Economic theory and philosophy Books

The ideas of neoliberalism perpetuate a disembedded and dichotomised view of economy-ecology relations. The renewed interest in climate change and sustainability attests to the lack of progress achieved by the 'sustainable development' regime and to the...

This new book brings together leading voices from the field of economics, theology and ethics to consider the contribution of religion to social capital, through critical dialogue with mainstream economics and other social sciences.

This book offers the reader a new perspective on free-market economics, one in which the defense of markets is no longer based upon the utilitarian claim that free markets are more efficient; rather, the defense of markets rests upon the moral argument...

Heinz Kurz is recognised internationally as a leading economic theorist and a foremost historian of economic thought. This book pays tribute to his outstanding contributions on the occasion of his 65th birthday by bringing together a unique collection of...

The emergence of China as a major world economy is of great importance to the global political economy and to international business. There has been much research on the macro level of institutional reform but little detailed work on the grassroots level...

This collection of essays honors the life and work of one of the most prominent and fervent heterodox economists, Frederic S. Lee, who has been at the heart of the heterodox economics movements for the past three decades. Authors in this book demonstrate...

The concept of money illusion, a recently resurrected phenomenon of behavioral economics, is a real fact of economic life, the potential role of which should no longer be dismissed. Despite money illusion being utterly suppressed by mainstream...

Marx claims that unselfishness is a child of (workplace) culture, whereas the gene is selfish. If Marx is right then the prerequisite for overthrowing capitalism is a system which both leverages selfishness and creates solidarity between workers. This...

Economists occupy leading positions in many different sectors including central and private banks, multinational corporations, the state and the media, as well as serving as policy consultants on everything from health to the environment and security...

"Jim Marrs can't be ignored. Few in this country shout about The Truth louder than he."--Dallas Observer In The Trillion-Dollar Conspiracy, Jim Marrs, the New York Times bestselling author of Rule by Secrecy and The Rise of The Fourth Reich, offers a...

The book seeks to analyse Ricardo's works during the time of the outbreak of the Second World War. The book covers different aspects of his works and contains elements which may be interesting to foreign and even Japanese readers today without...

Evolutionary Social Theory and Political Economy traces the origins, extension, marginalization and revival of evolutionary approaches to social theory from the Enlightenment through the beginning of the 21st century. It demonstrates how changes in...

'Situational Analysis' represents Karl Popper's methodological proposal for the social sciences.

This book explores the evolution of economic theorizing through the lens of metaphors. The edited volume sheds light on metaphors which have been used by a range of key thinkers and schools of thought to describe economic crises, business cycles and...

This book constitutes an overview of recent developments in political economy in general, and Marxist value theory in particular. The implications of value theory for bank credit, inflation and deflation are fully explored.

Providing an overview of the future research challenges for economists and social scientists concerning population ageing, pensions, health and social care in Europe, this book examines how scientific research can provide cutting-edge evidence on income...

Countries that spend scarce resources to import arms from abroad often require arms sellers to 'reinvest' part or all of the proceeds back into the arms-importing country. These so-called 'arms trade offsets' are therefore thought to enhance domestic...

Recent years have seen a dramatic re-emergence of interest in ontology. From philosophy and social sciences to artificial intelligence and computer science, ontology is gaining interdisciplinary influence as a  popular tool for applied research...

The defence of the market and economic freedom have been the main objectives of the investigations by liberal thinkers such as Milton Friedman, Gary Becker, F Hayek and L Von Mises. Bearing in mind that the first two economists are the maximum exponents...

Elements of Pure Economics was one of the most influential works in the history of economics, and the single most important contribution to the marginal revolution. Walras' theory of general equilibrium remains one of the cornerstones of economic theory...

The 'new economy' has been criticised greatly of late, and after the speculation and hype that surrounded the internet bubble, this is hardly surprising. This book, first published in French and updated here, however treats the 'new economy' as a...

Feminist economists have demonstrated that interrogating hierarchies based on gender, ethnicity, class and nation results in an economics that is biased and more faithful to empirical evidence than are mainstream accounts.This rigorous and comprehensive...

