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Economics Is Not All of Life

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  • Ross B. Emmett

Abstract

I trace the arc of my thinking about political economy and Christian theology from my early interactions with the work of Richard Whately and Frank Knight to more recent economic and theological reflections on innovation. The general theme is that life is more than economics, despite the relevance of economics to every part of life. As Christian economists, our investigations—into the nature of choice, and into the potential for social improvement (or, economic growth and innovation)—require us to consider what economics can teach us as well as what we can learn from Christian theology and ethics.

Suggested Citation

  • Ross B. Emmett, 2014. "Economics Is Not All of Life," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 11(2), pages 144-152, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:ejw:journl:v:11:y:2014:i:2:p:144-152
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Frank H. Knight, 1923. "The Ethics of Competition," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 37(4), pages 579-624.
    2. Ross B. Emmett, 2016. "Chicago School," Chapters, in: Gilbert Faccarello & Heinz D. Kurz (ed.), Handbook on the History of Economic Analysis Volume II, chapter 25, pages 368-374, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Ross B. Emmett, 1999. "The Economist and the Entrepreneur: Modernist Impulses in Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 31(1), pages 29-52, Spring.
    4. Edmund Phelps, 2015. "Mass Flourishing: How Grassroots Innovation Created Jobs, Challenge, and Change," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10058-2.
    5. Knight, Frank H., 1923. "The Ethics of Competition," History of Economic Thought Articles, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, vol. 37, pages 579-624, August.
    6. Stigler, George J & Becker, Gary S, 1977. "De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(2), pages 76-90, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Frank H. Knight; Richard Whately; Edmund Phelps; innovation; Christian theology; choice; non-tuism; value theory; democracy; uncertainty; Imago Dei;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines
    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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