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In the debate for and against European integration economists had an important part in so far as from the beginning European integration took on an essentially economic connotation. Among them Francois Perroux had a rather original position: he based his critique of European economic integration on a series of analytical tools that he developed in his critical reflection on the limits of a part of the dominant economic theory. The link between Perroux's criticism of neoclassical economics and his position on European integration is particularly interesting because it makes Perroux's position original and provocative among the various reflections on Europe and it gives us some important hints to further reflect on the role of economic theory and especially on the important tie between economic theory and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates Barbara Wootton's contributions to the discussion and implementation of a welfare system in Britain. It draws both from her theoretical work and her engagement in the public debate, including her interactions with William Beveridge and his welfare plan for post-war Britain. An assessment of Wootton's published and unpublished works allows for correlating her views on economic theory and policy with the role of the state. We claim that Wootton's critique of economic theory and her understanding of reality provided a sound foundation for her policy-making prescriptions, which contributed to a more interventionist perspective of Britain's welfare state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Talking about "The Uses of the Past", Axel compared the evolution of economic thinking to the growth of a decision tree (Leijonhufvud [6]). On 2 May 2022 Axel Leijonhufvud passed away at the age of 88 years. Axel amply demonstrated that he was up to this challenge, beginning with his doctoral dissertation I On Keynesian Economics and the Economics of Keynes i (Leijonhufvud [1]). [Extracted from the article]

The methodology of Carl Menger is often presented as contributing to the birth of neo-classical economics and following British classical liberalism, misrepresenting his original approach. On the contrary, Menger pretended empiricism. His application of subjective evaluation and his theoretical explanation of organic institutions are here seen as embedded in the Continental stream of enlightened liberalism inspired by the Lockean theory of knowledge. This methodological stream that deals with decision-making under uncertainty includes Galiani, Condillac, and Turgot, possibly preceded by Vico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carl Menger's Principles of Economics was published in 1871, and was a central text in the marginalist revolution in economic theory. From the beginning, however, it was recognised that Menger's "Austrian" brand of neoclassical economics stood out from the contributions of Jevons and Walras in the marginal revolution due to his emphasis on subjectivism, price formation through bargaining and exchange, the passage of time in production and exchange activity, and the evolution of institutions in addition to the focus on choice against constraints. In this paper, I attempt to trace out Menger's continuing influence on the contemporary Austrian School of economics in terms of methodology, analytical economics, and social philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article comprehensively examines Friedrich von Wieser's thoughts on labour. Although Wieser evolved marginalist theories of value and imputation, he set institutional bounds to them. As his sociological investigations presented perspective that went beyond neo-classicist scopes, Wieser thus provided insightful arguments on capitalistic labour that could be likened to those of Karl Marx. Despite their incompleteness, Wieser's thoughts on labour carried a potential that differed from the subsequent course that the neoclassical school pursued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the application of the principle of continuity to general equilibrium theory by Vilfredo Pareto, Gustav Cassel, and Knut Wicksell. It begins by recapping Pareto's early works based on cardinal utility and continuity. After that, Cassel's proposal of an elementary framing for general equilibrium with discontinuous functions is presented. The next section covers some unpublished letters between Pareto, Maffeo Pantaleoni, and Cassel related to the issue. It is followed by a review of the reception of Cassel's ideas advanced in his 1899 Grundriss. In the end, some reflections are offered on the scientific implications of the principle of continuity to neoclassical economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses why in the 1950s Herbert Simon introduced bounded rationality as a modular notion—consisting of a "cognitive" and an "environmental" module—and explores the consequences of this choice. Originally, Simon emphasised cognition in economics and the environment in psychology to meet specific disciplinary interests. Continuing adaptively to emphasise cognition in economics has led, then, to significant unintended consequences: (i) the easier assimilation of Simon's bounded rationality by neoclassical economics, and (ii) the persistent confusion between Simon's and Kahneman and Tversky's contribution. Seeing the recognition of his credit endangered, Simon reemphasised the environment when Gigerenzer introduced environment-based ecological rationality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Maffeo Pantaleoni's views on labour exchange and their transition. Pantaleoni's theory shared the neo-classicist antinomy that, despite the emphasis on agent subjectivity, disregarded the variability in the content of labour resulting from worker subjectivity towards labour performance and employer countermeasures. Consequently, Pantaleoni espoused the neoclassical principle that takes for granted the market determination of capitalistic labour exchange without socio-political intervention. The transition of Pantaleoni's outlook on actual labour issues reflected the gulf between his faith in this principle and realities. Thus, Pantaleoni's