Search results for ""edward elgar publishing""

Transforming Socialist Economies presents - for the first time - an account of the initial attempts to transform the centrally planned economies of Czechoslovakia and Poland into modern capitalist economies.Both countries have adopted 'shock therapy' aimed at the fastest possible transition but with disappointing results. Poland appears to be on the brink of permanent depression and political paralysis. Czechoslovakia is only now beginning to show the first signs of economic recovery and faces the prospect of partition. In seeking to explain these disappointing results, Dr Myant critically analyses recent economic performance and past attempts at economic reform. He shows the weaknesses in the theory behind 'shock therapy', considers the political processes that led to its adoption and analyses its impact on the economy, on relations in the workplace and on political life. The result is a provocative and enlightening view of economic reform which will be essential reading for economists and political scientists.

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In an age of intense international competition, enterprises, regions and nations depend on their organizational capabilities to gain competitive advantage in global markets.This volume brings together critical scholarly contributions to historical and contemporary debates over the origins and characteristics of organizational capabilities that result in competitive advantage. Included are case studies drawn from textiles, chemicals, automobiles, computers and agriculture that illustrate how organizational capabilities generate sustained competitive success. In a new introduction, the editors, who have themselves been in the forefront of analysing the dynamics of innovation and industrial development, provide a state-of-the-art survey of the subject.

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This two-volume set brings together for the first time a collection of seminal writings dealing with the development of competition policy in Europe, the United States and Japan. It begins by reproducing the writings of leading philosophers and scholars on the rationale and desirability of competition in market economies. These interpretations range in time of origin from ancient Greece through to Adam Smith and James Madison to very recent contributions in the competition policy debate. Having established relevant philosophical foundations, the compendium presents analyses by leading British, American, German and Japanese scholars on the interpretation and administration of laws concerning price-fixing and other restrictive agreements, market dominance and monopolization, predatory practices and mergers.

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From an international perspective the Swedish economy has some unique features and therefore affords a most interesting model for researchers in economic history. The country has experimented with numerous economic strategies including pre-Keynesian policies in the 1930s, active labour market policies and an extensive welfare system. This book covers the most important aspects of the Swedish economy: two brief sections concerning historiography and offering a general background to the subject are followed by a selection of articles on demography, migration, the labour market, agriculture, industrialization, transport, trade, industrial organization, finance and economic policy. The volume brings together a unique and comprehensive collection of the most significant studies on the development of the Swedish economy since 1870. Several of the contributions appear for the first time in English.

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This volume brings together the most innovative and important work on implicit contract theory, a key area of research which has developed over the past 20 years. Implicit contract theory is concerned with the workings of the macro-labour market over business cycles and focuses on a series of key questions including, how economists can explain unemployment levels and employment fluctuations during recessions in terms of rational economic behaviour, and, why wages do not fall to clear the market.

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What will citizenship mean to the peoples of a new, wider Europe? Welfare state retrenchment and technological change in the work place are undermining social citizenship rights and provoking a critical assessment of the West European concept itself. In the light of these changes, what models can the democratic, industrialized states of the West offer the transitional economies of the East?This innovative book presents new work by an international group of leading social scientists offers historical analysis and empirical description, as well as theoretical and political assessments, of work and citizenship in Europe. It examines the erosion of the welfare state, the emergence of poverty and the underclass, and the rights and duties connected with social citizenship. After a review of labour rights and obligations in the former socialist countries, it also assesses the state of industrial citizenship. It asks why the technological transformation of work tends to create segmentation and exclusion and argues for a debate about economic citizenship rights.Work and Citizenship in the New Europe concludes with theoretical and political arguments in favour of specific social policies on work and citizenship, examining such issues as labour participation, basic income guarantees and durable economic growth.

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What impact do random events have on individuals? How do they adapt to living in an uncertain, stochastic environment? Risk and Uncertainty in Economics pays tribute to the significant contribution made by James L. Ford to our understanding of these questions.In keeping with Professor Ford’s own research interests, the essays in this volume include relevant, up-to-date research on a wide range of issues. Contributions by Michael Driscoll, Marcus Miller, David Peel and Somnath Sen consider the macroeconomic impact of risk and uncertainty. Colin Dodds, Atul Dar, Andrew Mullineux, Mansoob Murshed and David Dickinson evaluate various implications of risk and uncertainty for financial markets. John Hey, the late George Shackle, Prasanta Pattanaik and Richard Barrett contribute papers on decision making under risk and uncertainty, while Peter Phillips presents some new statistical results on the Dirichlet distribution.This book will be of interest to all economists who want to understand the importance of analysing the impact of risk and uncertainty in economics.

