Alex M Thomas
Areas of Interest & Expertise
- History of Economic Thought
- Classical Political Economy
Biography
Alex received his economics education from the universities of Madras, Hyderabad, and Sydney. He has published in both national and international journals such as Artha Vijnana, Economic & Political Weekly, European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, History of Economic Ideas, History of Economics Review, and Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics.
He is currently a council member of the European Society of the History of Economic Thought (ESHET) and is working on a textbook on the history of economic thought.
Alex has given more than 100 invited lectures in the areas of the history of economic thought, classical political economy, heterodox economics, and teaching of economics in the last eight years. Some of these lectures are available for viewing on his YouTube channel.
He also delivered the economics lecture at the 1st Bengaluru Central University (BCU) Nobel Lecture Series (2018), the 14th Dr. M. V. Kurien Commemorative Lecture at Union Christian (UC) College, Aluva (2019) on ‘Adam Smith and his Contemporary Relevance’, and the 29th K. K. Francis Memorial Lecture, St. Berchmans (SB) College, Changanacherry (2021): ‘History of Economic Thought: Rigorous and Relevant’.
He has taught courses like History of Economic Thought, Intermediate Macroeconomics, Introduction to Economics II, Quantitative Reasoning for Humanities, Understanding India‑1, Growth Theory, Writing in Economics and Advanced Writing at Azim Premji University.
Prior to joining Azim Premji University, he taught introductory microeconomics and macroeconomics from 2011 – 14 to Undergraduate students at the University of Sydney.
Courses
Perspectives in Economics: Communication
Learn how to write on economic issues with rigour and style
History of Economic Thought
Where do current theories of modern economics come from?
Growth Theory and Policy
Core aspects of growth theories in economic thought.
Publications
Books
- Thomas, A. M. (2021). Macroeconomics: An introduction [E‑book]. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108764919
- Sinha, A., & Thomas, A. M. (Eds.). (2019). Pluralistic economics and its history. Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Pluralistic-Economics-and-Its-History/Sinha-Thomas/p/book/9780367232351
Chapters in Edited Books
- Thomas, A. M. (2023). Ricardo and classical political economy. In J.E. King (Ed.), The Anthem Companion to David Ricardo. Anthem Press. https://anthempress.com/the-an….
- Thomas, A. M. (2019). Theories of activity levels and growth before Adam Smith. In A. Sinha and A. M. Thomas (Eds.), Pluralistic Economics and its History. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429278860 – 3/theories-activity-levels-growth-adam-smith-alex-thomas
Journal Articles
- Thomas, A. M. (2023). Recent histories of Indian Economic Thought: A critical survey. Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 64(2), 19 – 44.
- Thomas, A. M. (2023). Classical economics and the question of aggregate demand. Review of Political Economy. https://doi.org/10.1080/09538259.2022.2156160
- Thomas, A. M. (2022). Classical economics and Keynes. Economic & Political Weekly, 57(9), 70 – 71. https://www.epw.in/journal/2022/9/discussion/classical-economics-and-keynes.html
- Thomas, A. M. (2021). COVID-19 and economics education: A view from India. International Journal of Pluralism & Economics Education, 12(1), 67 – 70. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJPEE.2021.118151
- Thomas, A. M. (2021). On “effectual demand” and the “extent of the market” in Adam Smith and David Ricardo. European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 28(3), pp. 305 – 23.
- Thomas, A. M. (2019). Romer and Nordhaus’s Nobel winning contributions. Economic & Political Weekly, 54(35), 10 – 13.
- Thomas, A. M. (2019). Adam Smith on wages and education: Some policy implications for India. Indian Journal of Human Development, 13(1), 84 – 89.
- Thomas, A. M. (2018). A note on the role of aggregate demand in Ricardo. History of Economics Review, 70(1), 60 – 71.
- Thomas, A. M. (2018). Consumption and activity levels in Cantillon’s Essai. History of Economic Ideas, 26(1),11 – 29.
