Books by Donald Rutherford

Donald Rutherford has taught economics at Edinburgh University for decades and published dictionaries of economics and works on the history of economic thought, his principal specialism. He has also written numerous short stories. Late at night eight year old Maynard overhears his parents in a violent argument. His mother accuses her husband of being a capitalist before she storms off. The curious boy wants to know what capitalism is but has to learn economics first. With passion Maynard embarks on debates with his father about `eke-nomics'. There is a tension within the father between his diehard socialist beliefs and his rich banker lifestyle. Maynard as he looks after his cats and flies his kite is determined to apply common-sense to his father's beliefs to sort out the major themes of economics. Whether father or son will win this ideological fight and the fate of his mother dominate the novel. Art work by Lorna Angus

In this work, Rutherford reviews why Adam Smith, Hayek, Mises and others praised economic markets, with a view to understanding, in contrast, historical attacks on markets dating as far back as Aristotle.

Adam Smith, who has towered over economics for more than two hundred years, was not alone in Scotland in creating systems of analysis which would explain how economies function and prosper. Writers of various backgrounds - there being no such profession as 'economist' - who were inspired by issues of the day as well as by the writings of Smith and other Scots, made significant contributions to the development of economic theory and policy that are often overlooked today.In the Shadow of Adam Smith, a landmark work in the history of economic thought, surveys and integrates the ideas of eighty Scottish writers from the 18th and 19th centuries to reveal a startlingly rich tapestry of argument and debate on a wide varietyof economic subjects, both philosophical and practical, that remain highly pertinent today. Government debt, economic growth, banking, credit, taxation - all were tackled by this remarkable, diverse collection of writers. Through reading their contributions toeconomics we both understand modern economic issues and thought more deeply, and gain a richer understanding of Adam Smith's thought and inheritance.Written in a crisp and readable style with a minimum of technical detail, this is an ideal book for students of the history of economics, as well as academics and general readers.