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Experimental economics is a rapidly growing and influential branch of the discipline. In this two volume set the editors have bought together nine topics, including methodological concerns, preference reversals, willingness to pay and willingness to accept, bargaining and auctions, which illustrate the progress made in this area and the current state of play. For each topic they have selected a series of important previously published papers, to which they have added an editorial commentary that sets them in context and indicates which directions future experimental work on these topics might most profitably take.

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This important volume illustrates the diversity of scholarship which has been directed towards understanding the complex process of technology transfer in its business context. The first part considers the theory and process of technology transfer as developed by economists, sociologists and historians. The remainder of the volume presents essays and excerpts on the agencies of technology transfer: artisans and professionals, the state, private business and multinational enterprise. The papers range from the eighteenth century to the present and cover industries from coal and textiles to computers and motor vehicles, in countries as diverse as Britain, the US, Japan, South Korea and India.

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In the mid-nineteenth century, France was the second industrial power in the world. However, she was soon to be overtaken by the US, Germany and Japan and also badly suffered from the World Wars and the depression of the 1930s. The literature in these volumes covers French economic development from 1870 to the present and will be indispensable especially to students of France and Western Europe and of twentieth century economics.

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Interest in Italy's development is warranted by the size of the country, the level of income it has achieved and the lessons its particular story may contain. The relevant literature is extensive and includes studies by social historians as well as by economic historians and economists. Most of the literature available is in Italian, although the work in English is growing. This compreheensive volume brings together in an easily accessible form the main articles, some of which are published here in English for the first time. The introduction aims to provide the non-Italian reader with a general overview of the discussion that forms the background to the essays collected. The volume contains chapters on the development process, agriculture, industrialization, technical progress, industrial policy, the macroeconomic framework and the issue of geographical and economic dualism.

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Oskar Lange was one of the few economists able to observe first hand the three major economic systems that have been the hallmark of the 20th century. He learned about the economic backwardness of peripheral capitalism in pre-war Poland. Later he spent more than twelve years in the bastion of modern capitalism, the United States. After returning to Poland in 1948 he linked his fate to the creation and then reform of the Communist system.This important collection of Professor Lange's work, prepared by his disciple and close friend Tadeusz Kowalik, presents his most important work on the economic theory of socialism, economic planning, Marxism and 'bourgeois' economics. The volume makes an important contribution by improving access to the papers of an economist whose work was at the very heart of the intellectual conflict between socialism and capitalism in the late twentieth century.

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Income Distribution in a Corporate Economy offers a skilful examination of the influences of financial markets and imperfect competition on the distributive process. Unlike much of the earlier literature, it concentrates upon the short-run, making it suitable for empirical appraisal.After a thorough review of the theoretical and empirical literature of the past 30 years, Russell Rimmer uses a series of models to synthesize results from post Keynesian macroeconomics, investment theory and industrial economics. The final chapters contain an analysis of the short-run effects of changes in pricing strategies and increases in industrial concentration on income shares accruing to households and corporations. By presenting in one place the neo-classical and post Keynesian approaches, the book will serve both as a text and a foundation for future work on distribution. Students new to income distribution will be able to read the text as an introduction to the neoclassical and post Keynesian approaches. A novel contribution is the gathering together of early extensions of post Keynesian theory to the short run, including accounts of attempts to synthesise the major theoretical strands.

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Terror, Force and States offers a new theoretical explanation of the nature and causes of terror states. The theory is developed through a critical examination of the works of Bauman, Weber, Arendt, Friedrich and Brzezinski, as well as through detailed case studies of terror regimes including Nazi Germany, Stalin's Russia and Pol Pot's Cambodia.The view of force as a form of power is rejected by Rosemary O'Kane who carefully distinguishes between repressive and terror governments and, crucially, between totalitarian dictatorships and totalitarian regimes. The lessons drawn suggest that the Holocaust and modern genocide are not intrinsically related to modernity. Terror regimes, she argues, operate not through the state but from behind a state facade within a secret society. Economic crisis is given prominence in their explanation with the decisive explanatory factor argued to be the move from plans to substantive irrationality. Indeed it is the economic rationality of modern society, most particularly in respect of labour markets, which acts as the barrier to terror's rule.All those with an interest in politics, sociology, history and Holocaust and genocide studies will welcome this important book which generates a new theory of terror states.

