Lionel Robbins (1898–1984) is best known to economists for his Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science (1932 and 1935). To the wider public he is well known for the 'Robbins Report' of the 1960s on Higher Education, which recommended a major expansion of university education in Britain. However, throughout his academic career – at Oxford and the London School of Economics in the 1920s, and as Professor of Economics at the School from 1929 to 1961 – he was renowned as an exceptionally gifted teacher. Generations of students remember his lectures for their clarity and comprehensiveness and for his infectious enthusiasm for his subject.\nBesides his famous graduate seminar his most important and influential courses at LSE were the Principles of Economic Analysis, which he gave in the 1930s and again in the late 1940s and 1950s, as well as the History of Economic Thought, from 1953 until long after his official retirement. This book publishes for the first time the manuscript notes Robbins used for his lectures on the Principles of Economic Analysis from 1929/30 to 1934/40. At the outset of his career he took the advice of a senior colleague to prepare his lectures by writing them out fully before he presented them; the full notes for most of his pre-war lectures survive and are eminently decipherable.\nSince he made two major revisions of the lectures in the 1930s the Principles notes show both the development of his own thought and the way he incorporated the major theoretical innovations made by younger economists at LSE, such as John Hicks and Nicholas Kaldor, or elsewhere, notably Joan Robinson. He intended to turn his lecture notes into a book, abandoning the project only when he was asked to chair the Committee on Higher Education in 1960. This volume is not exactly the book he wanted to write, but it is a unique record of what was taught to senior undergraduate and graduate economists in those 'years of high theory'. It will be of interest to all economists interested in the development of economics in the twentieth century.

Lionel Robbins on the Principles of Economic Analysis (Routledge Studies in the History of Economics)

Business & Money

Robbins, Lionel

Economics

Routledge

A History of Economic Thought

Lionel Robbins's now famous lectures on the history of economic thought comprise one of the greatest accounts since World War II of the evolution of economic ideas. This volume represents the first time those lectures have been published.
 Lord Robbins (1898-1984) was a remarkably accomplished thinker, writer, and public figure. He made important contributions to economic theory, methodology, and policy analysis, directed the economic section of Winston Churchill's War Cabinet, and served as chairman of the Financial Times. As a historian of economic ideas, he ranks with Joseph Schumpeter and Jacob Viner as one of the foremost scholars of the century. These lectures, delivered at the London School of Economics between 1979 and 1981 and tape-recorded by Robbins's grandson, display his mastery of the intellectual history of economics, his infectious enthusiasm for the subject, and his eloquence and incisive wit. They cover a broad chronological range, beginning with Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas, focusing extensively on Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus and the classicals, and finishing with a discussion of moderns and marginalists from Marx to Alfred Marshall. Robbins takes a varied and inclusive approach to intellectual history. As he says in his first lecture: "I shall go my own sweet way--sometimes talk about doctrine, sometimes talk about persons, sometimes talk about periods." The lectures are united by Robbins's conviction that it is impossible to understand adequately contemporary institutions and social sciences without understanding the ideas behind their development.
 Authoritative yet accessible, combining the immediacy of the spoken word with Robbins's exceptional talent for clear, well-organized exposition, this volume will be welcomed by anyone interested in the intellectual origins of the modern world.

Princeton University Press

Lionel Robbins's now famous lectures on the history of economic thought comprise one of the greatest accounts since World War II of the evolution of economic ideas. This volume represents the first time those lectures have been published. Lord Robbins (1898-1984) was a remarkably accomplished thinker, writer, and public figure. He made important contributions to economic theory, methodology, and policy analysis, directed the economic section of Winston Churchill's War Cabinet, and served as chairman of the Financial Times. As a historian of economic ideas, he ranks with Joseph Schumpeter and Jacob Viner as one of the foremost scholars of the century. These lectures, delivered at the London School of Economics between 1979 and 1981 and tape-recorded by Robbins's grandson, display his mastery of the intellectual history of economics, his infectious enthusiasm for the subject, and his eloquence and incisive wit. They cover a broad chronological range, beginning with Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas, focusing extensively on Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus and the classicals, and finishing with a discussion of moderns and marginalists from Marx to Alfred Marshall. Robbins takes a varied and inclusive approach to intellectual history. As he says in his first lecture: "I shall go my own sweet way--sometimes talk about doctrine, sometimes talk about persons, sometimes talk about periods" The lectures are united by Robbins's conviction that it is impossible to understand adequately contemporary institutions and social sciences without understanding the ideas behind their development. Authoritative yet accessible, combining the immediacy of the spoken word with Robbins's exceptional talent for clear, well-organized exposition, this volume will be welcomed by anyone interested in the intellectual origins of the modern world.

