Search results for ""Author Geoffrey M. Hodgson""
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Evolution and Institutions: On Evolutionary Economics and the Evolution of Economics
Geoff Hodgson's innovative and important new book is about the future of economics as a viable discipline. It examines not only evolutionary economics but the development of economic theory during the twentieth century. The book reflects on the origins and consequences of the narrowing and increasing irrelevance of mainstream economics, suggesting that it will be inadequate to cope with the complex ideas of the new millennium.Geoff Hodgson analyses some of the attempts to redirect theoretical economics to real world issues. He proposes a move away from mathematical formalization, greater tolerance given to different approaches and the possibility of learning from other sciences especially biology. He suggests that the toleration of a plurality of theoretical approaches in economics - including institutional and evolutionary approaches - based on a common orientation towards real world economies is the best overall strategy for future theoretical advance.A unique and important contribution to our understanding, it will be welcomed by academics and researchers working in all fields of economics, especially evolutionary economics as well as by other social scientists.
£34.95
The University of Chicago Press Wrong Turnings: How the Left Got Lost
The Left is in crisis. Despite global economic turbulence, left-wing political parties in many countries have failed to make progress in part because they have grown too ideologically fragmented. Today, the term Left is associated with state intervention and public ownership, but this has little in common with the original meaning of the term. What caused what we mean by the Left to change, and how has that hindered progress? With Wrong-Turnings, Geoffrey M. Hodgson tracks changes in the meaning of the Left and offers suggestions for how the Left might reclaim some of its core values. The term Left originated during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries sought to abolish the monarchy and privilege and to introduce a new society based on liberty, equality, fraternity, and universal rights. Over time, however, the meaning radically changed, especially through the influence of socialism and collectivism. Hodgson argues that the Left must rediscover its roots in the Enlightenment and readopt Enlightenment values it has abandoned, such as those concerning democracy and universal human rights. Only then will it be prepared to address contemporary problems of inequality and the survival of democracy. Possible measures could include enhanced educational provisions, a guaranteed basic income, and a viable mechanism for fair distribution of wealth.Wrong-Turnings is a truly pathbreaking work from one of our most prolific and respected institutional theorists. It will change our understanding of how the left got lost.
£31.49
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Economics of Institutions
The Economics of Institutions is a collection of key essays in the field of both 'new' and 'old' institutional economics. Featuring articles from the most important scholars in this field, it covers: individuals, institutions and institutionalism; rules and norms; institutions, knowledge and uncertainty; institutional change and economic growth, and markets and firms as institutions.
£284.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Evolution of Economic Institutions: A Critical Reader
It is now widely acknowledged that institutions are a crucial factor in economic performance. Major developments have been made in our understanding of the nature and evolution of economic institutions in the last few years. This book brings together some key contributions in this area by leading internationally renowned scholars including Paul A. David, Christopher Freeman, Alan P. Kirman, Jan Kregel, Brian J. Loasby, J. Stanley Metcalfe, Bart Nooteboom and Ugo Pagano. This essential reader covers topics such as the relationship between institutions and individuals, institutions and economic development, the nature and role of markets, and the theory of institutional evolution. The book not only outlines cutting-edge developments in the field but also indicates key directions of future research for institutional and evolutionary economics.Vital reading on one of the most dynamic and rapidly growing areas of research today, The Evolution of Economic Institutions will be of great interest to researchers, students and lecturers in economics and business studies.
£111.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Recent Developments in Institutional Economics
The re-emergence of institutional economics in the final quarter of the twentieth century is one of the most important and fruitful developments in social science. In bringing together some of the most significant previously published papers by leading scholars in the field, this authoritative collection explores the major changes in the 'new' and 'old' institutional economics, the developments of new approaches and the extension of applications to new areas which have taken place since the early 1990s.This volume is a definitive collection of readings showing both changes in the research agenda and new developments at the cutting edge. It is an ideal reference source for students and researchers in the fields of economics, sociology, business and other related disciplines.
