917 books match the query 'Economics' and 233 start with t

cover of The Human Condition: Second Edition

The Human Condition

Second Edition

Hannah Arendt

University of Chicago Press, 1998

A work of striking originality bursting with unexpected insights, The Human Condition is in many respects more relevant now than when it first appeared in 1958. In her study of the state of modern humanity, Hannah Arendt considers humankind from the perspective of the actions of which it is capable. The problems Arendt identified then—diminishing human agency and political freedom, the paradox that as human powers increase through technological and humanistic inquiry, we are less equipped to control the consequences of our actions—continue to confront us today. This new edition, published to coincide with the fortieth anniversary of its original publication, contains an improved and expanded index and a new introduction by noted Arendt scholar Margaret Canovan which incisively analyzes the book's argument and examines its present relevance. A classic in political and social theory, The Human Condition is a work that has proved both timeless and perpetually timely.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) was one of the leading social theorists in the United States. Her Lectures on Kant's Political Philosophy and Love and Saint Augustine are also published by the University of Chicago Press.
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cover of The Human Condition: Second Edition

The Human Condition

Second Edition

Hannah Arendt

University of Chicago Press, 2018

A classic work of political thought, more relevant today than ever

The twenty-first century has seen a resurgence of interest in the political thinker Hannah Arendt, “the theorist of beginnings,” whose work probes the logics underlying unexpected transformations—from totalitarianism to revolution.

A work of striking originality, The Human Condition is in many respects more relevant now than when it first appeared in 1958. In her study of the state of modern humanity, Hannah Arendt considers humankind from the perspective of the actions of which it is capable. The problems Arendt identified then—diminishing human agency and political freedom, the paradox that as human powers increase through technological and humanistic inquiry, we are less equipped to control the consequences of our actions—continue to confront us today. This new edition, published to coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of its original publication, contains Margaret Canovan’s 1998 introduction and a new foreword by Danielle Allen.

A classic in political and social theory, The Human Condition is a work that has proved both timeless and perpetually timely.
 
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cover of The IS-LM Model: Its Rise, Fall, and Strange Persistence, Volume 36

The IS-LM Model

Its Rise, Fall, and Strange Persistence, Volume 36

Michel De Vroey and Kevin D. Hoover, eds.

Duke University Press, 0

For some twenty-five years after the end of the Second World War, the IS-LM model dominated macroeconomics. Inspired by the work of John Maynard Keynes, this model demonstrates the relationship among savings, income, investments, and interest rates, showing the point at which the interaction of these elements produces “equilibrium” in an economy. With the advent of the new classical macroeconomics in the early 1970s, the dominance of the IS-LM model was effectively challenged. While no longer central to the graduate training of most macroeconomists or to cutting-edge macroeconomic research, the IS-LM model continues to be a mainstay of undergraduate textbooks, to find wide use in applied macroeconomics, and to lie at the conceptual core of most government and commercial macroeconometric models. This volume, the annual supplement to History of Political Economy, explores the rise, the fall, and the persistence of the IS-LM model. In addition to presenting papers from the History of Political Economy conference held at Duke University in April 2003, the volume includes the text of an address delivered at the conference by Nobel laureate Robert E. Lucas Jr., one of the central players in the intellectual movement that dethroned the IS-LM model.

Contributors. Roger E. Backhouse, Mauro Boianovsky, Michael Bordo, David Colander, William Darity Jr., Michel De Vroey, Robert W. Dimand, Kevin D. Hoover, David Laidler, Robert E. Lucas Jr., Edward Nelson, Goulven Rubin, Anna Schwartz, Scott Sumner, Warren Young

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cover of The Impact of International Trade on Wages

The Impact of International Trade on Wages

Edited by Robert C. Feenstra

University of Chicago Press, 2000

Since the early 1980s, the U.S. economy has experienced a growing wage differential: high-skilled workers have claimed an increasing share of available income, while low-skilled workers have seen an absolute decline in real wages. How and why this disparity has arisen is a matter of ongoing debate among policymakers and economists. Two competing theories have emerged to explain this phenomenon, one focusing on international trade and labor market globalization as the driving force behind the devaluation of low-skill jobs, and the other focusing on the role of technological change as a catalyst for the escalation of high-skill wages.

