Economics Evolving: A History of Economic Thought

by Agnar Sandmo

The story of economics from Adam Smith to Paul Samuelson

In clear, nontechnical language, this introductory textbook describes the history of economic thought, focusing on the development of economic theory from Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations to the late twentieth century.

The text concentrates on the most important figures in the history of economics, from Smith, Thomas Robert Malthus, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, and Karl Marx in the classical period to John Maynard Keynes and the leading economists of the postwar era, such as John Hicks, Milton Friedman, and Paul Samuelson. It describes the development of theories concerning prices and markets, money and the price level, population and capital accumulation, and the choice between socialism and the market economy. The book examines how important economists have reflected on the sometimes conflicting goals of efficient resource use and socially acceptable income distribution. It also provides sketches of the lives and times of the major economists.

Economics Evolving repeatedly shows how apparently simple ideas that are now taken for granted were at one time at the cutting edge of economics research. For example, the demand curve that today's students probably get to know during their first economics lecture was originally drawn by one of the most innovative theorists in the history of the subject. The book demonstrates not only how the study of economics has progressed over the course of its history, but also that it is still a developing science.

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, History, Textbooks

502 pages, Paperback

First published December 28, 2010

About the author

Agnar Sandmo was a Norwegian economist at the Norwegian School of Economics.

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Joseph] Schumpeter said in his youth he had set three goals for himself -- to become the greatest lover in Austria, the greatest horseman in Europe, and the greatest economist in the world -- but that he had only achieved two of them. A witty remark and an interesting glimpse of a personality with ambitions that were in part very modern and in part derived from premodern times. In this context we will leave aside his achievements in the first two areas, but there is no doubt that he became a very prominent and important economist.

[Niklas_Lehmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is very well written and introduces the reader to the history of political philosophy and economics. I find that it is well structured and the chronological order serves it well.

My main issues with the book were:

1. It is too in-depth for an introductory read. At times the author devotes significant time to non-significant facts. This book will launch you well into the field, but it was not the right book for me. I was just looking for a brief overview. This is why I did not read much of the book.

2. The book is (I hope) detailed and accurate in the description of long-dead thinkers. It is not great when it comes to contemporary economics, which is the last section. I find that the author describes the current trends in economics very vaguely. I feel as if this section is lacking a lot in nuance. The author could have succinctly reviewed contemporary economics thinkers such as Josh Angrist, but instead says that "empirical analysis" is on the rise. Not great.

[W · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not an “economic history”; it is a “history of economics”. In other words, it is about the academic discipline of economics, its ideas, and the economists themselves. Begins roughly with Adam Smith in 1770 and ends in 1970. Very readable and very helpful as a starting place to orient oneself before reading any specialized books.

The economists who get their own chapters are: Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, Mill, Marx, Jevons, Menger, Walras, Marshall, Edgeworth, Pareto, Pigou, Wicksell, Fisher, Keynes, Frisch, and Haavelmo.

Many others are also mentioned (e.g. Thünen, Cournot, Dupuit, Gossen, Veblen, Mitchell, Chamberlin, Stackelberg, Mises, Lange, Lerner, Hayek, Schumpeter, Hicks, Samuelson, Arrow, von Neumann, Friedman, Solow, Buchanan, Akerlof, etc.) but as parts of larger sections (e.g. “The Forerunners of the Marginal Revolution” or “The Postwar Period”).

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished preparing my last lecture for this course. I read a number of books in preparation and during the semester. This was the main text. Thorough and very well balanced. It is also sufficiently technical while being very accessible to undergraduates. I enjoyed the brief commentary in the "further reading" sections at the end of each chapter. The biographical information was light compared to say, Heilbroner, but the theoretical discussions were well linked throughout the text.

[Heather Hoyt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information, but it read like a textbook and it could have been more interesting.

[Mike Thicke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent intellectual history of economics from the sixteenth century to the 1970s. Overall it can be understood with little technical knowledge of economics, though it might be difficult for those without at least a passing familiarity with the lexicon. Sandmo does a great job of portraying the overall progress of economics, though in the twentieth century the story becomes increasingly complex. The end of each chapter also contains very helpful "Further Reading" sections. This makes Economics Evolving a perfect entry point into the subject.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some books you just know you're going to enjoy reading and get value for money and time invested.

Whilst knowing vague snippets about economic theory, it's now timely to get a firmer grasp of some of the underlying concepts, and this seems just the book.

Chapter 3 on Adam Smith contains a balanced investigation of how his concept of the invisible hand has often been misinterpreted.

More to come as I work my way through.

[Indradeep Ghosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book offers a comprehensive account of the history of the economic thought up until the mid-to-late 20th century. It is perhaps not as colorful, enjoyable or wordy as Heilbroner's classic, but covers a broader range of thinkers and is likely to replace the latter as the new gold standard.

[Abhishek Kaps · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing book. Not academic (unlike say Mark Blaug's almost magisterial history of economics) but a terse and engaging study of the evolution of economic thought over the past few centuries. [review pending]

[Sebastian Uribe Díaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Por fin acabé este libro! ahora a terminar el bendito ensayo.