In recent years, the focus of historians of economic thought has changed to also include the ideas and practices of contemporary economists. This has opened up new questions regarding the utilization of sources, choice of method, narrative styles, and ethical issues, as well as a new awareness of the historian’s place, role, and task. This book brings together leading contributors to provide, for the first time, a methodological overview of the historiography of economics. Emphasising the quality of the scholarship of recent decades, the book seeks to provide research tools for future historians of economic thought, as well as to any historians of social science with an interest in historiographic issues.

Although there are various books looking at the history of economics, the historiography of economics, or how we approach, write, think about, and talk about the history of economics, is a relatively unexamined topic. Most histories of economics run through "the canon" picking up idea after idea as the procession leads to the present time. This appears to be the case since most histories of economics are written by individuals socialized as economists who are interested in the historical antecedents of modern ideas. As historians would say, narratives constructed in this manner are over interpreted and under researched. E. Roy Weintraub's influential research is characterized by a self-consciousness about historiography, his individual approach to the subject serving as a touchstone for discussions on the history of economics. This new volume not only collects Weintraub's most controversial research, but knits together the various strands, extending and elaborating on his previous arguments. This book shows that there is a serious historiographic stance that is possible for historians of economics to consider and adopt. It includes a detailed bibliography and short guide to resources for historians of modern economics.

Roger E. Backhouse and Keith Tribe present a broad introduction to the history of economic thought that provides much-needed context behind the development of ideas and a guide through the original writings of major economists. They seek to emphasize a diversity that is sometimes suppressed in more conventional textbooks.

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. This important volume contains high quality articles - written from different perspectives - demonstrating the importance of the history of economic thought.

The definitive guide to the history of economic thought, fully revised twenty years after first publication Roger Backhouse's definitive guide takes the story of economic thinking from the ancient world to the present day, with a brand-new chapter on the twenty-first century and updates throughout to reflect the latest scholarship. Covering topics including globalisation, inequality, financial crises and the environment, Backhouse brings his breadth of expertise and a contemporary lens to this original and insightful exploration of economics, revealing how we got to where we are today.

A book explaining the history of economics; including the powerful and vested interests which moulded the theories to their financial advantage; as a means of understanding modern economics.

This book examines and compares the 'old' institutionalism of Veblen, Mitchell, Commons, and Ayres, with the 'new' institutionalism developed from neoclassical and Austrian sources.