This book can be described as a development of my Masters thesis, 'The Economics of A. R. J. Turgot' written at the University of Sydney in 1961-62. It has therefore been a long time in the making and, needless to say, I in curred many an intellectual debt during this period which I would like to acknowledge here. My thanks go first to Professor J. R. Wilson, who super vised my Masters thesis and who read part of this manuscript in draft, to the late Professor Jacob Viner whose tremendous knowledge of the history of economics was put at my disposal on several occasions, and to Professor R. L. Meek with whom I discussed this work in conversation and cor respondence and who has given assistance in several other ways. I also owe a great debt of gratitude to a large number of librarians for their assistance in unearthing infrequently used material housed in the collections over which they preside. In particular, I wish to acknowledge thanks to the librarians of the Fisher Library at the University of Sydney, the Public Library of New South Wales, the Australian National Library, the British Library of Economics and Political Science, the British Museum, the Goldsmiths' Library at the University of London, the Kress Collection at the Baker Library at Harvard, the Seligman Collection at the Butler Library at Columbia University, and the Bibliotheque nationale.
A benchmark in the history of economics and of political ideas, Rothschild shows us the origins of laissez-faire economic thought and its relation to political conseratism in an unquiet world.
The growth of serious interest during the last fifty years in the scholastic contribution to the development of economic thought has been very marked, and no-where more so than in the history of economic thought in Spain. First published in 1978, this book begins in the Middle Ages and traces the effect on business practice and on thought of the presence of the Christian, Islamic and Jewish communities who lived side by side in the Peninsula. It shows how the economics of Plato and Aristotle were transmitted by way of Toledo to the Latin West. In the second half of the book the author considers e~Salamancane(tm) ideas and the views of the political economists and e~projectorse(tm) who preceded the Enlightenment. At the same time she surveys the present state of the subject and offers bibliographical guidance for the reader.
In this 1999 book, Karl Gunnar Persson surveys a broad sweep of economic history, examining one of the most crucial markets - grain. His analysis allows him to draw more general lessons, for example that liberalization of markets was linked to political authoritarianism. Grain Markets in Europe traces the markets' early regulation, their poor performance and the frequent market failures. Price volatility caused by harvest shocks was of major concern for central and local government because of the unrest it caused. Regulation became obsolete when markets became more integrated and performed better through trade triggered by falling transport costs. Persson, a specialist in economic history, uses insights from development economics, explores contemporary economic thought on the advantages of free trade, and measures the extent of market integration using the latest econometric methods. Grain Markets in Europe will be of value to scholars and students in economic history, social history and agricultural and institutional economics.
In 1776 Adam Smith (1723-90) wrote The Wealth of Nations, a book so foundational that it has led to him being called the father of economics. Today he is associated with the promotion of self-interest, a defense of greed and a criticism of any governmental 'interference' in market transactions which, if left to the 'invisible hand', will produce prosperity and liberty. Yet if Smith is actually read these associations are more a caricature than a faithful portrait. In this Very Short Introduction, Christopher Berry offers a balanced and nuanced view of this seminal thinker, embedding his fierce defense of free trade, competition, and assault on special interests in contemporary European history, politics, and philosophy. As Berry explores, Smith was more than an economist. His book The Theory of Moral Sentiment, offered a complex account of ethics in the context of human social behavior. His scope as a professor at the University of Glasgow, a major center of the Scottish Enlightenment, was extensive. Beyond courses in philosophy and jurisprudence he also gave classes covering history, literature, and language. In addition to his two major works he also wrote a pioneering study of the history of astronomy as an illustration of the motivations that drive humans to seek answers to questions. He produced, again derived from his Glasgow classroom, an analysis of the development of grammar and language. As Christopher Berry shows, Adam Smith was no narrow thinker, but rather one who produced not only one of the greatest books in the history of social science, but also a wide-ranging body of work that remains significant today. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
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