Collected Papers in Theoretical Economics: Volume 4: Inter-Disciplinary Transgressions Political Economy, Moral Philosophy, and Economic Sociology

The fourth volume of Kaushik Basus Collected Papers in Theoretical Economics is a sampler of the authors effort to trespass the boundaries of disciplines that gird contemporary economics, most notably moral philosophy, sociology, law, and politics.

Written over the last three decades, the volume engages with four themes:
(i) methodological foundations of economics, with a focus on the philosophical underpinnings of individualism and causality; (ii) the role of norms, habits, and collective beliefs in economics; (iii) the interface between philosophy and economics, and its implications for the rule of free contract, utilitarianism, and social choice theory; and (iv) the interaction of power and politics in the household, market, and globe.

With a skilful combination of techniques and concepts from economics and related disciplines, the papers deal with wide4-ranging issues of contemporary relevance including teacher absenteeism, group identity and conflict, bonded labour, sexual harassment at the workplace, household behaviour and gender empowerment, and political origins of ‘economic crises.