Problems Of Economic Policy Routledge Revivals

First published in 1977, this is an applied economics text, in which the basic theory of any introductory economics couurse is applied to a whole range of UK macro- and micro-economic policy issues. The book is designed specifically for first and second year university students, with the aim of demonstrating the relevance of theory to policy, how theory can be applied to policy problems and, in the process, to improve their understanding of the theory itself.

First published in 1975, this guide to economic policy outlines an economic philosophy for reform for the ‘intelligent radical’ who seeks to address the issues of liberty and equality within society. Among other issues, the book looks at policies to control inflation, to maintain full employment, to set prices and wages, to distribute income and property, and to manage the environment and international trade. Professor Meade expounds in simple language a set of closely interrelated policies designed to enable us to achieve what he describes as ‘ the decent, free, prosperous society which modern science has undoubtedly brought within our grasp.

What happened to economic policy during the first five years of Mrs Thatcher’s government? Most commentators have emphasised the radical changes wrought in economic theory and policy over the period from 1979. The left saw this as heralding the introduction of the social market economy and authoritarian populism, the right saw it as evangelical monetarism and a new beginning. This book, first published in 1986, challenges the notion that there was a revolution in economic policy making. It emphasises the constraints on economic policy formation and the ironies that these have thrown up with respect to the Conservatives’ attempts at changing the course of the economy. The book argues that the Thatcher government had not been able to implement a great deal of its rhetoric. This book is ideal for students of economics and politics.

The problems of a troubled world economy and the essentially political issues of how it should be managed make up the stuff of international political economy. The overwhelming importance of these questions has drawn ever increasing numbers of students and teachers in universities, colleges and schools to study the subject. There are many paths into international political economy for them to follow and this volume, originally published in 1984, discusses most of them. The collection as a whole demonstrates that the field should be seen as the exclusive preserve of neither the economists nor the political scientists. On the contrary, there is much to learn from specialists - and practical people in government and business - with a variety of backgrounds. A rich selection is therefore offered, including history, population studies, money, trade, technology and law, from which the reader can pick and choose at will. The contributions point to the landmarks of the subject and provide useful tips on the best books to read and the most interesting ideas to look out for.

First published in 1896, this seminal work considers the Question of the Unemployed at the height of imperialist capitalism. Hobson proposes a controversial theory of social progress, which argues that unemployment is a natural and necessary result of the mal-distribution of consumption power. In a comprehensive assessment of the practicalities of capitalism, The Problem of the Unemployed considers the root causes and meaning of unemployment and possible solutions to the issue.

First published in 1971 this volume applies the tools of static and of dynamic analysis (outlined in The Stationary Economy and The Growing Economy) to the control of a dynamic economy. This involves a discussion of subjects such as the theory of indicative planning, and the planning by the government of its monetary, fiscal, and incomes policies for the purposes of the short-run stabilization of the economy and of ensuring the best long-run use of the community’s resources. Special emphasis is laid on the planning of such policies in conditions in which many future events remain inevitably uncertain. This book considers these issues in relation to a competitive, free-enterprise economy; and little or no reference is made to problems of monopoly or of distinctions between social and private costs and benefits, due to indivisibilities and externalities in economic life.

First published in 1997, this collection of articles and essays analyses the political economy of reform and change in Eastern Europe during the years of Gorbachev’s perestroika and the years immediately following the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Written by Polish economist Jan Winiecki, between 1984 and 1996, this work explores the issue of the feasibility of reform and change during the period of decline and collapse of communist economic order and, later, the emergence of the capitalist economic order in the post-communist Eastern Europe. Split into three parts, the work considers firstly the failures of Gorbachev’s political economy of reform, secondly the determining factors in the collapse of the Soviet system, and finally the feasibility of the systematic change which began in the wake of its collapse.