Eco507: Applied Microeconomic Theory

Guidelines for the term paper

1. Choose a book from the list and write a review essay.
2. Purpose: Writing a book review will deepen the understanding of a particular topic
dealt with in the book. It requires careful (and critical) reading. To write a good
review, a reader/writer must address her/his own thinking. This is a `literature review'
process that becomes the basis of writing an MA thesis/project or scholarly article.
3. See the Department writing guidelines for a book review essay here:

In a book review, you must describe, analyze and react to the arguments put forward by the author. You must accurately

report the argument(s) of the book, as in an abstract or synopsis, but unlike in an abstract, you must also place the

arguments in context and critically assess them. In general, you should answer all or most of the following questions:

Why is this book important?

What are its main points?

How do the author's arguments relate to one or more economic theories?

How does the book relate to the current or past economic environment, conditions or policy?

What evidence, if any, is cited in support of the arguments?

Is the evidence appropriate evidence? Is it convincing?

What, if anything, is missing from the book?

The Structure and Format of a Book Review

I. The Heading

Title. Author. Place of publication: publisher, date of publication. Number of pages.

Reviewed by (your name)

II. The Introduction

The introduction starts with a statement of the theme of the book, and lets your readers know what the review will say. It

must therefore include a very brief overview of the contents of the book, the purpose of, or audience for the book, and a

brief summary of your reaction and evaluation.

III. The Context

Place the book in theoretical, policy and/or historical context. You might also discuss what are reasonable criteria for

judging the book.

IV. Summary of the Argument and Evidence

This is very much like the summary you might write in an abstract or synopsis. Attempt to put the author's argument in

its best light. Summarize it fairly, without inserting your own views. You might want to quote or paraphrase key passages

from the book. Avoid plagiarism by placing quotation marks around quotes and placing the page number from which the

quote or paraphrase comes in parentheses immediately afterwards.

 V. Evaluation of the Argument and Evidence

This is the heart of the book review and where your views come into play. Remember that you may not be able to

express fully your own views. The point of the book review is to present a critical reading of someone else's work, not to

give a full exposition of your own work. Carefully distinguish your views from the author's.

VI. Conclusion

Finish with a conclusion which ties together issues raised in the review and provides a concise comment on the book.

VII. Works Cited

Should you cite a work other than that under review, give full bibliographic information on it.

4. See examples of a book review published in academic journals, such as Journal of

Economic Issues, Review of Political Economy, and Review of Radical Political Eco-
nomics|all these journals are available .
5. Structure: See the Department guidelines for writing a book review. Essential com-
ponents to be included in the review are:
(a) Introduction: describe what the book is about, and raise some questions you are
going to discuss in the essay.
(b) Review/evaluate main arguments and findings from the reader's viewpoint.
(c) Address your own understanding/interpretation/ideas/arguments in response to
the book.
6. Format: The paper must be typed in 12 point font, double-spaced; suggested word
count is 2,000 words, including footnotes and bibliography. Do not include any un-
necessary spaces. A separate cover page is unnecessary. Place a page number on each
page.
7. The deadline of the paper is May 1, Monday, 6:00 PM. Email submission is
not accepted. Submit your paper to the Turn-it-in dropbox.
8. Bibliography (reference lists) must contain all the resources mentioned in the paper
(e.g. a journal article, a book, a newspaper article, statistical data, on-line resources
with web address). Any style is fine (e.g. American Economic Association, APA,
Chicago, Harvard styles|the Turabian style is NOT recommended). The style you are
using is to be consistent throughout your paper. See style guidelines here:

American Psychological Association bibliographic style

Chicago Manual of Style

Modern Language Association bibliographic style

9. No Plagiarism: Any form of plagiarism must be avoided. Otherwise you will get
nothing for the paper.
10. List of books for review
Berle, A. A. & Means, G. C. 1932. The Modern Corporation and
Private Property. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
Schumpeter, J. A. 1942. Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. New
York: Harper Perennial.
Polanyi, K. 1944. The Great Transformation: The Politial and
Economic Origins of Our Time. Boston: Beacon Press.
Andrews, P. W. S. 1949. Manufacturing Business. London: Macmillan.
 Means, G. C. 1962. The Corporate Revolution in America: Economic
Reality vs. Economic Theory. New York: Crowell-Collier Press.
Baran, P. & Sweezy, P. M. 1966. Monopoly Capital: An Essay on the
American Economic and Social Order. New York: Monthly Review Press.
Galbraith, J. K. 1967. The New Industrial State. Boston, MA:
Houghton Mifflin.
Minsky, H. P. 1986. Stabilizing an Unstable Economy. New Haven,
CT: Yale University Press.
Henry, J. F. 1990. The Making of Neoclassical Economics. Boston,
MA: Unwin Hyman
Lawson, T. 1997. Economics and Reality. London: Routledge.
Lee, F. S. 1998. Post Keynesian Price Theory. Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press.
Prechel, H. 2000. Big Business and the State: Historical
Transactions and Corporate Transformation, 1880s-1990s. Albany, NY:
State University of New York Press.
Fligstein, N. 2001. The Architecture of Markets. Princeton and
Oxford: Princeton University Press.
Lawson, T. 2003. Reorienting Economics. London: Routledge.
Ho, K. 2009. Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street. Durham and
London: Duke University Press.
Todorova, Z. 2009. Money and Households in a Capitalist Economy: A
Gendered Post KeynesianInstitutional Analysis. Cheltenham, UK:
Edward Elgar.
Soederberg, S. 2010. Corporate Power and Ownership in Contemporary
Capitalism: The Politics of Resistance and Domination. London:
Routledge.
Burgin, A. 2012. The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free Markets
Since the Depression. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Martins, N. O. 2013. The Cambridge Revival of Political Economy.
London: Routledge.
Mirowski, P. 2013. Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste. London:
Verso.
Talbot, L. 2013. Progressive Corporate Governance for the 21st
Century. London: Routledge
Orlean, A. 2014. The Empire of Value. Cambridge, MA: The MIT
Press.
Aglietta, M. [1979] 2015. A Theory of Capitalist Regulation: The
US Experience. London: Verso.