This volume is the first ever English translation of Part III of Johann von Thunen's famous 'Isolated State'. The original German publication from 1863 has been translated by Keith Tribe and is E Ulrich van Suntum on behalf of the Thunen Society. It deals with the optimum rotation period of woods, a central problem of capital theory, which has been studied by many famous economists. Debates on this issue have still not reached a final conclusion, and therefore Thunen's early approach to sustainable forestry is of central importance. Thunen has been hailed an innovator way ahead of his time. This book celebrates his ideas as an economist, as a farmer and a thinker on agrarian policy, and endeavoursto revive the study and discussion of forestry economics and its history.

An easy-to-read and comprehensive description of the world of economics.

Includes simple graphics, comprehensive examples, numerous anecdotes and historical illustrations.

Instructive and entertaining at the same time.

The economies of the European Union are today highly integrated. Constitutive part of this high degree of integration is the euro which unites most of the Member Stateswithintheeuro-zone. Inordertoensureprosperityandstabilityofthis Union in the spirit of the European Stability and Growth Pact, economic policies in both the Union and its Member States need to be monitored and co-ordinated appropriately. This applies in particular also because of the enlargement process which adds a further dimension to the continuous challenge of having to deal with different economic policy concepts and traditions in our Union. Understandingtheeconomicandsocio-politicaldebatesintheindividualM- ber States of the Union and elsewhere requires a solid knowledge not only of the economic but also of the social and historical background of these debates. In economics, more than in the natural sciences, human norms and conflicts play a central role in addition to logical relationships and empirical findings. Therefore, looking only at economic formulae and empirical facts will not be enough. Most economic textbooks, especially from the Anglo-Saxon area, tend to c- centrate more on the technically correct and often model-based presentation of their subject-matter than on its socio-political background. However, in view of the significance of economic reality for every citizen in Europe, it is also important to reach those who have not obtained a university degree in economics.

Die aktuelle Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise hat politische, wirtschaftliche und auch wissenschaftliche Gewissheiten in Frage gestellt. Dabei sind die wirtschaftlichen Fragen von heute nicht neu, sie beschaftigen OEkonomen schon lange und auch die Krise ist keineswegs die erste der Wirtschaftsgeschichte. Der Autor eroertert die komplexen oekonomischen Zusammenhange - ganz ohne Mathematik und mit vielen Anekdoten und Beispielen. Anspruchsvoll und dennoch allgemein verstandlich geschrieben, bietet der Band eine Einfuhrung in das oekonomische Denken.