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This volume focuses on the importance of the history of economic thought as an intellectual discipline. It counters the arguments of some contemporary economists who describe it as studying the mistakes of the past. However, all the great economists - Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Marshall, Keynes and even Milton Friedman - have drawn on the history of economics to find an appropriate pedigree for their own theoretical innovations.
1991
Level: advanced
The Historiography of Economics
From the Dissolution of the Soviet Union to the Conflict in Ukraine The breakup of the Soviet Union led to the creation of new states and territorial conflicts of different levels of intensity Scrutinising the post Soviet period this volume offers explanations for both the frequency and the intensity of …
2021
Level: advanced
Crises in the Post-Soviet Space
This book provides important insights into agrarian history and the economic and cultural meanings associated with land.
2019
Level: beginner
The Cultural Economy of Land
To grasp sex in all its complexity, including its relationship to gender, class, race and power, Srinivasan argues that we need to move beyond the simplistic views of consent in the form of yes-no, to rather consider the more complex question of wanted-unwanted.
2021
Level: beginner
The Right to Sex
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics

Get ready to change the way you think about economics.

Nobel laureate Richard H. Thaler has spent his career studying the radical notion that the central agents in the economy are humans--predictable, error-prone individuals. Misbehaving is his arresting, frequently hilarious account of the struggle to bring an academic discipline back down to earth--and change the way we think about economics, ourselves, and our world.

