Impact of Social Sciences

The Clash of Economic Ideas interweaves the economic history of the last hundred years with the history of economic doctrines to understand how contrasting economic ideas have originated and developed over time to take their present forms. It aims to trace the connections running from historical events to debates among economists, and from the ideas of academic writers to major experiments in economic policy. This is an ambitious and largely successful attempt at a big-picture overview of decades of debates and experiments in economic policymaking, writes Natacha Postel-Vinay.

This was originally posted on LSE Review of Books. 

The Clash of Economic Ideas: The Great Policy Debates and Experiments of the Last Hundred Years. Lawrence H. White. Cambridge University Press. April 2012.

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Across Europe, many are watching in both horror and amazement as economic history unfolds before their eyes: Cypriot depositors getting taxed by order of the European Commission; the British government coming up with yet another austerity package; and even France is considering balancing its budget. Many must wonder how governments make and reach these drastic decisions, given the conflicting advice (or the lack of advice) they receive from economists, think-tanks, and journalists. The Clash of Economic Ideas, by economics professor Lawrence H. White of George Mason University, may not give many clues about the origins of individual government decisions made in the current crisis. But the book does offer a comprehensive account of how economic thought influenced world policymakers – and vice versa – not only just before the crisis, but since 1900. This is a notable achievement, and despite its partiality it is recommended reading for anyone from the top levels of government to the lay workers questioning why they pay any taxes at all.

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