The invisible hand metaphor dates to the 18th century but only gained prominence after neoclassical analysis came to dominate economic thinking late 19th century. Neoclassical economists rigorously established the assumptions necessary for an economy to operate in accordance with the metaphor,...

The renowned institutionalist Geoffrey Hodgson has claimed inter alia that heterodox economics has failed to define its nature and scope, does not take pluralism seriously, and lacks expertise concentration to ensure quality which means it has made limited progress and is held in variable...

Economic history has become an increasingly broad discipline, after a temporary narrowing following the cliometric revolution of the mid-twentieth century. Increasingly sophisticated econometric techniques are used to capture the institutional detail involved in the dynamics of historical...