Frank Hahn - Böcker

The connection between economics and ethics is as old as economics itself, and central to both disciplines. It is an issue that has recently attracted much interest from economists and philosophers. The connection is, in part, a result of the desire of economists to make policy prescriptions, which clearly require some normative criteria. More deeply, much economic theory is founded on the assumption of utility maximization, thereby creating an immediate connection between the foundations of economics and the philosophical literature on utilitarianism and reasons for action. In fact, some influential contemporary approaches to ethics advocate decision-theoretic or game-theoretic foundations of some sort for moral principles, while several economic theorists are now prepared to take into account the ethical dimensions of rational decisions. As a result, it appears that economics and ethics are somehow inextricably linked through theories of rational decision-making.Most of us would probably find it disturbing to concede that there are contradictions between the prescriptions of rationality and the requirements of moral `rightness'. The essays included in the present volume provide a detailed analysis of the connections between ethics and economics as viewed from several different - sometimes conflicting - perspectives. This book, the outcome of a joint meeting of philosophers and economists, has three main themes: the validity of utilitarianism much used by economists, the notion of fairness and equity, and the coherence of the rationality postulate of economics. The book does not reach any final conclusions, but it greatly illuminates the exact areas of possible disagreement and indeed the open-ended nature of ethical reasoning. There is much that economists, and especially welfare economists, can learn from these papers - not least circumspection.

This collection offers a stimulating and insightful overview of the main issues affecting long-term economic growth. The novelty of this book is that it brings together two strands of economic literature, growth and development theories. The communication between different approaches is crucial as it is increasingly understood that growth hinges upon institutional and policy aspects that are generally neglected in the stylized models of growth but highly relevant for developing countries. Government policies and institution design become central to the explanation of divergent growth paths.

The virtues and failings of market economies are at present widely debated and the outcome of the debate is of practical importance. This book contains essays that address these issues of economic policy ranging from privatization of industry and financial markets to education and the proposal for an internal market in the health service. Apart from two general theoretical pieces, particular markets, and proposals for creating such markets, are studied.

In recent years certain leading figures in the world of economics have called the usefulness of general equilibrium theory into question. This superb new book brings together leading economic theorists with important contributions to the ongoing debate.General equilibrium theorists including Michio Morishima, Michael Magill and Martine Quinzii debate strengths, weaknesses and possible futures with leading thinkers such as Herb Gintis, Pierangelo Garegnani and Duncan Foley, who seek to explain the rejection of general equilibrium. Uniquely, none of the contributors portray general equilibrium theory as the perfect guide to market economies actual behaviour, but rather illustrate that there is insufficient acquaintance with existing alternatives and that general equilibrium theory is often used as an ideal 'benchmark'.

In recent years certain leading figures in the world of economics have called the usefulness of general equilibrium theory into question. This superb new book brings together leading economic theorists with important contributions to the ongoing debate.General equilibrium theorists including Michio Morishima, Michael Magill and Martine Quinzii debate strengths, weaknesses and possible futures with leading thinkers such as Herb Gintis, Pierangelo Garegnani and Duncan Foley, who seek to explain the rejection of general equilibrium. Uniquely, none of the contributors portray general equilibrium theory as the perfect guide to market economies actual behaviour, but rather illustrate that there is insufficient acquaintance with existing alternatives and that general equilibrium theory is often used as an ideal 'benchmark'.

The virtues and failings of market economies are at present widely debated and the outcome of the debate is of practical importance. This book contains essays that address these issues of economic policy ranging from privatisation of industry and financial markets to education and the proposal for an internal market in the health service. Apart from two theoretical pieces, particular markets, and proposals for creating such markets, are studied. The contributors are distinguished specialists in their field of economics and their analysis offers important lessons for social and political philosophy and will generate considerable interest.

This collection offers a stimulating and insightful overview of the main issues affecting long-term economic growth.

The total synthesis of structurally complex natural products has challenged and inspired generations of chemists. However, despite their history as privileged bioactivity-rich scaffolds, the use of natural products in drug discovery has waned.Recent developments in biocatalysis have resulted in the application of enzymes for the construction of complex molecules. This dynamically developing field is increasingly becoming a competitive alternative for classical total synthesis. Giving readers an in-depth overview of the current state of the field, this book will be of wide interest to natural products and drug researchers with a chemical or biochemical background and biocatalysis experts in academia and industry.Chapters include emerging enzymes from biosynthetic pathways, enzymes for building block synthesis and late-stage derivatisation as well as the formation of specific structural elements, such as chiral amines and heterocycles. Other important aspects for the efficient chemoenzymatic synthesis of bioactive molecules include the development of multi-enzyme cascades, engineered enzymes and strategic considerations for the use of biocatalysts in the synthesis of natural products and synthetic drugs.