The MIT Dictionary of Modern Economics: 4th Edition

The MIT Dictionary of Modern Economics is an up-to-date authoritative reference designed primarily for students of economics but invaluable also to students of business and other social sciences and ideal for anyone who wants a brief explanation of an economic concept or institution.

In this fourth edition one entry in ten has been revised and one entry in twenty is new. Whereas the third edition increased the coverage of American institutions, this edition breaks new ground by including entries considered important from an Eastern European perspective. It also supplies comparative statistics on major economic variables for selected countries, describes the origins of widely used acronyms, adds an index, and includes bibliographic references at the end of featured entries.

The dictionary addresses in a clear and concise way both the enduring questions of the field and the issues of the moment, such as economic change in Europe, the problems of pollution, or the prospects for greater freedom of trade. With close to 2,800 entries, it is comprehensive in its coverage of theory, national and international institutions, schools of thought, and important economists, including recent Nobel Prize winners.

Compiled initially by an experienced team of economists at Aberdeen University in the United Kingdom, new authors have been recruited to provide international expertise, reflecting changes in the structure of the international economy.

David W. Pearce is Professor of Political Economy at University College, London.