Evolution of economic thought and theory

The present volume is a collection of papers presented by the author in the various annual conferences of the Indian Economic Association in the last twenty years. Many of these were published in the Indian Economic Journal. The author has a particular point of view which becomes a running theme of most of the papers included here viz., the relevance of the contributions of these economists to the Indian context. To this purpose the author traces the evolution of economic thought through the contributions of Adam Smith, Ricardo, Malthus, Jevons, Marshall, Keynes, Hicks, Robertson, Sraffa and Ranade. The second set of essays are on Theory of Value. They range from a critique of the Present State of Theory of Value, Recent Trends in Welfare Economics, Theory of Wages to Theory of Profit.

In preparation of this book the aim is not only to load the students with information but to enable them to cultivate a particular point of view by equipping them to reflect and also to generate new thinking suited to the context in which they are situated rather than be merely imitative. Economics as a discipline is at the cross roads when the very foundations of the subject is being questioned and the contribution of the various thinkers are being reassessed in this light. Thus the present collection is very timely and topical for any student and researcher who would like to catch up with these developments.