Socio-economics : an interdisciplinary approach : ethics, institutions, and markets

Bibliographic Information

Socio-economics : an interdisciplinary approach : ethics, institutions, and markets

Beat Bürgenmeier ; translated by Kevin Cook

Kluwer Academic Publishers, c1992

  • : alk. paper

Other Title

Plaidoyer pour une économie sociale

Socioeconomics

Available at  / 31 libraries

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Note

Translation of: Plaidoyer pour une économie sociale

Includes bibliographical references (p. [181]-186) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

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.

Table of Contents

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.

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Details

  • NCID
    BA18358041
  • ISBN
    • 0792391861
  • LCCN
    91040613
  • Country Code
    us
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Original Language Code
    fre
  • Place of Publication
    Boston
  • Pages/Volumes
    xi, 190 p.
  • Size
    24 cm
  • Classification
  • Subject Headings
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