J. Fagg Foster (1907-1985) was one of the most significant creators of institutionalist economic theory in the twentieth century. He wrote and taught in the American intellectual tradition of Thorstein Weblen, John R. Commons, John Dewey and Clarence E. Ayres. This tradition shares purpose and philosophy with the European contributors, Gunnar Myrdal and K. William Kapp.
Because little of Foster's scholarly work was formally published, professional knowledge of his extraordinary contribution is quite limited beyond the circle of his students and colleagues. Value Theory and...

The purpose of this volume is to demonstrate how contemporary institutional economic analysis can be applied to the resolution of economic problems. All of the essays in this book challenge the conventional wisdom in the problem areas addressed. They advocate policy positions that often run contrary to views widely held by academic economists and policy makers alike. The general literature of institutional economics is unorthodox, beginning with its methodological foundations and continuing through the kind of policy analysis found in these pages. The orthodox tradition in economics is...