The Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded recently — one of the recipients was the first woman to receive the prize. As The New York Times notes, Elinor Ostrom of Indiana University:

is a political scientist, not an economist, and in honoring her, the judges seemed to suggest that economics should be thought of as an interdisciplinary field rather than a pure science governed by mathematics.

Ideas about what, precisely, economics entails are always changing. These Cosimo Classics explore the history of the discipline from multiple intriguing perspectives.

Elementary Principles of Economics: From America’s first celebrated economist comes this 1912 textbook with a succinct yet highly informative introduction to economics as it was understood and practiced in the early 20th century. Irving Fisher (1867-1947) provides in-depth discussions of basic topics including: wealth, property, and income; credit and debt; currency, prices, and monetary systems; supply and demand; capital and labor; poverty; and more.

Elements of Economics of Industry: Being the First Volume of Elements of Economics: British economist Alfred Marshall (1842-1924) was one of the most prominent thinkers of his age on the philosophy of finance, and his groundbreaking Principles of Economics (1890) was for years the standard text on the subject. Here, in Elements of Economics of Industry, he adapts his classic text for students. First published in 1892, it still serves as an excellent primer on such topics as: economics as part of the study of humanity; the development of economic laws from the beginning of civilization; how capital yields income; how consumer demand creates markets; land, labor, capital, and organization as agents of production; the balance of supply and demand; the interplay of labor and earnings; the impact of trade unions; and much more.

Principles of Economics: Abridged Edition: This is Marshall’s standard text, considered the greatest work. First published in 1890, this is an abridged version of the 1920 eighth edition, and it serves as an excellent primer on such topics as: basic economic laws; the purpose of economic studies; fundamental concepts including wealth, production, consumption, labor, income, capital, and others; understanding consumer demand; an introduction to market studies; and much more.

Principles of Economics, Volume 1 and Volume 2: Economics is more than simply the cost of a gallon of milk. Economics is also the science of society, the basis upon which a civilization functions at its most basic level. Productivity, commerce, and value all are essential elements that define and affect a community deeply. Eminent American economist Frank William Taussig (1859-1940) brings the complex and sometimes intimidating subject to light in Principles of Economics (first published in 1911) by writing for the specialist as well as those with a simple educated curiosity about economics and its relevance to every member of a community.

The Economics of Welfare, Volume I and Volume II: Welfare economics is a branch of economics using microeconomic techniques to simultaneously determine the efficiency of the overall economy and the income distribution consequences associated with it. A British economist best known for his work in many fields and particularly in welfare economics, Arthur Cecil Pigou (1877–1959), asserts that individuals are the best judges of their own welfare, that people will prefer greater welfare to less welfare, and that welfare can be adequately measured either in monetary terms or as a relative preference. Scholars and students of both economics and welfare policy will find Pigou’s work a significant contribution to current debates on welfare policy directions.

Women and Economics: Startling in its observations and radical in its conclusions, this classic of women’s rights literature, this work — by pioneering American feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) — was a phenomenon when it was first published in 1898, and was eventually translated into in seven languages and reprinted around the world. From her characterization of women as virtual economic, social, and sexual slaves, dependent on men for everything from food to friendship to protection, to her call for women to free themselves from these shackles, Women and Economics electrified Victorian readers. It remains a foundational work of feminist theory, essential reading for anyone wishing to understand women’s struggle for full and self-determined personhood.