In welfare economics, the theory of second best is inextricably linked to an article by Richard George Lipsey and Kelvin John Lancaster, published in 1956 in the Review of Economic Studies. The publication of this article was encouraged by Harry Gordon Johnson, who was a member of the journal's...

We provide a brief primer on how the core of usable macroeconomic theory for monetary policymakers has evolved over the past 50 years. Today's policy discussions center on the New Keynesian (NK) synthesis, which builds on the Neoclassical growth model and the AS-AD framework. It incorporates...

It is widely believed that Friedrich von Hayek's first encounter with Gunnar Myrdal involved the latter's last-minute contribution, as a replacement for Erik Lindahl, to a Sammelband edited by the former in 1933, and that Hayek was lukewarm towards Myrdal and his ideas from the very beginning....

This article documents the sudden creation of a significant entrepôt for French wine, particularly Bordeaux claret, in Boulogne-Sur-Mer starting in 1720. Scottish Jacobites who practiced a rebellious version of "fair trade" dominated this commerce, and their network had direct links to...

This article systematically presents Marx's ideas about political economy and historical materialism in the "Introduction" to the Grundrisse . Two questions are posed and addressed. The first one is: what implications does the "Introduction" have for the contemporary Marxist discussions on...

This paper examines heterodox theories of the determinants of the value of money. Orthodox approaches that tie money's value to relative scarcity of money or to the price level are rejected as inconsistent with the monetary theory of production embraced by heterodox traditions linked to Marx,...

A monetary approach that combines Chartalism, Nominalism, and Command origins of monetary systems is often deemed to have emerged only recently, while the Aristotelian approach (Commodity, Metallism, and Market origins of monetary systems) is the only one that existed until the end of the...

I argue that the outbreak of the Great War facilitated a shift in the dominant view of human nature within the Cambridge-Bloomsbury intelligentsia, steering it away from an optimistic view toward a pessimistic one. The conceptualization of human reason and rationality within this group, however,...

At its core, the discussion on the micro-macro link in heterodox economics is concerned with the correct treatment of aggregates and aggregation in social theory. In this chapter we survey heterodox approaches to the micro-macro link with a focus on shared understandings and convictions that...

Purpose Is there a secret recipe for economic growth? Design/methodology/approach No, there is no recipe, but we can extrapolate some pieces of advice from Adam Smith. Findings An economy can leave behind its "dull" stagnant state and grow when its markets expand, when the productivity of its...

The paper presents Kenneth Arrow’s interpretation of the competitive general equilibrium model, arguing he used it to articulate an ambitious critique of what he called the 'neoclassical theory.' Without arguing that Arrow’s account of neoclassical theory was correct, I explore how Arrow was...

This article is the first of a series that offers a new paradigm for economics, the "multilevel paradigm," using generalized Darwinism as its theoretical framework. Generalized Darwinism refers to all processes that combine the ingredients of variation, selection, and replication - not just...

We are pleased to note that the discussion paper we wrote ("How to change a constitution by handwaving") has attracted some interest from the public and observers of economic policy. Among the more thoughtful responses the paper has received is that from the Foundation for Economic Freedom...