Walter Allan – författare

The Net Book Agreement dates back to 1957 and was examined in the Restrictive Practices Court in 1962. The Judgement was favourable on the grounds the abolition would reduce the number of stockholding bookshops and the size of their stocks, cause book prices to rise and the number of titles published to fall. None of these arguments has withstood the test of time. The introduction of 'sale or return' conditions by publishers has reduced the risk of over-stocking by bookshops, thus enabling them, in the absence of the NBA, to introduce the practice open to other members of the retail trade of opting for a low price-high volume strategy. The authors of this Hobart Paper examine the defences of the Net Book Agreement both analytically and empirically and conclude that, whatever merit they may have had when accepted by the Restrictive Practices Court in 1962, they can no longer be maintained. Publishers therefore, operate what amounts to a cartel since book prices are geared to the 'going rate' for a mass market paperback or academic text. There is no longer a sound economic argument in favour of retaining the Net Book Agreement.

This book brings together articles by international political economists on Keynesian economics and its legacy. The book begins with Don Patinkin's assessment of Keynes' early life and focuses attention on Keynes' contribution to monetary economics. Among the many controversies surrounding "The general theory", Axel Leijonhufvud takes the view that the Keynesian revolution began and stayed on the wrong track. Leland Yeager refutes the idea that Keynesian economics was responsible for the general prosperity in the indusrialized world immediately after the Second World War. Although Karl Brunner is not fundamentally against Keynes' methodological approach, he is critical of his reliance on fiscal rather than monetary policy. Whereas Terence Hutchison defends Keynes, both against his critics but also against Keynesians, and argues that Keynes would not have shared their interpretation of his work on fundamental grounds. Patrick Minford traces the roots of neoclassical economics, based on the concept of rational expectations, back to "the general theory". In the final chapter, Stephen Littlechild offers an alternative to Keynesian economics by focusing attention on the Austrian school.This book represents, therefore, for the first time a collection of appraisals of Keynesian economics' impact theory and policy that will be of use to all students of macroeconomics and the history of economic thought. Walter Allan is publishing director for the Institute of Economic Affairs in London and has held senior editorial positions with Allen and Unwin and Macmillan. He is the author of "Concise 'A' level Economics", "Economics at University" and co-author of "Competition and Choice in the Publishing industry".