Economic Thought - by Heinz Kurz (Hardcover)

About the Book

In this concise history, Heinz D. Kurz selects major moments in the development of economic ideas to portray how insights are acquired, lost, and reborn. He focuses on the dynamic individuals who give old ideas new life and the historical events that provoke the combination and recombination of different approaches and theories.

Book Synopsis

In this concise yet comprehensive history, Heinz D. Kurz traces the long arc of economic thought from its emergence in ancient Greece to its systematic presentation among the classical thinkers of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to the influential work of scholars such as Paul Samuelson and Kenneth J. Arrow. With a keen eye for how economic insights are acquired, lost, and reborn, Kurz focuses on the dynamic individuals who give old ideas new life and the historical events that provoke different approaches and theories.

Over the course of this journey, Kurz explains what Adam Smith meant by the "invisible hand"; how Karl Marx's "law of motion" works in capitalist economies; the roots of the Austrian economists' emphasis on the problems of information, incomplete knowledge, and uncertainty; John Maynard Keynes's principle of effective demand and economic stabilization; and the insights and challenges offered by growth theory, welfare economics, game theory, and more. He concludes with a deft summation of world economists' major concerns today and their critical relation to world events.

Review Quotes

Heinz Kurz's latest book on the history of economic thought (HET) is concise yet comprehensive . . . Kurz has written a scholarly condensed history of economic thought, and done so in a very readable style.--Ian Kerr, Curtin University, Bentley, WA "Economic Record "

With the Panama and Paradise Papers scandals, darkweb shadow economies, and Bitcoin fanaticism, Economic Thought offers a clear-eyed counterweight to social media-driven hysteria and dogmatic groupthink.--Karl Wolff "New York Journal of Books "

A definitive history of the field.... Recommended.--Asia Pacific Business Review

A useful book for students just starting to get into the history of thought.--Enlighted Economist

An excellent outline for further in-depth study and research for both students of economics or economic history, and the general reader.--Sapphire Ng

Eminently readable.--Investing.com

Exceedingly lucidly written and highly accessible.--Impeccable Business

For those untutored in the history of economics, this little book is not a bad place to start.--Eh.net

Heinz Kurz has provided us with a delightful little book. More than a history of economic thought, it is a discourse on economic theory past and present written by a distinguished scholar of the history of economic thought. At a time when economic teaching has largely abandoned reflecting on the origins of modern orthodoxy and abstains from mentioning alternatives, here is an ideal antidote for the inquiring mind who desires a broad but brief
overview of the development of economic theory.--History of Economics Review

Provides an introduction to economics for nontechnical readers.--Journal of Economic Literature

The book is remarkably successful in its objective of providing a brief history of economicthought.--Economic and Political Weekly

The range of authors covered is enormous and the explanations are remarkably clear given how little space there is to develop arguments. The book is well translated and there is much to learn from it.--European Journal of the History of Economic Thought

This book will be of interest to a wide audience, including undergraduate and graduate students of economics
with an interest in understanding the scope and evolution of their subject.--History: Reviews of New Books

Kurz's noteworthy literary skills make the book highly readable.--Rodolfo Signorino, University of Palermo "History of Economic Ideas "

Economic Thought ranges from harvest details on ancient Babylonian clay tablets to select recent developments in economic theory. Despite this breadth, Heinz D. Kurz achieves a truly impressive attention to detail and is able to provide intellectually satisfying explanations of many economic theories, both classical and modern. Any noneconomist wishing to acquire an intellectually serious introduction to economic theory would be well advised to begin with this book (and some overspecialized economists could certainly benefit too!).--Ian Steedman, Manchester Metropolitan University

An enjoyable and well-organized history that will attract many readers to this highly readable treatise on the 'dismal science.'--Amartya Sen, Harvard University

An excellent read both for economists trained in the current traditions who want to know more about how their field evolved and for general readers looking for a broad but relatively compact history of economic thought.--Richard R. Nelson, Columbia University

If you're looking for a short but masterful overview of the course of economic thought, Heinz Kurz's book, translated from the German by Jeremiah Riemer, might be just the ticket.--Brenda Jubin "ValueWalk "

The curious reader could not ask for a better guide to the significance of the history of economics than Kurz, who has distilled his many years of scholarship into this fine, easily readable book. Kurz understands well the dual nature of historical studies: to establish what the relevant theories meant in their time and their often changed application to our time.--Geoffrey Harcourt, University of New South Wales

About the Author

Heinz D. Kurz is professor of economics at the University of Graz in Austria and founder of the Graz Schumpeter Centre. He has also taught at numerous universities around the world, including Cambridge University and the New School for Social Research. His books in English include Theory of Production: A Long-Period Analysis and Understanding "Classical" Economics: Studies in Long Period Theory.