How Markets Work presents a new and refreshing introduction to elementary economics. The venerable theory of supply and demand is reconstituted upon plausible and defensible assumptions concerning human nature, the law, and the facts of everyday life - in short - the 'Real World'. The message is that markets differ in ways that matter. Starting with a brief survey of property and contract law, the lectures develop several 'ideal types' of markets - such as credit, assets, and labor - while illuminating the similarities and differences among them. Care has been taken to ensure that the reformulations presented are accessible to students and compatible with a variety of non-mainstream traditions in economic thought.Topics covered include the theory of markets, labor markets, market processes when influenced by the availability of information, and social, ethical and political considerations. Also discussed are commodity, credit and asset markets, contracts, dynamics of labor markets, and the economics of discrimination. This book is intended as an essential supplemental text for undergraduate economics students, particularly in heterodox programs, as well as for those in companion liberal arts and sociology fields looking for an accessible introduction to essential economic theory.

How Markets Work presents a new and refreshing introduction to elementary economics. The venerable theory of supply and demand is reconstituted upon plausible and defensible assumptions concerning human nature, the law, and the facts of everyday life - in short - the 'Real World'. The message is that markets differ in ways that matter. Starting with a brief survey of property and contract law, the lectures develop several 'ideal types' of markets - such as credit, assets, and labor - while illuminating the similarities and differences among them. Care has been taken to ensure that the reformulations presented are accessible to students and compatible with a variety of non-mainstream traditions in economic thought.Topics covered include the theory of markets, labor markets, market processes when influenced by the availability of information, and social, ethical and political considerations. Also discussed are commodity, credit and asset markets, contracts, dynamics of labor markets, and the economics of discrimination. This book is intended as an essential supplemental text for undergraduate economics students, particularly in heterodox programs, as well as for those in companion liberal arts and sociology fields looking for an accessible introduction to essential economic theory.

With the restoration of laissez faire as the governing principle of contemporary economic ideology and policy making, Thorstein Veblen's insights are once again timely. This book revisits his legacy, featuring original essays by renowned Veblen scholars. The contributors review and comment upon the subjects that concerned Veblen such as: the legal system, finance and capital, the operation of markets, neoclassical economics, private property, cultural and economic change, the place of science, and higher education. They consider how his evolutionary theory of the economy and society can continue to inform our understanding of our modern world. As an astute and highly capable observer, Veblen shed light on our present system through a re-examination of a similar system. Students and scholars of economics will find this provocative book of great interest. It will also be a refreshing discussion for those frustrated by the gap between the rosy scenarios of conventional economics and the problems of inequality, conspicuous consumption, concentrated economic power and unresponsive government.