Collected Works of A.K Dasgupta

The first of the three volumes on the collected works of A.K. Dasgupta, who laid the foundations of modern economics in India and was a pioneer of development economics, this volume makes substantial contributions to the history of economic ideas. It improves the understanding of the working of less developed economies, and deliberates on the applicability of economic theory as developed in the West, to problems of the less developed ones. The volume 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 its policy relevance; and Epochs of Economic Theory which traces the historical development of economic theory and offers several original perspectives on classical political economy seen in relation to the modern forms of the discipline. 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.l Volume II contains forty-five essays divided in seven sections, that are based on contemporary economic development in underdeveloped countries, rich in unskilled labour. The introduction to this volume has been written by Partha Dasgupta, Frank Ramsey Professor of Economics, Cambridge University. Volume III brings a collection of essays, articles, reviews, and reminiscences written over a span of more than six decades. It bears the author's unique views on the development of economic theory and its relevance to economic policy, war and post-war inflation, and international economic relations. It brings out broadly the author's approach to policy and planning, general concern for human well-being, and the state of the society. 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.