Unemployment and the Economists

Hardback

Unemployment and the Economists

9781858983516 Edward Elgar Publishing
Edited by Bernard Corry, Emeritus Professor of Economics, Queen Mary, University of London, UK With contributions from the late Alan Budd, formerly Pro Bono Economics, UK and the late Walter Eltis, formerly Emeritus Fellow, Exeter College, Oxford University, UK, Jose Harris, St Catherine’s College, Oxford, Terry Peach, University of Manchester, UK and George Peden, University of Stirling, UK
Publication Date: 1996 ISBN: 978 1 85898 351 6 Extent: 176 pp
Unemployment and the Economists addresses economic ideas, beliefs and arguments regarding the causes and possible cures of unemployment – a matter of recurring interest and concern for economists throughout history.

Copyright & permissions

Recommend to librarian

Your Details

Privacy Policy

Librarian Details

Download leaflet

Print page

More Information
Critical Acclaim
Contents
More Information
Unemployment and the Economists addresses economic ideas, beliefs and arguments regarding the causes and possible cures of unemployment – a matter of recurring interest and concern for economists throughout history.

An overview essay by Bernard Corry shows how the economic policy and theory has focused more on giving incentives for the unemployed to find work than on altering the structure of the demand for labour. Terry Peach writes about Ricardo’s debates with Malthus on unemployment following the Napoleonic wars, while Jose Harris examines the phenomenon during the 1870 to 1914 period. The volume also includes work by George Peden on the interwar British Treasury’s rejection of borrowing to counter unemployment and Alan Budd’s paper on the theory and practice of unemployment policy since the second world war. The volume concludes with comments by Walter Eltis.

Featuring some of the leading scholars currently writing on the history of economic thought and policy, Unemployment and the Economists will be welcomed as a substantial contribution to an on-going and highly pertinent economic, political and social debate.
Critical Acclaim
‘. . . the essays provide worthwhile reading for those interested in the evolution of thinking on unemployment and related policy issues throughout history.’
– Derek H. Aldcroft, History of Economic Thought Newsletter

‘This volume offers an accessible and brief introductory review of the development of economic ideas and policy on unemployment. Its endorsement of the significant contribution to policy which economists can still make indicates its potential for vacation reading to enthuse undergraduate economists and, perhaps, their tutors.’
– Katherine Watson, Economic Journal

‘The great merit of the book is that it brings together papers spanning the period from the 1820s to the 1990s. The papers are all useful and some are very good.’
– Roger E. Backhouse, The Manchester School
Contents
Contents: Preface 1. Unemployment in the History of Economic Thought: An Overview and Some Reflections (B. Corry) 2. Ricardo and Malthus on the Post-Napoleonic Distress: Too Many Producers or a Momentary Lapse of Reason? (T. Peach) 3. From Sunspots to Social Welfare: The Unemployment Problem 1870–1914 (J. Harris) 4. The Treasury View in the Interwar Period: An Example of Political Economy? (G. Peden) 5. Unemployment Policy Since the War - the Theory and the Practice (A. Budd) 6. Unemployment and the Economists: A Concluding Comment (W. Eltis) Index
My Cart