Foundations for New Economic Thinking A Collection of Essays

by Dow, Sheila; Dow, Sheila C.

• ISBN13: 9780230369108
• ISBN10: 0230369103
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-05-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

New economic thinking is in demand in the light of the recent crisis. But it is constrained by the prevailing way of thinking about the economy and about economics. This book equips the reader with a better understanding of this way of thinking and increases awareness of other possibilities. This selection of essays provides the foundations for debate at the levels of methodology and mode of thought; not only does awareness at these levels increase mutual understanding, making debate more constructive and increasing the possibilities for creative new developments, but it also puts the onus on economists to communicate and defend their own approach. This collection builds up these foundations and addresses particular issues, such as differences in meaning of key concepts. These issues have important practical implications for theory and policy.

Author Biography

Sheila C. Dow is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Stirling, UK. She has also been employed by the Bank of England and the Manitoba Government, been Director of the Stirling Centre for Economic Methodology and Chair of the International Network for Economic Method and author of Economic Methodology: An Inquiry.

Table of Contents

"Sheila Dow has been toiling in the fields of economic methodology for a number of decades, and this book gathers the fruits of her efforts. The range of topics covered is impressive, from the non-neutrality of formalism, to how best to handle open systems, pervasive uncertainty, animal spirits, and other problems that economists must face. Throughout the volume, the vital importance of an open attitude to alternative approaches - in a phrase, methodological pluralism - is stressed. It is a fine collection." — Bruce Caldwell, Professor of Economics, Duke University

"Sheila Dow understands that the failures of economics in the financial crisis are the product of the ways in which economists think about their subject. This book explains the problem – and the pluralism needed to put it right." — John Kay, Author and Economist

"For many years Sheila Dow has wisely guided our thinking through her deep discussions of methodology and its implications for teaching, research and policy, and by a wide range of analytical writings, especially on monetary matters and the workings of monetary production economies in general. Her collection of essays could not have come at a more appropriate time. For her guidance is needed more than ever as we rethink and revise our analysis of how our world works, at the moment, very badly, and what may be done about it." — G. C. Harcourt, Professor Emeritus, University of New South Wales, Australia