The Great Economists

What can the ideas of history's greatest economists tell us about the most important issues of our time? 'The best place to start to learn about the very greatest economists of all time' Professor Tyler Cowen, author of The Complacent Class and The Great Stagnation Since the days of Adam Smith, economists have grappled with a series of familiar problems - but often their ideas are hard to digest, before we even try to apply them to today's issues. Linda Yueh is renowned for her combination of erudition, as an accomplished economist herself, and accessibility, as a leading writer and broadcaster in this field; and in The Great Economists she explains the key thoughts of history's greatest economists, how their lives and times affected their ideas, how our lives have been influenced by their work, and how they could help with the policy challenges that we face today. In the light of current economic problems, and in particular economic growth, Yueh explores the thoughts of economists from Adam Smith and David Ricardo through Joan Robinson and Milton Friedman to Douglass North and Robert Solow. Along the way she asks, for example: what do the ideas of Karl Marx tell us about the likely future for the Chinese economy? How does the work of John Maynard Keynes, who argued for government spending to create full employment, help us think about state investment? And with globalization in trouble, what can we learn about handling Brexit and Trumpism? In one accessible volume, this expert new voice provides an overarching guide to the biggest questions of our time. The Great Economists includes: Adam Smith David Ricardo Karl Marx Alfred Marshall Irving Fisher John Maynard Keynes Joseph Schumpeter Friedrich Hayek Joan Robinson Milton Friedman Douglass North Robert Solow 'Economics students, like others, can learn a lot from this book' - Professor Paul Collier, author of The Bottom Billion 'Not only a great way to learn in an easily readable manner about some of the greatest economic influences of the past, but also a good way to test your own a priori assumptions about some of the big challenges of our time.' - Lord Jim O'Neill, former Chairman at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, former UK Treasury Minister, and author of The Growth Map 'An extremely engaging survey of the lifetimes and ideas of the great thinkers of economic history.' - Professor Kenneth Rogoff, author of The Curse of Cash and co-author of This Time is Different 'This book is a very readable introduction to the lives and thinking of the greats.' - Professor Raghuram Rajan, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, and author of I Do What I Do and Fault Lines 'Read it not only to learn about the world's great economists, but also to see how consequential thought innovations can be, and have been.' - Mohamed el-Erian, Chief Economic Adviser at Allianz, former CEO of PIMCO

Past Masters is a series of concise, lucid, authoritative introductions to the thought of leading intellectual figures of the past whose ideas still influence the way we think today. This text contains studies of 3 influential economic theorists.

Originally published in 1952, this seminal work is reproduced here with a new introduction by Professor Mark Perlman, a well-known Schumpeterian scholar. The essays, written between 1910-50 were primarily commemorative pieces marking the achievement of a celebrated economist. Those covered include: * Marx * Walras * Menger * Marshall * Pareto * Bohm-Bawerk * Taussig * Fisher * Mitchell * Keynes The appendix includes articles on lesser-known economists Knapp, Von Wieser; Von Bortkiewicz. With the exception of Marx, Schumpeter himself selected the ten main essays for inclusion in this volume and was personally acquainted with all but two of his subjects. Initially considering them unworthy for publication he relented in the face of public demand since the journals in which they originally appeared were difficult to obtain. The new introduction places this work in its contemporary context and highlights its importance for students unfamiliar with the original.

An "exploration of the life and work of world-changing thinkers--from Adam Smith to John Maynard Keynes--and how their ideas would solve the great economic problems we face today"--Amazon.com.

History comes alive in this fascinating story of opposing views that continue to play a fundamental role in today's politics and economics. The Big Three in Economics traces the turbulent lives and battle of ideas of the three most influential economists in world history: Adam Smith, representing laissez faire; Karl Marx, reflecting the radical socialist model; and John Maynard Keynes, symbolizing big government and the welfare state.

A survey of the main influences on the development of modern development economics.

There is no inevitable logic of capitalism. Capitalism's stability depends on how well nation-states manage it and on social cohesion.