£273.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Liberal Solidarity: The Political Economy of Social Democratic Liberalism
The twenty-first century has seen major challenges to freedom and democracy. Authoritarianism is on the rise and democracy is in retreat. Some promote individualism and markets as the solution to almost every problem. On the other side there are those who champion collectivism and full public ownership. Neither side is convincing. Unrestrained capitalism has exacerbated inequality. Socialism in practice has ended democracy. Effective defenders of liberty and human flourishing must find a different course. This book argues for a pragmatic, social democratic liberalism that avoids unrealistic extremes and tackles major problems such as inequality and climate change.This book is a topical and powerful statement of social democratic liberalism. It will be of interest to anyone concerned about modern politics, including those in universities and political parties
£27.95
The University of Chicago Press From Pleasure Machines to Moral Communities: An Evolutionary Economics without Homo economicus
Are humans at their core seekers of their own pleasure or cooperative members of society? Paradoxically, they are both. Pleasure seeking can take place only within the context of what works within a defined community, and central to any community are the evolved codes and principles guiding appropriate behavior or morality. The complex interaction of morality and self-interest is at the heart of Geoffrey M. Hodgson's approach to evolutionary economics, which is designed to bring about a better understanding of human behavior. In "From Pleasure Machines to Moral Communities", Hodgson casts a critical eye on neoclassical individualism, its foundations and flaws, and turns to recent insights from research on the evolutionary bases of human behavior. He focuses his attention on the evolution of morality, its meaning, why it came about, and how it influences human attitudes and behavior. This more nuanced understanding sets the stage for a fascinating investigation of its implications for a range of pressing issues drawn from diverse environments, including the business world and crucial policy realms like health care and ecology. This book provides a valuable complement to Hodgson's earlier work with Thorbjorn Knudsen on evolutionary economics in Darwin's Conjecture, extending the evolutionary outlook to include moral and policy-related issues.
£45.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Evolution and Institutions: On Evolutionary Economics and the Evolution of Economics
Geoff Hodgson's innovative and important new book is about the future of economics as a viable discipline. It examines not only evolutionary economics but the development of economic theory during the twentieth century. The book reflects on the origins and consequences of the narrowing and increasing irrelevance of mainstream economics, suggesting that it will be inadequate to cope with the complex ideas of the new millennium.Geoff Hodgson analyses some of the attempts to redirect theoretical economics to real world issues. He proposes a move away from mathematical formalization, greater tolerance given to different approaches and the possibility of learning from other sciences especially biology. He suggests that the toleration of a plurality of theoretical approaches in economics - including institutional and evolutionary approaches - based on a common orientation towards real world economies is the best overall strategy for future theoretical advance.A unique and important contribution to our understanding, it will be welcomed by academics and researchers working in all fields of economics, especially evolutionary economics as well as by other social scientists.
£121.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Foundations of Evolutionary Economics: 1890–1973
In the last two decades of the twentieth century evolutionary economics has become one of the most important and exciting developments in social science. It is associated with a huge theoretical, empirical and policy literature. Yet relatively little is known about the development of the foundations of evolutionary economics over the preceding 100 years. The gap is filled by this collection of essays by Thorstein Veblen, John Commons, John Maurice Clark, Alfred Marshall, John Atkinson Hobson, Joseph Schumpeter, Armen Alchian, Edith Penrose, Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, Friedrich Hayek among others. An original introduction by the editor places these contributions in their historical context.
£375.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Evolution of Economic Institutions: A Critical Reader
It is now widely acknowledged that institutions are a crucial factor in economic performance. Major developments have been made in our understanding of the nature and evolution of economic institutions in the last few years. This book brings together some key contributions in this area by leading internationally renowned scholars including Paul A. David, Christopher Freeman, Alan P. Kirman, Jan Kregel, Brian J. Loasby, J. Stanley Metcalfe, Bart Nooteboom and Ugo Pagano. This essential reader covers topics such as the relationship between institutions and individuals, institutions and economic development, the nature and role of markets, and the theory of institutional evolution. The book not only outlines cutting-edge developments in the field but also indicates key directions of future research for institutional and evolutionary economics.Vital reading on one of the most dynamic and rapidly growing areas of research today, The Evolution of Economic Institutions will be of great interest to researchers, students and lecturers in economics and business studies.
