1.1. Towards Modern Economic Systems – Changes in Mindsets.-
1.2. Towards Modern Economic Systems – Changes in Structures.-
1.3. Risk Reduction and the Role of the Public Sector.-
1.4. Analyzing Complex Economic Systems.-
2. Individual, Economic Environment, and Mutual Relation.-
2.1. Equilibrium or Process, and the Value of Goods.-
2.2. An Approach to a World of Scarcity.-
2.3. Suboptimal Outcomes within the Benchmark Framework.-
2.4. The Economic System Forcing Beneficial Results for Irrational Agents.-
2.5. What if Agents Directly Influence Each Others' Results.-
2.6. What if Agents Can Influence Others' Economic Environment.-
2.7. What if There is a Mutual Influence Between Individuals and Environment.-
2.8. What if There Are Relevant Aspects That Cannot Be Known in Advance.-
2.9. Structure Through Rules and Norms.-
2.10. Limitations of the Individual and Limitations from the Environment.-
2.11. Structure to Enable Activity, and Top-Down vs. Bottom-up Approaches to Formulating an Analytical Framework.-
3. The Functioning and the Functioning of Markets.-
3.1. Markets, and Individual Agents and Societies.-
3.2. Different Markets and Allocation, Effectiveness, and Change.-
3.3. Different Products and Different Markets.-
3.4. Specific Markets: Labor.-
3.5. Specific Markets: Finance.-
3.6. Specific Markets: Trade Relations.-
3.7. How to Utilize Markets for Societies.-
4. Unemployment as Economic Crises.-
4.1. Money and Inflation in Top-Down Perspectives.-
4.2. Longer Term Unemployment as a Possibility.-
4.3. Unemployment and Acute Crises as Normal Aspects of Economic Activity.-
4.4. Unemployment as a Permanent State in Economic Systems.-
4.5. Change as a Normal and Ongoing Outcome of Economic Activity.-
4.6. Different Perspectives on Crises in Economies.-
5. Frameworks for Economic Policies.-
5.1. Communicating Policy Proposals.-
5.2. Generic Microeconomic Policy Perspectives.-
5.3. Policies for Specific Markets – The Labor Market.-
5.4. Policies for Specific Markets – Financial Markets.-
5.5. Policies for Specific Markets – Cross-Border Relations: Trade and Development.-
5.6. Other Societal Arenas and Economic Activity.-
5.7. Policies Concerning Resource Utilization in Economies.-
5.8. Contrasting Frameworks for Achieving Economic Objectives.-
6. Final Considerations.-
Henning Schwardt is Visiting Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Denver, USA. His research has focused on institutional economics and development economics, as well as complexity economics.
The book illustrates how the treatment of complexity in analytical frameworks shapes economic studies. It explores the ways economists make sense of our economic environment and where their differences in interpretations of economic issues and policy proposals are rooted. Schwardt examines developments in economies and the role of the public sector over the last few centuries. Taking a theoretical approach and addressing different analytical frameworks, a basic distinction is introduced between top-down approaches, where assumptions about the economic environment are formulated at the outset; and bottom-up approaches, where an economic environment emerges from the interactions of the individual agents.
By recognising the validity of alternate perspectives on economic issues, Schwardt proposes an improved foundation for economics research and policy.