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Theory of Political Economy
The publication of this work in 1871--almost simultaneously with the treatises of Menger and Walras--opened a new period in economic theorizing which would become later known as the "marginal revolution." In Keynes' assessment, this was the "first modern book on economics," "simple, lucid, unfaltering," "chiseled in stone where Marshall knits in wool."
324 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1871
12 people are currently reading
360 people want to read
About the author
William Stanley Jevons
84 books22 followersWilliam Stanley Jevons, LL.D., MA, FRS was an English economist and logician.
Irving Fisher described Jevons' book A General Mathematical Theory of Political Economy (1862) as the start of the mathematical method in economics. It made the case that economics as a science concerned with quantities is necessarily mathematical. In so doing, it expounded upon the "final" (marginal) utility theory of value. Jevons' work, along with similar discoveries made by Carl Menger in Vienna (1871) and by Léon Walras in Switzerland (1874), marked the opening of a new period in the history of economic thought. Jevons' contribution to the marginal revolution in economics in the late 19th century established his reputation as a leading political economist and logician of the time.
Jevons broke off his studies of the natural sciences in London in 1854 to work as an assayer in Sydney, where he acquired an interest in political economy. Returning to the UK in 1859, he published General Mathematical Theory of Political Economy in 1862, outlining the marginal utility theory of value, and A Serious Fall in the Value of Gold in 1863. For Jevons, the utility or value to a consumer of an additional unit of a product is inversely related to the number of units of that product he already owns, at least beyond some critical quantity.
It was for The Coal Question (1865), in which he called attention to the gradual exhaustion of the UK's coal supplies, that he received public recognition, in which he put forth what is now known as the Jevons paradox, i.e. that increases in energy production efficiency leads to more not less consumption. The most important of his works on logic and scientific methods is his Principles of Science (1874), as well as The Theory of Political Economy (1871) and The State in Relation to Labour (1882). Among his inventions was the logic piano, a mechanical computer.
Irving Fisher described Jevons' book A General Mathematical Theory of Political Economy (1862) as the start of the mathematical method in economics. It made the case that economics as a science concerned with quantities is necessarily mathematical. In so doing, it expounded upon the "final" (marginal) utility theory of value. Jevons' work, along with similar discoveries made by Carl Menger in Vienna (1871) and by Léon Walras in Switzerland (1874), marked the opening of a new period in the history of economic thought. Jevons' contribution to the marginal revolution in economics in the late 19th century established his reputation as a leading political economist and logician of the time.
Jevons broke off his studies of the natural sciences in London in 1854 to work as an assayer in Sydney, where he acquired an interest in political economy. Returning to the UK in 1859, he published General Mathematical Theory of Political Economy in 1862, outlining the marginal utility theory of value, and A Serious Fall in the Value of Gold in 1863. For Jevons, the utility or value to a consumer of an additional unit of a product is inversely related to the number of units of that product he already owns, at least beyond some critical quantity.
It was for The Coal Question (1865), in which he called attention to the gradual exhaustion of the UK's coal supplies, that he received public recognition, in which he put forth what is now known as the Jevons paradox, i.e. that increases in energy production efficiency leads to more not less consumption. The most important of his works on logic and scientific methods is his Principles of Science (1874), as well as The Theory of Political Economy (1871) and The State in Relation to Labour (1882). Among his inventions was the logic piano, a mechanical computer.
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November 25, 2024
Jevons was at least honest to admit that "marginal utility determines value" came with a HUGE asterisk:
Value is determined by marginal utility GIVEN the balance of supply and demand under spot conditions AT ANY ONE TIME. Over time, the supply of reproducible goods will change in response to price signals until the marginal utility of the last unit produced equals production cost. In other words, Jevons didn't "disprove" Ricardo and the other classicals -- he provided an explanatory mechanism for them.
Value is determined by marginal utility GIVEN the balance of supply and demand under spot conditions AT ANY ONE TIME. Over time, the supply of reproducible goods will change in response to price signals until the marginal utility of the last unit produced equals production cost. In other words, Jevons didn't "disprove" Ricardo and the other classicals -- he provided an explanatory mechanism for them.
March 13, 2023
ENGLISH
What a powerful little book! In “The Theory of Political Economy”, William Stanley Jevons lays out with impressive clarity and concision an innovative theory which revolutionized the then Political Economy and set the foundations for modern mainstream Economics.