This collection brings together innovative new ideas and data sources in order to provide more satisfying alternatives to the trade versus technology debate and to assess directly the specific impact of international trade on U.S. wages. This timely volume offers a thorough appraisal of the wage distribution predicament, examining the continued effects of technology and globalization on the labor market.
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cover of The Industrial Organization and Regulation of the Securities Industry

The Industrial Organization and Regulation of the Securities Industry

Edited by Andrew W. Lo

University of Chicago Press, 1995

The regulation of financial markets has for years been the domain of lawyers, legislators, and lobbyists. In this unique volume, experts in industrial organization, finance, and law, as well as members of regulatory agencies and the securities industry, examine the securities industry from an economic viewpoint.

Ten original essays address topics including electronic trading and the "virtual"stock exchange; trading costs and liquidity on the London and Tokyo Stock Exchanges and in the German and Japanese government bond markets; international coordination among regulatory agencies; and the impact of changing margin requirements on stock prices, volatility, and liquidity.

This clear presentation of groundbreaking research will appeal to economists, lawyers, and legislators who seek a refreshingly new perspective on policy issues in the securities industry.
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cover of The Insatiability of Human Wants: Economics and Aesthetics in Market Society

The Insatiability of Human Wants

Economics and Aesthetics in Market Society

Regenia Gagnier

University of Chicago Press, 2000

What is the relationship between our conception of humans as producers or creators; as consumers of taste and pleasure; and as creators of value? Combining cultural history, economics, and literary criticism, Regenia Gagnier's new work traces the parallel development of economic and aesthetic theory, offering a shrewd reading of humans as workers and wanters, born of labor and desire.

The Insatiability of Human Wants begins during a key transitional moment in aesthetic and economic theory, 1871, when both disciplines underwent a turn from production to consumption models. In economics, an emphasis on the theory of value and the social relations between land, labor, and capital gave way to more individualistic models of consumerism. Similarly, in aesthetics, theories of artistic production or creativity soon bowed to models of taste, pleasure, and reception.

Using these developments as a point of departure, Gagnier deftly traces the shift in Western thought from models of production to consumption. From its exploration of early market logic and Kantian thought to its look at the aestheticization of homelessness and our own market boom, The Insatiability of Human Wants invites us to contemplate alternative interpretations of economics, aesthetics, and history itself.
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cover of The Invention of Capitalism: Classical Political Economy and the Secret History of Primitive Accumulation

The Invention of Capitalism

Classical Political Economy and the Secret History of Primitive Accumulation

Michael Perelman

Duke University Press, 2000

The originators of classical political economy—Adam Smith, David Ricardo, James Steuart, and others—created a discourse that explained the logic, the origin, and, in many respects, the essential rightness of capitalism. But, in the great texts of that discourse, these writers downplayed a crucial requirement for capitalism’s creation: For it to succeed, peasants would have to abandon their self-sufficient lifestyle and go to work for wages in a factory. Why would they willingly do this?
Clearly, they did not go willingly. As Michael Perelman shows, they were forced into the factories with the active support of the same economists who were making theoretical claims for capitalism as a self-correcting mechanism that thrived without needing government intervention. Directly contradicting the laissez-faire principles they claimed to espouse, these men advocated government policies that deprived the peasantry of the means for self-provision in order to coerce these small farmers into wage labor. To show how Adam Smith and the other classical economists appear to have deliberately obscured the nature of the control of labor and how policies attacking the economic independence of the rural peasantry were essentially conceived to foster primitive accumulation, Perelman examines diaries, letters, and the more practical writings of the classical economists. He argues that these private and practical writings reveal the real intentions and goals of classical political economy—to separate a rural peasantry from their access to land.
This rereading of the history of classical political economy sheds important light on the rise of capitalism to its present state of world dominance. Historians of political economy and Marxist thought will find that this book broadens their understanding of how capitalism took hold in the industrial age.