perspective on labour exchange functioned as a bridge between neoclassicism and Fascism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Did Marshall assume a compensated or an uncompensated demand curve? I argue that it was neither: I show that the Marshallian demand curve is a willingness-to-pay curve derived under the assumption that all prices and income are held constant. This curve approximates both compensated and uncompensated demand curves only if expenditure on the good in question represents a negligible part of the consumer budget. I argue that my interpretation, highlighting the approximate character of Marshall's approach, provides a more accurate account of the Marshallian demand curve than do alternative interpretations that rely on the utility-maximization framework and mathematical exactness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ascent of behavioral economics suggests reviving bounded rationality models that have so far been sidelined in neo-classical economics. Applications of aspiration-based satisficing to negotiations are a case in point. Background, core ideas and theoretical components of so-called Dynamic Aspiration Balance Theory (DABT) are re-introduced to show that DABT can account for bargaining behavior in terms of what has become known as fast and frugal heuristics. A revival of interest in so-called (semi-) normative theories that can be traced back to forerunners from the 1970s and 1980s may open up promising perspectives for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article addresses the dark side of capitalism as an economic system, as identified and highlighted in orthodox, laissez-faire, including classical and neoclassical, economics. While orthodox economics is widely regarded as apologetic with respect to capitalism, still it to some extent recognizes or implies the latter's dark side and therefore its duality and complexity in terms of its economic and other outcomes. The paper identifies and considers certain salient manifestations of this face of capitalism such as those in the market, in economic welfare, in economic structure and the distribution of wealth, and others. The overall finding is that even orthodox economics does not consider capitalism to be an absolute good and an immutable, eternal, and perfect economic system, and instead acknowledges and emphasizes its relative character in societal and historical terms and its various adverse dimensions and imperfections. The paper contributes to a better understanding of classical and neoclassical economics' treatment of capitalism in relation to its conception within classical sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers Paul Samuelson, Robert Solow, James Tobin, Walter Heller, and Arthur Okun qua political economists. The focus is on their combination of a faith in economic science and a passionate public spirit. The article aims to substantiate two related arguments. The first is that these “new economists” were public intellectuals, regularly addressing public opinion, and engaging with the major economic and social issues of the times; the second is that their value judgements gained the upper hand over scientific discourse when they were confronted with the 1970s inflation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paul Samuelson often used the term “Santa Claus economics” for mathematical models with empirically unrealistic assumptions. I focus on one particular member of the Santa Claus family that Samuelson was very sceptical about: homothetic general equilibrium models (where all agents have identical homothetic preferences). I argue that Samuelson's concerns about these models provide insights into how he viewed the relationship between the individual and the market, a relationship that has implications for not only his economic theorising, but also his broader political–economic vision. His criticisms are also relevant to some ongoing debates within contemporary economic theory. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper challenges the view of Jeremy Bentham as a primitive predecessor of rational choice theory and welfare economics. The psychological hedonism in Bentham is of a rather weak form – net pleasure motivates behaviour, but we are not always capable of its maximisation. Thus, the outcome of our choices is not necessarily in our best interest and the aggregation of our revealed preferences is not necessarily a good indicator of general happiness. The bottom line is that the underpinnings of Bentham's utilitarianism are better aligned with contemporary psychological theory than previously thought, which puts his ethical thinking on firmer ground. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the wake of Sraffa's ‘return to classical theory’, Krishna Bharadwaj undertook a critical reassessment of Marshall's claim to continuity with classical theory in general and Ricardo's ‘intensive margin’ in particular. Her analysis is based on an analytical separation between two distinct ways of economic reasoning: the ‘surplus based’ and the ‘demand and supply based’ theories. Calling it an ‘archaeological reconstruction’ of the history of economic theories, I will examine how such an interpretation of theoretical shifts clarifies both the presuppositions behind analysing at the ‘margin’, and hence its radical departure from the conceptual content of the classical theory. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

