Against the backdrop of today s renewed uncertainty over the present economic system, this timely volume presents Martin Luther s contribution to the modern economic sciences, providing a detailed introduction and revised translation of his major pamphlet on economic matters, On Commerce and Usury ( Von Kauffshandlung vnd Wucher, 1524). In his teachings on indulgences Luther picked up on the question of hoarding money, and was among the earliest voices in early modern Europe calling for an ethical economics. Luther s work prefigured many later contributions to modern economic theory, from...

Economic Growth and the Origins of Modern Political Economy addresses the intellectual foundations of modern economic growth and European industrialization. Through an examination both of the roots of European industrialization and of the history of economic ideas, this book presents a uniquely broad examination of the origins of modern political economy.

This volume asks what can we learn from old theories in terms of our understanding of history, our economic fate today, and the prospects for the modern world s poorest countries. Spanning across the past five hundred years, this book...