A Brief History of Economic Thought

Alessandro Roncaglia is Professor of Economics at Sapienza Universit... di Roma, member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, editor of PSL Quarterly Review and Moneta e Credito, and was previously the President of the Societ... Italiana degli Economisti. His numerous publications, translated in various languages, include The Wealth of Ideas (Cambridge, 2005).

• 1. Introduction: the history of economic thought and its role; 2. The prehistory of political economy; 3. William Petty and the origins of political economy; 4. From body politic to economic tables; 5. Adam Smith; 6. Economic science at the time of the French Revolution; 7. David Ricardo; 8. The Ricardians and the decline of Ricardianism; 9. Karl Marx; 10. The Marginalist Revolution: the subjective theory of value; 11. The Austrian school and its neighbourhood; 12. General economic equilibrium; 13. Alfred Marshall; 14. John Maynard Keynes; 15. Joseph Schumpeter; 16. Piero Sraffa; 17. The age of disgregation.

'In this very lucid and concise book, Roncaglia takes us from the beginning of economic thought in classical antiquity right through to the contemporary scene. The main ideas are both clearly explained and connected by a narrative thread. The book is recommended reading for anyone who wants to find out about the fascinating history of economics, and that should include all economists.' Donald Gillies, University College London