John R. Hicks

Sir John Hicks is one of the true giants of twntieth-century economics and he has had a significant impact on almost every aspect of economic theory. His resurrection and perfection of the General Equilibrium theory of Walras and Pareto became the foundation of contemporary microeconomics, and his interpretation of Keynes' General Theory through the IS-LM diagram set the course of Keynesianism and the ensuing development of macroeconomics. The invention of the 'elasticity of substitution' may also be counted among his greatest achievements.

This book represents the first scholarly and comprehensive analysis of Hick's economics. O. F. Hamouda demonstrates that Hicks had a coherent methodology and a complex but complete vision of economics. The book begins with a fascinating account of hick's life and career and goes on to analyse his contribution to the many areas of the subject in which he was active. The author shows how Hicks' ideas were proposed, how they were transformed over time and how, through time, the pieces fit together.

Above all, the book charts thte development of a remarkable mind in our discipline in this century. It provides biographical insights that are not otherwise available, and offers valuable guidance to the work based on Sir John's own evaluations rather than those more common and resting only on the predilections of the commentator.

O. F. Hamouda is Associate Professor of Economics at Glendon College, York University, Toronoto, Canada. He is the co-author of Expectations, Equilibrium and Dynamics in Economics and History with B. B. Price. He is co-editor of Keynes and Public After Fifty Years with John Smithin, and The Future of the International Monetary System with J. C. R. Rowley and B. Wolf. He is also the author of numerous articles on Hicks and Hicksian economics.