Post-Keynesian Essays from Down Under Volume III: Essays on Ethics, Social Justice and Economics

'The neo-liberal experiment has failed. The widespread de-regulation of markets has led to financial crisis and mass unemployment. The contributors to this volume are Keynesian economists who for decades have resisted the neo-liberal onslaught. They believe that governments have the ability and duty to ensure full employment and decent pay for all. Their optimism is sorely needed.'

Emeritus Professor Robert Rowthorn, University of Cambridge, UK

'The socioeconomic and political context has been carefully interwoven through these different essays relating to social justice, a widely debated topic in this day and age. It is impressive how the authors have developed Christian thought and the Christian call for social-welfare, prompting the reader to social-awareness and social-consciousness.'

The Most Reverend Dr Philip L Freier, Primate of Australia

'This collection of essays makes an outstanding contribution to the discussion of ethics and economics. It moves economics beyond the limits of the 'scientific' enquiry and the cramped options of dualism to embrace its moral responsibilities. Halevi, Harcourt, Kriesler and Nevile share a sense of humanity, sometimes characteristic of post-Keynesian economists, and identify those human rights which must form part of the objectives of any economic decision. The essays incorporate into their analyses ethical implications of economic goals, their priorities and the policies which serve these; they show that introducing ethical work practices (eg) tends to raise productivity rather than costs. Their approaches are empirical and analytical. The authors are especially well qualified, individually and in combinations, to comment on Australian institutions, within a global economy, and on mainstream as well as post-Keynesian analytical approaches. This invaluable project confirms their presence as significant leaders in developing the ethical ambitions of economics and its policies through a post-Keynesian oevre and Australian example.'

Prue Kerr, Visitor in School of Economics, University of Adelaide, South Australia

'The authors of this volume studied, taught and did research to make the world a better place for ordinary people. If their work was often extraordinary, their motivation was typical of the generation that entered economics in the wake of the Great Depression and Keynes's General Theory. Alas, their sense of economics as a moral endeavor, and of the work of an economist as a calling, has long since ceased to be a major drawing card, and economics is the worse for the absence of debate and discussion of its moral foundations. Both for students just entering the field and for mature scholars who either never encountered or have forgotten the moral dimension, this volume is a timely corrective to the idea that economics can or should exist in an ethical vacuum.'

Stephen A. Marglin, Walter S. Barker Professor of Economics, Harvard University, USA

'Searching for gold, you must look down under. Here are riches for the questioning economist, perplexed by unjust policy outcomes of seemingly neutral analysis. Enjoy finding many nuggets of wisdom on the under-valued but inescapable impact of ethics and of historical-institutional context, with tributes to some true pioneers of ideas.'

J. Gay Meeks, Senior Research Associate in the Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge, UK