From an analytical point of view, some aspects of Just Price theory, probably the most famous and lasting scholastic concept, remain controversial: the cost-of-production versus the subjective-utility theory of value is a main controversy as well as the question of whether the natural just price is conceptually the same as the current market price. Strictly speaking, just price is conceptually the same as the current market price. Of concern is whether the meaning behind the label is the same in both scholastic and liberal traditions. There are different interpretations among scholars. One is that the just price is merely the current market price, and common estimation plays the same role as market forces in a competitive context. Another group states that the just price is quite different from the market price; the fundamental reason is that the ethical framework of the scholastic paradigm sets a corpus of principles that greatly differs from the neoclassical homo economicus. Is it possible to speak of a collaborative market price (scholastic tradition) and competitive market price (liberal tradition)? This article tries to dig into such debate and reflects on the morality of the market price. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Marshall was the great synthesiser of neoclassical economics. Yet with his qualified assumption of self-interest, his emphasis on variation in economic evolution and his cautious attitude to the use of mathematics, Marshall differs fundamentally from other leading neoclassical contemporaries. Metaphors inspire more specific analogies and ontological assumptions, and Marshall used the guiding metaphor of Spencerian evolution. But unfortunately, the further development of a Marshallian evolutionary approach was undermined in part by theoretical problems within Spencer's theory. Yet some things can be salvaged from the Marshallian evolutionary vision. They may even be placed in a more viable Darwinian framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marx claims that what early modern writers took as the isolated individual in nature, was actually the individual in modern civil society. This is a mistake, but an interesting one. The paper traces the idea of the methodological individualist isolated individual in Hobbes, Locke, Bentham, Austrian and neoclassical economics. The idea is untenable because it prevents a distinction between the individual and the economy in which it supposedly pursues its interest. But the mistake pushes beyond itself, pointing to a tenable alternative, plural individuality. The alternative view is thus grounded in its contrary, rather than simply rejecting it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cournot's Recherches contains a sketch of the general equilibrium research programme, as well as the model of an exchange economy as a system verifying Walras' law. General equilibrium analysis had nonetheless to wait for Walras to occupy the centre of theoretical economics, since it was dismissed by Cournot for its lack of simplicity and robustness. We suggest these motives to depend upon his view of competition as a strategic interaction between producers. Correlatively, the way to the Walras' construct appears to pass through his own view of competition, with economic agents giving up by pure conduct their potential market power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will describe the critical reception of Fisher's book by the Cambrige authors. First, we will begin with a description of the relationship between Fisher (1911) and the British Monetary Orthodoxy. Next, we shall examine the relationship between Fisher (1911) and the Cambridge School and Hawtrey. This will lead into a study of Keynes’ comments on Fisher (1911). We shall show that all referred positively to Fisher. However, they were also critical of Fisher's method and this was to contribute, in turn, to making their own analyses more precise, in particular regarding the role of credit. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The standard view about the relationship between the Marshallian and the Walrasian approaches is that they are complementary to each other. My aim in this paper is to show that, on the contrary, they constitute alternative sub-research programmes within the wider neoclassical paradigm. I make my point by contrasting the two approaches against the following benchmarks: the purpose of economic theory according to Marshall and Walras; their views as to the role of mathematics; their specific ways of tackling complexity; the conception of equilibrium underpinning their theories; and, finally, their trade organisation assumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper delineates a profile of Luigi Einaudi as an economist and answers to the question: what kind of economist was Einaudi?. It describes the major trends of classical and neoclassical economic thought that influenced his background and focuses on his conception of economic science: method and vision, fields of application (from the Italian economy to the the Great Crisis) and his theory of economic policy (Buongoverno). The paper maintains that Einaudi possessed the qualities of the great economists of the past but his understatement in the manner of presenting his positions and his style of argument have overshadowed the great economist he was. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically assesses Marshall's organic growth theory. Although Marshall insisted that economic biology is ‘the economist's Mecca,’ he did not originally develop the organic growth theory. However, we focus on the concept of ‘organic growth’ and explore Marshall's idea of economic biology. We discuss the concept of ‘organic,’ the structure of the organic growth theory, and the relationship between mechanical economics and economic biology. In particular, we focus on the last chapter of the fifth edition of Principles of Economics. Marshall did not develop his theory in these subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper examines the intellectual and structural change that German economics experienced after the Second World War. This development often was described as ‘Americanisation’, since it seemed to rest upon the influences of the American occupation regime. In contrast, the paper applies another meaning of ‘Americanisation’. It is considered a ‘discourse’ that serves to structure the disciplinary procedures to produce progress. As it can be shown by the adoption of Keynesianism and neoclassical microeconomics, the change of the discipline was not primarily driven by direct American influences. Rather, in some respect the German reception took a path of its own. That contradiction can be solved by a theoretical modification of the classical concept of ‘Americanisation’. ‘Americanisation’ there meant a change of the operational procedure of German economics to generate progress. