Today’s Problems: In The Minds of The Great Economists

This book presents the history of economic thought as it relates to today’s most pressing problems, and it emphasizes the critical connection that exists between what may seem cold, unrealistic mathematical economic models, and the quality of everyday life of any citizen of the planet earth. It shows how contemporary developments in neoclassical theoretical models in Welfare Economics, General Equilibrium Theory, Information Economics and Game Theory have created the necessity to integrate the neoclassical theory of free markets and the insti-tutional theory. It argues that while the main goal of economics is to improve human wellbeing in a broad sense, the quality of human life; we should also take into account its second goal, which is to improve the microeconomic efficiency of the system. We should not lose sight of the fundamental contributions of the free markets, and of neoclassical economics which have seriously influenced the digital and financial revolutions that have allowed the ICT Revolution to happen. Individual freedom and creativity are critical for the success of capitalism. But they do not happen in a vacuum, institutions are required. It argues that the future of economic theory and policy will be defined by contributions in three fronts: pure theoretical models of free markets, institutional models, and models capable to integrate the interaction between free markets and institutions in the final determination of the actual economic equilibrium.