Socio-Economics: An Interdisciplinary Approach: Ethics, Institutions, and Markets

ISBN-13: 9789401053174 / Angielski / Miękka / 2012 / 190 str.

Beat Burgenmeier

Opis

This book is intended as a warning against the kind of hard-core liberalism which blames state intervention for the disappointing results achieved in matters of macroeconomic, competition and social welfare policy. In calling attention to the social dimension of economics, the book stresses the need for an ethical yardstick which can only be pro vided by an interdisciplinary approach to the economy. One current school of thought claims to have bridged the gap by por traying economics as both positive and normative. However, this inter pretation is inadequate. The positive aspect of economics, reflecting an approach common in the natural sciences, is based on observable facts. It highlights causal relationships and seeks to analyse economic mechanisms on the basis of available information. This has led to an emphasis on purely deductive methods, which form the basis for many of the conclusions in main stream economics. This current of thought is typified by the neoclassical school, which takes as its main premise the much-disputed hypothesis of economic rationality. Human behaviour is deemed to be rational when consumers maximize their satisfaction and producers their profits, sub ject to the constraints of income and production costs respectively. Opt imal strategies for both consumers and producers can best be determined by the mechanism of market forces."

Spis treści

Foreword. Introduction. Part I: Economic Theory -- Going Round in Circles? 1. The Links Between Economic Theory and Practice. State Intervention: A Theoretical Debate. Empirical Observation of Economic Reality. 2. The Fragmentation of Economics. Institutionalist Criticisms. The Controversy over Methodology. Basic Assumptions. 3. The Instrumentalization of Economics. Mathematics and Economic Theory. The Development of Quantitative Methods. Part II: Economic Policy in Crisis. 4. The Role of the State in Economic Theory. The Origins of Liberalism. Liberal Theory and Economic Reality. 5. The All-Pervading State. Instruments of Economic Policy. Admission of Failure. The Search for a Miracle Cure. 6. The Threat of Institutional Paralysis. Collective Decision-Making Mechanisms. Economic Theory and Bureaucracy. Part III: A New Approach. 7. Economics and the Social Sciences. The Export of Economic Thinking. Economics: A Social Science. 8. The Meaning of Productivity. Economic Interpretations of Productivity. Private-Sector and Public-Sector Productivity. Social Change and New Motives. 9. The Environmental Debate. Economic Theory of the Environment. Beyond the Economic Dimension. Conclusion. Bibliography. Subject Index.