Pluralistic Economics and Its History

This volume is a history of economics – as it was interpreted, discussed and established as a discipline – in the 20th century. It highlights the pluralism of the discipline and brings together leading voices in the field who reflect on their lifelong work. The chapters draw on a host of traditions of economic thought, including pre-classical, classical, Marxian, neoclassical, Sraffian, post-Keynesian, Cantabrigian and institutionalist traditions in economics. Further, the volume also looks at the history of economics in India and its evolution as a discipline since the country’s independence. This book will appeal to students, researchers and teachers of economics and intellectual history, as well as to the interested general reader.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction 2. History, Logic and Narrative in Pedagogy 3. Theories of Activity Levels and Growth before Adam Smith 4. From ‘Change’ to ‘Difference’: Sraffa’s Reinterpretation of Classical Economics 5. A History of Marxian Economics 1960-2010: How We 'Did' It 6. Capitalism, Classical Political Economy and Marx's Departures 7. On the Origins of Post Keynesian Macroeconomics 8. Geoff Harcourt on G.C. Harcourt, as told to Ajit Sinha 9. Is there a Cambridge approach to economics? 10. Between Theory and History: The Structural Dynamics Tradition 11. Buffer Stock Operations in History and Economic Thought 12. History of Institutional Economics 13. General Equilibrium Theory: A Status Report 14. Historical Perspective of Econometrics 15. Writings of Indian Economic History since Independence 16. On the Evolution of Heterodox Economic Thinking in India 17. Two Sides of the Colonial Coin: British and Indian women’s Engagements with Colonialism and Patriarchy

About the Author :
Ajit Sinha is a Professor of Economics at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, India. He has published extensively in the area of history of economic theory. He is also the author of Theories of Value from Adam Smith to Piero Sraffa, A Revolution in Economic Theory: The Economics of Piero Sraffa and Essays on Theories of Value in the Classical Tradition. Alex M. Thomas is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, India. His primary research area is the history of economic thought, especially classical economics.

Review :
"In all, a diverse and therefore highly interesting volume, which hopefully will provoke critical exchanges and thus contribute to the further global advancement of the field. It is a must-read for anyone with a focus on the state-of-the-art in economics." – László Csaba, Contributions to Political Economy "…as a teacher in the subject of economics for both undergraduates and postgraduates, I would say that this book fills a major vacuum in the teaching of the discipline. We are living in a time where economic departments have either already removed completely or are keen to remove from their curricula the history of economic thought." – Suma Scaria, Indian Journal of Human Development "…it will be useful as supplementary material for advanced economics students and for the informed public with a general interest on the origins and evolution of economic ideas." – Stavros A. Drakopoulos, History of Economic Ideas "This book is a good addition to the books on the history of economic thought. To quote from cricket, the book has a formidable line-up of economists and thinkers to play the game of history of economic thought." – Amol Agrawal, Economic & Political Weekly "The fields of economic history and heterodox economics, as well as the economic literature written by women, are still under-researched. More research like this will give further insights on India and its connection to the global economic literature." – Maria Bach, Œconomia "Sinha and Thomas’s edited volume offers a rich and varied set of contri>butions for those interested in exploring unknown or less-discussed issues in the his>tory of economics." - Danielle Guizzo, University of Bristol, HOPE reviews