A Future for Economics: More Encompassing, More Institutional, More Practical

Economics is a discipline fundamentally concerned with effective coordination. In that way, its main concerns are very close to those of governance. Economics, like governance, has evolved considerably over the last half century. This book is a very modest attempt at gauging the relative importance of this tsunami and the way in which it might indicate what will be its future. A Future for Economics proposes the reflections on this general theme by eight senior members of the economics profession who have all taught at some time in the Department of Economics at Carleton University in Ottawa a department that has always been known for its intellectual temerity and for its interest in extending the scope of economics beyond its traditional boundaries. The Carleton sample of economists who share their views here have practiced in different sub-fields of economics, and have chosen to articulate their views and experiences in very different ways. But their collective experience reflects a broad exposure to the ways in which the discipline has evolved both in academic circles and in the various organizations and institutions where they have practiced their profession in Canada and abroad.

Gilles Paquet (Contributor)
Gilles Paquet (1936–2019), O.C., MRSC, was Professor Emeritus at the Telfer School of Management and a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre on Governance of the University of Ottawa. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the Royal Society of Arts of London, and served as President of the Royal Society of Canada (2003–2005). He studied at Laval, Queen's (Canada) and at the University of California (Los Angeles) where he was Postdoctoral Fellow in Economics. He taught at Carleton University for almost 20 years before joining the University of Ottawa in 1981. He received honorary doctorates from Queen's, Laval, and Thompson Rivers University, received the Public Service Citation Award of APEX, and was made Honorary Member of l'Association des économistes québécois. He was made Member of the Order of Canada in 1992.

Christopher Maule (Editor)
Christopher Maule was a member of Carleton's Economics Department from 1962 to 1964 and from 1970 to 1995 when he retired from full-time teaching. From 1988 to 1993, he was Director of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, during which time a greater emphasis was placed on economics. His research, much of it co-authored with Carleton colleagues, Keith Acheson and Al Litvak, emphasized the role of multinational corporations in the context of international trade, investment and migration, and on the political economy of the cultural industries. Since 2000, he has written a blog dealing with a range of topics many of which have an economic dimension.