£38.95
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Liberal Solidarity: The Political Economy of Social Democratic Liberalism
The twenty-first century has seen major challenges to freedom and democracy. Authoritarianism is on the rise and democracy is in retreat. Some promote individualism and markets as the solution to almost every problem. On the other side there are those who champion collectivism and full public ownership. Neither side is convincing. Unrestrained capitalism has exacerbated inequality. Socialism in practice has ended democracy. Effective defenders of liberty and human flourishing must find a different course. This book argues for a pragmatic, social democratic liberalism that avoids unrealistic extremes and tackles major problems such as inequality and climate change.This book is a topical and powerful statement of social democratic liberalism. It will be of interest to anyone concerned about modern politics, including those in universities and political parties
£109.00
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Economics and Institutions: A Manifesto for a Modern Institutional Economics
Traditionally, economists have attributed consistency and rational calculation to the action of ‘economic man’. In a powerful challenge to orthodox thinking, Geoffrey Hodgson maintains that social institutions play a central and essential role in molding preferences and guiding action: institutions are regarded as enabling action rather than merely providing constraints. From this perspective, the author takes on the ‘free marketers’ such as Milton Friedman and the ‘new institutionalism’ of Oliver Williamson. He argues against the neo-classical and Austrian views of the operation of markets, offering instead a convincing new synthesis of the work of Keynes, Veblen, Simon and Marx. Taking up the implications of his argument, Hodgson calls for a radically new policy perspective based on structural reform and institutional intervention. This work will be required reading for economics students in their second and third years and will be of interest to students and academics throughout the social sciences.
£18.99
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Darwinism and Economics
This volume offers outstanding works of recent scholarship on Darwinism covering three major fields of enquiry: How Darwinism affects our conception of human nature and challenges long-standing assumptions such as self-interested behaviour. Analysis of the nature of socio-cultural evolution, its differences from biological evolution and whether it is Lamarckian. The possibility of generalizing core Darwinian principles to cover evolving entities in the economic and social world, as well as in biology. Exploring the huge potential impact of Darwinism on the social sciences, this collection is an insightful reference tool for scholars and others recognising the importance of new developments in this discipline.
£226.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Economics in the Shadows of Darwin and Marx: Essays on Institutional and Evolutionary Themes
Economics in the Shadows of Darwin and Marx examines the legacies of these two giants of thought for the social sciences in the twenty-first century.Darwin and Marx stand out as the supreme theorists of structural change in complex living systems. Yet their analytical approaches are very different, and the idea that Darwinism has application to the social sciences is not widely appreciated. This collection of essays establishes the importance of Darwinism for economics and other social sciences, and compares the Darwinian legacy with that of Marx. Critical realism is just one of the tendencies within economics influenced by Marxism that is dissected here. The final part of the book adopts a Darwinian evolutionary approach to the analysis of institutions and routines. Geoffrey Hodgson's book will be warmly welcomed and received by evolutionary and institutional economists, methodologists of economics and other social sciences, heterodox economists as well as other social scientists including economic sociologists, organisation scientists and political scientists.
£38.95
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Is Socialism Feasible?: Towards an Alternative Future
After being proclaimed dead, there is now a major revival of socialist ideology in the West. But what does socialism mean? This book shows that it is irretrievably associated with common ownership. The twentieth-century experience of comprehensive national planning with state ownership has been disastrous, and in no case has democracy endured within large-scale socialism. This volume explains why. The alternative socialist option of worker-owned cooperatives must accept a major role for markets that many socialists reject. Featuring theoretical arguments and practical investigations, Geoffrey M. Hodgson interrogates the failures of socialist states, scrutinizing the impact and outcomes of a centralized politico-economic system. This timely and convincing book offers insight into the twentieth-century experience of comprehensive national planning, deploying less-well-known criticisms from Albert Schaffle and Michael Polanyi. Hodgson's nuanced approach brings together small-scale socialist praxis and principles of liberal solidarity, exploring an experimental approach to political and economic reform. Provocative, insightful and accessible, this book is of considerable interest to any reader with an appetite for the history of socialist theory, as well as those keen to explore new insights to heterodox economics. Students and academics of the social sciences and humanities will benefit from this book's rigorous empirical approach to historic and contemporary socialist states and its in-depth discussion of Austrian school theory.
