The Scope of Economics Historically Considered

Abstract

Historically, Economics has been a discipline of two traditions, Economic Theory and Theory of Economic Policy. Whereas Economic Theory is concerned with resolution of three basic economic problems (BEP1–3) — resource allocation, income distribution, and aggregate-income determination — Theory of Economic Policy is concerned with a fourth problem (BEP4) — the organization of the economic system, ultimately the distribution of power. While Economic Theory has been highly articulated and generalized and has been conspicuously the major contribution of the profession, Theory of Economic Policy has not been articulated in a general corpus of theory although it has nevertheless been attended to by both orthodox and heterodox economists. This paper attempts (a) to systematize this second tradition as it has been treated, albeit piecemeal, by economists and (b) to present evidence of both the existence and major themes or components of Theory of Economic Policy.KeywordsEconomic PolicyEconomic HistoricallyEconomic OrderEconomic OrganizationEconomic ThoughtThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.