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In this reassessment of the 19th century monetary theorist and banking reformer, Thomas Joplin, Professor O'Brien sets out to place his subject in a new perspective. He discusses Joplin's role as a reformer and his relationships with fellow economists and explores such issues as the problems of paper currency, the principle of metallic fluctuation, agricultural prices and the monetary system and the structure of banking. The book should be of interest to anyone interested in the development of monetary economics as well as to economic historians.

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The theme of economic decline has dominated research into the modern economic history of the United Kingdom. Scholars have charted its fall from pre-eminence since the late nineteenth century and the loss of its position as the world's leading industrial nation. This authoritative two volume set provides a representative selection of the seminal contributions which have stimulated debate and research on this topic, and demonstrates the variety of views and the richness and quality of research by British and American scholars on the development of the modern British economy.The first volume provides a broad overview of Britain's growth and examines the general problems of growth and decline from late Victorian and Edwardian times to the present. The final section and the opening sections of Volume II are devoted to the principal factors which have been advanced as explanations for Britain's apparent inability to sustain its competitive position. Volume I concludes with a selection of articles on the quality of perfomance of British entrepreneurs and managers and their response to technical change.Volume II covers major themes including the attitudes of labour and trades unions, the contribution of education, science and technology to economic growth, the influence of capital markets and imperialism, and the effects of international trade and demand on the British economy. In conclusion, some specific studies of key industries have been chosen to illustrate many of these general themes.

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Until 1973 all money in use was either a commodity or was linked to one. In this comprehensive two volume reference work Anna J. Schwartz has brought together the key articles on the theme of commodity monies. This invaluable collection discusses the forms and standards of commodity monies, their theoretical underpinning and their inherent problems.

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Tourism is frequently seen as a way of creating new employment opportunities in those regions which have suffered from severe de-industrialization and major cutbacks in manufacturing industry.This important book - based on new and original research - examines the economic impact, measured in employment terms, of the North of England Open Air Museum at Beamish. The authors provide a detailed assessment of the direct, indirect and induced employment generated by the museum. The assessment of the museum's employment impact is placed firmly within the context of its historical development and of the region's tourism activity.Tourism, Museums and the Local Economy focuses on one particular museum, but the methodology and much of the discussion are widely applicable to the evaluation of other tourist attractions. The policy implications of the study are fully assessed by the authors who also make use of a series of international comparisons. The book will be of interest to economists, geographers and all those who have an interest in tourism, the arts and museums, and regional development. It will be an invaluable asset to planners and policymakers at both central and local government level.

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Professor Richard Quandt has made a unique contribution to the development of economics in the 20th century. The range and significance of his work has long required a collection of his essays which will allow his contribution to be assessed as a whole.Despite an early interest in microeconomic theory, Richard Quandt has devoted most of his career to econometrics and, in particular, to modal split estimation. More recently his work has focused on the econometrics of disequilibrium models with reference to both free market and planned economies. As well as presenting his many significant articles on microtheory, general econometrics, disequilibrium modelling, financial economics and the economics of planned economies, this collection will have a particular value for all scholars interested in the emergence of the new economies in Eastern Europe, a subject to which Professor Quandt has applied himself in recent years.This fascinating book includes an introduction by Professor Quandt describing his early life in Budapest and the circumstances which led him to study economics in America.

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Studies in Labor Supply, the second volume of Jacob Mincer's essays to be published in this series, focuses on the family context of labor supply especially that of women. Special attention is devoted to wage incentives and wage consequences of labor supply and to long term trends in the female labor force, a major social phenomenon of the twentieth century.Jacob Mincer's research reveals a rare combination of imaginative empirical analysis guided by a command of theory. His work and professional style have set the standard for empirical economics. This is especially true of his work on the labor force participation of married women.This is the second of two volumes containing carefully edited selections of Professor Mincer's most important essays, some of which are published here for the first time. Introductions to each volume provide overviews of the interconnections of the topics discussed, their conceptual coherence and empirical significance. Studies in Human Capital, the first volume of Professor Mincer's essays, is also available as part of this series.

