The existence of the doctrine of laissez faire in Taoist philosophy is mentioned only briefly in the economics literature, and no attempt has been made in it to explain why the Taoists advocate laissez faire. This paper examines Taoist philosophy in order to answer this question, and shows that...

J. B. Say argued that commercial crises were the results of effective demand failures, except, unlike Malthus he did not naively attribute effective demand failures to overproduction given some absolute limit on people's willingness to consume. Instead, Say built a theory of recessions based on...

It is useful from time to time to revisit the pioneers in a field. The richness of their original thought is often diminished as new specialists in a field are educated or, rather, trained. Stylized caricatures and toy models out-compete nuanced multidisciplinary narratives in the competition...

The Reverend Francis Wayland, author of the most widely-read textbook on political economy in pre-Civil War America, was persuaded that higher education should be guided by market principles. Using arguments derived.from classical economics, he diagnosed shortcomings in the U.S. collegiate...

This paper uses Smith's views on the distribution of income and poverty to support the argument that Smith's advocacy of laissez-faire was limited and historically specific. It discusses the relevance of these views in providing philosophical underpinning for modern social policy. Examination of...

James Tobin was renowned as an economist of great distinction. Moreover, his students and colleagues witnessed dimensions of his personality and behavior often unknown to others. Up close, Tobin was a memorable figure who made lasting impressions on those he taught and influenced. This article...

Pigou is a misogynist by today's standards for his belief that women are inferior, and for recommending that they not participate in the labor force. This paper argues that Pigou should be judged according to the ethos of the late Victorian era. It provides a less anachronistic assessment by...

The paper argues that there are two separate orders implied in Hayek's open society: market order and liberal order. The distinction rests on a difference between, what is called here, information and knowledge. While information is about facts such as prices, knowledge expresses the agent's...