Economics in the future/edited by Kurt Dopfer

What are the problems of our economic future? How will economics answer them? Jan Tinbergen, Harvey Leibenstein, Sir Roy Harrod, Gunnar Myrdal, K. William Kapp and Shigeto Tsuru give challenging answers to these questions. Departing from their own significant contributions to economics, the authors offer a broad spectrum of possibilities in Economics in the Future.

In the first part, Towards a New Paradigm', the editor, Kurt Dopfer, presents the main ideas of the book in the form of four postulates: the need for a holistic approach; the need for a long-run view in economics; the need to view economics as an empirical science; and the need to view economics as political economy.

In the second part, 'Selected Topics', the contributors present a detailed account of the future development of the major areas of economics. Jan Tinbergen suggests that economics needs a firm empirical basis if there is to be further development of theories for new or neglected areas such as environmental conservation, income distribution or socio-economic development of less-developed countries. Harvey Leibenstein stresses that economic theory will be robbed of its empirical relevance unless it revises some of its basic assumptions, and he suggests a new 'micro-micro economics'. Sir Roy Harrod draws attention to the fact that contemporary economic theory is still overwhelmingly static and that further development in the area of economic dynamics' is crucial if economics is ever to serve as a basis for economic policy. Gunnar Myrdal delineates a political economy which is based upon an understanding of institutions, relies on empirically well-founded assumptions and pushes itself further within a framework of interdisciplinary research. K. William Kapp shows some of the future possibilities that an inter disciplinary systems approach may offer to future economics, and combines it with the concept of 'normative planning'. In conclusion, Shigeto Tsuru foresees the necessity of a new political economy whose basic features reflect the Chinese model rather than the model of Japanese capitalism.