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cover of The Invention of Coinage and the Monetization of Ancient Greece

The Invention of Coinage and the Monetization of Ancient Greece

David M. Schaps

University of Michigan Press, 2015

Coinage appeared at a moment when it fulfilled an essential need in Greek society and brought with it rationalization and social leveling in some respects, while simultaneously producing new illusions, paradoxes, and new elites. In a book that will encourage scholarly discussion for some time, David M. Schaps addresses a range of important coinage topics, among them money, exchange, and economic organization in the Near East and in Greece before the introduction of coinage; the invention of coinage and the reasons for its adoption; and the developing use of money to make more money.

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cover of The Japanese Automotive Industry: Model and Challenge for the Future?

The Japanese Automotive Industry

Model and Challenge for the Future?

Robert E. Cole, Editor

University of Michigan Press, 1981

As the University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies reflected on the deteriorating position of the domestic auto industry in the fall of 1980, and the strong competitive threat being posed by the Japanese automakers, we were struck by the extraordinary low quality of the public discussion of these critical issues. The national importance of the issues seemed only matched by the superficiality of the analyses being offered. The tendency to think in terms of scapegoats was particularly evident. The Japanese as the basic cause of our problems has been a particularly notable theme. To be sure, cooperation with the Japanese in formulating a rational overall trade policy may be an important part of the solution. It has also been fashionable to blame it all on American auto industry management for not concentrating on the production of small cars when "everyone knew" that was the thing to do. Alternatively, government meddling was blamed for all our problems. Clearly, the complex problem we faced required more penetrating analyses. It seemed therefore, that the time was ripe for a public seminar which moved beyond the rhetoric of the moment and probed some of the deeper causes of our problems and possible directions for future policy.
In holding the January 1981 auto conference, the Center took it as their task to begin addressing the critical issues facing the industry, with particular, but not exclusive, attention to examining the role of the Japanese auto industry. They had in mind not to simply conduct a rational discussion of the trade issue but to probe the sources of Japanese competitive strength, especially those features whose study might profit them.
In these proceedings, they bring those discussions to a wider audience. Question and answer sessions at the conference were necessarily short and a few speakers delivered abbreviated remarks; this volume restores a number of omissions, and provides additional answers to some pertinent questions put by the audience. The Center hopes to encourage the serious problem-solving these complex issues demand. Far too much time has been spent trying to fix the blame. [intro]
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cover of The Japanese Television Cartel: A Study Based on "Matsushita v. Zenith"

The Japanese Television Cartel

A Study Based on "Matsushita v. Zenith"

David Schwartzman

University of Michigan Press, 1993

The Japanese Television Cartel examines the argument that Japanese television manufacturers dumped televisions in the United States as part of a long-run strategy to dominate the market. This issue is used to explore the related general issues— ones of extraordinary importance that are continually in the forefront of public policy.David Schwartzman builds his argument around the landmark case of Matsushita v. Zenith, in which Zenith, by then the last remaining U.S. television manufacturer, contended that the Japanese manufacturer had manipulated the U.S. market to the detriment of domestic firms. Zenith lost, but the author insists the decision was erroneous and that dumping did occur.The Supreme Court refused to reverse the case; it took the view that because predation is unprofitable, the Japanese manufacturer could not have been guilty of that charge. The author nonetheless maintains that the analysis underlying this argument is predicated on a domestic dominant firm, the predatory losses of which would exceed those of the victimized fringe firms. But in the case of a foreign predator, its immediate losses would be smaller than those of its victims because its initial market share is small. This is just one of several criticisms of the basis of the Court’s argument and a prime example of the applicability of the economic theory developed by the author.The Japanese Television Cartel deserves the attention of all who are concerned with U.S. policy on international trade and international economic competition.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 63 number 4 (November 2020)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 63 number 4 (November 2020)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2020

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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 64 number 1 (February 2021)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 64 number 1 (February 2021)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2021

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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 64 number 2 (May 2021)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 64 number 2 (May 2021)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2021

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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 64 number 3 (August 2021)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 64 number 3 (August 2021)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2021

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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 64 number 4 (November 2021)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 64 number 4 (November 2021)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2021

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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 65 number 1 (February 2022)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 65 number 1 (February 2022)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2022