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This important reference book provides a non-partisan introduction to rational expectations, traces its evolution through three decades, and puts a comprehensive annotated bibliography at the reader's fingertips. In the lengthy introduction, Redman examines in a non-technical way what it means to form expectations of variables rationally, explores the concept's ambiguities, and considers the numerous criticisms the concept has raised. She discusses the evolution of the concept with an emphasis on its association with new classical economics, reviews briefly the empirical findings and obstacles to testing rational expectations and puts the development into perspective within a broader scope of economics in general.The second part provides the reader with an annotated bibliography of over 470 significant books and articles on rational expectations.A Reader's Guide to Rational Expectations will be an essential reference guide for all economists who wish to keep abreast of the most recent developments in economic theory.

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In this important new book, Sheila Dow argues that money is integral to the economic process and that some common principles may be applied when analysing money's role at the regional, national and international levels. The importance of considering the spatial aspects of money's role has been highlighted by recent developments in Europe and elsewhere.Using a post Keynesian perspective, the first five chapters put forward a methodological and theoretical framework for a theory of money which combines endogenous credit creation and liquidity preference. The next five chapters analyse money's role in the economic process as it affects regional economies. The final two chapters adapt the theory in order to analyse finance and development in the international context, and as a basis for discussing possible international institutional reforms.Money and the Economic Process features some of Sheila Dow's most acclaimed articles and papers in this area, as well as including some new work which reveals the recent development of her thought.

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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.

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The industrialized economies of the world have experienced a considerable diversity of economic experience since the shocks of the 1970s. The authors of this major study assess the institutional determinants of economic performance in a comparative analysis of OECD economies. They focus in particular on the role played by corporatist arrangements in such countries as Austria and the Scandinavian states. Corporatism and Economic Performance argues that economists often have a narrow view of the scope and function of corporatism, focusing on the extent to which collective bargaining is centralized, and ignoring the important role of durable, consensual policy making arrangements. The record of the corporatist economies is assessed and considerable evidence is found to show that they have borne the burden of economic adjustment over the last twenty years in a less inegalitarian way than other OECD economies, with lower rates of unemployment and greater economic stability. In an increasingly integrated world economy, the future prospects for corporatism look uncertain, although there is still a strong economic case for corporatist institutions. This book sheds new light on corporatism as a complex and multidimensional entity, examining the rationale, scope, performance and future prospects of corporatist institutions.

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Property rights lie at the heart of the economic success of any economy and the extent to which its citizens enjoy economic freedom. At a time when Eastern Europe is breaking free from the yoke of collectivist-socialist ideas, this book presents essays by four political economists evaluating a range of feasible reforms intended to breathe new life into constitutional republicanism. The first essay by James M. Buchanan grounds the defence of private property ownership in the protection that it affords to individual liberty. This is followed by a succinct but comprehensive account by Gordon Tullock of his research programme in rent seeking. This is a great and instructive contribution which skilfully draws out the dangerous implications of rent seeking for private property rights. A far-reaching and insightful essay by Richard E. Wagner exposes the failure of the United States constitution to overcome the tyranny of the majority so feared by the Founding Fathers: the author demonstrates why the tyranny of the majority cannot be overcome by a written constitution unless the institutions of society are designed to offer complementary support to limited government and the rule of law. In the final essay, Charles Rowley retraces the history of social choice theory, identifies the errors that it has promulgated and the corrective lessons that can be learned from the classical liberal philosophy that it has substantially ignored. Including essays by some of the most eminent scholars in the field, Property Rights and the Limits of Democracy makes an important and distinguished contribution to one of the most central issues in political economy in the late twentieth century.