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper critically reviews the evolution of the theoretical framework and related empirical evidence following Keynes' theory of aggregate consumption spending, focusing on the importance of the impact of income distribution on consumption. We propose a new reading of Keynes' theories in order to assess how they can improve our knowledge regarding economic performance and overcome some current limitations and inconsistencies in the literature. In this line, we consider Keynes' original, overall theory, which is more general and comprehensive than other later contributions, together with its main psychological and sociological elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilises the distinction between ophelimity and utility to contrast Pareto's and Pigou's divergent approaches to economic and social welfare when individuals are conscious of consumption by third-parties. It is argued that diverse characterisations of science lie at the heart of the substantive differences in these approaches to welfare, with divergences in the treatment of third-party consumption being more significant than any variations in the ordinal or cardinal representation of welfare issues. Moreover, differences associated with the treatment of third-party consumption have implications for the choice between an economic and a sociological base for the study of public finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumer surplus and the notion of the social optimality of competitive equilibria are usually indicated as Marshall's main contributions to welfare economics. His willingness to develop the policy implications of these concepts, however, was half-hearted to say the least. This paper argues that such an attitude is better understood if Marshall's approach to welfare economics is set in the framework of a wider intellectual programme that, passing through various stages, lies behind his entire work. The core of the programme consisted of an attempt to reconcile a utilitarian agenda with an evolutionary view of the dynamic tendencies of industrial society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While John Stuart Mill was not unwilling to identify with the philosophical approach of utilitarianism, he nonetheless distanced himself from utilitarianism as conceived by Bentham. He rejected all the assumptions that led the latter to advocate a felicific calculus. He thus constructed his economic system on the basis of a different empirical economic anthropology to that found in the analyses of Jevons, Marshall, Walras and Menger, all of which derive from Bentham's reasoning. This, essentially, is why it is not justifiable to include J. S. Mill in the pantheon of neoclassicism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose an interpretation of the application of 'cost of reproduction' of Francesco Ferrara to the exchange between two agents to highlight its relevance for the theory of bilateral monopoly. In the Teoria delle Mercedi, Ferrara gives a numerical example to explain price determination in the exchange between one buyer and one seller. Here, this example is translated into a mathematical model that reproduces the fundamental issues of the neoclassical debate on the indeterminacy of price in the Cournot model, and anticipates the solutions proposed by Edgeworth at the end of this debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, part of an ongoing discussion, Samuelson (2000) is taken as the occasion for a critical examination of Samuelson's work on the classical economists and Sraffa, a subject of continuing interest for that author, especially after Sraffa (1960). The article argues for the existence in Smith and Ricardo of an alternative approach to distribution and prices, and it aims at a critique of Samuelson's contention that 'Smith, Ricardo and J.S. Mill used essentially the same logical paradigm as did Walras and Arrow Debreu' (2000: 140). In the first two sections, the attempt by Arrow (1991) to detect in Ricardo a theory of prices independent of demand - and founded instead on a real wage determined separately from, though not necessarily independently of, prices and the non-wage distributive variables - is considered with its implication of the wage entering the determination of the latter as an 'intermediate datum' of the theory. This then makes it possible to outline the characteristic analysis we find in Smith and Ricardo, where the wage as 'intermediate datum' entails a similar treatment of the output levels. The resulting theoretical structure is then used in order to answer, in sections III and IV, the two basic criticism, that Samuelson has advanced against Sraffa (1960). While the claimed dependence of the (1960) prices on an assumption of constant returns is voided by the mentioned treatment of outputs as intermediate data, the relevance of the Standard commodity, as well as that of Ricardo's 'invariable measure of value' is explained by the needs of determining non-wage incomes as a difference or 'residual', the essence of the theoretical structure under consideration. Section V then deals more directly with Samuelson's denial of the existence of a classical paradigm of economic theory. His arguments and interpretations are found to be in contrast with central features of Smith and Ricardo's work and, in particular, with their theory of wages. Thus, the admission of labour unemployment in 'normal' competitive positions compels Samuelson to a highly questionable interpretation of the chapter 'On Machinery' in Ricardo's Principles. In section VI, finally, the attribution to 'Sraffian literature' of a central concern for what Samuelson sees as 'steady states', but are in fact the traditional 'normal positions' of the economy leads the article to the deficiencies of neoclassical theory - an issue inevitably underlying the debate on the Classical paradigm. The dependence of the traditional versions of the theory, based on normal positions, on the notion of capital as a single magnitude - which forced the generalized abandonment of those versions in pure theory after the early stages of the capital controversies - is argued to emerge as equally present in the contemporary reformulations of