1. 1 Introduction This book was born out of our reaction to the way in which the usual texts cover the subject of the history of economic thought. In most of these texts, there is a tendency to emphasize the similarities and differences between all the important economists and form a repository of encyclopedic knowledge where one can study the seemingly important economic ideas. In this book, we argue that it is much more fruitful to focus on the essential ideas of each and every school of economic thought and relate them to present-day problems, than to engage into a sterile discussion of the ideas and the lives of the great economists of the past. Thus, although this book deals with the history of economic thought, it does not necessarily follow a historic (in the sense of the order of presentation) approach, but rather a logical one, that is to say it deals with the social conditions associated with the emergence of a school of economic thought, its evolution, and its contemporary in?uence. One cannot write a book on the history of economic thought without writing separate chapters on the major economists of the past, that is, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, and J. M. Keynes. Of course these economists formed schools of economic thought, that is, the classical and the Keynesian.

Peter van Bergeijk brings together 40 leading experts from all continents to analyze state-of-the-art data covering the sharp increase in (smart) sanctions in the last decade. Original chapters provide detailed analyses on the determinants of sanction success and failure, complemented with research on the impact of sanctions.

Thar Desert in India is one of the most well-investigated and densely populated regions amongst the world arid zones. A blend of crop and animal husbandries, conservative land use practices, coping mechanisms to minimize adverse effect of drought and a frugal lifestyle have been the characteristic features of its dwellers. Recent increase in biotic pressure has interacted with the fragile environment to create fearsome environmental problems. Governmental responses were prompt in form creating a strong research infrastructure for multi-disciplinary and multi-location research and demonstration on the one hand and in huge investment in irrigation from internally and externally sourced water, desertification control program and an accelerated socio-economic and infrastructure development, softening content of drought and strengthening of livelihoods on the other. Unlike several publications on the Thar, the current effort attempts a comprehensive, pragmatic and off-beat analysis of various developments and goes further to show how the situation today is a blend of both resource degradation and economic development. Recent studies have helped rebuild the past climate history that shows that the climate has been fluctuating during the geological history but reports suggest also that current anthropogenic global warming makes the desert more vulnerable in near future. An attempt has been made also to peep into the future of the Thar.

There is a strong view that economics is the academic discipline that best represents the claim of positive science among social sciences. Economics has undergone significant transformations after its emergence as a science. Despite all these transformations, the feature containing positive and normative elements has not changed. While economists from the political economy tradition focus on qualitative studies that relate to other social sciences, especially political science and history, a group of economists adopt the qualitative methods of natural sciences to analyze economic problems. There is a debate among economists on how to understand social reality and what kind of science the economy should be. Business is a discipline that has declared its relative independence from economics over time. Business is a research field that encompasses a wide range of areas ranging from organizational behavior of individuals to the firm’s production and marketing strategies. This book contains articles on essential topics related to these disciplines, which have an in- separable relationship between them. Academicians contributing to the book have produced works on current topics of discussion as well as key subjects that remain important in economics and management.

This is the first study of the development of economic thought in Latin America. It traces the development of economic ideas during five centuries and across the whole continent. It addresses a wide range of approaches to economic issues including:* the scholastic tradition in Latin American economies* the quantity theory of money* cameralism* huma