Great Economic Thinkers presents an accessible introduction to the lives and works of thirteen of the most influential economists of modern times: Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Alfred Marshall, Joseph Schumpeter, John Maynard Keynes, and Nobel Prize winners Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, John Forbes Nash, Jr., Daniel Kahneman, Amartya Sen, and Joseph Stiglitz. Free from confusing jargon and equations, the book describes key concepts put forward by these thinkers and shows how they have come to shape how we see ourselves and our society. Readers will consider the role played by the division of labor, wages and rents, cognitive biases, saving, entrepreneurship, game theory, liberalism, laissez-faire, and welfare economics. All of the economists featured have had a profound influence on our attitudes towards market intervention and regulation, taxation, trade, and monetary policy. Each of the chapters—all written by an acknowledged expert—combines a biographical outline of a single thinker with critical analysis of their contribution to economic thought. If you’ve ever wanted to find out more about the theorists who gave us the invisible hand, Marxism, Keynesianism, creative destruction, behavioral economics, and many other foundational concepts of economics, this collection of essays is the perfect place to start.

In this concise yet comprehensive history, Heinz D. Kurz traces the long arc of economic thought from its emergence in ancient Greece to its systematic presentation among the classical thinkers of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to the influential work of scholars such as Paul Samuelson and Kenneth J. Arrow. With a keen eye for how economic insights are acquired, lost, and reborn, Kurz focuses on the dynamic individuals who give old ideas new life and the historical events that provoke different approaches and theories. Over the course of this journey, Kurz explains what Adam Smith meant by the "invisible hand"; how Karl Marx's "law of motion" works in capitalist economies; the roots of the Austrian economists' emphasis on the problems of information, incomplete knowledge, and uncertainty; John Maynard Keynes's principle of effective demand and economic stabilization; and the insights and challenges offered by growth theory, welfare economics, game theory, and more. He concludes with a deft summation of world economists' major concerns today and their critical relation to world events.

Assembling contributions from top thinkers in the field, thiscompanion offers a comprehensive and sophisticated exploration ofthe history of economic thought. The volume has a threefold focus:the history of economic thought, the history of economics as adiscipline, and the historiography of economic thought. Provides sophisticated introductions to a vast array oftopics. Focuses on a unique range of topics, including the history ofeconomic thought, the history of the discipline of economics, andthe historiography of economic thought.

A reexamination of the major economic theories of the past two hundred years discusses how long-dead, famous economists such as Adam Smith and others would handle today's economic problems.

The story of how economic reasoning came to dominate Washington between the 1960s and 1980s—and why it continues to constrain progressive ambitions today For decades, Democratic politicians have frustrated progressives by tinkering around the margins of policy while shying away from truly ambitious change. What happened to bold political vision on the left, and what shrunk the very horizons of possibility? In Thinking like an Economist, Elizabeth Popp Berman tells the story of how a distinctive way of thinking—an “economic style of reasoning”—became dominant in Washington between the 1960s and the 1980s and how it continues to dramatically narrow debates over public policy today. Introduced by liberal technocrats who hoped to improve government, this way of thinking was grounded in economics but also transformed law and policy. At its core was an economic understanding of efficiency, and its advocates often found themselves allied with Republicans and in conflict with liberal Democrats who argued for rights, equality, and limits on corporate power. By the Carter administration, economic reasoning had spread throughout government policy and laws affecting poverty, healthcare, antitrust, transportation, and the environment. Fearing waste and overspending, liberals reined in their ambitions for decades to come, even as Reagan and his Republican successors argued for economic efficiency only when it helped their own goals. A compelling account that illuminates what brought American politics to its current state, Thinking like an Economist also offers critical lessons for the future. With the political left resurgent today, Democrats seem poised to break with the past—but doing so will require abandoning the shibboleth of economic efficiency and successfully advocating new ways of thinking about policy.

This book, now in its third edition, provides an elementary introduction to the history of economic thought. A chapter is devoted to each of the major developments in the history of the discipline, before a concluding chapter in which the authors draw together some of the key strands and comment on some major works and textbooks in the history of economic ideas. They also reflect on the changes in economic thinking within the general context of the philosophy of science. This new edition continues to offer the clear and concise coverage of the main schools of thought and paradigm shifts in the field that has become the volume’s trademark. The book has been thoroughly updated throughout in order to reflect changes in the landscape of the field. Details on key thinkers, and aspects of the story such as the evolution of scholarship on growth and development, have been added or expanded, whilst not compromising on the book’s concise approach. Key updates include: Biographical- and bibliographical information is brought up to date throughout the text North American economists John Kenneth Galbraith and Kenneth Ewart Boulding make their first appearance in this edition Information on developments in institutional economics, addressing in particular the works of 2009 Nobel prize winner Elinor Ostrom). This book has become well known for its innovative coverage of the economic thinking of mainland Europe, whilst also addressing Anglo-American trends. It provides a short and highly readable overview of the evolution of economic thought, usable in courses where the history of economic thought constitutes only a small part or required background reading. It continues to be an extremely useful, much needed text for all introductory economics courses in the field.

Here is a bold history of economics - the dramatic story of how the great economic thinkers built today's rigorous social science. Noted financial writer and economist Mark Skousen has revised and updated this popular work to provide more material on Adam Smith and Karl Marx, and expanded coverage of Joseph Stiglitz, 'imperfect' markets, and behavioral economics.This comprehensive, yet accessible introduction to the major economic philosophers of the past 225 years begins with Adam Smith and continues through the present day. The text examines the contributions made by each individual to our understanding of the role of the economist, the science of economics, and economic theory. To make the work more engaging, boxes in each chapter highlight little-known - and often amusing - facts about the economists' personal lives that affected their work.

This book describes the history of economic thought, focusing on the development of economic theory from Adam Smith's 'Wealth of Nations' to the late twentieth century. The text concentrates on the most important figures in the history of the economics. The book examines how important economists have reflected on the sometimes conflicting goals of efficient resource use and socially acceptable income distribution.--[book cover].

The new edition of this classroom classic retains the organizing theme of the original text, presenting the development of thought within the context of economic history. Economic ideas are framed in terms of the spheres of production and circulation, with a critical analysis of how past theorists presented their ideas.

This book offers a pluralistic vision of the way economists have dealt with the question of power in society over the last two centuries. Economists’ ideas about power are examined from political, theoretical and policy-making points of view, with additional discussion of the active participation of economists in the management of power. The book is organized into four main conceptions of power relations: i) Power as embedded in political institutions; ii) Power as emerging from the asymmetric relations caused by the unequal distribution of income and wealth; iii) Power as associated to the monopolistic or oligopolistic position held by some firms in the market; and iv) Power as the management of economic policies by the state. Mosca brings together contributions from a range of scholars to analyse how economists have considered the role of power, putting the discussion into a much needed historical context.