About The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics
R. H. Inglis Palgrave's original Dictionary of Political Economy (1894-9) was a landmark in both publishing and economics: a liberal and scholarly overview of the whole sphere of economic thought in its day. Henry Higgs's revised edition, Palgrave's Dictionary of Political Economy (1923-6), retained the spirit of the original publication while embracing new concepts in the development of economics as a discipline.The four-volume The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, edited by John Eatwell, Murray Milgate and Peter Newman, was published in 1987 to international acclaim. Its scope had expanded and evolved almost beyond what Palgrave himself would have recognized, but the tradition of drawing together eminent contributors from across the spectrum of methodological and ideological schools produced not only an unsurpassed work of reference on the grand scale, but also many individual classic essays of enduring importance. Well into the 21st century it remained a standard work for economists in all spheres of the discipline and, as Palgrave described his original work, 'an almost unique example of economic cooperation'.
In 2008, Palgrave Macmillan published The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume. While some classic articles from the 1987 were retained, around 80% of the text was either entirely new or substantially rewritten to reflect the depth of change within the discipline between the editions. The new edition retains the inspiring tradition of bringing together the world's most influential economists writing in their own voice in their areas of expertise. Released simultaneously online The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics is a dynamic, updated resource serving the information needs of a new generation of economists.
