Description
Book SynopsisThis
Companion of nineteen essays, accompanied by the editor's introduction, investigates aspects of the philosophical foundations of Adam Smith's thought as well as his economic analysis and approach to policy.
The authors view Adam Smith's work as an interconnected system of thought, which incorporates both moral philosophy and economics. His earlier work in moral philosophy, The Theory of Moral Sentiments receives significant consideration and the contributors also discuss important connections and insights into the sort of economics that Adam Smith is more widely known for in his Wealth of Nations. This book is distinguished from other collections of essays on Adam Smith in that all of the contributors are economists, and the coverage is determined by the interests of contemporary economists and scholars in the history of economic thought.
A wide audience will find this Companion of great value and interest, including economists, the general economics profession, political scientists and political theorists, and philosophers with an interest in Adam Smith's work as well as historians of economics. Advanced undergraduate and post-graduate students in these fields will also warmly welcome the book.
Trade Review‘The Elgar Companion to Adam Smith
contains a set of papers by outstanding scholars, many of whom have made a career of studying Smith and have separately written book-length treatises on him. The reader is thus treated to a mature and nuanced treatment of Smith throughout. . . an outstanding collection by a gifted group of writers, and is highly recommended.' -- Jonathan B. Wright, EH.NET
'If you wish to immerse yourself in debates over the wealth of ideas to be found in Adam Smith's writings, this is the book for you.' -- Michael Schneider, History of Economics Review
Table of ContentsContents: Introduction Jeffrey T. Young Table of Smith’s Primary Works Brendan Long Smith’s Life and Major Works Brendan Long PART I: ADAM SMITH’S SYSTEM AND ITS ANTECEDENTS: PHILOSOPHICAL CONCERNS 1. Adam Smith, the Last of the Former Virtue Ethicists Deirdre McCloskey 2. Adam Smith and Aristotle Gloria Vivenza 3. Agency and Discourse: Revisiting the Adam Smith Problem Vivienne Brown 4. Adam Smith’s Theism Brendan Long 5. Smith’s Philosophy and Economic Methodology Sheila C. Dow 6. The Moral Philosophical Frame of Adam Smith’s Economic Thought Jerry Evensky PART II: ADAM SMITH’S SYSTEM AND ITS ANTECEDENTS: ANALYTICAL ECONOMICS 7. Adam Smith, the Physiocrats and Turgot Peter Groenewegen 8. Wants versus Needs: A Smithian Model of General Equilibrium Amos Witztum 9. Stochastic Demand and the Extent of the Market: Another Piece of the Smith Puzzle James M. Buchanan and Yong J. Yoon 10. Smithian Answers to Some Puzzling Results in the Experimental Literature Maria Pia Paganelli PART III: APPLICATIONS AND POLICY ANALYSIS 11. The Invisible Hand Warren J. Samuels 12. Adam Smith and Economic Development Salim Rashid 13. ‘In the Heat of Writing’: Polemics and the ‘Error of Adam Smith’ in the Matter of the Corn Bounty Glenn Hueckel 14. The Mercantile System Andrew S. Skinner 15. Jeremy Bentham and Adam Smith on the Usury Laws: A ‘Smithian’ Reply to Bentham and a New Problem Samuel Hollander 16. ‘Only Three Duties’: Adam Smith on the Economic Role of Government Steven G. Medema and Warren J. Samuels 17. Adam Smith on the Standing Army versus Militia Issue: Wealth Over Virtue? Leonidas Montes 18. Adam Smith and the Place of Faction David M. Levy and Sandra J. Peart 19. Adam Smith and the Chicago School Steven G. Medema Index
