Mohammad Osman Gani, Foundations of Economic Science (Scholars, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2003, Hardcover), ISBN 984-32-0655-X

Abstract

Dr. Mohammad Osman Gani is too humble a person and knows very well who to acknowledge in his life as they have strongly contributed towards his pursuits to do economics. He sought twenty-two years of his life from his wife Monowara and he thinks it was a vacation in the land of economics which his wife had sacrificed for him. He also pleads to his children to understand why their father was unavailable. He wishes that his parents were here to see whether their sacrifices for their son were fruitful. New York University was his forte and Bernard Wasow, his mentor took him there and literally sheltered his family. He might have spared economics without him he states. As mentors are, he also supervised his doctoral dissertation. The form and substance of Dr. Gani's work as reflected in this book has been strongly influenced by his teachers Wassily Leontief and Israel Kirzner but spares them from his turns, twists and stretches. He rightly acknowledges his teachers who helped him think about economic issues: William Baumol, Peter Boettke, Boyan Jovanovic, Mario Rizzo, Andrew Schotter, Michael Todaro, Bernard Wasow, and Charles Wilson. The two most resourceful libraries for economists (Bobst and Dewey) were his hideout for nearly a decade as he received free access with the patronage of the New York University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The few chapters that Dr. Gani has highlighted in this book are the following: He has given a Roadmap where he wants to understand what economies is all about. What kind of a worldview should students possess, what methodology to pursue and how to explain theory. His chapter on ’First look’ browses through the anatomy of an economy, questions whether trade is gainful, highlights consistency of choice, put forwards