Economic Explanation: Selected Economic Papers of Zhang Wuchen

Author: Zhang Wu Chang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: The book "The Economic Explanations" collects 25 articles published by Professor Zhang in various magazines from 1968 to 1998, basically encompassing the academic thoughts of the professor. In 1982, Professor Zhang delivered a speech upon assuming office at HKU, advocating: "Let us be the pioneers in economic explanation." This collection is precisely the fulfillment of this idea. Professor Zhang firmly believes that economics must be a science of explanation, and only economic theories that can explain phenomena possess vitality. Among the wave of economic explanation that rose in the 1950s and 1960s, Professor Zhang is undoubtedly one of the outstanding pioneers. In the manuscript of "The Economic Explanations," Zhang Wu Chang incorporates a novel, significant, widely interpreted, yet content that all current textbooks have delayed in including—the research findings of "New Institutional Economics," specifically the theories of property rights and transaction costs. These contents are, of course, one of the most parts of "The Economic Explanations." By comparing the relevant chapters with the conclusions of Coase and Alchian, readers can easily see whether "youth" surpasses "experience." Another feature of the theoretical system in "The Economic Explanations" is its logical coherence, seamless continuity, and lack of a distinction between "micro" and "macro." Most of the once-popular macroeconomic theory models have been overturned by facts. Since "The Economic Explanations" only elaborates on economic principles that remain steadfast to this day and does not serve as a history of economic thought...