Economics and Economic Policy

These essays, many of them previously unpublished or extensively revised since original publication, focus on a topic of enduring concern to economists, the role of economists and economic theory in the formation of government policy. The volume begins with a discussion of the role of economists as contributors to economic policy, emphasizing the contrast between the freedom of the theorist in making his own assumptions and the constraints on the policy-maker in devising solutions to fit given circumstances. It goes on to analyze the problems involved in combining market influences on economic activity with the efforts to bring into play the administrative and political influences known as "planning." Other essays reveal the complications introduced by rapid technical change and the relationship between this and economic growth and development. Cairncross examines the role of the main instruments of economic policy--the budget, credit control and the exchange rate--and ends with a discussion of employment policy.