The Elgar Companion to Economics and Philosophy


Book Description

The Elgar Companion to Economics and Philosophy aims to demonstrate exactly how these two important areas have always been linked, and to illustrate the key areas of overlap. The contributors are well-known and distinguished authors from a variety of disciplines, who have been invited both to survey and to provide a personal assessment of current and prospective future states of their respective areas of philosophical interest.




The Elgar Companion to Economics and Philosophy


Book Description

. . . there are many first-rate contributions here. Those contributions make this collection valuable especially to readers who are already knowledgeable about the various areas in which the interests of philosophers and economists overlap. Daniel M. Hausman, Journal of Economic Methodology The Elgar Companion To Economics and Philosophy is a very good read. Every library should buy it now. John King, History of Economics Review The volume collects articles surveying developments in such related fields as economic methodology, ethics, epistemology, and social ontology. Many of the articles are forward-looking, and as such constitute substantive and original (and at times provocative) contributions to the literature. The volume as a whole is a success; the editors are to be congratulated for their efforts. Bruce J. Caldwell, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, US This Companion is called economics and philosophy but actually it is about the philosophy of economics and all the great questions in the subject are here. The weather in the philosophy of economics has been stormy lately and the climate continues to this day to be unsettled. Will the storms soon settle down to give way to calmer days? Read this excellent collection of informative papers in the field to stimulate your own answer to that question. Mark Blaug, University of London and University of Buckingham, UK The Elgar Companion to Economics and Philosophy aims to demonstrate exactly how these two important areas have always been linked, and to illustrate the key areas of overlap. The Companion is divided into distinct parts, each of which highlights a leading area of scholarly concern: political economy conceived as social philosophy; the methodology and epistemology of economics; and social ontology and the ontology of economics. The contributors are well-known and distinguished authors from a variety of disciplines, who have been invited both to survey and to provide a personal assessment of current and prospective future states of their respective areas of philosophical interest. Academics and students who have an interest in economics and philosophy, political philosophy and the history of ideas will find this book of great appeal, as will researchers working in the field and readers interested in the nature of the discipline of economics.




The Elgar Companion to Marxist Economics


Book Description

This Companion takes stock of the trajectory, achievements, shortcomings and prospects of Marxist political economy. It reflects the contributors' shared commitment to bringing the methods, theories and concepts of Marx himself to bear across a wide range of topics and perspectives, and it provides a testimony to the continuing purpose and vitality of Marxist political economy. As a whole, this volume analyzes Marxist political economy in three areas: the critique of mainstream economics in all of its versions; the critical presence of Marxist political economy within, and its influence upon, each of the social science disciplines; and, cutting across these, the analysis of specific topics that straddle disciplinary boundaries. Some of the contributions offer an exposition of basic concepts, accessible to the general reader, laying out Marx's own contribution, its significance, and subsequent positions and debates with and within Marxist political economy. The authors offer assessments of historical developments to and within capitalism, and of its current character and prospects. Other chapters adopt a mirror-image approach of pinpointing the conditions of contemporary capitalism as a way of interrogating the continuing salience of Marxist analysis. This volume will inform and inspire a new generation of students and scholars to become familiar with Marxist political economy from an enlightened and unprejudiced position, and to use their knowledge as both a resource and gateway to future study.




The Elgar Companion to Austrian Economics


Book Description

'The book can be recommended both to those who know something about Austrian economics already, and to those who know nothing.' David Simpson, Economic Affairs 'Mr Boettke's very readable compendium consists of short articles by mostly young scholars, selected to illustrate the diversity and fecundity of modern Austrian economics.' Michael Prowse, The Financial Times The Elgar Companion to Austrian Economics is a major new reference work which highlights the common ground between all the branches of the school while demonstrating the breadth and diversity within it. The Companion reflects the many areas where Austrian economists have made contributions, including technical economics, methodology of the social sciences, political theory and political science. This book includes contributions from an international group of scholars whose work demonstrates a basic similarity and interest in questions which have historically been associated with the Austrian approach to economics, although many of the contributors would not consider themselves to be strictly of this school. The distinguished team of contributors commissioned by the editor includes: K.D. Hoover, I.M. Kirzner, A. Klamer, D. Lavoie, C.K. Rowley, M. Rizzo, M. Rutherford, R.E. Wagner, U. Witt, L. Yeager. Each entry is fully referenced and includes suggestions for further readings on the topic. The Companion will be the standard reference work for all those engaged in the field of Austrian Economics. It not only introduces students to the Austrian school, but also serves as an important research tool for scholars working within the Austrian tradition.




