Product Description

An upper-level text, History of Economic Thought continues to offer a lively, accessible discussion of ideas that have shaped modern economics. The Fourth Edition has been thoroughly revised to reflect recent scholarship and research, as well as a more pointed focus on modern economic thought. The text remains a highly understandable and opinionated—but fair—presentation of the history of economic thought.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29941 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 511 pages

Customer Reviews

Interesting but not for people new to economics
I am an engineering student with interest in economy, and thought such a book can give me a good introduction to the topic. However I would say this book is more for people comfortable with economics already. I have read almost a quarter of the book so far. I like the introduction where the authors are honest about their method and assumptions.
However I do not like that the authors are very free in expressing their personal opinion on things. I know history cannot be totally objective, but I still prefer authors to try to be so.
Another issue is that I think the language formulation is a bit complicated, the sentenes are long and seem confusing at times.
For beginners in economics, I would more recommend the book "Development of Economic Analysis" by Ingrid Hahne Rima; It gives more space for explaining various concepts, and I love the inclusion of parts of original works at the end of each section. Landreth's book can be a second stage, to get an insight into the reason for such economic development, rather than to learn about economics.

Economics a Discipline of Many Theories
This text surveys the main streams of thought in economic theory. The survey provides an overview of the preclassical schools,i.e.: scholastics, mercantilists, and physiocrats. The scholastics and mercantilists called for govermental intervention in the growing market economy. The mercantilists, in England, went so far as to call for the regulation of trade. Albeit, the physiocrats in France held that the government should leave the market alone. Therefore, the physiocrates influenced and set the tone for Smith and many classical economists to come.
Modern classical economics considers Adam Smith as its father. Smith, a product of the U.K.'s traditions, examines economics in the context of the middle to late 1700s. In his seminal thesis ... The Wealth of Nations, professor Smith believed laissez faire, or nongovernmental intervention, would allow a competitive market to best promote the economic growth needed to meet the consumers' needs.
Landreth and Colander, further, discuss the classical economic theories of Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, and John Stuart Mill. The former reverend, Malthus held population growth would outstrip the food supply. He failed to account for improvements in technology. Mr. Ricardo developed pure, or noncontextual, theories such as scarcity and diminishing returns. One note, Ricardo favored free trade while Malthus suggested tariffs could be beneficial to a nation. Mill, at one time a member of parliament, believed there were injustices inherent in a capitalist economy.
Also covered by this text are the ideas of Karl Marx. Marx rejected the orthodox classical theories of capitalistic economies. He purported that "dialectical materialism", a theory of history, should be applied to analysis of the capitalist's economy. Moreover, Dr. Marx predicted a collapse of capitalism caused by class conflict. However, this generally has not occured. Paradoxically, for the scribbler most often associated with communism: Marx mainly discussed and analyzed capitalism.
The text goes into some detail about the neoclassical school as formulated by Menger, Jevons, Walras, and Marshall. Yet, the role of much neoclassical economics is overstated in the second edition of this work. Nevertheless, professor Alfred Marshall demonstrated the importance of both supply and demand in achieving dynamic equilibrium. Professor Marshall also warns against the excessive use of mathematics in economic calculus. He suggested to his students that economic models need to be practical so as to reflect reality. History of Economic Theory covers both the development of modern microeconomics and macroeconomics. As for the development of macroeconomics; John Maynard Keynes' theories are introduced quite methodically. In his 1936 book, The General Theory ..., Sir Keynes felt the unstable market needed governmental assistance to achieve full employment equilibrium. Keynes' ideas were used by President F.D. Roosevelt to help the United States out of its depression. Critical of Keynesian theory were the Monetarists led by Milton Friedman. Professor Friedman held the money supply plays a central role in the economy. In fact, Friedman said inflation is a monetary phenomenon. Finally, heterodoxical economists are covered.
Students who enjoy The Worldly Philosophers and New Ideas from Dead Economists will surely find this work useful and enlightening - - if only for the introduction on the history of economics as a profession!

What everyone should know about economics
As a former student of Dr. Harry Landreth, I had the honor of learning economic theory under his expert tutelage. This book helps you appreciate and understand the theories and thinking that helped shape our world. A must for any serious student of economics; this book is hailed by academics as THE book on this subject, and I do not disagree.