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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 65 number 2 (May 2022)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 65 number 2 (May 2022)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2022

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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 65 number 3 (August 2022)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 65 number 3 (August 2022)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2022

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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 65 number 4 (November 2022)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 65 number 4 (November 2022)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2022

This is volume 65 issue 4 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 65 number S1 (February 2022)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 65 number S1 (February 2022)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2022

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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 65 number S2 (November 2022)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 65 number S2 (November 2022)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2022

This is volume 65 issue S2 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 66 number 1 (February 2023)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 66 number 1 (February 2023)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2023

This is volume 66 issue 1 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 66 number 2 (May 2023)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 66 number 2 (May 2023)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2023

This is volume 66 issue 2 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 66 number 3 (August 2023)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 66 number 3 (August 2023)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2023

This is volume 66 issue 3 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 66 number 4 (November 2023)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 66 number 4 (November 2023)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2023

This is volume 66 issue 4 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 67 number 1 (February 2024)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 67 number 1 (February 2024)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2024

This is volume 67 issue 1 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 67 number 2 (May 2024)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 67 number 2 (May 2024)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2024

This is volume 67 issue 2 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 67 number 3 (August 2024)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 67 number 3 (August 2024)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2024

This is volume 67 issue 3 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 67 number 4 (November 2024)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 67 number 4 (November 2024)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2024

This is volume 67 issue 4 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 68 number 1 (February 2025)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 68 number 1 (February 2025)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2025

This is volume 68 issue 1 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 68 number 2 (May 2025)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 68 number 2 (May 2025)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2025

This is volume 68 issue 2 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 68 number 3 (August 2025)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 68 number 3 (August 2025)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2025

This is volume 68 issue 3 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 68 number 4 (November 2025)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 68 number 4 (November 2025)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2025

This is volume 68 issue 4 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 69 number 1 (February 2026)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 69 number 1 (February 2026)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2026

This is volume 69 issue 1 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 69 number 2 (May 2026)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 69 number 2 (May 2026)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2026

This is volume 69 issue 2 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
[more]
cover of The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 69 number 3 (August 2026)

The Journal of Law and Economics, volume 69 number 3 (August 2026)

The University of Chicago Press

University of Chicago Press Journals, 2026

This is volume 69 issue 3 of The Journal of Law and Economics. Established in 1958, the Journal of Law and Economics publishes research on a broad range of topics, including the economic analysis of law, the economic analysis of regulation and the behavior of regulated firms, industrial organization and antitrust policy, the political economy of legislation and legislative processes, law and finance, and corporate finance and governance. The JLE has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles in these areas. It is an invaluable resource for academics and those interested in cutting-edge analysis of current public policy issues.
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cover of The Limits of Liberty: Between Anarchy and Leviathan

The Limits of Liberty

Between Anarchy and Leviathan

James M. Buchanan

University of Chicago Press, 1977

"The Limits of Liberty is concerned mainly with two topics. One is an attempt to construct a new contractarian theory of the state, and the other deals with its legitimate limits. The latter is a matter of great practical importance and is of no small significance from the standpoint of political philosophy."—Scott Gordon, Journal of Political Economy

James Buchanan offers a strikingly innovative approach to a pervasive problem of social philosophy. The problem is one of the classic paradoxes concerning man's freedom in society: in order to protect individual freedom, the state must restrict each person's right to act. Employing the techniques of modern economic analysis, Professor Buchanan reveals the conceptual basis of an individual's social rights by examining the evolution and development of these rights out of presocial conditions.
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cover of The Limits of Market Organization

