The narrative of the book starts with the birth of economics from societal anxieties of pre-industrial Europe. It then follows up its growth into a self-conscious and assertive discipline. Along with the account, Amal Sanyal, with his characteristic lucidity of style, is able to breathe life into the colourful 18th, 19th and 20th century gurus such as Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Walras, Keynes. The narrative strings together the events and traditions of the era of these mentors with the economics they developed and controversies around them. In the process the book explains the concepts that are indispensable for understanding our economic world today.


Economics and its Stories has chapters on the theory of markets; market failure and the role of the government; the labour market and unemployment; money and finance; international economics and globalisation; and economic development.