Orthodox price theory turns on flexible prices that move frequently to maintain market-clearing equilibrium. Fixed prices are a source of market imperfections and failures. In the traditional ethics of pricing, by contrast, prices should be set at a just norm and stay there, with only rare...

As its title suggests, the thesis considers various theoretical aspects of optimal government policy. The method is described in Chapter One: it is essentially that of `normative' public economics and provides the common theme of the remaining chapters. Chapters Two and Three are concerned with...

This chapter discusses the nature of external capabilities and how they bear upon social policy. Alternative definitions of external capabilities are compared and a simplified version suggested. It is argued that the issues surrounding external capabilities can be resolved only if the capability...

Ageing populations in developed countries have placed increasing demands on health care services and drawn attention to how age is related to medical expenditure. The effect of ageing on health involves a mixture of biological and social factors that ideally requires an interdisciplinary...

Ever since the beginnings of classical political economy in the early nineteenth century, economics has faced culturally based criticism from a long line of literary authors. This paper argues that the old literary criticisms are still relevant and can provide useful guidelines for economic...

Economics and culture have usually been kept apart in academic discussion. The resulting division is damaging to economics, since important cultural questions such as the formation of preferences, the influence of ideology and the relation between the individual and society are systematically...

Dualism - the division of an object of study into separate, paired elements - is widespread in economic and social theorising: key examples are the divisions between agency and structure, the individual and society, mind and body, values and facts, and knowledge and practice. In recent years,...