Food preferences and tastes are among the fundamentals affecting human existence; the sociocultural, physiological and neurological factors involved have therefore been widely researched and are well documented. However, information and debate on these factors are scattered across the academic literature of different disciplines. In this volume cross-disciplinary perspectives are brought together by an international team of contributors that includes socialand biological anthropologists, ethologists and ethnologists, psychologists, neurologists and zoologists in order to provide access to the different specialisms on the topic.
This book analyses the role of rationality in economics focusing on which conditions the rationality assumption makes valuable explanations possible and what kinds of explanation are then involved.
What accounts for our tastes? Why and how do they change over time? Stanley Lieberson analyzes children's first names to develop an original theory of fashion. He disputes the commonly-held notion that tastes in names (and other fashions) simply reflect societal shifts.
Some of the finest essays in the social sciences, written by one of the twentieth century's most influential and provocative thinkers The Essential Hirschman brings together some of the finest essays in the social sciences, written by one of the twentieth century's most influential and provocative thinkers. Albert O. Hirschman was a master essayist, one who possessed the rare ability to blend the precision of economics with the elegance of literary imagination. In an age in which our academic disciplines require ever-greater specialization and narrowness, it is rare to encounter an intellectual who can transform how we think about inequality by writing about traffic, or who can slip in a quote from Flaubert to reveal something surprising about taxes. The essays gathered here span an astonishing range of topics and perspectives, including industrialization in Latin America, imagining reform as more than repair, the relationship between imagination and leadership, routine thinking and the marketplace, and the ways our arguments affect democratic life. Throughout, we find humor, unforgettable metaphors, brilliant analysis, and elegance of style that give Hirschman such a singular voice. Featuring an introduction by Jeremy Adelman that places each of these essays in context as well as an insightful afterword by Emma Rothschild and Amartya Sen, The Essential Hirschman is the ideal introduction to Hirschman for a new generation of readers and a must-have collection for anyone seeking his most important writings in one book.
The story of 1970s cars, from the new subcompact class to the last of the truly big family cars. Nearly 1,900 photos and illustrations, most in full-color. Year-by-year overviews of major news and cultural events.
Understanding the Industrial Revolution is a fresh, new exploration of this economic phenomenon of major importance. It describes theories of economic growth, shows how these can be applied to the revolution and discusses them in the light of modern research. Furthermore, it places the debate surrounding the social effects of industrialisation into the context of economic change during the period. This book includes discussion of: * theories on the supply of capital * role of labour * innovation and entrepreneurship * the significance of transport * the impact of industrialisation on living standards. Each aspect of the Industrial Revolution in Britain is discussed in depth, focusing on the important debates and reviewing the most recent research.
This book is a collection of 20 chapters on chosen topics from cross-section and panel data econometrics. It explores both theoretical and practical aspects of selected cutting-edge techniques which are gaining popularity among applied econometricians, while following the motto of “keeping things simple”. Each chapter gives a basic introduction to one such method, directs readers to supplementary references, and shows an application. The book takes into account that—A: The field of econometrics is evolving very fast and leading textbooks are trying to cover some of the recent developments in revised editions. This book offers basic introduction to state-of-the-art techniques and recent advances in econometric models with detailed applications from various developing and developed countries. B: An applied researcher or practitioner may prefer reference books with a simple introduction to an advanced econometric method or model with no theorems but with a longer discussion on empirical application. Thus, an applied econometrics textbook covering these cutting-edge methods is highly warranted; a void this book attempts to fills.The book does not aim at providing a comprehensive coverage of econometric methods. The 20 chapters in this book represent only a sample of the important topics in modern econometrics, with special focus on econometrics of cross-section and panel data, while also recognizing that it is not possible to accommodate all types of models and methods even in these two categories. The book is unique as authors have also provided the theoretical background (if any) and brief literature review behind the empirical applications. It is a must-have resource for students and practitioners of modern econometrics.
Kotaro Suzumura is one of the world’s foremost thinkers in social choice theory and welfare economics. Bringing together essays that have become classics in the field, Choice, Preferences, and Procedures examines foundational issues of normative economics and collective decision making. Social choice theory seeks to critically assess and rationally design economic mechanisms for improving human life. An important part of Suzumura’s contribution over the past forty years has entailed fusion of abstract microeconomic ideas with an understanding of real-world economies in a coherent analysis. This volume of selected essays reveals the evolution of Suzumura’s thinking over his career. Groundbreaking papers explore the nature of individual and social choice and the idea of assigning value to freedom of choice, different forms of rationality, and concepts of individual rights, equity, and fairness. Suzumura elucidates his innovative approach for recognizing interpersonal comparisons in the vein of Adam Smith’s notion of sympathy and expounds the effect of paying due attention to nonconsequential features, such as the opportunity to choose and the procedure for decision making, along with the standard consequential features. Analyzing the role of economic competition, Suzumura points out how restricting competition may, in some circumstances, improve social welfare. This is not to recommend government regulation rather than market competition but to emphasize the importance of procedural features in a competitive context. He concludes with illuminating essays on the history of economic thought, focusing on the ideas of Vilfredo Pareto, Arthur Pigou, John Hicks, and Paul Samuelson.