The Limits of Market Organization

Richard R. Nelson

Russell Sage Foundation, 2005

The last quarter century has seen a broad, but qualified, belief in the efficacy of market organization slide into an unyielding dogma that the market, as unconstrained as possible, is the best way to govern virtually all economic activity. However, unrestricted markets can often lead to gross inequalities in access to important resources, the creation of monopolies, and other negative effects that require regulation or public subsidies to remedy. In The Limits of Market Organization, editor Richard Nelson and a group of economic experts take a more sophisticated look at the public/private debate, noting where markets are useful, where they can be effective only if augmented by non-market mechanisms, and where they are simply inappropriate. The Limits of Market Organization examines the appropriateness of markets in four areas where support for privatization varies widely: human services, public utilities, science and technology, and activities where market involvement is altogether inappropriate. Richard Murnane makes the case that a social interest in providing equal access to high quality education means that for school voucher plans to be effective, substantial government oversight is necessary. Federal involvement in a transcontinental railroad system was initially applauded, but recent financial troubles at Amtrak have prompted many to call for privatization of the rails. Yet contributor Elliot Sclar argues that public subsidies are the only way to maintain this vital part of the American transportation infrastructure. While market principles can promote competition and foster innovation, applying them in certain areas can actually stifle progress. Nelson argues that aggressive patenting has hindered scientific research by restricting access to tools and processes that could be used to generate new findings. He suggests that some kind of exception to patent law should be made for scientists who seek to build off of patented findings and then put their research results into the public domain. In other spheres, market organization is altogether unsuitable. Legal expert Richard Briffault looks at one such example—the democratic political process—and profiles the successes and failures of campaign finance reform in preventing parties from buying political influence. This important volume shows that market organization has its virtues, but also its drawbacks. Just as regulation can be over-applied, so too can market principles. The Limits of Market Organization encourages readers to think more discriminately about the march toward privatization, and to remember the importance of public institutions.
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cover of The Limits of Money: Three Perceptions of Our Most Comprehensive Value System

The Limits of Money

Three Perceptions of Our Most Comprehensive Value System

Simon Goudsmit

Eburon Academic Publishers, 2005

The Limits of Money examines money as a historical phenomenon and speculates on its future possibilities and limitations. The volume opens with a concise history of monetary systems and then examines how the advent of numbers transformed money into the main determinant of fiscal value. Simon Goudsmit concludes by looking at the tension between the power of financial incentives and the civic structures and behaviors needed to maintain Western democracy.

The Limits of Money is an intriguing and much-needed study of the role of money in daily life and human societies.
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cover of The Lost Forms of Economic Knowledge: On the Balance of Living Beings

The Lost Forms of Economic Knowledge

On the Balance of Living Beings

Arnaud Orain

University of Chicago Press, 2026

Traces the early history of economic knowledge developed by thinkers between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries.

Starting with the sixteenth century, The Lost Forms of Economic Knowledge investigates the origins and prehistory of economic thought before the emergence of political economy as an autonomous discipline in the late eighteenth century. In this book, the celebrated French historian Arnaud Orain argues that these “lost forms” of economic knowledge represent an important alternative to our modern system of numerical abstraction and market manipulation. 

As Orain shows, older approaches to the economy defined it as a relationship between humans and their specific environment. These earlier mindsets sought to advance vernacular knowledge by turning to a variety of figures—naturalists, artisans, farmers, and merchants—to learn how to take advantage of the environment without depleting it. The goal of these inquiries was not to maximize profit but to determine how to allow humans to satisfy basic needs and live in harmony with nature. Now, at a time in which natural resources are fast depleting, Orain argues that we could do worse than consider the alternative approaches to “economics” that lie in our past, and that might still be available in the future.

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cover of The Market Comes to Education in Sweden: An Evaluation of Sweden's Surprising School Reforms

