His appointment as Director of the Economic Section, first in the Cabinet Office and then in the Treasury, came at a crucial time in the development of the modern economic state, when governments were just taking on responsibility for managing the general course of the economy. As the senior members of the Treasury were rooted in a pre-Keynesian age, Hall's influence grew rapidly and was at times dominant with ministers. He was involved in all aspects of economic policy.
The University of Oxford has been and continues to be one of the most important global centres for economics. With six chapters on themes in Oxford economics and 24 chapters on the lives and work of Oxford economists, this volume shows how economics became established at the University, how it produced some of the world’s best-known economists, including Francis Ysidro Edgeworth, Roy Harrod and David Hendry, and how it remains a global force for the very best in teaching and research in economics. With original contributions from a stellar cast, this volume provides economists – especially those interested in macroeconomics and the history of economic thought – with the first in-depth analysis of Oxford economics.
Economists and Societies is the first book to systematically compare the profession of economics in the United States, Britain, and France, and to explain why economics, far from being a uniform science, differs in important ways among these three countries. Drawing on in-depth interviews with economists, institutional analysis, and a wealth of scholarly evidence, Marion Fourcade traces the history of economics in each country from the late nineteenth century to the present, demonstrating how each political, cultural, and institutional context gave rise to a distinct professional and disciplinary configuration. She argues that because the substance of political life varied from country to country, people's experience and understanding of the economy, and their political and intellectual battles over it, crystallized in different ways--through scientific and mercantile professionalism in the United States, public-minded elitism in Britain, and statist divisions in France. Fourcade moves past old debates about the relationship between culture and institutions in the production of expert knowledge to show that scientific and practical claims over the economy in these three societies arose from different elites with different intellectual orientations, institutional entanglements, and social purposes. Much more than a history of the economics profession, Economists and Societies is a revealing exploration of American, French, and British society and culture as seen through the lens of their respective economic institutions and the distinctive character of their economic experts.
British monetary policy was reactivated in 1951 when short-term interest rates were increased for the first time in two decades. The book explores the politics of formulating monetary policy in the 1950s and the techniques of implementing it, and discusses the parallels between the present monetary situation and that of 1951.
In modern society, economic growth is considered to be the primary goal pursued through policymaking. But when and how did this perception become widely adopted among social scientists, politicians and the general public? Focusing on the OECD, one of the least understood international organisations, Schmelzer offers the first transnational study to chart the history of growth discourses. He reveals how the pursuit of GDP growth emerged as a societal goal and the ways in which the methods employed to measure, model and prescribe growth resulted in statistical standards, international policy frameworks and widely accepted norms. Setting his analysis within the context of capitalist development, post-war reconstruction, the Cold War, decolonization, and industrial crisis, The Hegemony of Growth sheds new light on the continuous reshaping of the growth paradigm up to the neoliberal age and adds historical depth to current debates on climate change, inequality and the limits to growth.
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.
This authoritative history of the Treasury provides a new perspective on public policy-making in the twentieth century as it explores the role and functions of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the consequent implications for the changing role of the Treasury. As the central department in British government, the Treasury plays a key role in decisions on public expenditure, and on raising taxes and loans. Professor Peden traces the development of the Treasury's responsibility for managing the national economy and looks at how it became increasingly involved in international relations from the time of the First World War. In further examining the relations between ministers and their official advisers, this history explores the growing influence of economists in Whitehall.
Not since Anthony Eden launched the Suez War in 1956 has Britain's foreign policy provoked such intense controversy. Every Government statement throughout the recent Iraq crisis has highlighted the strains of Prime Minister Tony Blair in taking a reluctant country into war. Walking a diplomatic tightrope, he has sought to balance his transatlantic loyalties as a steadfast ally of the United States with his electoral pledge of strengthening Britain's position "at the heart of Europe". Each decision was destined to have a serious impact not just in the Labour Party but among ordinary British voters prepared as never before to parade their views in the streets. The Prime Minister also had to recognise the momentous repercussions his decisions could have on the credibility of the UN, the unity of Europe, the effectiveness of NATO and the cohesion of the Commonwealth. How are these British foreign policy decisions taken? How do British diplomacy and decision-making actually work? For generations the Foreign Office operated as an elitist, secretive institution resisting intrusion and change. Now, with this book, the doors have been opened on the quiet revolution which has transformed the Foreign Office. John Dickie's penetrating journey through the corridors of power reveals for the first time how the new mandarins are tested, selected, trained and promoted in Britain's Diplomatic Service. His unrivalled knowledge has enabled him to disclose the structures and mechanism of foreign policy-making in London and t
What role do Chinese popular associations play in the expansion of civil society and democratization? This book examines a range of associations, from business associations to trade unions, to urban homeowners associations, women's groups against domestic violence, and rural NGOs that develop anti-poverty programs.
A collection of papers from leading thinkers to celebrate the work of the late Wynne Godley, and his enormous contribution to the field of monetary economics. Chapters include in-depth discussions of the revolutionary economic modelling systems that Godley introduced, as well as his prescient concerns about the global financial crash.
