Joan Robinson

Joan Robinson, (1903-1983), is widely considered to be amongst the greatest economists of the twentieth century. After the success of her first book, The Economics of Imperfect Competition, Joan Robinson shifted her attention to Keynes's work. She was one of Keynes's circle of trusted colleagues, studying the theoretical possibilities offered by his General Theory. This comprehensive study of Joan Robinson recounts her intellectual development and her major contributions, examining; her role in the making of The General Theory, her sympathetically critical interest in Marxian economics, her contributions to Labour Party policy in the 1930s and 1940s, her writings on development in China and India and her critique of the conceptual foundations of mainstream economics. Joan Robinson's story is intricately entwined with the story of Cambridge economics in the twentieth century, taking in major changes in the way economics was thought about, done and taught. This book is not only indispensable reading for all interested in the history of Joan Robinson's life and work, but also to those studying Keynesian, Post-Keynesianism and economic development.