Economics as a Moral Science [Paperback]

The book is reclaiming economics as a moral science. It argues that ethics is a relevant and inseparable aspect of all levels of economic activity, from individual and organizational to societal and global. Taking ethical considerations into account is needed in explaining and predicting the behavior of economic agents as well as in evaluating and designing economic policies and mechanisms. 

The unique feature of the book is that it not only analyzes ethics and economics on an abstract level, but puts behavioral, institutional and systemic issues together for a robust and human view of economic functioning. It sees economic facts as interwoven with human intentionality and ethical content, a domain where utility calculations and moral considerations co-determine the behavior of economic agents and the outcomes of their activities. 

The book employs the personalist approach that sees human persons  endowed with free will and conscience  as the basic agents of economic life and defines human flourishing as the final end of economic activities. The book demonstrates that economics can gain a lot in meaning and also in analytical power by reuniting itself with ethics.  

Preface.- Acknowledgement.- Part 1 Introduction.- 1 Is Economics a Moral Science?; Peter Rona.- 2 Issues and Themes in Moral Economics; Laszlo Zsolnai.- Part 2 The Moral Foundations of Economics.- 3 Economics as if Ethics Mattered; Stefano Zamagni.- 4 Teleological Reasoning in Economics; Luk Bouckaert.- 5 Economic Rationality versus Human Reason; Laszlo Zsolnai.- 6 Rediscovering Personalism for Economics; Hendrik Opdebeeck.- 7 Happiness and Human Flourishing; Knut J. Ims.- 8 Understanding Financial Crises: The Contribution of the Philosophy of Money; Toon Vandevelde.- 9 EconomilÑ