About Book
The third of the three, this volume brings a collection of essays, articles, reviews, and reminiscences written over a span of more than six decades. It bears the stamp of the author's unique views on the development of economic thought and its relevance to the real world. The essays are divided into seven segments broadly discussing war and post-war inflation, international economic relations, public finance in India, planning as the instrument for mobilization of resources for economic development, unemployment, and Gandhian economics etc. His standing as a noted academic finds expressions in his views on teaching in economics, economic research, and reflections on higher education. This volume brings out the author's concern for human well-being, the state of the society, and the common man. The volume has been comprehensively introduced by I.G. Patel, the noted economist and former Governor, Reserve Bank of India, whose association with Dasgupta ran for more than half-a-century. The introduction is not only an insight into Dasgupta's lasting works in macroeconomics, but also Patel's thinking on macroeconomic management in India.
Volume I contains two of the author's most important treatises: The Conception of Surplus in Theoretical Economics which is an important determinant of the course of economic forces; and Epochs of Economic Theory which traces the historical development of economic theory and offers several original perspectives on classical political economy. The volume has been introduced by Dilip M. Nachane who provides an overview of economic thought in India in the early twentieth century that was influenced by: a) the nationalist strand; b) the colonial regime; and c) the Gandhian ideal of Swadeshi, village self-sufficiency, and trusteeship. Volume II is a collection of his pioneering work on wages and employment in economies with an unlimited supply of unskilled labour. Dasgupta's motivation came from his observations of the world around him; in particular his observations of events unfolding in the Indian economy in the post-independence era. Readers will have a deeper understanding of the underlying structure of the Indian economy during the post-War years, and the history of development of political economy.
The volume has a biographical sketch by the editor and the author's daughter, Alaknanda Patel, Visiting Professor, Centre for Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad and has been introduced by the author's son Partha Dasgupta, Frank Ramsey Professor of Economics, Cambridge University.