard Keynes, Joseph Schumpeter and Piero Sraffa alternate with chapters on other important figures and on debates of the period. Economic thought is seen as developing between two opposite poles: a subjective one, based on the ideas of scarcity and utility, and an objective one based on the notions of physical costs and surplus. Professor Roncaglia focuses on the different views of the economy and society and on their evolution over time and critically evaluates the foundations of the scarcity-utility approach in comparison with the Classical/Keynesian approach.

The field of economics has proliferated in complexity and importance since the Second World War. Alessandro Roncaglia recounts the history of the different approaches (marginalist, neoclassical, Keynesian, Austrian, monetarism, rational expectations, institutionalist, evolutionary, classical-Sraffian) and the different fields (micro, macro, money and finance, industrial and game theory, institutions, public finance, econometrics), illustrating the thought and personality of the most important contemporary economists (from Hayek to Sraffa, from Modigliani and Samuelson to Friedman, from Simon to Sen, and many others), focusing on the conceptual foundations of the different streams. At the same time he appraises critically the important debates and controversies in the field and concludes by discussing possible future directions for economic thought. This follow-up to The Wealth of Ideas: A History of Contemporary Economic Thought is a readable introduction to the contemporary economics discourse, accessible to economics students and informed general readers, and an important complement for advanced students and economists active in specialized fields.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ Intorno Al Marchese Achille Fontanelli ...: Discorso Pronunciato Dal Roncaglia Alessandro Nell'aula Del Collegio San Carlo Per La Solenne Inaugurazione Degli Studi E Premiazione Degli Alunni, Il Giorno XI Novembre MDCCCLXXVIII Con Intervento Dell'ill. Sig. Prefetto Comm. Angelo Calvino Alessandro Roncaglia G.T. Vincenzi e Nipoti, 1879 History; Europe; Italy; Biography & Autobiography / Military; Generals; History / Europe / Italy; Italy

This collection of essays is a contribution to an understanding of the research themes to which Sylos Labini dedicated attention: the themes of an economic science interpreted as political economy in the Classical tradition, i.e. as a logically rigorous but not purely technical effort to understand the world in which we live, as the basis for acting in it in the pursuit of common welfare.

The evolution of economic thought can be traced back from its beginnings in classical antiquity up to the present day. In this book, Professor Alessandro Roncaglia offers a clear, concise and updated version of his award-winning The Wealth of Ideas, studying the development of economic thought through perspectives and debates on the economy and society over time. With chapters on prominent economic theorists, including William Petty, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes, as well as on other important figures and key debates of each period, Roncaglia critically evaluates the foundations of the marginalist-neoclassical (scarcity-utility) approach in comparison to the Classical-Keynes approach. A comprehensive guide to the history of economic thought, this book will be of value not only to undergraduate and postgraduate students studying economic thought, but also to any readers desiring to study how economics has evolved up to the present day.