Marginal Revolution
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The Austrian School in Bulgaria: a History✩ Nikolay Nenovsky A,*, Pencho Penchev B
Russian Journal of Economics 4 (2018) 44–64 DOI 10.3897/j.ruje.4.26005 Publication date: 23 April 2018 www.rujec.org The Austrian school in Bulgaria: A history✩ Nikolay Nenovsky a,*, Pencho Penchev b a University of Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France b University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria Abstract The main goal of this study is to highlight the acceptance, dissemination, interpretation, criticism and make some attempts at contributing to Austrian economics made in Bulgaria during the last 120 years. We consider some of the main characteristics of the Austrian school, such as subjectivism and marginalism, as basic components of the economic thought in Bulgaria and as incentives for the development of some original theoreti- cal contributions. Even during the first few years of Communist regime (1944–1989), with its Marxist monopoly over intellectual life, the Austrian school had some impact on the economic thought in the country. Subsequent to the collapse of Communism, there was a sort of a Renaissance and rediscovery of this school. Another contribution of our study is that it illustrates the adaptability and spontaneous evolution of ideas in a different and sometimes hostile environment. Keywords: history of economic thought, dissemination of economic ideas, Austrian school, Bulgaria. JEL classification: B00, B13, B30, B41. 1. Introduction The emergence and development of specialized economic thought amongst the Bulgarian intellectuals was a process that occurred significantly slowly in comparison to Western and Central Europe. It also had its specific fea- tures. The first of these was that almost until the outset of the 20th century, the economic theories and different concepts related to them were not well known. -
Keynes's Investment Theory As a Micro-Foundation for His Grandchildren
Vol. 14, 2020-24 | July 03, 2020 | http://dx.doi.org/10.5018/economics-ejournal.ja.2020-24 Keynes's investment theory as a micro-foundation for his grandchildren Sergio Nisticò Abstract In contrast with the ‘missing micro-foundations’ argument against Keynes’s macro- economics, the paper argues that it is the present state of microeconomics that needs more solid ‘Keynesian foundations’. It is in particular Keynes’s understanding of investors’ behaviour that can be fruitfully extended to consumption theory, in a context in which consumers are considered as entrepreneurs, buying goods and services to engage in time- consuming activities. The paper emphasizes that the outcome in terms of enjoyment is particularly uncertain for those innovative and path-breaking activities, which Keynes discussed in his 1930 prophetic essay about us, the grandchildren of his contemporaries. Moreover, the Keynes-inspired microeconomics suggested in the paper provides an explanation of why Keynes’s prophecy about his grandchildren possibly expanding leisure did not materialize yet. The paper finally points at the need for appropriate economic policies supporting consumers’ propensity to enforce innovative forms of time use. JEL B41 D11 D81 Keywords Keynesian microeconomics; consumption; time use; uncertainty; Keynes’s grandchildren Authors Sergio Nisticò, Creativity and Motivations Economic Research Center, Department of Economics and Law, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Italy, [email protected] Citation Sergio Nisticò (2020). Keynes's investment theory as a micro-foundation for his grandchildren. Economics: The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal, 14 (2020-24): 1–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.5018/economics-ejournal.ja.2020-24 Received January 22, 2020 Published as Economics Discussion Paper February 14, 2020 Revised June 8, 2020 Accepted June 18, 2020 Published July 3, 2020 © Author(s) 2020. -
A Historical Sketch of Profit Theories in Mainstream Economics
International Business Research; Vol. 9, No. 4; 2016 ISSN 1913-9004 E-ISSN 1913-9012 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education A Historical Sketch of Profit Theories in Mainstream Economics Ibrahim Alloush Correspondence: Ibrahim Alloush ,Department of Economic Sciences, College of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Zaytouneh University, Amman, Jordan. Tel: 00962795511113, E-mail: [email protected] Received: January 4, 2016 Accepted: February 1, 2016 Online Published: March 16, 2016 doi:10.5539/ibr.v9n4p148 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v9n4p148 Abstract In this paper, the main contributions to the development of profit theories are delineated in a chronological order to provide a quick reference guide for the concept of profit and its origins. Relevant theories are cited in reference to their authors and the school of thought they are affiliated with. Profit is traced through its Classical and Marginalist origins into its mainstream form in the literature of the Neo-classical school. As will be seen, the book is still not closed on a concept which may still afford further theoretical refinement. Keywords: profit theories, historical evolution of profit concepts, shares of income and marginal productivity, critiques of mainstream profit theories 1. Introduction Despite its commonplace prevalence since ancient times, “whence profit?” i.e., the question of where it comes from, has remained a vexing theoretical question for economists, with loaded political and moral implications, for many centuries. In this paper, the main contributions of different economists to the development of profit theories are delineated in a chronological order. The relevant theories are cited in reference to their authors and the school of thought they are affiliated with. -