- Thomas, A. M. (2018). Arun Bose on Sraffa: Value theory and demand. Artha Vijnana, 60(1), 17 – 33.
- Thomas, A. M., & De, R. (2018). Rethinking undergraduate economics Education. Economic & Political Weekly, 53(3), 21 – 24.
- Thomas, A. M. (2018). Adam Smith on the philosophy and provision of education. Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics, 30(1), 105 – 116.
- Thomas, A. M. (2017). Ricardo’s principles, 200 years later. Artha Vijnana, 59(4), 334 – 338.
- Thomas, A. M., & Walling, L. (2015). On interest, investment and economic growth. Economic & Political Weekly, L(17),125 – 126.
- Thomas, A. M. (2015). Economic survey 2014 – 15: Growth policy and theory. Economic & Political Weekly, L(32), 62 – 65.
- Thomas, A. M., & Joshi, D.P.P. (2013). Using an aggregate production function: Some methodological issues. Economic & Political Weekly, XLVIII(17), 55 – 56.
- Thomas, A. M. (2012). Cantillon’s political economy. Economic & Political Weekly, XLVII(31), 92 – 96.
- Thomas, A. M., Omkarnath, G., & Walling, L. (2011). Pierangelo Garegnani: A tribute. Economic & Political Weekly, XLVI(52), 27 – 29.
Book Reviews
- Thomas, A. M. (2022). Sraffa’s political economy. [Review of the book Sraffa, by Ajit Sinha (Ed.)], Economic & Political Weekly, 57(33), 30 – 34. https://www.epw.in/journal/2022/33/book-reviews/sraffas-political-economy.html
- Thomas, A. M. (2021). [Review of the book Naoroji, by Dinyar Patel], Artha Vijnana, 63(2), 209–211. https://publications.azimpremjifoundation.org/2783/
- Thomas, A. M. (2021). [Review of the book Roy Harrod, by Esteban Perez Caldentey], Indian Journal of Human Development, 15(2), 365 – 369. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09737030211023372
- Thomas, A. M. (2020). [Review of the book The age of fragmentation: A history of contemporary economic thought, by Alessandro Roncaglia], Economic & Political Weekly, 55(45), 28 – 31.
- Thomas, A. M. (2020). [Review of the book Adam Smith: A very short introduction, by Christopher J. Berry], Indian Journal of Human Development, 14(2), 344 – 346.
- Thomas, A. M. (2019). [Review of the book A brief history of economic thought, by Alessandro Roncaglia], Artha Vijnana, 61(4), 364 – 372.
- Thomas, A. M. (2019). [Review of Macroeconomics of the black economy by Saumen Chattopadhyay], Economic & Political Weekly, LIV(33), 47 – 48.
- Thomas, A. M. (2019). The fact/fiction of Indian agriculture. [Review of the book Death of a Moneylender by K. Neelima], Foundation for Agrarian Studies (FAS).
- Nallur, V., & Thomas, A. M. (2018). Urgency of inclusive education. [Review of the book Dynamics of inclusive classroom: Social diversity, inequality and school education, by M. K. Tiwary, S. Kumar, & A. K. Mishra (Eds.)]. The Book Review India, 42(5), 945. https://www.thebookreviewindia.org/urgency-of-inclusive-education/
- Thomas, A. M. (2017). [Review of the book Capital in the Twenty-First Century, by Thomas Piketty]. Beyond disciplines, 1(1), 130 – 134.
- Thomas, A. M. (2017), [Review of the book India’s long road: The search for prosperity, by Vijay Joshi]. Artha Journal of Social Sciences, 16(2), 87 – 92.
- Thomas, A. M. (2016). [Review of the book Economic thought: A brief history, by Heinz Kurz]. Economic & Political Weekly, LI(43), 35 – 38.
- Thomas, A. M. (2015). [Review of the book A history of development economics thought, by S. R. Khan]. History of Economics Review.
