A New Model of the Economy

A New Model of the Economy

by Brian Hodgkinson (Author)

Synopsis

The book offers a radical revision of modern economic theory. Its starting point is the existing body of both micro and macro economics, as developed in such textbooks as Economics by Begg, Fischer and Dombusch and Positive Economics by Lipsey and Chrystal. Following a similar framework as these books, it adjusts the whole range of theory by introducing some new concepts and other earlier ones that have been much neglected in the economic thought of the past century. These are related especially to the fundamental part played by land, in its proper sense of all natural resources available on the earth, the significance of credit, especially through the banking system, and the crucial impact of the method of taxation. The resulting analysis yields a thoroughly revised version on the contemporary model of a capitalist economy, so that a genuine 'third way' is revealed. This is not a mere modification of the present system of absentee ownership confronting a market for labour, with all the attendant evils of unemployment, monopoly and misdistribution of wealth and income. Rather it is a system based upon natural law, exhibiting economic security for all, fair distribution of output and, above all, the opportunity for self-fulfilment through work. The new model ; draws upon the masters of economic thought from Smith and Ricardo, to Marshall, Schumpeter and Keynes by highlighting concepts often omitted from current studies of their works; such as Ricardo's' analysis of scarcity and differential elements of rent, Schumpeter's view of the role of banking and Keynes' hints at a labour theory of value. Indeed, this far reaching revision makes bold advances upon the Marshallian theory of the firm and the Keynesian theory of national income determination, thus providing new insights into both micro and macro theory. It remains faithful, however, to the tradition of these latter thinkers in explaining matters fully in words and resorting to mathematics mainly through the use of diagrams intelligible to anyone with an elementary grasp of the subject. Whilst the book strives to avoid value judgments in the interests on social science, it undoubtedly carries strong implications about economic policy. These are bound up with the central notions of free land and free credit, which have been singularly ignored by policy-makers since a few valiant attempts to introduce them in the early twentieth century. Hence the 'new model' is offered to both theorists and practitioners of Economics, to politicians and public servants, but particularly to those who, like the author, truly seek a new vision of the subject.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
Publisher: Shepheard-Walwyn (Publishers) Ltd
Published: 28 Feb 2011

ISBN 10: 0856832790
ISBN 13: 9780856832796

Media Reviews
[Hodkinson's] book is a breath of fresh air in the suffocating room of modern pedagogy in economics. --Mason Gaffney, professor of economics, University of California-Riverside
[A New Model of the Economy] is much more relevant to the present state of real-world economies than the models offered by most economics textbooks. --James Robertson, founder/member, New Economic Foundation
[A New Model of the Economy] has serious implications for any economist or politician hoping to remedy ominous symptoms of disaster, like the current banking crisis . . . . In short, the book offers a model for fundamental reform. --Abstracts of Public Administration, Development and Environment
Author Bio
After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, Brian Hodgkinson won a scholarship to Balliol College, Oxford where he took a first in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. After five years lecturing in the Social Studies School at Sussex University, he became Head of Economics at Dulwich College and then at St James Schools in London. As the founder editor of the Economics journal 'British Economics Survey', he kept in touch with applied Economics and questions of public policy.