Since the rational expectations revolution in macroeconomics, the subject has changed massively, adopting the principles behind the revolution and building on them in a spectacular way. In this accessible and informative book, the authors guide the student through what has become the conceptual and mathematical maze of modern macroeconomics. It is intended primarily for the postgraduate student but will also be useful for upper level undergraduates. It explains the basics of each topic and provides a solid grounding for the student to tackle more complex and detailed material in the area. Learn More

This book applies a critical focus on the extent to which methodological practices in mainstream economic theory impede our understanding of substantive economic phenomena as the products of human action. Economists, in general, work with a concept and representation of the human agent that is palpably unrealistic. Most do so, not out of ignorance, but rather to maintain the pretence that economics is the only true science among the social sciences because it enforces the use of rigorous and formalist methods of argument. Learn More

This comprehensive and impressive volume presents the first book-length, multi-country investigation of reform of economic education in transition economies. Authors from the West and from transition economies describe the major changes in economics content and instruction that occurred in schools and universities throughout nations in Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union from 1989 to 2000. Learn More

The economics of language remains neglected territory. Language makes information operational. As a social technology, it is a resource of the symbolic species – some argue it defines the human species. Language affects ability to find employment; cultural identity, effective communication in business, international trade, and tourism; negotiations and settlement procedures; political activity; and conflict within and between nations. Learn More

The distinguished contributors in this volume provide a variety of essays, which are written in honor of Emmanuel Drandakis. These essays fall into four uniform areas of economics: economic growth, general equilibrium, labor economics and game theory and applications. Learn More

This thought-provoking book discusses the concept of progress in economics and investigates whether any advance has been made in its different spheres of research. The authors look back at the history, successes and failures of their respective fields and thoroughly examine the notion of progress from an epistemological and methodological perspective. Learn More

This thoughtful book will be of interest to economists of economic theory and economic systems as well as policymakers in both the private and public sectors. Learn More

This coherent collection of previously published and unpublished papers also includes a specially written introduction by Warren Samuels. The book examines some of the fundamental issues in political economy in a non-judgemental and non-ideological way. The political economy is a process of decision making and these papers attempt to identify the deepest levels of conduct of collective choice. These include official and private government, the ‘rule of law’, the nature of property, rules and markets, deliberative and non-deliberative choice, and the operation of selective perception and of intellectual fraud in politics. Learn More

Public Economics, Political Processes and Policy Applications brings together an impressive collection of Charles R. Plott’s work in experimental economics. Learn More

This outstanding collection spanning three decades comprises a superb selection of Charles R. Plott’s work in experimental economics. Market Institutions and Price Discovery contains papers which define problems, create laboratory methodology and produce the first results in many areas of experimental economics. Learn More

Information, Finance and General Equilibrium brings together the seminal papers on which Charles R. Plott has founded our understanding of experimental economics and political science. Learn More

The essays explore the forces in academic institutions that have led economics to its current position, as well as the implications of the lost art for the economics profession and its future. In the end, the author is positive about the future of the profession, and predicts that in 2050 it will no longer be as Solow suggested it currently is – ‘the overeducated in pursuit of the unknowable’. Instead it will be the ‘appropriately educated in search of the knowable’. Learn More

This essential book collects together, for the first time, the writings of Deirdre McCloskey on economic history and the rhetoric of economics. The essays have been presented to show McCloskey’s evolution over time: from economist to critic, positivist to postmodernist, conventional economist to feminist economist, man to woman. Measurement and Meaning in Economics allows the reader to experience an astonishing personal and intellectual journey with one of today’s most fascinating economists. Learn More

Market, State and Feminism offers an inter-disciplinary critique of the ‘free market backlash’ – the belief that free market economics can improve the position, status and well-being of women. The authors argue that, far from being restrictive and intrusive, state action can enhance the individual’s ability to make responsible choices. Learn More

This collection of essays examines the methodological problems confronting economists in the face of two major developments in the second half of the twentieth century. The first is the vast increase in the number and variety of writings on the methodology or ‘philosophy’ of economics, especially from those intensively specialising in methodology. This has led to the virtual breakdown in communication between methodologists and mainstream economists, with methodology becoming increasingly isolated from mainstream economics. The second major development has been what Benjamin Ward first called ‘the formalist revolution’ which he, not unjustifiably, described as ‘more important than the Keynesian Revolution’. Professor Hutchison attempts to contribute to serious methodological analysis of this ‘revolution’ and, at the same time, suggests how communication between mainstream economists and methodologists might be improved. Learn More

The authors present an overview of the intellectual influences and historical events which inspired Hayek and examine the development of the idea of spontaneous order. They also describe the reasons why Hayek rejected constructivism for a more evolutionary approach in economics, political theory and legal theory. They go on to examine the welfare state, probably the most controversial area of Hayek’s work. They then discuss the neutrality of the state and the morality of cooperation in society, the rule of law and constitution, and the concepts of the totalitarian state and free society. Learn More

This ground-breaking book focuses on the implications of the complexity vision, such as that held by economists at the Santa Fe Institute, for the teaching of economics. This complexity vision suggests that answers to questions such as how do markets develop and how do they evolve need to be approached head on. Complexity economics is beginning to do just that. Learn More

The Economics of the Mind addresses economics from the perspective of real men and women: how they assess things, decide and act. It looks at the choices we make, and calls for the assumptions which make up the foundations of economic theory to be consistent with the mechanisms which guide the workings of the human mind. Learn More

Since the celebration of the bicentenary of The Wealth of Nations, the last twenty years have seen a burgeoning interest in Adam Smith’s contribution to economics. Jan Peil’s book aims to provide a new model for interpreting Smith’s contribution to economic science. Learn More