This thought-provoking book discusses the concept of progress in economics and investigates whether any advance has been made in its different spheres of research. The authors look back at the history, successes and failures of their respective fields and thoroughly examine the notion of...

Thomas Aquinas is generally acknowledged to be the greatest theologian of the Middle Ages and his masterpiece, ‘Summa Theologica’, provides a complete and authoritative statement of medieval economic thought that has remained the official Catholic view right up to the present time....

Whether or not we reject the Marxist schema there is little doubt that Marx was a great economist. The three volumes of Capital, contain some pieces of remarkable economic analysis from which modern economists can still learn. However difficult he is to read, there are moments when, like Ricardo...

Henry Thornton’s Inquiry into the Nature and Effects of the Paper Credit of Great Britain (1802) is the repository of much of what is the best and most clear in modern monetary theory. However, it is only in recent years, largely through the efforts of Jacob Viner and Friedrich Hayek,...

David Hume is best known for his work on political philosophy. However, he wrote a series of essays on money, population and international trade which must rank among the major economic writings of the 18th century. Certainly they influenced Adam Smith and have a sparkling quality that still...

This title focuses on the importance of the history of economic thought as an intellectual discipline. It counters the arguments of some contemporary economists who describe it as studying the mistakes of the past. However, all the great economists – Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Marshall, Keynes...

John Maynard Keynes is unquestionably the major figure in 20th century economics and perhaps the only one who can stand next to Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Alfred Marshall and Leon Walras in the economists’ Hall of Fame. This title comprises the most important articles and papers published on...