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The methodology of economics has long been dominated by the writings of Karl Popper and Imre Lakatos, two outstanding philosophers of science in the post-war period. This major new book focuses on the application of Lakatosian principles of appraisal to modern economics. An international group of distinguished economists have applied Lakatos's methodology of scientific research programs to a variety of economic theories, such as game theory, demand theory, consumption analysis, job search theory, equilibrium unemployment theory, the new classical macroeconomics, experimental economics, Austrian economics, Walrasian stability analysis and Sraffian economics. The introduction and afterword by the editors place the papers in the context of the recent rapidly evolving methodological controversy in economics. Taken as a whole, the book makes a powerful statement of the case for assessing rival economic theories with the aid of an explicit philosophy of science.

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Part of a series presenting critical appraisals of influential economists from the age of Aristotle to the present. The individuals examined have shaped both the theory and practice of modern economics. Each volume combines classic statements by economists with the most recent research.

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Part of a series presenting critical appraisals of influential economists from the age of Aristotle to the present. The individuals examined have shaped both the theory and practice of modern economics. Each volume combines classic statements by economists with the most recent research.

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Part of a series presenting critical appraisals of influential economists from the age of Aristotle to the present. The individuals examined have shaped both the theory and practice of modern economics. Each volume combines classic statements by economists with the most recent research.

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Part of a series presenting critical appraisals of influential economists from the age of Aristotle to the present. The individuals examined have shaped both the theory and practice of modern economics. Each volume combines classic statements by economists with the most recent research.

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Part of a series presenting critical appraisals of influential economists from the age of Aristotle to the present. The individuals examined have shaped both the theory and practice of modern economics. Each volume combines classic statements by economists with the most recent research.

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Part of a series presenting critical appraisals of influential economists from the age of Aristotle to the present. The individuals examined have shaped both the theory and practice of modern economics. Each volume combines classic statements by economists with the most recent research.

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The importance of Whewell, Lardner and Babbage to the history of economic thought is as dependent upon the retrospective reading of their work as it is upon their contemporary significance. However, their individual reactions to the industrial and technological revolutions of the early nineteenth century are also of particular interest to us.William Whewell was known in his own times as a historian and philosopher of science, however, more recently he has been hailed as one of the founders of British mathematical economics. Dionysius Lardner, Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy at University College, London, was both an early railway economist and a precursor of modern theories of profit maximalization. Charles Babbage may legitimately be regarded as the father of the modern computer, yet his most popular book, On the Economics of Machinery and Manufacturers (1832), was an unprecedented study of what we would now call operational research and had a significant effect upon both John Stuart Mill and Karl Marx. These were the 'also ran' but they are no less important than the forerunners for understanding the development of economic thought in the first half of the nineteenth century.

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Francois Quesnay is best known for the Tableau Economique, the proposition that only agriculture generates a positive 'net product' and that industry is 'sterile'. He recommended a 'single tax' on ground rent and invented the slogan 'laissez faire, laissez passe'. He was the first to found a school of economists called the 'physiocrats' which enjoyed an immense vogue in France for about a decade in the 1750s. The practical programme of the physiocrats was to eliminate the vestiges of medieval tolls and restrictions in the countryside, to rationalize the fiscal system, to amalgamate small-holdings into large-scale agricultural estates, to free the corn trade from all mercantilist restrictions - in short to emulate England. Placed in its historical context these were eminently reasonable views but the attempt to provide these reforms with a watertight theoretical argument produced some forced reasoning and slightly absurd conclusions.

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Until comparatively recently, Adam Smith was known mainly as the author of a single book, The Wealth of Nations. Modern scholarship and the greater availability of his other work has thrown new light on Adam Smith suggesting that he was no mere economist but a system builder on a grand scale and, furthermore, a thinker thoroughly steeped in eighteenth century traditions. The breadth and complexity of Smith's thought is reflected in this present volume which surveys the contemporary debate, involving both economists and the wider scholarly community, through some 40 of the outstanding articles published over the last eight years.

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John Law was one of those extraordinary personalities in which the 18th century seemed to abound. He held a demand-and-supply theory of value and treated the value of money or the determination of the average level of prices as only a special case of a general theory of value. Law eventually became Minister of Finance in France and was responsible for the greatest speculative frenzy in her history known as the Mississippi Bubble. When the boom collapsed in the closing months of 1720, Law was forced to flee France, permanently discredited, and spent his declining years as a professional gambler in Venice.In The Fable of the Bees: Private Vices, Public Benefits Bernard Mandeville argued that self-interest was a moral vice. Mandeville's satire was deliberately designed to give offence as if to encourage the re-examination of traditional beliefs : conspicuous consumption of luxury goods, the fashionable display of foreign imports, crime, and even natural disasters like the Fire of London all promote the 'division of labour' (Mandeville's term) and contribute to a brisk trade and fall in unemployment, whereas such supposed virtues as thrift and charity contribute to poverty and stagnation. The Fable of the Bees was widely read in the 18th century and criticized by all the leading thinkers of the day.

