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 book, first published in 1997, is a history of economic thought from Adam Smith to John Maynard Keynes.

The authors in this book regard the process of economic expansion as a non-homogeneous and multifaceted phenomenon which has deeply affected human welfare, and cultural, social and political change. The book is a bridge between the theorists (Rosenstein-Rodan, Lewis, Myrdal, and Hirschmann) who in the post-war period analyzed regional inequalities, structural change and dualism, and the modern literature on economic growth. The latter has emphasized the existence of multiple equilibria, bifurcations and various types of dynamic complexity, and clarified the conditions for the emergence of phenomena such as cumulative causation, path dependence and hysteresis. These are the typical ingredients of structural change, economic development or underdevelopment.

What do the economic theories of thought-leaders in economics, such as Smith, Keynes, Marx and Schumpeter, tell us about globalisation in the twenty-first century? Great economic theories have provided a narrative of how society should work in all its aspects, and can offer renewed usefulness for today's society. Each economic theory is presented for easy access, readability and simplicity; explaining the criticism a particular theory poses against its own contemporary environment, such as the poverty produced by Manchester capitalism in Marx, and then applying those historical lessons to our current time. Should some economic theories be left sitting on a shelf, safely without any impact on us, or do some great economic ideas still have something to contribute to the grand quest for a more just society in its many interpretations?

This book is a collection of articles on schools, individuals and topics within the mainstream of the history of economic thought. The principal schools are the Physiocrats and the English Classical Economists. The principal individuals are Francois Quesnay, Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, Francis Y. Edgeworth, Friedrich von Wieser, Frank W. Taussig, and William H. Hutt. The principal topics include the economic role of government, power, the psychology of economics, and the early history of macroeconomics.

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.

Economics as Moral Science investigates the problem of the ethical neutrality of "mainstream" economic theory within the context of the methodology of economics as a science. Against the conventional wisdom, the author argues that there are serious moral presuppositions to the theory, but that economics could still count as a scientific or rational form of inquiry. The basic questions addressed - the ethical implications of economics, its status as a scientific mode of theory-construction, and the relation between these factors - are absolutely fundamental ones for an understanding of contemporary economics, the philosophy of the human sciences, and our current market culture. Moreover, the study provides a thorough philosophical analysis of the critical issues at stake from the inside, from the credible perspective of a particular, but foundational economic theory - the neoclassical theory of rational choice.

The volume goes beyond the conventional history of economics in its emphasis on the historical and institutional context, economic policy, and the development of economics as a profession.

Poverty in Contemporary Economic Thought aims to describe and critically examine how economic thought deals with poverty, including its causes, consequences, reduction and abolition. This edited volume traces the ideas of key writers and schools of modern economic thought across a significant period, ranging from Friedrich Hayek and Keynes to latter-day economists like Amartya Sen and Angus Deaton. The chapters relate poverty to income distribution, asserting the point that poverty is not always conceived of in absolute terms but that relative and social deprivation matters also. Furthermore, the contributors deal with both individual poverty and the poverty of nations in the context of the international economy. In providing such a thorough exploration, this book shows that the approach to poverty differs from economist to economist depending on their particular interests and the main issues related to poverty in each epoch, as well as the influence of the intellectual climate that prevailed at the time when the contribution was made. This key text is valuable reading for advanced students and researchers of the history of economic thought, economic development and the economics of poverty.