Customer Reviews

The Revival of Laissez-Faire in American Macroeconomic Theory: A Case Study of Its Pioneers

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Dr. Kasper covers the contributions of economists who opposed Keynesian thought and achieved fame and fortune by it. The analysis of modern economics is sophisticated, yet sufficiently transparent that the whole book contains only two equations.

Generally chapters trace the development of the Chicago school of laissez-faire economics from Frank Knight's studies of risk and uncertainty to Robert Lucas' rational expectations. Each chapter gives a brief introduction to one economist: Knight, Simons, von Hayek, Friedman, Buchanan and Lucas, followed by a summary of his thought, his methodology, and his conclusions. Dr. Kasper takes seriously their intellectual development while pointing out their limitations as well.

While Dr. Kasper herself is an institutionalist economist, who is critical of mathematical legerdemain, she writes of these men sympathetically with literary flair.

Though the hardback edition is too expensive to use as a textbook, its readability for undergraduates to professionals makes me hope that it will appear soon in paperback.