Book review of Beker, V. A.: Economic theory for the real world
Author
Faculty Advisor
Date
2025
Keywords
economics principles, heterodox economics, pluralism
Abstract (summary)
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, there has been a renewed push by student groups towards pluralism and real-world content in economics (Earle et al. 2017, Fischer et al. 2018). In this regard, several books of authors like Komlos (2023), McGuiness (2023), and Schneider (2024) have been recently published with words like ‘pluralism’ or ‘real-world’ in the title. However, not all such books are textbooks to answer the call for change in economics pedagogy, even though they address textbook content. The textbook of McGuiness (2023), which is like a supplementary reader to go with economics textbooks, has a neoclassical bent. Similarly, the work of Beker (2024), although heterodox, is not promoted as a textbook with exercises and resources. However, I was intrigued by his book as I used Komlos (2023) in my Humanistic Economics class and Komlos provided the foreword. Beker’s book reflects both seminal and recent contributions in heterodox economics and in a manner accessible to interested instructors, students, and lifelong learners. Moreover, while Komlos (2023) and Schneider (2024) are promoted as textbooks, Beker (2024) would be a supplementary reader that focuses on select topics.
Publication Information
Jahangir, J. (2025) Book review of Beker, V.A.: Economic theory for the real world. European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies, 22(1), 154-157. https://doi.org/10.4337/ejeep.2025.0147
Notes
Item Type
Review
Language
Rights
Attribution (CC BY)