£28.95
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Is Socialism Feasible?: Towards an Alternative Future
After being proclaimed dead, there is now a major revival of socialist ideology in the West. But what does socialism mean? This book shows that it is irretrievably associated with common ownership. The twentieth-century experience of comprehensive national planning with state ownership has been disastrous, and in no case has democracy endured within large-scale socialism. This volume explains why. The alternative socialist option of worker-owned cooperatives must accept a major role for markets that many socialists reject. Featuring theoretical arguments and practical investigations, Geoffrey M. Hodgson interrogates the failures of socialist states, scrutinizing the impact and outcomes of a centralized politico-economic system. This timely and convincing book offers insight into the twentieth-century experience of comprehensive national planning, deploying less-well-known criticisms from Albert Schaffle and Michael Polanyi. Hodgson's nuanced approach brings together small-scale socialist praxis and principles of liberal solidarity, exploring an experimental approach to political and economic reform. Provocative, insightful and accessible, this book is of considerable interest to any reader with an appetite for the history of socialist theory, as well as those keen to explore new insights to heterodox economics. Students and academics of the social sciences and humanities will benefit from this book's rigorous empirical approach to historic and contemporary socialist states and its in-depth discussion of Austrian school theory.
£100.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Is There a Future for Heterodox Economics?: Institutions, Ideology and a Scientific Community
'Hodgson's masterful review of orthodoxies and heterodoxies focuses on the absurdity of recommending planning, or scorning it, without answering the empirical question asked in the 1930s by the ''socialist calculation debate.'' How well does planning or the market work? Idealism assumes the answer without actually doing the science. - Deirdre N. McCloskey, University of Illinois at Chicago, US 'Every young heterodox scholar should read this book, as should veteran heterodox economists who are puzzled about why important heterodox contributions have not had the impact they deserved to have. The book provides a compelling account of the challenges that heterodox economists have faced, and continue to face, and it leaves the reader with a strong sense that things could have been, and could be, much better if more heterodox economists strove to integrate compatible aspects of the many diverse approaches that constitute heterodox economics.' - Peter E. Earl, University of Queensland, Australia 'Is there a future for the alternatives to mainstream economics? Dealing with this important question does not only require a deep understanding of the current economic theories and of the history of economic thought. It demands also a careful analysis of the institutional mechanisms by which scientific communities commit themselves to certain paradigms and change these commitments. In this excellent book Hodgson deals with all the dimensions of this complex issue.' - Ugo Pagano, University of Siena, Italy 'Drawing a well-balanced picture of heterodox economics with its many political shades and theoretical nuances is no easy task. Professor Hodgson's mastery in solving the task sets new standards. His compelling analysis of the state and the future of the field is a ''must read'' for everyone in the heterodox camp and an invaluable source of information for all scholars in the history, philosophy, and sociology of economics.' - Ulrich Witt, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany and Griffith University, Australia Over the last 50 years, and particularly since the financial crash in 2008, the community of heterodox economists has expanded, and its publications have proliferated. But its power in departments of economics has waned. Addressing this paradox, Geoffrey M. Hodgson argues that heterodox economists are defined more by a left ideology than by a shared understanding of the nature of orthodox economics and of what should replace it. Heterodox economists cannot agree on what heterodoxy means. Employing insights from the sociology and philosophy of science, the author explores the marginalization of heterodox economics in the academic community and its exclusion from positions of power. This perceptive book also shows how the weaknesses of a particular version of heterodoxy stemming from the Cambridge economics of the 1970s have been replicated globally in much of contemporary heterodox economics. The author considers how the field can adapt in order to improve and sustain its presence in academia. Social scientists and economists will find this book both enlightening and useful. In particular, it will be invaluable to student networks and others critical of mainstream economics, and to those teaching economics at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
£94.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Mathematics and Modern Economics
The appropriate role of mathematics in economics has been controversial for two hundred years, and has been a matter of ongoing debate as economics became more mathematical after the Second World War. Controversy has been heightened after extensive criticisms of models used for analysis, prediction and risk assessment prior to the great financial crash of 2008. In this topical collection, Professor Hodgson brings together the seminal classic and recent essays published since 1945 on the role of mathematics in economics, by leading authors including six Nobel Laureates, and from a variety of perspectives.
