'Professor Swann summarizes the core thesis of his book beautifully in his concluding remarks: "... common innovation is about how we, ordinary people, create the wealth of nations. Business has no monopoly of innovation or of wealth creation." I applaud Swann's thoughtful efforts to move...

Contents: Preface -- Part I: Re-appraisal -- 1. Introduction -- 2. How good are econometric results? -- 3. Assumptions in empirical economics -- 4. Three types of rigour -- 5. Misinterpreting Kelvin's Maxim -- 6. Myths about case studies -- 7. Discontent in the academy -- 8. Wider discontent --...

In traditional economics models of perfect competition agent's interactions are all mediated through the market. Interactions are anonymous, global and indirect. This is a powerful model, but we see many instances in which one, and sometimes all, of the previous characteristics fail to hold...