This linked module covers the origin and evolution of several major strands of economic thought  from the eighteenth century to the twentieth.  The purpose is to provide students with a broad knowledge of the main features in history of modern economic thought, an understanding of major economic writings and the historical context in which they were written, and also of how each generation selects from and re-interprets (and sometimes even distorts) the work of earlier writers. Examples of key thinkers, some of whose work will be discussed include: Quesnay, Mirabeau, Adam Smith, T. R. Malthus, Ricardo, James and John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Leon Walras, Jevons, Menger, Alfred Marshall, Pigou, Chamberlin, John Maynard Keynes, Paul Samuelson, Robert Solow, A. W. Phillips and Robert Lucas.

On successful completion of these linked modules student should be able to:

• demonstrate systematic knowledge and understanding of the main ideas developed by some of the major economists of the period up to the late nineteenth century;
• explain the origins of some of the key concepts in modern economics;
• comment critically on historical texts in economics from this period.