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What makes a market economy? : Schumpeter, Smith and Walras on the coordination problem
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Watson, Matthew (2005) What makes a market economy? : Schumpeter, Smith and Walras on the coordination problem. New Political Economy, Vol.10 (No.2). pp. 143-161. doi:10.1080/13563460500144710 ISSN 1356-3467.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13563460500144710
Abstract
The tradition of modern political economy is founded upon attempts to show how a market economy of autonomous individuals can function smoothly in the absence of a central authority to coordinate economic activity. This has become known, for obvious reasons, as the coordination problem. As suggested by the title of this article, to confront the coordination problem is to focus upon the question, โwhat makes a market economy?โ. In the pages that follow, I argue that the answer to such a question lies not, as we might expect, in the realm of economics, but in that of moral philosophy. In order to sustain this argument, I revisit debates about the essence of the market economy which are to be found in the history of economic thought literature, but which are almost entirely ignored by modern economists.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory | ||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Politics and International Studies | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Capitalism, Games of strategy (Mathematics), Ethics -- Economic aspects, Economics -- Political aspects | ||||
Journal or Publication Title: | New Political Economy | ||||
Publisher: | Routledge | ||||
ISSN: | 1356-3467 | ||||
Official Date: | June 2005 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Vol.10 | ||||
Number: | No.2 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 143-161 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1080/13563460500144710 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) |
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