The Market Comes to Education in Sweden

An Evaluation of Sweden's Surprising School Reforms

Anders Bjorklund

Russell Sage Foundation, 2005

A large central government providing numerous public services has long been a hallmark of Swedish society, which is also well-known for its pursuit of equality. Yet in the 1990s, Sweden moved away from this tradition in education, introducing market-oriented reforms that decentralized authority over public schools and encouraged competition between private and public schools. Many wondered if this approach would improve educational quality, or if it might expand inequality that Sweden has fought so hard to hold down. In The Market Comes to Education in Sweden, economists Anders Björklund, Melissa Clark, Per-Anders Edin, Peter Fredriksson, and Alan Krueger measure the impact of Sweden's bold experiment in governing and help answer the questions that societies across the globe have been debating as they try to improve their children's education. The Market Comes to Education in Sweden injects some much-needed objectivity into the heavily politicized debate about the effectiveness of educational reform. While advocates for reform herald the effectiveness of competition in improving outcomes, others suggest that the reforms will grossly increase educational inequality for young people. The authors find that increased competition did help improve students' math and language skills, but only slightly, and with no effect on the performance of foreign-born students and those with low-educated parents. They also find some signs of increasing school segregation and wider inequality in student performance, but nothing near the doomsday scenarios many feared. In fact, the authors note that the relationship between family background and school performance has hardly budged since before the reforms were enacted. The authors conclude by providing valuable recommendations for school reform, such as strengthening school evaluation criteria, which are essential for parents, students, and governments to make competent decisions regarding education. Whether or not the market-oriented reforms to Sweden's educational system succeed will have far reaching implications for other countries considering the same course of action. The Market Comes to Education in Sweden offers firm empirical answers to the questions raised by school reform and brings crucial facts to the debate over the future of schooling in countries across the world.
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The Market and Other Orders

F. A. Hayek

University of Chicago Press, 2013

In addition to his groundbreaking contributions to pure economic theory, F. A. Hayek also closely examined the ways in which the knowledge of many individual market participants could culminate in an overall order of economic activity. His attempts to come to terms with the “knowledge problem” thread through his career and comprise the writings collected in the fifteenth volume of the University of Chicago Press’s Collected Works of F. A. Hayek series.

The Market and Other Orders brings together more than twenty works spanning almost forty years that consider this question. Consisting of speeches, essays, and lectures, including Hayek’s 1974 Nobel lecture, “The Pretense of Knowledge,” the works in this volume draw on a broad range of perspectives, including the philosophy of science, the physiology of the brain, legal theory, and political philosophy. Taking readers from Hayek’s early development of the idea of spontaneous order in economics through his integration of this insight into political theory and other disciplines, the book culminates with Hayek’s integration of his work on these topics into an overarching social theory that accounts for spontaneous order in the variety of complex systems that Hayek studied throughout his career.

Edited by renowned Hayek scholar Bruce Caldwell, who also contributes a masterly introduction that provides biographical and historical context, The Market and Other Orders forms the definitive compilation of Hayek’s work on spontaneous order.

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cover of The Market and Other Orders

The Market and Other Orders

F. A. Hayek

University of Chicago Press, 2013

This is an auto-narrated audiobook version of this book.

In addition to his groundbreaking contributions to pure economic theory, F. A. Hayek also closely examined the ways in which the knowledge of many individual market participants could culminate in an overall order of economic activity. His attempts to come to terms with the “knowledge problem” thread through his career and comprise the writings collected in the fifteenth volume of the University of Chicago Press’s Collected Works of F. A. Hayek series.

The Market and Other Orders brings together more than twenty works spanning almost forty years that consider this question. Consisting of speeches, essays, and lectures, including Hayek’s 1974 Nobel lecture, “The Pretense of Knowledge,” the works in this volume draw on a broad range of perspectives, including the philosophy of science, the physiology of the brain, legal theory, and political philosophy. Taking readers from Hayek’s early development of the idea of spontaneous order in economics through his integration of this insight into political theory and other disciplines, the book culminates with Hayek’s integration of his work on these topics into an overarching social theory that accounts for spontaneous order in the variety of complex systems that Hayek studied throughout his career.

Edited by renowned Hayek scholar Bruce Caldwell, who also contributes a masterly introduction that provides biographical and historical context, The Market and Other Orders forms the definitive compilation of Hayek’s work on spontaneous order.
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The Meaning of Money in China and the United States

The 1986 Lewis Henry Morgan Lectures

Emily Martin

HAU, 2015

When Emily Martin delivered the annual Lewis Henry Morgan Lectures at the University of Rochester in 1986, she took as her subject the meaning of money in China and the United States. Though the topic is of perennial interest—and never more so than in our era, when economic forecasts of China’s growing economy generate shallow news stories and public fear—the lectures were never edited for publication, so their rich analysis has been unavailable to anthropologists ever since.

