First published in 1982, Introduction to Political Economy is a clear and
concise introduction to the normative aspects of economics by one of the world’s leading
authorities on the subject.
In this highly readable book, Professor Mishan takes the student to the heart
of the subject without recourse to algebra and with only the simplest of diagrams. The
author carefully distinguishes the various meanings of the terms political economy,
normative economics, welfare economics and allocative economics. He considers the standard
allocation rules and the crucial concepts of consumer surplus and rent, which are so
important to cost-benefit analysis, while then going on to resolve the paradoxes of the
efficiency criterion. Lastly, Professor Mishan assesses both the social worth of radical
conservatism, which is associated with the Chicago School of Economics, and the relevance
of the modern theory of welfare economics to social welfare.
Table of Contents
Part One: The agenda of the political economy
1. Introductory observations
2. The resistance to a prescriptive economics
3. The nature of the economist’s efficiency criterion
4. The rationale of the economist’s efficiency criterion
5. Things to come: a preview
6. The basic economic assumptions
Part Two: Allocation within a partial economic context
7. Uses and limitations of a partial economic context
8. The key concepts of social value and social opportunity cost
9. Consumer surplus: a measure of welfare change
10. The difficulty of measuring rent
11. The allocative virtues of a competitive economy
12. Marginal cost pricing
13. Second best and third best
Part Three: Collective goods and bads
14. Can the market cope with externalities?
15. Diminishing returns to agriculture as an instance of externalities
16. Environmental spillovers: what difference does the law make?
17. Non-environmental spillovers: some ethical questions
18. Favourable spillovers and collective goods
Part Four: Resource allocation within a general context
19. Uses of a general economic context
20. Optimality for the economy
21. What is an efficient distribution of goods?
22. Economic efficiency: a paradox
23. Pareto optimality: an empty vessel
24. Resolving the apparent paradox
Part Five: Sources of economic failure in a technological age
25. Introductory remarks
26. The folklore of the market 1
27. The folklore of the market 2
28. Economic expertise in an age of rapid innovation
29. The limits of abundance: a conservative critique 1
30. The limits of abundance: a conservative critique 2
31. Concluding remarks
272 pages, Hardcover