- Thomas, A. M. (2014). (Mis)understanding economic growth and development. [Reviews of the books An uncertain glory: India and its contradictions, by J. Dréze & A. Sen and Why growth matters: How economic growth in India reduced poverty and the lessons for other developing countries, by J. Bhagwati, & A. Panagariya]. ISBinsight, 1(2), 59 – 60.
Newspaper Articles
- Nallur, V. , & Thomas, A.M. (2019, June 20). The forgotten funds. The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-forgotten-funds/article28078252.ece
- Thomas, A. M. (2019, January 10). Why Adam Smith favoured Public Education. The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/why-adam-smith-favoured-public-education/article25952878.ece
- Thomas, A. M. (2016, September 08). The foreign hand isn’t enough. The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/The-foreign-hand-isn%E2%80%99t-enough/article14626733.ece
Magazine Articles
- Thomas, A. M. (2021, September 26). An ideal economist. The Mint Magazine. https://www.themintmagazine.com/an-ideal-economist/
- Thomas, A. M. (2017, February 24). India’s short road to crisis. Jacobin. https://jacobin.com/2017/02/india-demonetization-cashless-society-modi-farmers
- Thomas, A. M. (2016, May – June). (Un)learning economics. Teacher Plus, 88 – 91. https://publications.azimpremjifoundation.org/2348/
- Thomas, A. M. (2012). Economics textbooks as commodities. Student Struggle, 43(2), 19 – 21.
Online Articles
- Thomas, A. M. (2022, September 19). Kanta Ranadive: A forgotten Indian political economist. D‑Econ. https://d‑econ.org/kanta-ranadive-a-forgotten-indian-political-economist/
- Thomas, A. M. (2018, November 09). Demonetisation made winners of companies like Paytm, The poor are still counting the costs. Huffington Post India. https://www.huffpost.com/archive/in/entry/demonetisation-made-winners-of-companies-like-paytm-the-poor-are-still-counting-the-costs_in_5c0feb6be4b051c73eac3e11
- Thomas, A. M. (2017, December 27). Increasing economic disparity in India is making it impossible for the poor to have a good life. Huffington Post India. https://www.huffpost.com/archive/in/entry/increasing-economic-disparity-in-india-is-making-it-impossible-for-the-poor-to-have-a-good-life_in_5c0feb2ce4b051c73eac3ad8
- Thomas, A. M. (2017, October 5). Jean Drèze’s ‘Sense and solidarity: Jholawala economics for everyone’ rightly underscores ethics and social norms. Huffington Post India. https://www.huffpost.com/archive/in/entry/jean-dreze-s-sense-and-solidarity-jholawala-economics-for-everyone-rightly-underscores-ethics-and-social-norms_in_5c10f3dce4b085260ba7655d
- Thomas, A. M. (2017, September 09). Why ‘one nation, one tax’ doesn’t really make sense in India. Huffington Post India. https://www.huffpost.com/archive/in/entry/why-one-nation-one-tax-doesn-t-really-make-sense-in-india_in_5c0feae4e4b051c73eac37e1
- Thomas, A. M., Arora, T., Kumar, N., et al. (2012). Heterodox Economics, Economic & Political Weekly, XLVII(5), 4. https://www.epw.in/journal/2012/05/letters/heterodox-economics.html
Blog
- Thomas, A.M. Undergraduate economist: Perspectives of an economics student. www.alexmthomas.com
Blog post
- Thomas, A. M. (2020). Revisiting the economic thought of K. N. Raj. Ala, 22.
Lectures
- (2023, April 18). The Sociological Smith [Lecture recording]. Madras Institute of Development Studies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffeztvMs_dE&list=PLOYeM8VHta_zKfTSU84dHwx1vKYxOFN35&index=1
- (2023, February 03). Macroeconomics for dummies. [Lecture recording]. Zerodha Online. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF-IffGaDpc&list=PLOYeM8VHta_zKfTSU84dHwx1vKYxOFN35&index=2