political economy summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see political economy.

political economy, Academic discipline that explores the relationship between individuals and society and between markets and the state, using methods drawn from economics, political science, and sociology. The term is derived from the Greek terms polis (city or state) and oikonomos (one who manages a household). Political economy is thus concerned with how countries are managed, taking into account both political and economic factors. The field today encompasses several areas of inquiry, including the politics of economic relations, domestic political and economic issues, the comparative study of political and economic systems, and the study of international political economy.

Cesare Beccaria Summary

Cesare Beccaria was an Italian criminologist and economist whose Dei delitti e delle pene (1764; Eng. trans. J.A. Farrer, Crimes and Punishment, 1880) was a celebrated volume on the reform of criminal justice. Beccaria was the son of a Milanese aristocrat of modest means. From an early age, he

Thomas Malthus Summary

Thomas Malthus was an English economist and demographer who is best known for his theory that population growth will always tend to outrun the food supply and that betterment of humankind is impossible without stern limits on reproduction. This thinking is commonly referred to as Malthusianism.

Adam Smith Summary

Adam Smith Scottish social philosopher and political economist, instrumental in the rise of classical liberalism. Adam Smith is a towering figure in the history of economic thought. Known primarily for a single work—An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), the first

John Stuart Mill Summary

John Stuart Mill English philosopher, economist, and exponent of utilitarianism. He was prominent as a publicist in the reforming age of the 19th century, and remains of lasting interest as a logician and an ethical theorist. The eldest son of the British historian, economist, and philosopher James