Bøker i Springer Studies in the History of Economic Thought-serien

This book provides a unique historical perspective on expectations in economic theory, and applications of expectations models in economic history.

This book offers a fresh perspective on the early history of macroeconomics, by examining the macro-dynamic models developed from the late 1920s to the late 1940s, and their treatment of economic instability.

This book assesses major schools of thought in macroeconomic theory between the Great Depression and the Long Recession, focusing on their analysis of cycles, crises and macro-policy. It explores the road from the dominance of Keynesian ideas to those of New Classical Macroeconomics (NCM) toward the end of the millennium.The book covers the early influential work of Knut Wicksell; the economic debates of the 1930s, with core contributions from John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich von Hayek; the rise of Keynesianism in the 1950s and its decline since the 1970s; the rise of Monetarism in the 1960s; and NCM's subsequent rise to prominence. Finally, the book outlines how macroeconomics has evolved from its birth in the 1930s as a theory separate from microeconomics, resulting in a split between macro- and micro-theories, and ended up with a new hegemonic paradigm based on microfoundations. The ensuing policy thinking witnessed a transformation from "e;active"e; macro-policy after the Great Depression to a far more "e;passive"e; macro-policy during the last quarter of the twentieth century, which may have contributed to missing the signs of the impending Long Recession of 2008."e;When the 2008 crisis struck, macroeconomists were caught with models that were theoretically elegant yet inappropriate to the needs of the moment. A broader historical perspective may have prevented the jettisoning of Keynesian models that had proved useful in the past and might have done so again. This highly readable book by Arie Arnon is a wonderful antidote to economists' short time horizon and contributes mightily to restore the profession's "e;collective memory"e; of the diversity of ideas within macroeconomics."e;Professor Dani Rodrik, Harvard Kennedy School

This book examines the interrelations between Russian and European economics from the early 19th century to the present. It analyzes how Western economic thinking, such as classical economics and the marginal revolution, influenced Russian economic thinking and how Western economic ideas were modified and adapted to better reflect the specific Russian circumstances of the time. Moreover, the contributions in this book show how these modified ideas also influenced Western economists at the end of the 19th century, when Russian economics had reached the stage of professionalism and joined the international discourse on the discipline. Written by an international selection of respected experts, this book provides an overview of the most influential Russian economists and covers a wide range of topics such as the marginal revolution, the specific influence of Marxism, the evolution of mathematics and statistics in Russia in the 1890s-1920s, and the unique experience of building a planned economy in the Soviet Union. It is intended for all scholars and students who are interested in the history of economic thought.

By offering a critical assessment of the evolution of standard game theory, this book argues for a shift in the ontology and methodology of game theory for appraising games, one based on understanding the players¿ strategic reasoning process.Analyzing the history of economic thought, the book highlights the methodological issues faced by standard game theory in its treatment of strategic reasoning and the consequence it has on the status of players¿ beliefs. It also highlights how the two original contributions of T. C. Schelling and M. Bacharach can be applied to these issues. Furthermore, the book assesses the intersubjective dimension in games by applying the cognitive sciences and by integrating simulation theory into game theory.Consequently, this book offers an interdisciplinary approach for reassessing the nature of the intersubjectivity involved in strategic reasoning. It shows that the analysis of games should involve the study and identification of the reasoning process that leads the players to a specific outcome, i.e., to a specific solution. A game should not be understood (as is done in standard game theory) as a mathematical representation of an individual choice at equilibrium. This requires investigating the players¿ capacity for coordination. Understanding the process of coordination allows us to understand strategic reasoning and ultimately to provide new answers to the indeterminacy problem, one of the central hurdles in game theory, and one that underscores its normative difficulties.