With this book—the first volume in a collaboration between Hau Books and the University of Rochester—Martin’s lectures are brought back, fully edited and richly illustrated. A new introduction by Martin herself brings her analysis wholly up to date, while an afterword by Jane I. Guyer and Sidney Mintz discusses Martin’s work, influence, and legacy. The Meaning of Money in China and the United States will instantly assume its rightful place as a classic in the field, with Martin’s insights as germane and productive as they were nearly thirty years ago.


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cover of The Means of Prediction: How AI Really Works (and Who Benefits)

The Means of Prediction

How AI Really Works (and Who Benefits)

Maximilian Kasy

University of Chicago Press, 2025

An eye-opening examination of how power—not technology—will define life with AI.

AI is inescapable, from its mundane uses online to its increasingly consequential decision-making in courtrooms, job interviews, and wars. The ubiquity of AI is so great that it might produce public resignation—a sense that the technology is our shared fate.
 
As economist Maximilian Kasy shows in The Means of Prediction, artificial intelligence, far from being an unstoppable force, is irrevocably shaped by human decisions—choices made to date by the ownership class that steers its development and deployment. Kasy shows that the technology of AI is ultimately not that complex. It is insidious, however, in its capacity to steer results to its owners’ wants and ends. Kasy clearly and accessibly explains the fundamental principles on which AI works, and, in doing so, reveals that the real conflict isn’t between humans and machines, but between those who control the machines and the rest of us.
 
The Means of Prediction offers a powerful vision of the future of AI: a future not shaped by technology, but by the technology’s owners. Amid a deluge of debates about technical details, new possibilities, and social problems, Kasy cuts to the core issue: Who controls AI’s objectives, and how is this control maintained? The answer lies in what he calls “the means of prediction,” or the essential resources required for building AI systems: data, computing power, expertise, and energy. As Kasy shows, in a world already defined by inequality, one of humanity’s most consequential technologies has been and will be steered by those already in power.
 
Against those stakes, Kasy offers an elegant framework both for understanding AI’s capabilities and for designing its public control. He makes a compelling case for democratic control over AI objectives as the answer to mounting concerns about AI's risks and harms. The Means of Prediction is a revelation, both an expert undressing of a technology that has masqueraded as more complicated and a compelling call for public oversight of this transformative technology.
 
[more]
cover of The Means of Prediction: How AI Really Works (and Who Benefits)

The Means of Prediction

How AI Really Works (and Who Benefits)

Maximilian Kasy

University of Chicago Press, 2025

An eye-opening examination of how power—not technology—will define life with AI.

AI is inescapable, from its mundane uses online to its increasingly consequential decision-making in courtrooms, job interviews, and wars. The ubiquity of AI is so great that it might produce public resignation—a sense that the technology is our shared fate.
 
As economist Maximilian Kasy shows in The Means of Prediction, artificial intelligence, far from being an unstoppable force, is irrevocably shaped by human decisions—choices made to date by the ownership class that steers its development and deployment. Kasy shows that the technology of AI is ultimately not that complex. It is insidious, however, in its capacity to steer results to its owners’ wants and ends. Kasy clearly and accessibly explains the fundamental principles on which AI works, and, in doing so, reveals that the real conflict isn’t between humans and machines, but between those who control the machines and the rest of us.
 
The Means of Prediction offers a powerful vision of the future of AI: a future not shaped by technology, but by the technology’s owners. Amid a deluge of debates about technical details, new possibilities, and social problems, Kasy cuts to the core issue: Who controls AI’s objectives, and how is this control maintained? The answer lies in what he calls “the means of prediction,” or the essential resources required for building AI systems: data, computing power, expertise, and energy. As Kasy shows, in a world already defined by inequality, one of humanity’s most consequential technologies has been and will be steered by those already in power.
 
Against those stakes, Kasy offers an elegant framework both for understanding AI’s capabilities and for designing its public control. He makes a compelling case for democratic control over AI objectives as the answer to mounting concerns about AI's risks and harms. The Means of Prediction is a revelation, both an expert undressing of a technology that has masqueraded as more complicated and a compelling call for public oversight of this transformative technology.
 

