Great Thinkers in Economics – serie

Starting with an overview of Modigliani's life, the authors explain and assess his influential theories, including his theory of the life-cycle hypothesis of saving; the famous Modigliani-Miller theorem in corporate finance; stabilisation policy; econometric model building and forecasting, and his legacy and influence on contemporary economics.

This book explores the life and work of Nicholas Kaldor, examining the influences that shaped and inspired his writings, and looks in detail at the crucial part he played in twentieth-century economics. Offering a comprehensive intellectual portrait of Kaldor, this book explains this great economist's importance in his own time and in ours.

This book looks at the life of Keynes leading up to the writing of his seminal General Theory , examines the General Theory in detail, and explores how it differs from classical theory. The impact of Keynes's work on the economy postwar and up to the present day is also assessed.

This book examines the life and work of John Kenneth Galbraith, a truly iconic figure in progressive modern liberalism and a seminal influence in the rise of heterodox political economy. It emphasizes his continuing relevance to the current research of today, and to the multifaceted crisis of democratic capitalism.

The British economist Arthur Cecil Pigou (1877-59) reconceptualized economics as a theory of economic welfare and a logic of policy analysis. Misconceptions of his work abound. This book, an essay in demystification and the first reading of the entire Pigouvian oeuvre, stresses his pragmatic and historicist premises.

This book presents the authentic Adam Smith and explores his underlying approach and radical thinking, aiming to re-establish his original intentions. The book provides a crucial reminder of how relevant Adam Smith was in his own time, and how relevant he remains as we experience the worldwide spread of opulence today.

This book offers a new account of David Ricardo's political economy that is both scholarly and accessible. It provides a detailed overview of the secondary literature on Ricardo down to 2012, and discusses alternative perspectives on his work, including those of Marxians, neoclassicals and Sraffians.

Sir Arthur Lewis was the first development economist, the first Afro-Caribbean to hold a professorial chair at a British university and the first black man to win the Nobel prize for economics. However, he believed his contributions to the well-being of the poor through social and political activism were as important as his economics.

This book summarizes the life and work of economist Kenneth E. Boulding. Boulding was a prolific writer, teacher and Quaker. Starting his career as an orthodox Keynesian economist, he eventually adopted a transdisciplinary approach to economic topics including peace, conflict and defense, environmental problems, human betterment and evolution.

This is an intellectual biography of G.L.S. Shackle, economic theorist, philosopher, and historian of economic theory. It explores how Shackle challenged the aims, methods and assumptions of mainstream economics. He stressed macroeconomic instability, and developed a radically subjectivist theory for behavioural economics and business planning.

This book examines the work of Milton Friedman, which is amongst the most significant in modern economics and, equally, amongst the most contentious. Although Friedman became most famous for his views on money and monetary policy as well as his public writings, a large and important part of his work concerned other aspects of economics.All parts of Friedman’s work are considered here, as is his account of his own life. By focussing on what Friedman wrote rather than what later authors have written about him, this volume seeks to analyse the character, qualities and development of the arguments he made. This text is important for anyone interested in this both celebrated and reviled figure in economics. James Forder clarifies messages in Friedman’s writing that have otherwise so often been obscured by academic and public controversy.

James Buchanan (1919-2013), economist and philosopher, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1986 for his original theory of political democracy as market exchange. Buchanan believed economics should be concerned with liberty, individualism and equity.

James Tobin, 1981 Nobel laureate in economics, was the outstanding monetary economist among American Keynesian economists. This book, the first written about James Tobin, examines his leading role as a Keynesian macroeconomist and monetary economist, and considers the continuing relevance of his ideas.

This book argues for the reconsideration of Frank Knight and the Chicago School of Economic thought in a post-Financial Crisis world. The author posits that the discussion of the founder of "Knightian Uncertainty" can reveal new insights into what the economy can do for society, as his prophetic insights can offer a view into the soul of the modern economy. The book first considers Frank Knight's early history and the unfolding of his economic philosophy before going on to evaluate his enduring legacy. All those interested in the influence of political and religious philosophy on economics will be delighted to discover the lasting impact of this great economic thinker.

Starting with an overview of Modigliani's life, the authors explain and assess his influential theories, including his theory of the life-cycle hypothesis of saving; the famous Modigliani-Miller theorem in corporate finance; stabilisation policy; econometric model building and forecasting, and his legacy and influence on contemporary economics.

