Routledge Studies in the History of Economics
About the Book Series
Economics continues to draw inspiration from the ideas of past economists. This series provides an arena for current debate in the study of the history of economics. Adhering to no single methodology, it includes volumes which explore the ideas of individual economists, major schools of thought, and the evolution of key ideas and theories within economic analysis.
Adam Smith’s Methodology: Imagination, Rhetoric, and Rene Descartes
1st Edition
By Jorge López Lloret
September 30, 2026
Most previous studies of Adam Smith’s methodology, with a few exceptions, have placed considerable emphasis on the undeniable influence of Newtonian physics and Humean empiricism. This book argues that other sources are at least as important: Smith’s own didactic rhetoric and the methodological ...
Spinoza, Metaphysics and Political Economy: Ethical Conduct, Social Control, and Public Policy
1st Edition
By Samuel Hollander
September 30, 2026
Spinoza is generally recognized as one of the most important philosophers of the early modern period; less well known are his observations regarding private ethical conduct, social control including state intervention in the market, and public policy including welfare. This book explores these ...
The Revival of Classical Political Economy
1st Edition
Edited
By Heinz D. Kurz, Neri Salvadori, Richard Sturn
August 17, 2026
Recent years have seen renewed interest in classical political economy. The essays in this collection, presented in honour of Christian Gehrke, explore the central tenets of classical political economy, its comeback in the aftermath of Sraffa’s works and the engagement of major economists. The ...
The Medieval Debate on Money and Interest: A Comparative Perspective on Ethics and Economics
1st Edition
By Guido Tortorella Esposito, Stefano Figuera
July 23, 2026
This book examines the medieval debate on the role of money and credit in the Islamic and Western Christian worlds. Starting from Aristotle's vision of the ethical and egalitarian use of wealth, fundamental to both Islamic and Christian thinkers, it highlights how the two visions of money and ...
Hegel on Ethics, the State and Public Policy: Comparisons with Immanuel Kant and Utilitarianism
1st Edition
By Samuel Hollander
July 20, 2026
Drawing on a wide range of Hegel’s writings, this book analyses the Hegelian position on ethical action. This position is systematically compared with that of Immanuel Kant, the comparison emphasizing Hegel’s insistence on a morality grounded in an ‘ethical’ context which essentially refers to the ...
Ricardo on the Theory of Value and Money
1st Edition
By Susumu Takenaga
July 20, 2026
This book is a renovative research work on Ricardo’s theory of value and of money, achieved through analysis of Ricardo’s original writings, made available in Sraffa’s Works. Takenaga argues that Ricardo’s economic theory should be understood as a cost theory of value. He begins by re-reading the ...
Transaction Economics of John R. Commons: Towards Reasonable Capitalism
1st Edition
By Shingo Takahashi
July 20, 2026
Takahashi reconstructs the key blocks of one of the founders of the institutional school, John R. Commons’ theories of the evolution of capitalism and of institutional change by taking the concept of transaction as a central point of departure. Commons’ theories continue to influence modern ...
Markets in the Evolution of Economics: Remaking the Mission of the Economist
1st Edition
By Rudi Verburg
July 16, 2026
In recent years, scholars from many disciplines have contributed to the literature on the ‘proper’ role of markets but they often overlook the contribution of many economists who have also called for a broader understanding of the market beyond pricing. This book explores the place of the market in...
J.M. Keynes and the History of Probability: The Influence of Locke, Leibniz, and Hume
1st Edition
By Francisco Javier Aristimuño
June 22, 2026
John Maynard Keynes is best known for his contributions to economics, yet he spent nearly two decades exploring the concept of probability. His extensive work culminated in A Treatise on Probability (1921), in which he developed a unique notion of probability that continues to divide scholars ...
Slavery and Colonialism in the History of Economic Thought: The Cases of France and Great Britain
1st Edition
By Simona Pisanelli
May 22, 2026
Atlantic slavery represents one of the blackest pages of human history. European powers not only colonised American lands but also brought African men and women to work as slaves on plantations. Intellectuals did not remain indifferent to this practice and – from the second half of the 18th century...
Markets in the History of Political Economy: Between Mechanism and Purpose
1st Edition
By Rudi Verburg
March 18, 2026
Most contemporary economists understand markets as purely price-making systems, ignoring the role of markets as relational systems that frame our way of life and determine the kind of society we live in. This book weaves both of these elements together to present a history of markets which accepts ...
Economic Ideas Across Borders: A History of German Influence on Turkish Economics
1st Edition
Edited
By Jakob Kapeller, M. Erdem Özgür
December 31, 2025
Exploring the cross-cultural exchange of ideas between German and Turkish scholars, policymakers, and institutions, this book sheds light on how German theories were interpreted and applied in Turkey during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Situating the flow of ideas within broader patterns ...