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Pierre le Pesant Boisguilbert was considered by Marx as one of the founders of classical political economy. His writings contain a large number of concepts and ideas that reappear in the writings of Quesnay, Cantillon and Adam Smith. George Berkeley - a major figure in the history of philosophical idealism - was the author of 'The Querist', a treatise on the nature of Irish under-development and cures for Irish poverty. Baron de Montesquieu - one of the great 18th century polymaths - is author of the masterpiece 'The Spirit of the Laws' (1748) which, while ostensibly a treatise on law, is actually a study of political organization, types of government, national character and the determining ethos of different societies. It enjoyed enormous success in the 18th century and was almost certainly read and studied by Adam Smith. Ferdinando Galiani was a leading critic of physiocracy and a major 18th century proponent of the subjective theory of value. In 1751 he published 'Della Moneta' which contains some notable chapters on monetary theory, and some brilliant pages on the utility theory of value. James Anderson was a Scottish farmer and a prolific author of tracts on the agricultural development of Scotland and the outstanding policy issues of the last quarter of the 18th century. Dugald Stewart was author of 'Account of the Life and Writings of Adam Smith LLD' (1793) which is one of the earliest, extended commentaries on the works of Adam Smith by one who knew him well.

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This book brings together an important body of new essays on key economic problems and challenges of the 1990s. The essays provide new perspectives on key issues including economic development, East Europe, 1992, the US trade deficit, protectionism, the unification of Germany, privatization and many other topical issues. The papers included in the volume were presented at a conference organized by Paul Davidson and Jan Kregel and organized around three basic areas: problems of economic development, debt and the international payments system; integration and reconstruction of Western and Eastern Europe; and problems facing the US economy. The contributors represent an international group of distinguished economists. Economic Problems of the 1990s is an essential reference point for all economists concerned with economic problems and prospects in the late 20th century. It provides readers with an understanding of the problems facing the international economy and with innovative suggestions for solutions.

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Herbert Giersch's contribution to economics has ranged widely over international economics, European integration and the economics of entrepreneurship. This book presents in one volume a selection of some of his most important essays and papers. It encompasses the gradual evolution of his work from its beginnings to his most recent contributions to the debate on the future of the European Economic Community. It contains some of his most significant work during the last 30 years and includes material that is not widely available.It will be an essential reference point for all economists concerned with entrepreneurship, the world economy and Europe.

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This lucid, up-to-date book takes a fresh look at the application of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to environmental problems ranging from wildlife protection to global warming. Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Environment is structured into two parts. Part one provides a critical up-to-date account of the theory and practice of CBA as applied to the environment. Part two focuses on a number of specific case studies, in particular ozone damage to agricultural crops, wilderness land use, recreation and nitrate pollution. The application of CBA to the greenhouse effect is used to illustrate the limitations of the method. The book summarizes the major problems CBA faces in environmental application. This book will be highly relevant for the growing number of undergraduate and post-graduate courses in environmental economics and management, as well as being of interest both to academics researching in these areas, and to other professionals concerned with project appraisal and the environment.

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In Economic Theory and Natural Philosophy Charles Clark sheds new light on the development of economic thought, paying particular attention to elements of continuity and divergence. The book offers many new insights into Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill and Victorian evolutionary social theory, the natural law foundations of the marginal utility revolution and axiomatic general equilibrium theory. In conclusion, the author argues that if economic theory is to be truly scientific it must develop a theory that is based upon history and social structure.Economic Theory and Natural Philosophy is certain to arouse controversy and will be essential reading for all those interested in the history of economic thought and the current state of modern economic theory.