Neoliberal Reason and Its Forms: Depoliticisation Through
Neoliberal Reason and Its Forms: De-Politicisation Through Economisation Yahya M. Madra and Fikret Adaman Department of Economics, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey; [email protected] Abstract: This paper offers a historically contextualised intellectual history of the entangled development of three competing post-war economic approaches, viz the Austrian, Chicago and post-Walrasian schools, as three forms of neoliberalism. Taking our cue from Foucault’s reading of neoliberalism as a mode of governmentality under which the social is organised through “economic incentives”, we engage with the recent discussions of neoliberal theory on three accounts: neoliberalism is read as an epistemic horizon including not only “pro-” but also “post-market” positions articulated by post- Walrasian economists who claim that market failures necessitate the design of “incentive-compatible” remedial mechanisms; the Austrian tradition is distinguished from the Chicago-style pro-marketism; and the implications of the differences among the three approaches on economic as well as socio-political life are discussed. The paper maintains that all three approaches promote the de-politicisation of the social through its economisation albeit by way of different theories and policies. Keywords: Michel Foucault, economisation, Austrian School, Chicago School, post- Walrasian School Introduction More than half a decade after the 2008 Crash and with no end in sight to depressive economic conditions, neoliberal reason displays a certain resiliency. In time, the initial calls for intervention and regulation transformed into austerity programs run by technocratic governments. In the absence of a major redistribution of wealth and income, returning to a New Deal arrangement with well paying secure jobs for all, comprehensive social security, free and quality education, accessible healthcare and active government involvement in social welfare, appears to many a nostalgic indulgence. -
Hayek on Wiesner
'- \ ~#'~ The Development A WILEY PUBLICATION -------------oF----- IN ECONOMICS Kenneth E. Boulding Economic Thought Consultant in Economics GREAT ECONOMISTS IN PERSPECTIVE Edited by HENRY WILLIAM SPIEGEL Professor of Economics The Catholic University of America JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC., NEW YORK CHAPMAN & HALL, LIMITED, LONDON lf77?-- ~ , '- Hayek on Wieser WESER INSPIRED an admiration coming close to worship among all who came under the spell of his powerful personality. Read ers of his works cannot fail to be impressed by his human greatness and universality. Those who have never met him in person will appreciate Friedrich von Wieser (1851-1926) was educated at Vienna these characteristics more fully when they are shown in the light of all and at several German universities. He held a teaching posi his accomplishments, including those which lie outside the field of tion in Prague until he succeeded to Menger's chair at the Uni economics. I shall try in the fo1lowing to combine a brief review of versity of Vienna after the latter's resignation in 1903. Wieser Wieser's work in economics with an appraisal of the whole man. is the author of the only systematic treatise on economics turned Friedrich von Wieser, an offspring of an old family of Austrian public out by the founders of the Austrian school, Social Economics servants, was born in Vienna on July 10, 1851. His father, a high (1914; English translation 1927). In this work, Wieser proves government employee, had originally intended to become a painter, and himself a master of the method of successive approximation, Wieser inherited from both parents a pronounced artistic disposition. -
Energy As a Factor of Production: Historical Roots in the American Institutionalist Context Antoine Missemer, Franck Nadaud
Energy as a Factor of Production: Historical Roots in the American Institutionalist Context Antoine Missemer, Franck Nadaud To cite this version: Antoine Missemer, Franck Nadaud. Energy as a Factor of Production: Historical Roots in the American Institutionalist Context. Energy Economics, Elsevier, 2020, 86, pp.104706. 10.1016/j.eneco.2020.104706. halshs-02467734 HAL Id: halshs-02467734 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-02467734 Submitted on 26 Feb 2021 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. - Authors’s post-print - - published in Energy Economics (2020), 86, 104706 - ENERGY AS A FACTOR OF PRODUCTION: HISTORICAL ROOTS IN THE AMERICAN INSTITUTIONALIST CONTEXT - * Antoine MISSEMER † Franck NADAUD - Full reference: MISSEMER, Antoine and NADAUD, Franck. 2020. “Energy as a Factor of Production: Historical Roots in the American Institutionalist Context”. Energy Economics, 86, 104706. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2020.104706] The pagination of the published version is indicated in the margin. - Abstract The relationship between energy and economic output is today discussed through the decoupling issue. A pioneering historical attempt to measure this relationship can be found in contributions by F. G. Tryon et al. at the Brookings Institution in the 1920s-1930s, in the American institutionalist context. -