[more]
cover of The Measure of Economies: Measuring Productivity in an Age of Technological Change

The Measure of Economies

Measuring Productivity in an Age of Technological Change

Edited by Marshall B. Reinsdorf and Louise Sheiner

University of Chicago Press, 2024

Innovative new approaches for improving GDP measurement to better gauge economic productivity.

Official measures of gross domestic product (GDP) indicate that productivity growth has declined in the United States over the last two decades. This has led to calls for policy changes from pro-business tax reform to stronger antitrust measures. But are our twentieth-century economic methods actually measuring our twenty-first-century productivity?

The Measure of Economies offers a synthesis of the state of knowledge in productivity measurement at a time when many question the accuracy and scope of GDP. With chapters authored by leading economic experts on topics such as the digital economy, health care, and the environment, it highlights the inadequacies of current practices and discusses cutting-edge alternatives.

Pragmatic and forward-facing, The Measure of Economies is an essential resource not only for social scientists, but also for policymakers and business leaders seeking to understand the complexities of economic growth in a time of rapidly evolving technology.

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cover of The Measurement of Durable Goods Prices

The Measurement of Durable Goods Prices

Robert J. Gordon

University of Chicago Press, 1990

American business has recently been under fire, charged with inflated pricing and an inability to compete in the international marketplace. However, the evidence presented in this volume shows that the business community has been unfairly maligned—official measures of inflation and the standard of living have failed to account for progress in the quality of business equipment and consumer goods. Businesses have actually achieved higher productivity at lower prices, and new goods are lighter, faster, more energy efficient, and more reliable than their predecessors.

Robert J. Gordon has written the first full-scale work to treat the extent of quality changes over the entire range of durable goods, from autos to aircraft, computers to compressors, from televisions to tractors. He combines and extends existing methods of measurement, drawing data from industry sources, Consumer Reports, and the venerable Sears catalog.

Beyond his important finding that the American economy is more sound than officially recognized, Gordon provides a wealth of anecdotes tracing the postwar history of technological progress. Bolstering his argument that improved quality must be accurately measured, Gordon notes, for example, that today's mid-range personal computers outperform the multimillion-dollar mainframes of the 1970s. This remarkable book will be essential reading for economists and those in the business community.
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cover of The Measurement of Labor Cost

The Measurement of Labor Cost

Edited by Jack E. Triplett

University of Chicago Press, 1983

Measuring costs of labor as a portion of total production costs has never before been treated so thoroughly or so thoughtfully. Moreover, contrary to most recent labor research, this book focuses on the demand side—the employer's point of view—and the behavior studied is employer behavior.

An introductory essay by the editor provides a useful guide to current thought in the analysis of labor cost. Other papers give new insights into problems encountered in accounting for the nonwage elements of labor compensation, the effect of pensions and other benefits, and the wage-measurement questions raised by incomes policies. In addition, there is a wealth of valuable new data on labor costs in the United States.

Labor economists, statisticians, econometric modelers, and advisers to government and industry will welcome this up-to-date and comprehensive treatment of the costs of production.
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cover of The Measurement of Saving, Investment, and Wealth

The Measurement of Saving, Investment, and Wealth

Edited by Robert E. Lipsey and Helen Stone Tice

University of Chicago Press, 1989

There is probably no concept other than saving for which U.S. official agencies issue annual estimates that differ by more than a third, as they have done for net household saving, or for which reputable scholars claim that the correct measure is close to ten times the officially published one. Yet despite agreement among economists and policymakers on the importance of this measure, huge inconsistencies persist.

Contributors to this volume investigate ways to improve aggregate and sectoral saving and investment estimates and analyze microdata from recent household wealth surveys. They provide analyses of National Income and Product Account (NIPA) and Flow-of-Funds measures and of saving and survey-based wealth estimates. Conceptual and methodological questions are discussed regarding long-term trends in the U.S. wealth inequality, age-wealth profiles, pensions and wealth distribution, and biases in inferences about life-cycle changes in saving and wealth. Some new assessments are offered for investment in human and nonhuman capital, the government contribution to national wealth, NIPA personal and corporate saving, and banking imputation.
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