Gustav von Schmoller and Adolph Wagner

Description

This book discusses the work of German economists Gustav von Schmoller and Adolph Wagner, its influence on the tradition of German and Austrian economic and social thought, and its implications for the discipline today. Schmoller and Wagner integrated philosophical, historical, sociological and political approaches into the science of economics, focusing specifically on economic development. Schmoller, who is considered the head of the second generation of the German Historical School, argued that general propositions of economic theory had to be based on historical-empirical studies. In contrast, Wagner was a systematologist who preferred to start his investigations into economic problems from abstract principles. Schmoller and Wagner share, however, a common focus on institutions and the role of the state; Wagner favored state policy initiatives, while Schmoller was concerned with the risks of state policy failure. One hundred years after their deaths, the contributions to this book look into their approach, trace the influence of their ideas, and explore the relevance of their thought in a global economy. This book will be useful for students and scholars interested in socio-economics, the history of economic thought, economic policy, and political science. Front Matter ....Pages i-vi Introduction (Ursula Backhaus, Günther Chaloupek, Hans A. Frambach)....Pages 1-5 Gustav Schmoller’s Program and Its Valuation Today and Tomorrow (Karl-Heinz Schmidt)....Pages 7-20 Gustav von Schmoller in the Netherlands 1870–1940. A Forgotten Economist? (Robert W. J. Jansen)....Pages 21-40 Schmoller Research in China and Its Potential (Gang Li)....Pages 41-47 Gustav Schmoller and Adolph Wagner: The Idea of Social Justice in Health Care (Ursula Backhaus)....Pages 49-63 Timely Lessons for the Post-9/11 World from Schmoller and Wagner (Nicholas Wolfgang Balabkins)....Pages 65-75 Wagner’s Law, Money and the Theory of Financial Crisis: Adolph Wagner’s Early Viennese Publications (Günther Chaloupek)....Pages 77-92 Similarities and Differences in Central Concepts of Social Economy: Adolph Wagner’s State Socialism and Heinrich Pesch’s Solidarism (Hans A. Frambach)....Pages 93-106 Adolph Wagner Revisited: Is Redistribution of Income and Wealth a Public Good? (Andries Nentjes)....Pages 107-127 Wagner’s Law, Government Size and Economic Growth: An Empirical Test and Theoretical Explanations for Italy 1861–2008 (Francesco Forte, Cosimo Magazzino)....Pages 129-151 Empirical Evidence for “Wagner’s Law of Increasing Government Activity” for Austria (Reinhard Neck, Johannes Jaenicke)....Pages 153-173 Meinecke’s Sonderweg (F. L. van Holthoon)....Pages 175-191