The intellectual trajectory of Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish Nobel Laureate economist, sociologist, and politician, brings us through many of the major issues in the world economy and politics of the 20th century. This new volume explores Myrdal's work on three major themes: breaking away from conventional assumptions in Political Economy (and highlighting flaws that can still be found in today’s teachings on Political Economy); finding ways of re-creating Europe after WW II, including the discussions between liberal Americans and European social democrats on how to create a more cooperative and socially just international order; and understanding the impact or environmental concerns on growth and development, starting with Myrdal’s participation in the first UN Conference on Environment in Stockholm 1960 and continuing with his later writings. What is then the relevance of these themes today? In times when financial crisis threatens to block international and domestic economies, when the European Union’s promises of prosperity and cooperation seems to be severely threatened and when there is a large consensus that current modes of economic development are ecologically unsustainable: can we find ways of transcending seemingly intractable dilemmas? These questions will be discussed in the final part of the book.

This book provides an evaluation of the intellectual development of Gunnar Myrdal, emphasizing his methodology, his beliefs about economics and the role of economists in modern society. It explains how Gunnar Myrdal became an institutional economist and how this perspective influenced his contribution to economic development and attempts to close the gap between rich and poor countries. The main argument of the book is that economists, despite being trained in the orthodox neoclassical tradition, can develop an alternative conception that is more relevant and appropriate for analysis and policy making in developing and transition economies. Much of the discussion focuses on the evolution of Gunnar Myrdal's intellectual development and his contributions to transformation issues in an historical context. Specific issues discussed include political and social problems and transformation policy for Central and Eastern Europe. The Political Economy of Gunnar Myrdal will be welcomed by academics and students researching in the fields of the history of economic thought, comparative economics and economic development.

This study examines the manner in which Gunnar Myrdal's intellectual style left an impact on the shaping of Sweden's welfare state, on race relations in the United States, on post-World War Two economic cooperation in Europe, and on the analysis of Third World economic development.

Gunnar Myrdal's An American Dilemma (1944) influenced the attitudes of a generation of Americans on the race issue and established Myrdal as a major critic of American politics and culture. Walter Jackson explores how the Swedish Social Democratic scholar, policymaker, and activist came to shape a consensus on one of America's most explosive public issues.

This book explores the development of economic thought in Sweden through some of the people who shaped it. The book highlights both some of the well-known contributions and some overlooked areas of research. It begins with the origins of the pioneer neoclassical Heckscher-Ohlin theorem and Gunnar Myrdal ’s circular, cumulative approach to economic development. Secondly, it focuses on a number of economists related to the Industrial Institute of Economic and Social Research: Ingvar Svennilson, Axel Iveroth, Jan Wallander, Erik Höök, Villy Bergström and Rolf Henriksson. Finally, it offers portraits of three economists from Lund University: Bo Södersten, Ingemar Ståhl and Göte Hansson. The work of all of them is placed within the context of the contemporary academic and public economic debate. This book aims at providing a perspective on the legacy of the Swedish tradition in economics and will be relevant to students and academics interested in the history of economic thought.

Myrdal described this book as a discussion of three key notions in economic theory: the ideas of value, freedom, and collective house-keeping. It is through these concepts, he charged, that political ideology has been intro-duced into economic theory. This volume continues to be relevant in its emphasis on the problem of objectivity in the social sciences.

This three volume Encyclopedia offers the first comprehensive and authoritative survey of the rapidly developing field of international political economy. Its entries cover the major theoretical issues and analytical approaches within the field. The set also provides detailed discussion of the contributions of key individuals and surveys a wide range of empirical conditions and developments within the global political economy, including its major institutions. The Encyclopedia has been designed to be eclectic in approach and wide-ranging in coverage. Theoretical entries range from discussions of the definition and scope of the field, through core methodological questions such as rationalism and the structure-agent problem, to surveys of the major theories and approaches employed in the study of the international political economy.

This groundbreaking Encyclopedia is the very first fully-refereed A-Z compendium of the main principles, concepts, problems, institutions, schools and policies associated with political economy. Based on developments in political economy since the 1960s, it is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to the field as well as being an authoritative reference work. Undergraduates taking courses in political economy or graduate students coming to the field for the first time will rely on this work as a key point of reference and for direction in their further reading. This lucid work compares for the first time the disparate theories of political economy (e.g, Marxist, Feminist, Sraffian etc.) and emphasizes the application of their principles to real world problems such as inflation, unemployment, development and financial instability. The extensive international team of consultants and contributors has produced a monumental work with truly global perspective.

Economics Nobel laureates are the pioneers of the science of economics. They are the most brilliant products of the discipline and have made enormous original contributions to the field of economics, and oftentimes history, political science, business, and other subjects. Their works, struggles, successes and failures are fascinating, and readers are given a glimpse into each laureate's life, where and when they were born and raised, what schools they attended, and who influenced their intellectual development. Most importantly, each laureate's often complex corpus of work is described as succinctly as possible without losing the work's original flavor: what it contributed to the field, and how it was received by peers, and how it affected the world. A list of selected further readings concludes each entry, directing the reader to the primary and secondary works essential to understanding the works of these towering figures. Arranged chronologically by year of award, all 44 entries cogently explain the laureate's life's work in language even non-economists can follow. Economists interested in the intellectual history of their discipline, and professors and students of business will find Wahid's book a very useful resource when seeking out the basic outlines of the thoughts of the scholars who have shaped the fields of economic inquiry, practice, and research. Also, any student in the social sciences thumbing through this book will instantly recognize many currents of thought that have influenced the way scholars in their discipline approach their craft.

An introduction to the life, work and ideas of the people who have shaped the economic landscape from the sixteenth century to the present day. Now in a third edition, it considers how major economists might have viewed challenges such as the continuing economic slump, high unemployment and the sovereign debt problems which face the world today, it includes entries on: • Paul Krugman • Hyman Minsky • John Maynard Keynes • Adam Smith • Irving Fisher • James Buchanan Fifty Major Economists contains brief biographical information on each featured economist and an explanation of their major contributions to economics, along with simple illustrations of their ideas. With reference to the recent work of living economists, guides to the best of recent scholarship and a glossary of terms, Fifty Major Economists is an ideal resource for students of economics. Steven Pressman is Professor of Economics and Finance at Monmouth University. He has published around 120 articles in refereed journals and as book chapters, and has authored, or edited 13 books, including Women in the Age of Economic Transformation, Economics and Its Discontents, Alternative Theories of the State, and Leading Contemporary Economists.