Prelude to Political Economy A Study of the Social and Political Foundations of Economics

Name: Prelude to Political Economy A Study of the Social and Political Foundations of Economics
Price: 23.79 USD
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ISBN: 9780199261857

ISBN-10: 0199261857

ISBN-13: 9780199261857

Edition: 2003

Authors: Kaushik Basu

List price: $49.99

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Mainstream economics was founded on many strong assumptions. Institutions and politics were treated as irrelevant, government as exogenous, social norms as epiphenomena. As an initial gambit this was fine. But as the horizons of economic inquiry have broadened, these assumptions have become hindrances rather than aids. If we want to understand why some economies succeed and some fail, why some governments are effective and others not, why some communities prosper while others stagnate, it is essential to view economics as embedded in politics and society. Prelude to Political Economy is a study of this embeddedness; it argues for an 'inclusive' approach to institutions and the state. Modern…

Book details

List price: $49.99
Copyright year: 2003
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
Publication date: 4/10/2003
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 304
Size: 6.14" wide x 9.21" long x 0.63" tall
Weight: 0.440

Kaushik Basu is Professor of Economics and Carl Marks Professor of International Studies in the Economics Department at Cornell University. He is Editor of Social Choice and Welfare and Associate Editor of The Journal of Economic Perspectives and The Journal of Development Economics. He is author of many books and articles, including The Less Developed Economy, (Blackwell, 1984), Lectures in Industrial Organization Theory (Blackwell, 1993), and Analytical Development Economics (1997).



Preface



Preliminaries



Introduction



Incident off Grand Trunk Road



Positive Political Economy



An Overview



Games and Misdemeanors: Game Theory for the Uninitiated



Motivation



Hex



Normal-Form Games



Extensive-Form Games



Individual Rationality



The Concept of Rationality



Internal Consistency



Procrastination and Addiction



The Traveler's Dilemma



The E-mail Game - Almost



The Paradox of Cognition



Society



Social Norms, Culture and Beliefs



Of Mice and Men



The Bridge on Forest Home Drive



A Digression on "Association"



Equilibrium-Selection Norms



Hawk, Dove and Maynard's Cuckoo



Norms, Polyphiloprogenitive



Beliefs



The State



Law and Economics



The Law According to Social Science



Law and Economics: A New Approach



Law and Enforcement: A Model



A Digression on Freedom of Speech



Concluding Remarks



Power and Coercion



Of Dyads and Triads



Political Power, Havel's Allegory, and McCarthyism



Triadic Markets and Coercion



A Digression on Sexual Harassment



On the "Man of Influence"



Concluding Remarks



On Advising Government



A Science of Advising?



Advising Endogenous Government



Cheater's Roulette



A Moral Conundrum



The Concept of "State"



Preamble



The Standard View and Its Brood of Fallacies



State as Beliefs



The Dane County Farmers' Market



Ethics and Judgment



Welfare and Interpersonal Comparisons



Preliminaries



If I Were You ...



Income and Welfare



Utilitarianism and Rights



Basic Concepts



Escher's Waterfall and a Critique of Utilitarianism



Rights and Liberty



Morals and Solipsism



Conclusion



Some Concluding Remarks



Introduction



The Pdomain Problem



Games and Reality



The Free Rider



Conclusion



Notes on Methodology: Various and Sundry



Introduction



Knowledge and Skepticism



Assumptions



Hume's Law



Methodological Individualism



Determinism and Choice


References


Name Index


Subject Index