Imputation and Value in the Works of Menger, Böhm-Bawerk and Wieser
E-LOGOS/2005 ISSN 1121-0442 _____________________________________________ Imputation and Value in the works of Menger, Böhm-Bawerk and Wieser Šimon Bi ľo University of Economics, Prague [email protected] Alford Fellow, The Ludwig von Mises Institute, July 21, 2004 Version January 10, 2005 1 Abstract: Analysis of the discussions within the first two generations of the Austrian school of economics constitutes an inevitable cornerstone of every further inquiry on the fields of the theory of value and imputation theory. Only with knowledge of Menger’s, Wieser’s and Böhm-Bawerk’s understanding of cardinalism and problems related with utility, value and their interdependence, we are apt to understand correctness or incorrectness of their positions and also positions of their followers. Thus, we could trace back cardinalist notions of utility seeded by Menger and understand later Mises’- Čuhel reformulation of the whole value theory into an ordinalistic one. Mises fully escaped the Mengerian tradition in this point and also transformed the whole theory of imputation into the theory of pricing of the factors of production. The only exception, from the point of view of imputation theory of highest importance, is his insistence on the value equation of means and ends that confused his successors and was investigated only recently. Within the context of present state of value and imputation theories, two related problems arise: “What constitutes theory of imputation, theory of value and valuation of the factors of production, today?” and “Is Menger-Böhm-Bawerkian solution of imputation theory really suitable for the explanation of the pricing process and isn’t Wieser’s objection of circularity of the imputation theory applied in price-creation justified?” These are the questions that are badly needed to be answered in order to clarify the theory in the field. -
Evolution and Refinement of the Concept of Supply and Demand from Cournot to Marshall Ray Mcdermott
Evolution and Refinement of the Concept of Supply and Demand from Cournot to Marshall Ray McDermott Table of Contents Page Introduction 1 John Stuart Mill 2 Augustin Cournot 5 J. H. von Thunen 7 Hermann Heinrich Gossen 8 Fleeming Jenkin 10 William Stanley Jevons 13 Carl Menger 19 Leon Walras 21 Aspects of Marginal Theory as set by Jevons, Menger and Walras 28 Rudolf Auspitz and Richard Lieben 47 Alfred Marshall 52 Conclusion 66 Bibliography 67 ALUMNI MEMORIAL LIBRARY Creighton University Omaha; Nebraika 65178 fc v 385843 “ *** '••v.i-fii. Evolution and Refinement of the Concept of Supply and Demand from Cournot to Marshall The law of supply and demand can be restated in mathematical language. Fleeming Jenkin did this. As one looks at the correspondence between the economists of an eighty year period (Cournot to Marshall), thinking can be clarified on the discussion of supply and demand. Relationships are shown between these economists. There are similar ities as well as differences in their thinking. Disagreements on terminology pertaining to utility theory is evident between Jevons, Walras, and Menger. Priority on thoughts about utility was claimed and disputed between Jevons and Walras. Marshall was annoyed by Jevons* theory. Marshall, Walras, and Mill were all directed by their fathers in the classics. Lecturing at various universities was common for Jevons, Marshall, Walras, and Menger. Some however were not trained economists. Examples of these were Jenkin, Cournot, and von Thunen. Jevons, Menger, and Walras were the founders of the Marginal Utility School. The economists are not discussed according to the chronological time in which they lived. -
Why to Worry About the Wealth of Nations: Technological Unemployment, Unequal Distribution and Secular Stagnation
Why to Worry about the Wealth of Nations: Technological Unemployment, Unequal Distribution and Secular Stagnation Timon Scheuer October 14, 2016 Abstract Persistent unemployment challenges politics of today. The cure commonly prescribed is economic growth. While technological progress should still provide the necessary productivity gains, their interdepen- dency to the role allocation of private capitalism may also be an ori- gin or at least a magnifier of stagnation in the first place. In order to investigate these interdependencies the paper takes a system per- spective. Within a correspondingly aggregate model technical change affects needs of consumers, expectations of producers and productivity in different ways. Applying a corresponding set of equations in discrete time steps then allows for simulations of exemplary scenarios. In