£290.00
The University of Chicago Press Wrong Turnings: How the Left Got Lost
The Left is in crisis. Despite global economic turbulence, left-wing political parties in many countries have failed to make progress in part because they have grown too ideologically fragmented. Today, the term Left is associated with state intervention and public ownership, but this has little in common with the original meaning of the term. What caused what we mean by the Left to change, and how has that hindered progress? With Wrong-Turnings, Geoffrey M. Hodgson tracks changes in the meaning of the Left and offers suggestions for how the Left might reclaim some of its core values. The term Left originated during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries sought to abolish the monarchy and privilege and to introduce a new society based on liberty, equality, fraternity, and universal rights. Over time, however, the meaning radically changed, especially through the influence of socialism and collectivism. Hodgson argues that the Left must rediscover its roots in the Enlightenment and readopt Enlightenment values it has abandoned, such as those concerning democracy and universal human rights. Only then will it be prepared to address contemporary problems of inequality and the survival of democracy. Possible measures could include enhanced educational provisions, a guaranteed basic income, and a viable mechanism for fair distribution of wealth.Wrong-Turnings is a truly pathbreaking work from one of our most prolific and respected institutional theorists. It will change our understanding of how the left got lost.
£91.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Economics and Biology
Economics and Biology is a collection of key essays on the relationship between economics and biology. As the limitations of the mechanistic metaphor in economics are increasingly recognized, this volume explores the potential for the use of evolutionary and other ideas from the science of biology. Topics covered include evaluations of mechanistic and biological analogies in economics in the Darwinian revolution, the use of biology in Alfred Marshall's economics, the concepts of optimisation and rationality in an evolutionary context and the inspirations that biology may offer for modern economics.
£273.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Economics in the Shadows of Darwin and Marx: Essays on Institutional and Evolutionary Themes
Economics in the Shadows of Darwin and Marx examines the legacies of these two giants of thought for the social sciences in the twenty-first century.Darwin and Marx stand out as the supreme theorists of structural change in complex living systems. Yet their analytical approaches are very different, and the idea that Darwinism has application to the social sciences is not widely appreciated. This collection of essays establishes the importance of Darwinism for economics and other social sciences, and compares the Darwinian legacy with that of Marx. Critical realism is just one of the tendencies within economics influenced by Marxism that is dissected here. The final part of the book adopts a Darwinian evolutionary approach to the analysis of institutions and routines. Geoffrey Hodgson's book will be warmly welcomed and received by evolutionary and institutional economists, methodologists of economics and other social sciences, heterodox economists as well as other social scientists including economic sociologists, organisation scientists and political scientists.
£102.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd A Modern Reader in Institutional and Evolutionary Economics: Key Concepts
In the 1990s, institutional and evolutionary economics emerged as one of the most creative and successful approaches in the modern social sciences. This timely reader gathers together seminal contributions from leading international authors in the field of institutional and evolutionary economics including Eileen Appelbaum, Benjamin Coriat, Giovanni Dosi, Sheila C. Dow, Bengt-Ake Lundvall, Uskali Maki, Bart Nooteboom and Marc R. Tool. The emphasis is on key concepts such as learning, trust, power, pricing and markets, with some essays devoted to methodology and others to the comparison of different forms of capitalism. An extensive introduction places the contributions in the context of the historical and theoretical background of recent developments in economics and the social sciences.Essential reading for lecturers, researchers, graduates and advanced undergraduates in economics, business studies and sociology, this diverse yet complementary collection of essays will also find a broad readership amongst those wanting to understand the manifest changes apparent within modern socio-economic systems.
