Economic Theory & Philosophy books

"Bayesian Econometrics" illustrates the scope and diversity of modern applications, reviews some recent advances, and highlights many desirable aspects of inference and computations. It begins with an historical overview by Arnold Zellner who describes key contributions to development and makes predictions for future directions. In the second paper, Giordani and Kohn makes suggestions for improving Markov chain Monte Carlo computational strategies. The remainder of the book is categorized according to microeconometric and time-series modeling. Models considered include an endogenous selection ordered probit model, a censored treatment-response model, equilibrium job search models and various other types. These are used to study a variety of applications for example dental insurance and care, educational attainment, voter opinions and the marketing share of various brands and an aggregate cross-section production function. Models and topics considered include the potential problem of improper posterior densities in a variety of dynamic models, selection and averaging for forecasting with vector autoregressions, a consumption capital-asset pricing model and various others. Applications involve U.S. macroeconomic variables, exchange rates, an investigation of purchasing power parity, data from London Metals Exchange, international automobile production data, and data from the Asian stock market.

This is the 12th volume in a series which considers research in human capital and development.

In the fall of 2008, a global recession struck, leaving many families in dire financial situations. Families around the world found themselves experiencing forms of economic stress unlike any which had been seen in recent generations. This volume focuses on how families and family members have been affected by economic and financial stress. Using a variety of methodological and theoretical perspectives, the family scholars in this volume examine the various ways in which families have adapted in the face of financial stress. Through research studies from around the world, it provides a comprehensive examination of how economic stress and financial difficulties affect family structures, family behaviours, and family relationships. Topics covered include: the persistent economic consequences of single motherhood; financial stress and child care subsidies; the American family 2012; migration and family; parental discipline style and academic achievement; economic stress and marital quality; family financial stress and adolescent substance use; and poverty and family well-being.

Since 1979 Research in Law and Economics has been presenting original research that explores the extent to which the constraints of law explain economic behavior and the role of economics in forming the law. The first chapter in this volume proposes three different definitions for market power from an antitrust perspective. Chapter two suggests a new means of measuring market power by moving away from traditional indicators of averaging industry profits. The third chapter is an analysis of efforts exerted and utilities obtained in a double lawsuit. Chapter four surveys recent developments in economics of contract interpretation. The fifth chapter examines the impact of changes in foreign exchange legislation on the levels of R&D undertaken by pharmaceutical firms in India. Chapter six addresses the role of transaction costs in explaining governance in environmental economics can play in helping choose environmental policy tools. The final chapter is an examination of economic evidence relating to the allegations in litigation against cigarette manufacturers.

The general theme of "Social Dimensions in the Economic Process" is an old one in economic anthropology. On the abstract end it involves, first, the degree of social content of individual transactions and, second, how economic processes relate to social structure. More specifically, the theme relates to matters such as the need for trust resulting in personalized systems of economic transactions, and how institutions shape economic arrangements. In five parts, the first two parts deal with the social content and consequences of economic relations. Parts III and IV address particular institutions, the household and agrarian relations. The volume ends in Part V with chapters linked to globalization.

Transactions often differ on important dimensions from spot exchanges on perfect neo-classical markets. Information is seldom complete and instantaneous exchange is just as rare as full competition. The authors in this volume extend the standard economic model stressing the proposition that the social context is an important determinant of the governance of transactions. To foster the development of a body of cumulative knowledge in the new economic sociology, this approach is consistently applied to a diversity of topics including purchase relations, strategic alliances, and relations among lawyers and clients as well as employers and employees. This volume is divided in three parts. The first part surveys purposive behaviour models in research on governance as well as theoretical work extending these models. The contributions in the second and third part all have an empirical component and deal with governance in the various phases of exchange relations: search and selection, negotiating and contracting, contract execution and performance, and conflict regulation. The second part focuses on governance in markets, while the third part discusses governance in organizations.

Karl Menger (1902-1985) was the mathematician son of the famous economist Carl Menger. He was professor of geometry at the University of Vienna from 1927 to 1938. During that period, which was crucial from an historical and philosophical point of view, he joined the Vienna Circle and founded his Mathematical Colloquium. The present volume of "Advances in Austrian Economics" offers the transcription of those unpublished parts of Menger's notes written between 1923-1938. It is hoped that these notes, together with the editor's contextual explanations, provide a subtext to Menger's biography during this influential period.