1st Edition

The History of Economic Ideas Economic Thought in Contemporary Context

By Brandon Dupont Copyright 2017
    262 Pages 20 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    262 Pages 20 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    The global financial crisis has drawn attention to the importance of understanding historical ideas and learning lessons from the past. However, it can sometimes be difficult to trace the connections between old ideas and modern day issues. This textbook traces the evolution of economic ideas from the ancient to the modern world by examining the contributions of the most important scholars to some of the most important ideas in economics.

    The History of Economic Ideas surveys topics that are important for the understanding of contemporary economic issues, including the ethical foundations of modern economics; ideas regarding property rights; price theory; money and interest; public finance; the theories of business cycles and economic growth; international trade; and issues related to population and resource use. The book’s originality lies in its overall organization, which allows readers to explore the development of ideas on a specific topic in detail. Yet it is brief enough to use alongside the original writings on which it is based.

    Filled with student-friendly features including a series of "Did You Know" facts and end-of-chapter questions, this book is engaging and provides invaluable reading for all students of the history of economic thought and economic issues.

    List of Illustrations

    Chapter 1: An Overview of the History of Economic Ideas

    Why Study the History of Economic Ideas?

    A Very Brief Summary of 2,000 Years of Economic Ideas

    References

    Suggestions for Further Reading and Online Resources

    Chapter 2: The Ethical Foundations of Economics

    Chapter Overview

    The Idea of Justice in Ancient Economic Thought

    Ethics and Economics in the Scholastic Tradition

    Adam Smith's Moral Philosophy

    Utilitarianism in Modern Economics

    Modern Welfare Economics: Pareto Efficiency and Social Welfare

    The Ethical Perspectives of Rawls and Sen

    Insights from Behavioral and Experimental Economics

    Chapter Conclusion

    Questions for Review and Discussion

    References

    Chapter 3: Property Rights from Plato to the 21st Century

    Chapter Overview

    Theories of Property Rights in the Ancient World

    The Idea of Property in the Middle Ages 86

    Property Rights in the Age of Enlightenment and Classical Economics

    Karl Marx’s Challenge to the Private Property System

    Modern Perspectives on Property Rights

    Chapter Conclusion

    Questions for Review and Discussion

    References

    Chapter 4: The Emergence of Modern Price Theory

    Chapter Overview

    Aristotle's Legacy: Justice in Exchange

    Just Price In the Roman Law Tradition

    The Just Price Concept in Scholastic Economic Thought

    Pre-Classical Theories of Value: Petty, Cantillon, and the Physiocrats

    The Labor Theory of Value in Classical Economics

    The Marginalist Revolution 147

    Toward Modern Price Theory: Alfred Marshall's Synthesis

    Chapter Conclusion

    Questions for Review and Discussion

    References

    Chapter 5: Money, Lending, and Interest

    Chapter Overview

    Money and Usury in the Ancient Scholarship

    Money and Interest in Early Islamic and Christian Scholarship

    The Changing Perspectives of the 16th Century

    Usury in Classical Economic Thought

    Chapter Conclusion

    Questions for Review and Discussion

    References

    Chapter 6: Public Finance in Historical Perspective

    Chapter Overview

    Taxation and Justice in the Ancient World

    Seventeenth-Century Perspectives

    The Physiocrats and "L’Impôt Unique"

    Perspectives on Debt and Taxation in Classical Economics

    Late 19th-Century Perspectives: Knut Wicksell and Henry George

    The Keynesian Revolution: New Perspectives on Government Borrowing and Taxation

    The Theory of Optimal Taxation: From Ramsey to Mirrlees

    The Flat Tax, the Negative Income Tax, and the National Sales Tax

    Chapter Conclusion

    Questions for Review and Discussion References

    Chapter 7: Depressing Thoughts—Theories of Recessions and Depressions

    Chapter Overview

    Pre-Classical Theories of Business Cycles

    The Classical Theory of Recessions

    The Economics of Business Cycles Before Keynes: Wicksell and Fisher

    The Keynesian Revolution

    The IS-LM Model

    Countering Keynes: The Austrians and the Monetarists

    New Keynesians and New Classicals

    Chapter Conclusion

    Questions for Review and Discussion

    References

    Chapter 8: Economic Growth Theory in Historical Perspective

    Chapter Overview

    Classical Economic Growth Theory

    Economic Growth as an Evolutionary Process

    Modern Growth Theory: From Harrod-Domar to Endogenous Growth

    Chapter Conclusion

    Questions for Review and Discussion

    References

    Chapter 9: The History of International Trade Theory

    Chapter Overview

    Trade Theory in Pre-Classical Economics

    Mercantilist Trade Doctrine

    Classical Theories of International Trade

    Extensions of the Classical Model: Heckscher-Ohlin, Stolper-Samuelson, and the New Trade Theory

    Empirical Evidence: International Trade and Economic Development

    Chapter Conclusion

    Questions for Review and Discussion

    References

    Chapter 10: Population, Environmental, and Resource Issues in Historical Perspective

    Chapter Overview

    Malthusian Population Theory

    Modern Versions of the Malthusian Theory

    The Stationary State and the Value of Environmental Amenities

    William Stanley Jevons and the Coal Question

    Marshall, Pigou, and the Economics of Externalities

    The Coase Theorem

    The Economics of Common Pool Resources

    Chapter Conclusion

    Questions for Review and Discussion

    References

    Index

    Biography

    Brandon Dupont is Associate Professor of Economics at Western Washington University, USA, where he teaches economic history, political economy, and the history of economic thought. His research interests include a variety of topics in American economic history and the history of economic thought.