£28.95
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd A Modern Reader in Institutional and Evolutionary Economics: Key Concepts
In the 1990s, institutional and evolutionary economics emerged as one of the most creative and successful approaches in the modern social sciences. This timely reader gathers together seminal contributions from leading international authors in the field of institutional and evolutionary economics including Eileen Appelbaum, Benjamin Coriat, Giovanni Dosi, Sheila C. Dow, Bengt-Ake Lundvall, Uskali Maki, Bart Nooteboom and Marc R. Tool. The emphasis is on key concepts such as learning, trust, power, pricing and markets, with some essays devoted to methodology and others to the comparison of different forms of capitalism. An extensive introduction places the contributions in the context of the historical and theoretical background of recent developments in economics and the social sciences.Essential reading for lecturers, researchers, graduates and advanced undergraduates in economics, business studies and sociology, this diverse yet complementary collection of essays will also find a broad readership amongst those wanting to understand the manifest changes apparent within modern socio-economic systems.
£105.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Is There a Future for Heterodox Economics?: Institutions, Ideology and a Scientific Community
'Hodgson's masterful review of orthodoxies and heterodoxies focuses on the absurdity of recommending planning, or scorning it, without answering the empirical question asked in the 1930s by the ''socialist calculation debate.'' How well does planning or the market work? Idealism assumes the answer without actually doing the science. - Deirdre N. McCloskey, University of Illinois at Chicago, US 'Every young heterodox scholar should read this book, as should veteran heterodox economists who are puzzled about why important heterodox contributions have not had the impact they deserved to have. The book provides a compelling account of the challenges that heterodox economists have faced, and continue to face, and it leaves the reader with a strong sense that things could have been, and could be, much better if more heterodox economists strove to integrate compatible aspects of the many diverse approaches that constitute heterodox economics.' - Peter E. Earl, University of Queensland, Australia 'Is there a future for the alternatives to mainstream economics? Dealing with this important question does not only require a deep understanding of the current economic theories and of the history of economic thought. It demands also a careful analysis of the institutional mechanisms by which scientific communities commit themselves to certain paradigms and change these commitments. In this excellent book Hodgson deals with all the dimensions of this complex issue.' - Ugo Pagano, University of Siena, Italy 'Drawing a well-balanced picture of heterodox economics with its many political shades and theoretical nuances is no easy task. Professor Hodgson's mastery in solving the task sets new standards. His compelling analysis of the state and the future of the field is a ''must read'' for everyone in the heterodox camp and an invaluable source of information for all scholars in the history, philosophy, and sociology of economics.' - Ulrich Witt, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany and Griffith University, Australia Over the last 50 years, and particularly since the financial crash in 2008, the community of heterodox economists has expanded, and its publications have proliferated. But its power in departments of economics has waned. Addressing this paradox, Geoffrey M. Hodgson argues that heterodox economists are defined more by a left ideology than by a shared understanding of the nature of orthodox economics and of what should replace it. Heterodox economists cannot agree on what heterodoxy means. Employing insights from the sociology and philosophy of science, the author explores the marginalization of heterodox economics in the academic community and its exclusion from positions of power. This perceptive book also shows how the weaknesses of a particular version of heterodoxy stemming from the Cambridge economics of the 1970s have been replicated globally in much of contemporary heterodox economics. The author considers how the field can adapt in order to improve and sustain its presence in academia. Social scientists and economists will find this book both enlightening and useful. In particular, it will be invaluable to student networks and others critical of mainstream economics, and to those teaching economics at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
£27.95
Princeton University Press The Wealth of a Nation: Institutional Foundations of English Capitalism
How the development of legal and financial institutions transformed Britain into the world’s first capitalist countryModern capitalism emerged in England in the eighteenth century and ushered in the Industrial Revolution, though scholars have long debated why. Some attribute the causes to technological change while others point to the Protestant ethic, liberal ideas, and cultural change. The Wealth of a Nation reveals the crucial developments in legal and financial institutions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that help to explain this dramatic transformation.Offering new perspectives on the early history of capitalism, Geoffrey Hodgson describes how, for the emerging British economy, pressures from without were as important as evolution from within. He shows how intensive military conflicts overseas forced the state to undertake major financial, administrative, legal, and political reforms. The resulting institutional changes not only bolstered the British war machine—they fostered the Industrial Revolution. Hodgson traces how Britain’s war capitalism led to an expansion of its empire and a staggering increase in the slave trade, and how the institutional innovations that radically transformed the British economy were copied and adapted by countries around the world.A landmark work of scholarship, The Wealth of a Nation sheds light on how external factors such as war gave rise to institutional arrangements that facilitated finance, banking, and investment, and offers a conceptual framework for further research into the origins and consolidation of capitalism in England.