2016
Level: advanced
Misbehaving
hether it's working for free in exchange for 'experience', enduring poor treatment in the name of being 'part of the family', or clocking serious overtime for a good cause, more and more of us are pushed to make sacrifices for the privilege of being able to do work we enjoy. Work Won't Love You Back examines how we all bought into this 'labour of love' myth: the idea that certain work is not really work, and should be done for the sake of passion rather than pay.
2021
Level: beginner
Work Won't Love You Back
'This Cambridge professor delights in paradox. And myth-busting . . . he does this with charm and a desire to see how things work in the real world' Guardian, 'In Praise of Ha-Joon Chang' In this revelatory book, Ha-Joon Chang destroys the biggest myths of our times and shows us the truth about how the world really works, including- there's no such thing as a free market.
2011
Level: advanced
23 Things They Don't Tell You about Capitalism
John Harvey's accessible book provides a non-technical yet rigorous introduction to various schools of thought in economics. Premised on the idea that economic thinking has been stunted by the almost complete rejection of anything outside the mainstream, the author hopes that this volume will open readers' minds and lead them in new and productive directions.
2016
Level: advanced
Contending Perspectives in Economics
This edited volume put together by Jimi Adesina based on the proceedings of the Social Policy in African Conference in 2017 provides an overview of social policy in varied country contexts and fields especially in light of decades of the reduction in size and hollowing out of the content of …
2021
Level: advanced
Social Policy in the African Context
The bestselling classic that examines the history of economic thought from Adam Smith to Karl Marx—“all the economic lore most general readers conceivably could want to know, served up with a flourish” (The New York Times). The Worldly Philosophers not only enables us to see more deeply into our history but helps us better understand our own times. In this seventh edition, Robert L. Heilbroner provides a new theme that connects thinkers as diverse as Adam Smith and Karl Marx.
1999
Level: beginner
The Worldly Philosophers
How did the rich countries really become rich? In this provocative study, Ha-Joon Chang examines the great pressure on developing countries from the developed world to adopt certain 'good policies' and 'good institutions', seen today as necessary for economic development.
2002
Level: advanced
Kicking Away the Ladder
Macroeconomics is fundamental to our understanding of how the world functions today. But too often our understanding is based on orthodox, dogmatic analysis.
2016
Level: beginner
Macroeconomics - A Critical Companion
In the first intellectual history of neoliberal globalism, Quinn Slobodian follows neoliberal thinkers from the Habsburg Empire’s fall to the creation of the World Trade Organization to show that neoliberalism emerged less to shrink government and abolish regulations than to deploy them globally to protect capitalism.
2020
Level: beginner
Globalists
Mainstream economic theory has been increasingly questioned following the recent global financial crisis. Marc Lavoie shows how post-Keynesian theory can function as a coherent substitute by focusing on realistic assumptions and integrating the financial and real sides of the economy.
2015
Level: advanced
Post-Keynesian Economics
"This eleven-week course offers a pluralist introduction to political economy and economics. We will examine nine (9) competing schools of thought, each of which offer an original and distinctive illumination of economic and social reality. The course offers a level of learning that would at least match that which is offered by a University. However, you do not need to be connected to a university or to have studied political economy or economics previously to enrol in this particular subject."
2022
Level: beginner
An Introduction to Political Economy and Economics
The authors show how consumers, business, the Federal Reserve, and government take into account what's going on around them to make critical decisions like buying new products, building new factories, changing interest rates, or setting budget goals. The book provides a clear roadmap to understanding the whole story behind the global economy.
2014
Level: advanced
Big Picture Economics
Adhering to the multiplicity of degrowth whilst also arguing that strategic prioritisation and coordination are key, Degrowth & Strategy advances the debate on strategy for social-ecological transformation. It explores what strategising means, identifies key directions for the degrowth movement, and scrutinises strategies in practice that aim to realise a degrowth society.
2022
Level: beginner
Degrowth & Strategy
This book looks at the anti-capitalist economy and the organization of social relations in the context of the revolution and autonomy of Rojava (Kurdistan-Syria).
2023
Level: beginner
Anticapitalist Economy in Rojava
Philosopher and political economist John Stuart Mill laid several foundations for liberal thinking, amongst others with the harm principle: everyone should be given the individual freedom - and not be hindered by e.g. state intervention - to act as s/he wants as long as no other person is harmed by this action. A short insight in his book On Liberty.
2014
Level: beginner
The Harm Principle: How to live your life the way you want to
What is the working class under present circumstances and in particular in urban lives? David Harvey explains how the concept of the working class is still suitable for the current organization of work – even if working conditions changed, now being more service-oriented and diffused. Harvey further discusses how this diffused working class can organize via urban neighbourhoods.
2015
Level: beginner
The Revolutionary Class Today
The Canadian author and journalist Richard Swift takes the listener on a journey to different degrowth projects. During the visits concepts of the degrowth movement are explained and practical examples are highlighted. In the elaborate programme different actors of the international degrowth movement get to speak (e.g. Joan Martinez Alier, Federico Demaria).
2013
Level: beginner
The Degrowth Paradigm
David Harvey illustrates the five most common narratives on why the financial and economic crisis took place – from human frailty to policy failure.
2010
Level: beginner
RSA ANIMATE: Crises of Capitalism
The author identifies three principal economic phenomena, which are explained: long run productivity growth as the central driver of increasing economic activity, short-term and long-term debt cycles. The latter two are explained to some detailed with reference to money creation, central banking and long term crisis tendencies. With regards to the long run debt cycle, which leads into deleveraging and recession, some policy measures which can smoothen the crisis are discussed.
2013
Level: beginner
How The Economic Machine Works
In this keynote speech, Roger Backhouse gives a historical overview of theories on secular stagnation: how it evolved from a description of the economic situation, especially in the U.S. of the 1930s to an analytical tool and then lost importance until its current revival. Backhouse touches upon the contributions of J. A. Hobson, Alvin Hansen, Evsey Domar and Paul Samuelson.
2015
Level: advanced
Theories of stagnation in historical perspective
Does Karl Polanyi's work “The Great Transformation” serve to analyse the current multiple crisis and social movements? Nancy Fraser revises Polanyi's concept of a double movement to capture social forces in the aftermath of the economic crisis of the 1930s – on the one side marketization and on the other hand social protection. Fraser proposes to talk about a triple movement and to account for emancipatory struggles. In the lecture, she discusses interactions as well as conflicts between those three forces, in particular conflicting aims of social protection. The lecture presents the content of her paper “A TRIPLE MOVEMENT? Parsing the Politics of Crisis after Polanyi“ in the New Left Review (2013).
2011
Level: advanced
Crisis of Capitalism, Crisis of Governance: Re-reading Karl Polanyi in the 21st Century
This multimedia dossier is part of the series „Understanding Finance“ by Finance Watch and presents a description and critical review of financial markets and their functions. It furthermore discusses recent developments, as high frequency trading.
2015
Level: beginner
What kind of financial markets do we need?
The website contains a vast amount of information on the history of economic thought. It presents thinkers, their main works (and links to those works) and schools of thought which are sorted by political economy schools, neoclassical schools, alternative schools as well as thematic schools.
Level: advanced
The history of economic thought website
The podcast exposes the concept and principles of co-operatives and the three main types of co-operatives: the consumer, credit and farmers buying and selling co-operatives. Furthermore, the history of the co-operative movement is presented. The authors draw the line from co-operatives to "degrowth" by arguing that these organisations discourage profit maximisation due to their ownership structure, their social purpose and their primacy of people over capital. The value of the members' co-operative share does not increase with the growth of a co-operative and it can not be used for speculation. Finally, the authors give examples for current co-operatives which empower (local) communities fostering social justice and environmentalism.
2016
Level: beginner
Co-operatives
Maria Nikolaidi on how Minsky’s theory has been modelled over past decades and how one can use these models in order to analyse contemporary issues such as financial fragility and financial instability caused by climate change.
2016
Level: advanced
Minsky's theory about financial fragility and financial instability
This video animates part of the talk “On Economics” by Ha-Joon Chang in which he states that economics is not a science for experts but for everyone. Chang further argues why it is important to take into account different perspectives on economics – he identifies at least nine school of thoughts which all have their strengths and weaknesses and presents examples on free trade and well-being. Chang further elaborates on the difficulties of changing the economic status quo.
2016
Level: beginner
Economics Is For Everyone!
The lectures were given by Steve Keen at the Exploring Economics Summer Academy 2017 in the workshop on Post Keynesian Economics The first lectures start with the role of money in a monetary economy and explain the macroeconomic significance of admitting the reality that banks create money The lectures continue …
2017
Level: expert
Exploring Economics 2017 Lectures
This article makes a necessary connection between economics as an academic discipline and recent events surrounding sexual harassment in the workplace. To get justice, targets must show measurable harm: economists can help.
2018
Level: beginner
$MeToo: The Economic Cost of Sexual Harassment

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