Capital Theory

Edited by Christopher Bliss, Nuffield Professor of International Economics, University of Oxford, UK, Avi J. Cohen, Associate Professor of Economics, York University, Canada and the late G.C. Harcourt, formerly University of New South Wales, Australia

This comprehensive three-volume edition brings together the most important contributions in capital theory, from its classical origins to its modern manifestation in endogenous growth models. The readings examine the recurring controversies, and the two incisive, and sharply contrasting introductions by Bliss and by Cohen and Harcourt provide the reader with context and guidance for making sense of this central, contentious and often difficult literature.

‘. . . a book like this one is very welcome and much needed to recall old unsolved debates. . . Capital Theory should be on the shelves of all libraries and should be read particularly by our younger colleagues. . .’
– EAEPE Newsletter

‘Capital theory has been the most difficult and contentious area in the whole of economics for a long time. That is why it keeps falling out of favour. But no matter how hard they try to bypass its many pitfalls, up-to-date economic theorists and historians of economic thought alike can never quite manage the trick. Bliss, Cohen and Harcourt’s collection addresses the topic’s intrinsic difficulties head on, but because it is beautifully balanced and thoughtfully organised, it makes the many complexities of capital theory accessible to anyone willing to make the effort to work through it. And that ought to be all of us.’
– David Laidler, University of Western Ontario, Canada