Communication And The Transformation Of Economics
Essays In Information, Public Policy, And Political Economy

This book proposes that infusing mainline economics with more expansive and realistic conceptions of information/communication transforms static neoclassicism into evolutionary political economy. It results in modes of analysis that, when applied through policy, can lead to a sustainable future.

Critical Studies in Communication and in the Cultural Industries -- Introduction -- Part One: Information and Communication in Mainstream Economics -- Information Industries and Economic Analysis: Policy-Makers Beware -- Commodities as Signs -- The Place of Information in Economics -- Part Two: Interrelations Between Economics and Communication Studies -- Communication: Blindspot of Western Economics -- On Political Economy -- Information, Economics, and Ecosystem -- Part Three: Information and Communication in Institutional and Evolutionary Economics -- T. R. Malthus and the Origins of Communication in Economics -- The Communication Theory of Thorstein Veblen -- The Communication Theory of Kenneth E. Boulding -- Part Four: Policy Applications -- Emergence and Development of Canadian Communications: Dispelling the Myths -- Telecommunications Policy: Real World of the Canadian Information Highway -- “Life is Information”: Canadian Communication and the Legacy of Graham Spry -- Conclusion -- About the Book and Author

Robert E. Babe is professor of communication at the University of Ottawa.