This intriguing new book examines and analyses the role of critical realism in economics and specifically how this line of thought can be applied to the real world. With contributions from such varying commentators as Sheila Dow, Wendy Olsen and Fred...

First published in 1975, this guide to economic policy outlines an economic philosophy for reform for the 'intelligent radical' who seeks to address the issues of liberty and equality within society. Among other issues, the book looks at policies to...

The authors of this book argue that post-war fiscal and monetary policies in the U.S. are prone to more frequent and more destabilizing domestic and international financial crises. So, in the aftermath of the one that erupted in 2008, they propose that...

This book presents a distinctive version of a contractarian approach to law and justice. The work argues that law and justice are social norms that arise from a process of social evolution, and are binding only if and to the extent that they are mutually...

This exploration provides a fresh perspective on both Hegelian themes and institutional theory, emphasising the relevance of Hegel's work for present-day theoretical discussions, whilst also shedding light on issues that are at the heart of fundamental...

The contributions to this edited collection, first published in 1983, are based on two underlying themes. The first examines the major recession that took hold of the global economy during the 1980s and assesses its effects on key areas of social...

 Heinz Kurz is recognised internationally as a leading economic theorist and a foremost historian of economic thought. This book pays tribute to his outstanding contributions by bringing together a unique collection of new essays by distinguished...

First published in 1962, The Theory of Economic Integration provides an excellent exposition of a complex and far-reaching topic.

First published in 1938 this Routledge Revival is a reissue of the autobiography of influential economist J. A. Hobson. A comprehensive work, it details many aspects of his life including his background, influences, ethicical...

The past two decades of market operation has generated welfare and economic growth in Western countries, but increasing income inequalities, depletion of the natural environment and the current financial crisis have led to an intense debate about the...

Making sense of economists and their world, Arjo Klamer shows that economics is as much about how people interact as it is about the models, the mathematics, the econometrics, the theories and the ideas emerging from the literature.

Vision and visuality are two concepts widely discussed and debated in philosophy and social science literature. Some authors even suggest that the entire Western intellectual tradition is strongly shaped by the paradigm of vision; the inspection and...

Fifty Major Economists provides an introduction to the life, work and ideas of the people who have shaped the economic landscape from the seventeenth century to the present day. For this third edition, the book has been thoroughly revised and...

The extent to which firms can react creatively to rather than adjust passively against new techniques and practices is dependent on their command of technological knowledge and relative competence. This book explores the characteristics of the path...

What is the source of our environmental problems? Why is there in modern societies a persistent tendency to environmental damage? From within neoclassical economic theory there is a straightforward answer to those questions: it is because environmental...

The past twenty years have witnessed a surge in behavioral studies of law and law-related issues. These studies have challenged the application of the rational-choice model to legal analysis and introduced a more accurate and empirically grounded model...

Mainstream economics offers a perspective on the gift which is constructed around exchange, axioms of self-interest, instrumental rationality and utility-maximisation - concepts that predominate within conventional forms of economic analysis. Recognising...

Hobson's The Evolution of Modern Capitalism was first published in 1894, although this reissue is of the fourth edition, published in 1926. The work traces the developments in trade and industry which characterised the first decades of the twentieth...

The Physiology of Industry is a remarkable work which set out to challenge the current theory surrounding the economics of labour, supply and demand. First published in 1889, Hobson's first book outlines some of the key areas of his theory of...

The articles in this volume, originally published in a variety of journals between 1890 and 1937, deal with the themes of the distribution of income and welfare. Highlighting the contribution which Hobson made to welfare economics and the way in which he...

Over the last two centuries, artists, critics, philosophers and theorists have contributed significantly to such representations of "the economy" as sublime. It might even be said that much of the emergence of a distinctly "modern" art in the West is...

Cognitive Developments in Economics proposes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of human problem solving, choice, decision-making and change, to explain economic transactions, and the nature and evolution of organisations and institutions. The...

This book follows on from the author's volume Russian Economic Development and although it encompasses some of the same material it charts the history and progress of the Soviet economy down to the efforts at reconstruction after The Second World War. A...