Great Economic Thinkers presents an accessible introduction to the
lives and works of thirteen of the most influential economists of modern
times: Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Alfred
Marshall, Joseph Schumpeter, John Maynard Keynes, and Nobel Prize
winners Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, John Forbes Nash, Jr., Daniel
Kahneman, Amartya Sen, and Joseph Stiglitz. Free from confusing jargon
and equations, the book describes key concepts put forward by these
thinkers and shows how they have come to shape how we see ourselves and
our society. Readers will consider the role played by the division of
labor, wages and rents, cognitive biases, saving, entrepreneurship, game
theory, liberalism, laissez-faire, and welfare economics.
All of the economists featured have had a profound influence on our
attitudes towards market intervention and regulation, taxation, trade,
and monetary policy. Each of the chapters--all written by an
acknowledged expert--combines a biographical outline of a single thinker
with critical analysis of their contribution to economic thought. If
you've ever wanted to find out more about the theorists who gave us the
invisible hand, Marxism, Keynesianism, creative destruction, behavioral
economics, and many other foundational concepts of economics, this
collection of essays is the perfect place to start.
