Economic Theory in Retrospect

This is a history of economic thought from Adam Smith to John Maynard Keynes - but it is a history with a difference. Firstly, it is a history of economic theory, not of economic doctrines, that is, it is consistently focused on theoretical analysis, undiluted by entertaining historical digressions or biological colouring. Secondly, it includes detailed Reader's Guides to nine of the major texts of economics, namely the works of Smith, Ricardo, Mill, Marx, Marshall, Wickstead, Wicksell, Walras and Keynes, in the effort to encourage students to become acquainted at first hand with the writings of all the great economists. This fifth edition adds new Reader's Guides to Walras's Elements of Pure Economics (1871-74) and Keynes' General Theory to the previous seven Reader's Guides of other great books in economics. There are significant and major additions to six chapters.

 

Introduction; 1. Pre-Adamite economics; 2. Adam Smith; 3. Population, diminishing returns and rent; 4. Ricardo's system; 5. Say's Law and classical monetary theory; 6. John Stuart Mill; 7. Marxian economics; 8. The marginal revolution; 9. Marshallian economics: utility and demand; 10. Marshallian economics: cost and supply; 11. Marginal productivity and factor prices; 12. The Austrian theory of capital and interest; 13. General equilibrium and welfare economics; 14. Spatial economics and the classical theory of location; 15. The neoclassical theory of money, interest and prices; 16. Macroeconomics; 17. A methodological postscript.