A Herstory of Economics

There were only a few women economists who made it to the surface and whose voices were heard in the history of economic thought of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Maynard Keynes, and Milton Friedman – right? Wrong! In this book, distinguished economist Edith Kuiper shows us that the history of economic thought is just that, a his-story, by telling the herstory of economic thought from the perspective of women economic writers and economists. Although some of these women were well known in their time, they were excluded from most of academic economics, and, over the past centuries, their work has been neglected, forgotten, and thus become invisible. Edith Kuiper introduces the reader to an amazing crowd of female pioneers and reveals how their insights are invaluable to understanding areas of economics ranging from production, work, and the economics of the household, to income and wealth distribution, consumption, public policy, and much more. This pathbreaking book presents a whole new perspective on the development of economic thought. It will be essential reading for all students and scholars of the history of economic thought and feminist economics.

Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1. The emergence of Political Economy Chapter 2. Power, agency, and property rights Chapter 3. Education Chapter 4. Women’s relation to wealth: Capital, money, and finance Chapter 5. Production Chapter 6. Distribution Chapter 7. Consumption Chapter 8. Government polices Chapter 9. Findings, Feminist Economics, and further explorations References