Baumol, William J.

Samuels, Warren J.

Medema, Steven G.

The long paper which gives the title to this collection and which has never before been published as paperback was initially an attempt to promote international academic understanding. The Economics Department at the London School of Economics had arranged a colloquy between two groups of Russian and British economists; and where the author asked to contribute a general survey of the present state of economic theory as taught in Western centers. For reasons, which are explained in the opening section, the author decided to adopt an historical approach; and the notes on which the present paper is based were the result. The remainders of the papers have as their common denominator a continuing interest in the history of economic thought. Beginning with a lengthy critique of Schumpeter's magisterial History of Economic Analysis, they range from an appraisal of Bentham's continuing relevance to a review of Robertson's Lectures on Economic Principles, with some special attention to John Stuart Mill both as a human being and as an economist. They have been written at various times in the last thirty-five years; and minute scrutiny, if such were thought to be worthwhile--which of course it is not--might detect some variations of emphasis, particularly perhaps in the implicit valuations of Marshall and his contribution, in the papers on Wicksteed and Schumpeter's History respectively. But in spite of a certain shift of perspective here, the author thought it worthwhile to attempt substantial redrafting. Apart from the correction of obvious inelegances or actual errors, the excision of some duplicating quotations and, in a few cases, the addition of supplementary material and references, the papers are reproduced as originally written. In each instance the author has given footnote acknowledgements of the place of original publication.

The Evolution of Modern Economic Theory: And Other Papers on the History of Economic Thought

Lionel Robbins (1898–1984) is best known to economists for his Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science (1932 and 1935). To the wider public he is well known for the 'Robbins Report' of the 1960s on Higher Education, which recommended a major expansion of university education in Britain. However, throughout his academic career – at Oxford and the London School of Economics in the 1920s, and as Professor of Economics at the School from 1929 to 1961 – he was renowned as an exceptionally gifted teacher. Generations of students remember his lectures for their clarity and comprehensiveness and for his infectious enthusiasm for his subject.   Besides his famous graduate seminar his most important and influential courses at LSE were the Principles of Economic Analysis, which he gave in the 1930s and again in the late 1940s and 1950s, as well as the History of Economic Thought, from 1953 until long after his official retirement. This book publishes for the first time the manuscript notes Robbins used for his lectures on the Principles of Economic Analysis from 1929/30 to 1934/40. At the outset of his career he took the advice of a senior colleague to prepare his lectures by writing them out fully before he presented them; the full notes for most of his pre-war lectures survive and are eminently decipherable.  Since he made two major revisions of the lectures in the 1930s the Principles notes show both the development of his own thought and the way he incorporated the major theoretical innovations made by younger economists at LSE, such as John Hicks and Nicholas Kaldor, or elsewhere, notably Joan Robinson. He intended to turn his lecture notes into a book, abandoning the project only when he was asked to chair the Committee on Higher Education in 1960. This volume is not exactly the book he wanted to write, but it is a unique record of what was taught to senior undergraduate and graduate economists in those 'years of high theory'. It will be of interest to all economists interested in the development of economics in the twentieth century. 

Lionel Robbins on the Principles of Economic Analysis: The 1930s Lectures (Routledge Studies in the History of Economics)

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The Economics of Inflation - A Study of Currency Depreciation in Post War Germany

Bresciani-Turroni, Costantino

Hesperides Press

This book by Lionel Robbins first appeared in 1932 as an outstanding English-language statement of the Misesian view of economic method, namely that economics is a social science and must advance its propositions by means of deductive reasoning and not through the methods used in the natural sciences. The case is argued here with patience and attention to scholarly details. The unfortunate second edition of this book, which is more available today, introduces confusions by departing from Austrian microeconomic theory. Thus does the Mises Institute celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first edition with this reprint.
"Reading Robbins," writes Samuel Bostaph of the University of Dallas, "is an excellent way of contrasting his explanation of the basic nature of economics with that of the Austrian School, as found in the work of Mises as an extension of Carl Mengers's foundations. Such a reading wonderfully clarifies one’s understanding of the basic conception of economics as a science of human action, rather than one of mere 'economizing.' "

An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economics

Ludwig von Mises Institute

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Robbins, Lionel. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Robbins, Lionel

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Robbins, Lionel. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Lionel Robbins on the Principles of Economic Analysis (Routledge Studies in the History of Economics)

A History of Economic Thought

A History of Economic Thought

The Evolution of Modern Economic Theory: And Other Papers on the History of Economic Thought

Lionel Robbins on the Principles of Economic Analysis: The 1930s Lectures (Routledge Studies in the History of Economics)

The Economics of Inflation - A Study of Currency Depreciation in Post War Germany

An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economics