Monetary history is largely a repeated narrative of currency debasement. Yet historic Venice (1172-1797), ruled by elite patricians, stands out as an example of relative monetary stability. This paper provides a historical case of Venice’s Zecca Mint which provided the elite patricians of...

This book challenges the prevalent assumption that sovereign debt must be repaid — even after a major regime change — in order to maintain country creditworthiness. It argues that this conventional wisdom is overly simplistic and in some cases entirely wrong, and contends that its underlying...

General social theory provides a framework within which accounting and its role in advancing business and society can be examined, including historical development and functions. This study examines the advent of accounting in business governance, from ancient origins to present day, from the...

In 1720, Britain and France convulsed in the South Sea and Mississippi bubbles. Manias and crashes have stalked financial markets ever since, demonstrating the profound difficulty of preventing or mitigating them. Conventional narratives depict the crises as the product of hubris, folly, and...

Chapter 1. General Introduction: Why Should We Study the History of Economic Theory? -- Chapter 2. Introduction -- Chapter 3. Economics in Cambridge: Alfred Marshall, the Old Cambridge School, and Their Opponents in England -- Chapter 4. Economics in Lausanne: Vilfredo Pareto and the Lausanne...

This reader in the history of economic thought challenges the assumption that today's prevailing economic theories are always the most appropriate ones. As Leland Yeager has pointed out, unlike the scientists of the natural sciences, economists provide their ideas largely to politicians and...