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Patrick Minford has been a close adviser to Mrs Thatcher during the last decade. He has made an important contribution to the ideas of Thatcherism and Britain's monetarist/supply side programme in the 1980s.This book brings together, for the first time, essays written as a contribution to the supply side revolution in Britain. Some focus on monetary and fiscal policy, while others deal with the principles and mechanisms for supply side reform. Taken together, they represent an invaluable source book and reference point on the political philosophy and economic strategy of the Thatcher era. The essays were all written for a wide audience and will be essential reading for both economists and non-economists alike.

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Continuity and Change in Contemporary Europe focuses on the dramatic events in Eastern and Western Europe over recent years, events which have not produced the 'golden age' which many people expected when the Berlin Wall came down. In fact, Europe in the 1990s is, the authors argue, in many ways a more uncertain place than it was before 1989. This is not due simply to recent events themselves, but also to longer term historical problems. Hence the book traces the complex interplay of past continuities and present day changes in an increasingly unified Europe by looking at national experiences and at the broader international and institutional context.The authors cover the status quo in the aftermath of the last war, economic and social growth and attempts at European integration; the new developments of the 1980s with the surge in Western European integration, glasnost and perestroika, and the revolutions in Eastern Europe; and giving special attention to the problems of the 1990s, in the European Union, inside the states of Europe, and in security and international affairs.Undergraduates will find Continuity and Change in Contemporary Europe especially helpful since it deals not just with history, but current affairs, the emerging challenges with which Europe is increasingly faced, and ways to understand them.

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Industry and Society in Europe examines changes in industrial organization in Britain, Germany and France from the perspectives of economic sociology and political economy. This important new textbook presents a systematic, comparative analysis of recent processes of industrial and social change in these societies and assesses the contribution each country will make to the emerging European social and economic entity. Written in an accessible, jargon-free style, the book covers a wide range of highly topical themes, including the finance-industry nexus, corporate restructuring, the impact of globalization, the role of small and medium-sized firms, state - industry relations and new developments in work organization and industrial relations. Introducing a sociological perspective to the study of business and economic life, Christel Lane critically engages with some of the main theories in the field including flexible specialization, regulation theory and the new institutionalism in sociology.

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This unique book focuses on the central issues in macroeconomics - examining some of the lively theoretical controversies troubling contemporary economists - in order to establish a genuine basis for communication between the alternative theoretical traditions.The past two decades have witnessed the emergence of several competing approaches to macroeconomic analysis: post Keynesian economics, Kaleckian analysis, neo-Ricardian theory, the neo-Austrian school, the Rational Expectations School etc. This book presents new work by 14 respected economists from nine different countries who address a series of unresolved yet well-defined issues in monetary theory and policy, market structure and accumulation, and problems of effective demand and the theory of distribution. The main purpose of Macroeconomic Theory is to identify areas of common ground among the various theoretical approaches. The excitement of that dialogue and the intellectual vitality generated are captured for the reader in a volume that will be essential for an understanding of modern macroeconomic theory.

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This important new book - the first of its kind - provides a detailed analysis and critical appraisal of the neo-Ricardian Keynesians and the post Keynesians. After placing them in the context of modern schools of macroeconomics, it discusses their contributions including the neo-Ricardian synthesis of Sraffa's ideas on the heterogeneity of capital goods and Keynes's ideas on effective demand, and the post Keyensian analysis of the role of historical time, money and uncertainty in Keynes's work. In conclusion, it suggests a synthesis of their views which could be seen as a starting point for an important challenge to mainstream economics.

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This valauble book presents fresh perspectives on constitutional change in modern Britain. Each contributor - a leading authority in his particular field - focuses on an institution or aspect of the constitution and asks what has changed, why has it changed and what is likely to happen in the future. In conclusion, Philip Norton challenges the growing pressure for a new constitutional settlement. The British system of government, he argues, is under threat from a fragmentation of power: it needs to be protected not weakened. A new constitution offers the prospect of political inertia and failed expectations.The book will be essential and stimulating reading for both students and practitioners of British politics.

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This illuminating title applies rational choice theory to the power debate, demonstrating the fallacious arguments of all sides. Power is analysed as a bargaining game where the power of actors is assessed in terms of the resources to which they have access. By distinguishing luck from power it shows that many groups widely regarded as powerful are merely lucky, albeit as a result of systematic features of society. This is one of the first conceptual books on power directly to engage both classical and modern empirical debates on the power structure at both the local and national level.

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