Economics as a Science, Economics as a Vocation: A Weberian Examination of...
In an attempt to re-envision economics, the paper analyses Robert Heilbroner's philosophy of economics through the lens of Max Weber's philosophy of science. Specifically, Heilbroner's position on...
View ArticleAdam Smith's Natural Prices, the Gravitation Metaphor, and the Purposes of...
Adam Smith's 'natural price' has long been interpreted as a 'normal price' or 'centre of gravitation price' based on the famous gravitation metaphor of the Wealth of Nations I.vii, natural in the sense...
View ArticleFrom Rational Choice to Reflexivity: Learning from Sen, Keynes, Hayek, Soros,...
This paper identifies the major failings of mainstream economics and the rational choice theory it relies upon. These failures were identified by the four figures mentioned in the title: economics...
View ArticleShould the History of Economic Thought be Included in Undergraduate Curricula?
Mainstream views concerning the uselessness or usefulness of HET are illustrated. These rely on a hidden assumption: a 'cumulative view' according to which the provisional point of arrival of...
View ArticleIf 'Well-Being' is the Key Concept in Political Economy…
If 'well-being' is to be the key concept in political economy, then economists are placed, from a methodological viewpoint, in an uncomfortable position. A well-being approach requires consideration of...
View ArticleThe Theory of the Transnational Corporation at 50+
The paper briefly summarises the historical evolution of transnational corporations (TNCs) and their activities. It then introduces the major theories developed to explain the TNC. There is an attempt...
View ArticleReconciling Ricardo's Comparative Advantage with Smith's Productivity Theory
There are three main claims in the paper: first, there is sufficient evidence for affirming that Ricardo adhered to Smith's productivity theory; second, Ricardo's original demonstration of the...
View ArticleJ.M. Keynes, F.A. Hayek and the Common Reader
This paper gives an account of the debate between F.A. Hayek and J.M. Keynes in the 1930s written for the general public. The purpose of this is twofold. First, to provide the general reader with a...
View Article'Animal Behavioural Economics': Lessons Learnt From Primate Research
The paper gives an overview of primate research and the economic-ethical 'lessons' we can derive from it. In particular, it examines the complex, multi-faceted and partially conflicting nature of...
View ArticleAdam Smith's Use of the 'Gravitation' Metaphor
Adam Smith, in , used gravitation as a rhetorical metaphor and not in a formal philosophical sense, as used by Newton, Aristotle or Empedocles. Physical gravitational attraction is predictable,...
View ArticlePolitical Economy in the Eighteenth Century: Popular or Despotic? The...
Control over food supply was advanced in the kingdom of France in the Eighteenth century by Physiocrat economists under the seemingly advantageous label of 'freedom of grain trade'. In 1764 these...
View ArticleCredit and Prices in Woodford's New Neoclassical Synthesis
Following recent debates on the New Neoclassical Synthesis, the theory of monetary policy has been renewed. The prevailing method, illustrated by Woodford's version of , is a Dynamic Stochastic General...
View ArticleOn the Renting of Persons: The Neo-Abolitionist Case Against Today's Peculiar...
Liberal thought (in the sense of classical liberalism) is based on the juxtaposition of consent to coercion. Autocracy and slavery were seen as based on coercion whereas today's political democracy and...
View ArticleThe Political Power of Economic Ideas: Protectionism in Turn of the Century...
One of the main economic debates taking place in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century America was between supporters of protectionism and advocates of free-trade policies. Protectionists won...
View ArticleA Reflection on the Samuelson-Garegnani Debate
This paper argues that Samuelson's criticisms of Sraffa mainly concentrated on Sraffa's claim that the propositions of his book (Sraffa 1960) did not depend on the assumption of constant returns to...
View ArticleA Hayekian Explanation of Hayek's 'Epistemic Turn'
The present essay aims to account for F.A. Hayek's oft-noted 'turn' away from technical economics to concerns of a more philosophical nature. In particular, the paper seeks an explanatory principle...
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