This book explores the life and work of Nicholas Kaldor, examining the influences that shaped and inspired his writings, and looks in detail at the crucial part he played in twentieth-century economics. Offering a comprehensive intellectual portrait of Kaldor, this book explains this great economist's importance in his own time and in ours.

This book offers a new account of David Ricardo's political economy that is both scholarly and accessible. It provides a detailed overview of the secondary literature on Ricardo down to 2012, and discusses alternative perspectives on his work, including those of Marxians, neoclassicals and Sraffians.

Sir Arthur Lewis was the first development economist, the first Afro-Caribbean to hold a professorial chair at a British university and the first black man to win the Nobel prize for economics. However, he believed his contributions to the well-being of the poor through social and political activism were as important as his economics.

This book summarizes the life and work of economist Kenneth E. Boulding. Boulding was a prolific writer, teacher and Quaker. Starting his career as an orthodox Keynesian economist, he eventually adopted a transdisciplinary approach to economic topics including peace, conflict and defense, environmental problems, human betterment and evolution.

This is an intellectual biography of G.L.S. Shackle, economic theorist, philosopher, and historian of economic theory. It explores how Shackle challenged the aims, methods and assumptions of mainstream economics. He stressed macroeconomic instability, and developed a radically subjectivist theory for behavioural economics and business planning.

James Buchanan (1919-2013), economist and philosopher, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1986 for his original theory of political democracy as market exchange. Buchanan believed economics should be concerned with liberty, individualism and equity.

James Tobin, 1981 Nobel laureate in economics, was the outstanding monetary economist among American Keynesian economists. This book, the first written about James Tobin, examines his leading role as a Keynesian macroeconomist and monetary economist, and considers the continuing relevance of his ideas.

This book discusses the developments of Sraffian-Ricardian economics, as well as looking at Sraffa's critique of the Marshallian theory of the firm and the industry, his edition of Ricardo's Works and correspondence, his book on production of commodities by means of commodities, and his influence Antonio Gramsci and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

This succinct overview of Marshall's life and work as an economist sets his major economic contributions in perspective, by looking at his education, his travel, his teaching at Cambridge, Oxford and Bristol, his policy views as presented to government inquiries and his political and social opinions.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of Robertson's life and work. Uncovering the sources of Robertson's inspiration and ideas and the all-important causal relationship between the man and his work, this fascinating account is a must-read for all interested in rediscovering this great economist.

This study examines the manner in which Gunnar Myrdal's intellectual style left an impact on the shaping of Sweden's welfare state, on race relations in the United States, on post-World War Two economic cooperation in Europe, and on the analysis of Third World economic development.

This book explores the life and work of Austrian-British economist, political economist, and social philosopher, Friedrich Hayek. Set within a context of the recent financial crisis, alongside the renewed interest in Hayek and the Hayek-Keynes debate, the book introduces the main themes of Hayek’s thought. These include the division of knowledge, the importance of rules, the problems with planning and economic management, and the role of constitutional constraints in enabling the emergence of unplanned order in the market by limiting the perverse incentives and distortions in information often associated with political discretion. Key to understanding Hayek's development as a thinker is his emphasis on the knowledge problem that economic decision makers face and how alternative institutional arrangements either hinder or assist them in overcoming that epistemic dilemma. Hayek saw order emerging from individual action and responsibility under the appropriate institutional order that itself emerges from actors discovering new and better ways to coordinate their behavior. This book will be of interest to all those keen to gain a deeper understanding of this great 20th century thinker in economics.

This book argues for the reconsideration of Frank Knight and the Chicago School of Economic thought in a post-Financial Crisis world. The author posits that the discussion of the founder of "Knightian Uncertainty" can reveal new insights into what the economy can do for society, as his prophetic insights can offer a view into the soul of the modern economy. The book first considers Frank Knight's early history and the unfolding of his economic philosophy before going on to evaluate his enduring legacy. All those interested in the influence of political and religious philosophy on economics will be delighted to discover the lasting impact of this great economic thinker.

This book discusses the developments of Sraffian-Ricardian economics, as well as looking at Sraffa's critique of the Marshallian theory of the firm and the industry, his edition of Ricardo's Works and correspondence, his book on production of commodities by means of commodities, and his influence Antonio Gramsci and Ludwig Wittgenstein.