The ideological foundations of the contributors range from personalized neo-Marxism, through "extreme centre" neo-Keynesianism, to hard-line neoclassical mathematical economics. Despite this diversity there is a surprising degree of consensus. No contributor advocates centralized planning and none expects a free market to cure all economic ills. Opinions vary as to how well the market actually works, but all agree that equity and efficiency are essential goals which most consider to be complementary rather than mutually exclusive. In the concluding chapter it is suggested that current economic problems are caused not so much by government intervention as by the nature of that intervention. The authors believe that the recent ideological convergence may lead to a new paradigm, a theory of the optimal blend of market and management that will be flexible enough to deal with the varying conditions of diverse societies, thus simplifying the task of creating a smooth-running global economy. The contributors are Irma Adelman, Mark Blaug, Kenneth Boulding, Irving Brecher, Albert Breton, John S. Chipman, André Gunder Frank, Martha Fuentes Frank, Niles Hansen, Murray C. Kemp, Robin Marris, Richard Musgrave, Walt Rostow, Donald J. Savoie, Nicholas Spulber, and Paul Streeten. Higgins himself contributes a chapter on basic concepts and collaborates with Donald Savoie on the final chapter.

Donald J. Savoie est titulaire de la Chaire de recherche du Canada en administration publique et gouvernance (niveau 1) à l'Université de Moncton. Il a remporté de nombreux prix, dont le prix Donner 2016 pour What Is Government Good At? Il a été fait Officier de l'Ordre du Canada (1993), élu membre de la Société royale du Canada (1992) et a reçu huit doctorats honorifiques de la part d'universités canadiennes.

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Irving Brecher (1923-2007) taught at the universities of Northwestern and McGill, where he was Professor Emeritus. He headed the Institute of Development Economics for the Third World and was named director of the McGill Centre for Developing Area Studies in 1963. He also worked as an economic consultant to the Combines Investigation Branch in Ottawa.

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