ab- sence of public interventions and institutions the stability of the system and its growth path strongly depends on the mixture of process and product innovation. If the latter fails to overcome temporary limita- tions of needs and expectations, the lack of demand may induce a loop of unemployment and stagnation. This risk increases with disparity, which itself may be triggered by certain forms of technical change in the first place. PROCEEDING OF A PRELIMINARY PRESENTED AT THE YOUNG ECONOMIST CONFERENCE 1 1 Introduction Social scientists know the name of Adam Smith (1776, [2006]) and his fa- mous `Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations`. He may even be seen as the father of economic liberalism emphasizing the role of spreading market interactions, the division of labour and the accumula- tion of capital in order to achieve productivity gains and boost economic growth (Sturn, 2008, pp. -
Nine Lives of Neoliberalism
A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Plehwe, Dieter (Ed.); Slobodian, Quinn (Ed.); Mirowski, Philip (Ed.) Book — Published Version Nine Lives of Neoliberalism Provided in Cooperation with: WZB Berlin Social Science Center Suggested Citation: Plehwe, Dieter (Ed.); Slobodian, Quinn (Ed.); Mirowski, Philip (Ed.) (2020) : Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, ISBN 978-1-78873-255-0, Verso, London, New York, NY, https://www.versobooks.com/books/3075-nine-lives-of-neoliberalism This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/215796 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative -
Austrian Economic Thought: Its Evolution and Its Contribution to Consumer Behavior
A Great Revolution in Economics –Vienna 1871 and after Austrian economic thought: its evolution and its contribution to consumer behavior Lazaros Th. Houmanidis Auke R. Leen A great REVOLUTION In economics —VIENNA 1871 and after AUSTRIAN ECONOMIC THOUGHT: ITS EVOLUTION AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO CONSUMER BEHAVIOR Lazaros Th. Houmanidis Auke R. Leen The letter type on the cover is of Arnold Böcklin (Basel 1827-1901 Fiesole). It is a typical example of the Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) style—the fashionable style of art in Vienna at the end of the 19th century (the time older Austrianism came in full swing). In a sense, Böcklin’s work represents the essence of Austrianism: “Never was he interested in the accidental; he wanted the everlasting”. Cereales Foundation, publisher Wageningen University P.O. Box 357, 6700 AJ Wageningen, The Netherlands E [email protected] Printed by Grafisch Service Centrum Van Gils B.V. Cover design by Hans Weggen (Art Director Cereales) © 2001 Lazaros Th. Houmanidis and Auke R. Leen ISBN 90-805724-3-8 In the memory of our beloved colleague JACOB JAN KRABBE PREFACE A Great Revolution in Economics—Vienna 1871 and after is about the revolution in economic thought that started in Vienna in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. After a time of trying to save the objective value theory the time was there for a new awakening of economic thought. In Vienna, for the first time by the 1871 publication of Menger’s Grundsätze, value become subjective, and the market a process with a sovereign consumer. This book is about this awakening that proved to be more than a plaisanterie viennoise. -
THE NEOLIBERAL THEORY of SOCIETY Simon Clarke
THE NEOLIBERAL THEORY OF SOCIETY Simon Clarke The ideological foundations of neo-liberalism Neoliberalism presents itself as a doctrine based on the inexorable truths of modern economics. However, despite its scientific trappings, modern economics is not a scientific discipline but the rigorous elaboration of a very specific social theory, which has become so deeply embedded in western thought as to have established itself as no more than common sense, despite the fact that its fundamental assumptions are patently absurd. The foundations of modern economics, and of the ideology of neoliberalism, go back to Adam Smith and his great work, The Wealth of Nations. Over the past two centuries Smith’s arguments have been formalised and developed with greater analytical rigour, but the fundamental assumptions underpinning neoliberalism remain those proposed by Adam Smith. Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations as a critique of the corrupt and self-aggrandising mercantilist state, which drew its revenues from taxing trade and licensing monopolies, which it sought to protect by maintaining an expensive military apparatus and waging costly wars. The theories which supported the state conceived of exchange as a ‘zero-sum game’, in which one party’s gain was the other party’s loss, so the maximum benefit from exchange was to be extracted by force and fraud. The fundamental idea of Smith’s critique was that the ‘wealth of the nation’ derived not from the accumulation of wealth by the state, at the expense of its citizens and foreign powers, but from the development of the division of labour. The division of labour developed as a result of the initiative and enterprise of private individuals and would develop the more rapidly the more such individuals were free to apply their enterprise and initiative and to reap the corresponding rewards.