the theory, thus affecting them, it is argued, no less than it did the abandoned earlier versions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proofs are given that only singularly can real 1750 - 2007 competitive price ratios be 'natural', in the sense of being invariant under changes in demand tastes. Proofs are given that both 1750 - 1870 discrete technologies or 1890 - 2007 continuum technologies, with convexity properties sufficient for arbitrage-proof supply-demand equilibria, will be 'intertemporally Pareto optimal', immune to leaving any deadweight (inefficient) losses on the table. Sraffa (1960), ignoring the vast post-1945 linear and non-linear programming mathematical literature of Danzig, Kuhn-Tucker-Bellman, von Neumann, Ramsey literature does not quite arrive at attainable distribution solutions. Where it tolerates increasing or decreasing returns to scale, there can be no competitive equilibria. When its matrix equations do obey first-degree-homogeneous functions, the book's stress on Basics or non-Basics is an irrelevancy leading to bizarre novel interpretations of Ricardo. Old age overtakes us all. Alas, Sraffs's proposed critique of twentieth century political economy we will never be able to know. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is based on Kalecki's * 1934 study entitled ‘Three Systems’. It aims to show that before the General Theory Kalecki developed a mathematical model capable of expressing both the main conclusions of the neoclassical theory – Kalecki's Systems I and II – and the persistence of unemployment – Kalecki's System III. The present analysis stresses the relevance and the originality of Kalecki's 1934 model by comparing it to the two main variants of the IS-LM model – Hicks (1937) and Modigliani (1944) – around which the neoclassical synthesis was built. It shows that although there does indeed exist a formal proximity between Kalecki's model and those of Hicks and Modigliani, Kalecki can be considered the first to offer an original explanation of the difference between classical and Keynesian models that depends neither on liquidity preference as proposed by Hicks nor on the rigidity of money wages as proposed by Modigliani. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes a new interpretation of Sraffa's 1926 Economic Journal article, 'The Laws of Returns under Competitive Conditions', according to which the latter derives from the same strategy of research which underlies its 1925 Italian precursor, 'Sulle relazioni fra costo e quantità prodotta'. Sraffa tested the explanatory power of a Marshallian monopolistic partial equilibrium model and concluded that that model is able to treat one source of variable returns (firm-internal economies); but this articulation of Marshall's theory does not substantially improve on the trade-off between logical consistency and empirical relevance which afflicted the theory in its whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines Marshall's views on industrial organization in the light of his early interest in mental philosophy: routines are necessary for the functioning not only of mind but also of society, though in both cases they enhance the dangers of excessive specialization and 'overburdening'. Marshall's ideal mix, already clear in his early paper Ye Machine, was the subordination of a powerful and growing set of routines to human creativity and foresight. The 'neurophysiological analogy' helps to understand Marshall's opinions on division of labour, business concentration, industrial districts, 'character' and other general issues of social evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an analysis of the logical structure and analytical content of Piero Sraffa's 1925 Italian paper, 'Sulle relazioni fra costo e quantità prodotta'. It shows that Sraffa's criticism of the supply side of Marshall's theory of value in a competitive partial equilibrium model involves analytical and methodological issues. Endorsing an agressive methodology Sraffa logically reconstructs Marshall's model on variable returns to determine its empirical domain. He demonstrates that the latter encompasses only the empirically irrelevant cases of specific factor industries and specific external economies industries and that it cannot be generalized to non-specific factor industries and to non-specific external economies industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Argues that the shift from classicism to neoclassicism in 19th century Great Britain can be seen as a change from a reproductive environment with internal scarcity, towards a non-reproductive environment with external scarcity. Reproduction and scarcity in the economic thoughts of Thomas Robert Malthus, David Ricardo and William Stanley Jevons; Inability of human actions to prevent the uprising of external scarcity.

Presents an article that derives its principal motivation from observations regarding the Adam Smith literature. Discusses the development of new economic theories and the social science of Adam Smith; Provides analysis of diverging and opposing views within the frameworks of neoclassical and Marxian theories to further understand Smith's system.

This essay discusses the following two hypotheses. The first one is based on the epistemological proposal which we have named the principle of discontinuity. It asserts that certain developments in the history of economic thought involve theoretical breaks which can only be fully explained by making use of the concept of discontinuity. The second hypothesis concerns one of the consequences drawn from the principle of discontinuity, namely, the untranslatability of concepts. Besides other theories to which reference is made by way of examples of specific conclusions regarding the principle of discontinuity, the conceptual structures of Marshall's and Keynes' conceptions of the determinants of investment are analysed and compared with the aim of illustrating the aforementioned hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the post-Marshallian economic tradition. Aspects of industrial revolution; Notion of evolutionary principles; Ways to coordinate the development of knowledge and feared economic atrophy.