The main objective of politicians is to maximise economic growth, which heavily drives political policy and decision-making. Critics of the maximisation of growth as the central aim of economic policy have argued that growth in itself is not necessarily a good thing, particularly for the environment; however, what would replace the system and how it would be measured are questions that have been rarely answered satisfactorily. First published in 1991, this book was the first to lay out an entirely new set of practical proposals for developing new economic measurement tools, with the aim of being sustainable, ‘green’ and human-centred. Victor Anderson proposes that a whole set of indicators, rather than a single one, should play all the roles that GNP (Gross National Product) is responsible for. With a detailed overview of the central debates between the advocates and opponents of continued economic growth and an analysis of the various proposals for modification, this title will be of particular value to students interested in the diversity of measurement tools and the notion that economies should also be evaluated by their social and environmental consequences.

This study, first published in 1986, provides a systematic account of the processes and structure of class formation in the major advanced capitalist societies. The focus is on the organizational mechanisms of class cohesion and division, theoretically deriving from a neo-Marxian perspective. Chapters consider the organization and structure of the ‘corporate ruling class’, the middle class and the working class, and are brought together in an overarching analysis of the organization of class in relation to the state and the economy. This title will be of particular interest to students researching the impact of recession on societal structure and the processes of political class struggle, as well as those with a more general interest in the socio-economic theories of Marx, Engels and Weber.

This book is a discussion of and an argument for alternatives to the present structure of production in the United States—alternatives that would change the control of capital and how it is used. First published 1980, Carnoy and Shearer discuss the economic problems facing the 1980s and argue for a strategy to transform capital from corporations to the public. A book that remains relevant in today’s political economic climate, this title is ideal for students of economics and politics, as well as general readers interested in past and present economic problems and potential solutions.

First published in 1976, Economics and Demography discusses how the world population doubled in the thirty years prior to its publication, and considers the economic implications of this demographic transformation. Professor Bowen, with many years’ experience of research into the economic and statistical aspects of population and world development, provides a survey of the population of the world, and of how political economists have explained population growth. The author’s survey looks first at the mechanisms of growth – fertility, mortality, and migration – followed by an account of theories of growth from Adam Smith to the present day. Professor Bowen, a former fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, who taught at universities in England, America, Australia and Asia, writes from the point of view of a political economist rather than a demographer, and Economics and Demography is of particular value to students of development, development economics and demography within departments of economics, economic history and geography.

The 4 volumes in this set, originally published between 1988 and 1997, draw together research by leading academics in the area of sustainability and provides a rigorous examination of related key issues. The volumes examine environmental policy and plans for a sustainable future. This set will be of particular interest to students of Environmental Studies.

First published in 1981, Professor Mishan’s Economic Efficiency and Social Welfare: Selected Essays on Fundamental Aspects of the Economic Theory of Social Welfare is a collection of 22 pioneering essays written while the author was teaching at the London School of Economics and chosen to indicate landmarks in the development of his own thought. Professor Mishan, who also enjoys an international reputation as a popular writer on the impact of modern economic growth on social welfare, is among the foremost authorities in the field of resource allocation, and his influence in his subject area has been profound. Mishan’s essays, while generally accessible to the layman due to the author’s lucidity, his economy in the use of mathematical notation and his concern with perspective, are invaluable reading for the economics undergraduate. The essays are particularly relevant to upper level students of project appraisal, welfare economics and cost benefit analysis requiring a coherent survey of their field of study.

First Published in 1990 Economic Policy Alternatives for the Latin American Crisis aims to explore macroeconomic policy alternatives available to Latin American policymakers from both a theoretical and an empirical perspective. Three decades of sustained growth and dramatic gains in levels of economic development in Latin America ended in the 1980s. Latin American countries found themselves plagued by foreign debts, high real interest rates, accelerated inflation, increasing poverty with malnutrition and high unemployment. This book presents a quantitative framework in which to evaluate the effectiveness of various types of monetary and fiscal policies under the conditions of inflation, declining growth, and debt. A macroeconomic policy model is constructed and using data from Ecuador the model is estimated empirically. The results of these simulations suggest some promising policy options to replace the current policy. This book is an interesting read for scholars and researchers of Latin American economics, macroeconomics and development economics.

The Routledge Handbook of Comparative Economic Systems examines the institutional bases of economies, and the different ways in which economic activity can function, be organized and governed. It examines the complexity of this academic and research field, assessing the place of comparative economic studies within economics, paying due attention to future perspectives, and presenting critically important questions, analytical methods and relative approaches. This complements the recent revival of the systemic view of economic governance, which was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and likely even more the renewed East-West clash epitomized by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the West’s reaction to it. The Handbook is divided into five parts. Each part deals with an issue of relevance for the discipline. The first and second parts look at the subject, content and approach of the discipline and its comparative method. The third part looks at the idiosyncratic nature of different economic systems and their constituent elements. The fourth part considers the outcomes that different economic systems generate and how these outcomes change following the evolution and transformation of economic systems. The last part takes stock and looks ahead at the challenges, from a theoretical and applied perspective, and the exogenous and endogenous factors promoting the advancement of the discipline, including the interaction between and competition among varied approaches and opposing paradigms. The Handbook brings together leading international contributors to reflect on the relevant debates and case or country studies, provides a balanced overview of the results achieved and current knowledge, as well as evolving issues and new fields of research. The book provides researchers, students and analysts with a complete, critical and forward-looking presentation and analysis of the content, development, challenges and perspectives of comparative economic studies.

This title was first published in 2003. Our cherished economic indicators of income, product, consumption and capital fail in taking a long-term view of social progress. They do not account for environmental deterioration, which impairs the quality of life of present and future generations, and hence the sustainability of development. "Greening" the conventional national (and corporate) accounts introduces environmental impacts and costs into these accounts and balances. The result is a new compass for steering the economy towards sustainability, which may change not only our main measures of economic performance but also the basic tenets of environmental and resource policies. This book presents methodological advances and case studies of environmental accounting, and discusses their use in environmental management and policies. In their introduction, the editors provide a critical perspective of historical developments and current debates.