The Elgar Companion to Public Choice


Book Description

'. . . this compendium offers a solid introduction into an economic field that is gaining in influence.' – Detmar Doering, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 'The first essay in this volume, "Public Choice at the Millennium," by the two editors, sets a high standard for all the essays to follow. . . The essay takes us through the early history of public choice research in a particularly lucid fashion. . . This first article is destined to be a must-read on many reading lists on both graduate and undergraduate courses in political economy. . . . the volume is likely to become a much-used reference tool. . . . for those researchers interested in a comprehensive discussion of the far-reaching literature in this area, and want some provocation in the mix, this is clearly the right choice.' – Sharon M. Oster, Public Choice 'Many of the chapters of this handbook will be an indispensable addition to any course reading list in public choice, or public economics. They serve as an excellent complement, integrating diverse lines of thoughts, to the core scholarly writings in the field. The essays are well-written and succeed, admirably, in accomplishing what a handbook must, making difficult and disparate material quite comprehensible to someone who wishes to become acquainted with the area.' – Harold M. Hochman, Lafayette College, US 'This is an extremely valuable insiders' account of what public choice is about. Presented in thirty well-reasoned and documented chapters, the book is a treasure trove for every political economist.' – Jürgen G. Backhaus, Maastricht University, The Netherlands This authoritative and encyclopaedic reference work provides a thorough account of the public choice approach to economics and politics. The Companion breaks new ground by joining together the most important issues in the field in a single comprehensive volume. It contains state-of-the-art discussions of both old and contemporary problems, including new work by the founding fathers as well as contributions by a new generation of younger scholars. The book reviews the literature of public choice, highlighting the common ground between all rational choice approaches to politics. It demonstrates the important impact of public choice on economics, political science, philosophy and sociology. It will be an indispensable source of reference for many years to the ideas, analytical methods and empirical research in the field. The Companion will serve as the standard reference work for all those engaged in the field of public choice and will be essential reading for politicians and policymakers, scholars in political science, public and social choice, as well as graduate students in economics, political science and public administration.




Elgar Companion to Adam Smith


Book Description

Investigates aspects of the philosophical foundations of Adam Smith's thought as well as his economic analysis and approach to policy. This book views Adam Smith's work as an interconnected system of thought, which incorporates both moral philosophy and economics.




The Elgar Companion to John Maynard Keynes


Book Description

The most influential and controversial economist of the twentieth century, John Maynard Keynes was the leading founder of modern macroeconomics, and was also an important historical figure as a critic of the Versailles Peace Treaty after World War I and an architect of the Bretton Woods international monetary system after World War II. This comprehensive Companion elucidates his contributions, his significance, his historical context and his continuing legacy.




The Elgar Companion to Social Economics


Book Description

Social economics is a dynamic and growing field that emphasizes the key roles social values play in the economy and economic life. This second edition of the Elgar Companion to Social Economics revises all chapters from the first edition, and adds important new chapters to reflect the expansion and development of social economics. The expert contributions explain a wide range of recent developments across different subject areas and topics in the field, mapping out possible directions of future social economic research. Social economics treats the economy and economics as embedded in a web of social and ethical relationships. It considers economics and ethics as essentially connected, and adds values such as justice, fairness, dignity, well-being, freedom, and equality to the standard emphasis on efficiency. This book will be a leading resource and guide to social economics for many years to come.




The Elgar Companion to Post Keynesian Economics


Book Description

The Elgar Companion to Post Keynesian Economics is a comprehensive guide to economic analyses in the tradition of Keynes and the so-called Cambridge (UK) school of economics. The coverage of themes and different theoretical orientations within Post Keynesianism is remarkable and the quality of the various entries is impressive. John Kings invisible hand is responsible for a minimum of overlaps and an optimum in quality and comprehensibility. This book has already proved to be of interest to a wide range of economists and can be expected to continue to do so for a long time to come. Heinz D. Kurz, University of Graz, Austria This thoroughly revised and updated second edition provides a comprehensive guide to Post Keynesian methodology, theory and policy prescriptions. The Companion reflects the challenges posed by the global financial crisis that began in 2008 and by the consolidation of the New Neoclassical Synthesis in macroeconomic theory. There are 41 entirely new entries, marking the emergence of a new generation of Post Keynesian scholars. The central issues that were dealt with in the first edition remain at the core of the book, but much more attention is paid in this second edition to financial markets, to Post Keynesian economics outside its traditional Anglo-American heartland and to gender issues and environmental policy. Including major theoretical, methodological and policy issues in Post Keynesian economics, this enriching Companion will strongly appeal to postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students in economics as well as related social science disciplines including international political economy, international relations, politics, public policy and sociology.




The Elgar Companion to Recent Economic Methodology


Book Description

Economic methodology has traditionally been associated with logical positivism in the vein of Milton Friedman, Karl Popper, Imre Lakatos and Thomas Kuhn. However, the emergence and proliferation of new research programs in economics have stimulated many novel developments in economic methodology. This impressive Companion critically examines these advances in methodological thinking, particularly those that are associated with the new research programs which challenge standard economic methodology. Bringing together a collection of leading contributors to this new methodological thinking, the authors explain how it differs from the past and point towards further concerns and future issues. The recent research programs explored include behavioral and experimental economics, neuroeconomics, new welfare theory, happiness and subjective well-being research, geographical economics, complexity and computational economics, agent-based modeling, evolutionary thinking, macroeconomics and Keynesianism after the crisis, and new thinking about the status of the economics profession and the role of the media in economics. This important compendium will prove invaluable for researchers and postgraduate students of economic methodology and the philosophy of economics. Practitioners in the vanguard of new economic thinking will also find plenty of useful information in this path-breaking book.