£31.50
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Rethinking Economics: Markets, Technology and Economic Evolution
Rethinking Economics is a major contribution to the reconstruction of an economic theory appropriate to the 21st century.Just as major changes are occurring in the world economy, economics itself is on the brink of change. Orthodox economics is now widely criticized for its sterility and its limited applicability to real-world economic problems. Standard theoretical tools such as general equilibrium theory are now regarded, even by their leading practitioners, as highly limited and problematic. New ideas from chaos theory, evolutionary modelling and institutional theory point to new, non-reductionist approaches in which there are units of analysis other than the atomistic individual. This work addresses core economic concepts, such as individual choice, prices, markets, production, industries, technology, innovation and economic growth in the light of these developments.This unique, up-to-date volume makes a seminal contribution at the frontiers of economic theory.
£99.00
The University of Chicago Press Darwin's Conjecture: The Search for General Principles of Social and Economic Evolution
Of paramount importance to the natural sciences, the principles of Darwinism, which involve variation, inheritance, and selection, are increasingly of interest to social scientists as well. But no one has provided a truly rigorous account of how the principles apply to the evolution of human society - until now. In "Darwin's Conjecture", Geoffrey Hodgson and Thorbjorn Knudsen reveal how the British naturalist's core concepts apply to a wide range of phenomena, including business practices, legal systems, technology, and even science itself. They also critique some prominent objections to applying Darwin to social science, arguing that ultimately Darwinism functions as a general theoretical framework for stimulating further inquiry. Social scientists who adopt a Darwinian approach, they contend, can then use it to frame and help develop new explanatory theories and predictive models. This truly groundbreaking work at long last makes the powerful conceptual tools of Darwin available to the social sciences and will be welcomed by scholars and students from a range of disciplines.
£28.78
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Capitalism in Evolution: Global Contentions – East and West
For much of the twentieth century, rivalry existed between centrally planned and capitalist solutions to the problems of economic stability and growth. This changed in the 1990s. In that same decade, the period of rapid growth of the Japanese economy came to an end and by the close of the century, the American model of capitalism was seen as the only possible option.Modern capitalism has achieved spectacular rates of innovation and growth but the system is still menaced by financial crises and economic recessions. Furthermore, there is an unacknowledged diversity of capitalist systems. Contributors to this volume argue that to understand capitalism in evolution, this diversity of systems and approaches must be taken into account and their individual evolutions analysed.This book represents a major understanding of the evolution of capitalism in the twenty first century and brings together a distinguished group of experts with perspectives from America, Europe and Japan.
£95.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Elgar Companion to Institutional and Evolutionary Economics
This authoritative and comprehensive reference work introduces the reader to the major concepts and leading contributors in the field of institutional and evolutionary economics. The Companion's coverage includes contributions by leading international authors working in the traditions of Thorstein Veblen, Joseph Schumpeter and the new institutionalist economics. Featuring accessible, informative and provocative entries on all the significant areas, this book breaks new ground by bringing together widely dispersed but theoretically congruent ideas for the first time. Several entries assess evolutionary and institutional aspects in the work of otherwise orthodox political economists, such as Adam Smith, Alfred Marshall and Friedrich A. von Hayek. Although some attention has been given to the critique of mainstream neoclassical economics, the principal focus has been on the affirmative presentation of institutional and evolutionary economics as alternatives to both the neoclassical and Marxian schools. An important feature of the work is the inclusion of a large number of entries addressing the foundations of inquiry into political economy.As the best single reference source on institutional and evolutionary economics now available, this two volume set will be welcomed by students and teachers in economics, scholars in related social sciences and government policymakers.
£250.00