It is said that British Jevons, Austrian Carl Menger and French Leon Walras coincidentally developed the same basic idea at around the same time without knowing about each other’s works, founding thus altogether what was later called the “Marginalist Revolution”. Jevons is humble to mention in the preface of his book’s second edition other authors who either developed the same basic ideas contemporarily or even before him, notably German economist Hermann Gossen (though Gossen seems to have had less recognition), or also used mathematics to demonstrate their ideas. Jevons also mentions Walras, but not Menger, possibly because he seemed more interested in authors who used mathematics in economics, and Walras was clearly the case. The incredibly clear, straightforward, and well-reasoned exposition apparently put him as a protagonist of said “Revolution”.
The first thing that calls attention in this work is its method. Unlike classical economists before him — including Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and even Karl Marx — who would ambitiously tackle the economic phenomena as a whole complex system at work, Jevons tremendously narrowed the focus of the study of Economics to the level of some basic feelings and motivations of the individual. He borrowed fundamental principles from the utilitarian moral philosophy of Jeremy Bentham to analyze those feelings and motivations, and then logically extrapolated them to a more aggregated level.
The new theory also inevitably starts sketching out the famous “rational man” as the model of the original economic decision-maker and the starting point of all economic phenomena — who has been surviving throughout time and only recently has been criticized (and even so only partially) as an accurate model to derive all economic conclusions. In sum, this ideal individual makes a cost-benefit calculation for every economic decision made.
Despite the title “The Theory of Political Economy”, Jevons’s clear intention with the new theory is to remove all the “political” part of it. He even refers to a further review of the book where he replaced the term “political economy” with just “economics” in the text, as in fact he intended to deal with “pure” economics; he just saw no reason to change the book title.
As I mentioned in my review of Marx’s “The Capital” (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), Marx was probably the only great economist who saw the economic phenomenon from the perspective of the labor class. To all other economists, it was as if the evident social problem of working class degradation did not exist. Jevons was no exception to that rule. In his book, he states that he would not dedicate his attention to further consequences of his theory, as he was more occupied with changing the way economics saw things. Jevons was also a son of the educated elite. In a passage of the book he states, for instance, that “inferior races” as the black saw less value in work.
Jevons’s book (and the theory) can be summarized in three basic points:
1. The labor theory of value is wrong. Value does not come from work, but from utility. And utility most of the times originates from scarcity. This follows John Stuart Mill’s line of thought (my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... - Volume #2, item 12) and was a radical shift in the focus of economics. The then classical Political Economy would give little to no attention to the subjective value perceived by the demand.
2. A short and very selective incursion in the realm of psychology (at the time approached by the Moral Philosophy) to identify the fundamental motivations of any economic agent, based on Jeremy Bentham’s utility principle: that humans seek to increase pleasure and avoid pain. Jevons adapts this principle to the economic realm, envisioning a law describing the fall in the perceived utility of products (or which later became known as “marginal utility”). The first glass of water has an enormous utility for a thirsty person, though this utility falls as more water is put at the person’s disposal. Thus, successive quantities of a good generate progressively smaller increases in satisfaction for the consumer. Jevons did not use the term “marginal utility”, but rather called it “final (degree of) utility”, as he had an additional unit of a good in mind compared to the last one already consumed.
In this scenario, “scarcity” is key, as utility links directly with quantities: the scarcer a product, the higher utility it tends to have, and the other way around. Also notable is the use of the idea of “opportunity cost”: even though he does not use the term, he posits that a person with two jobs will inevitably be dedicated to the one which gives more utility for the least suffering. He also presents more examples along these lines: industries that manufacture more than one product on the same production line and their respective utilities.
3. Use of mathematics. Jevons emphasizes this point and even lists all the works on Economics whose authors used mathematics at the time of the writing of his book. This point in fact marks an important watershed between the lines of thought which later followed as the Neoclassical School and the Austrian School. Jevons’s emphatic and confident use of mathematics (which according to him was inevitable as Economics deals with quantities) was carried on by the Neoclassical School, while the Austrian School saw it more suspiciously and used it more sparingly.
Jevons’s theory is far from perfect — as is anything in Economics — but his insights have endured and marked an undeniable advance in Economics, becoming a classic. His incredibly clear writing style also makes it a relatively enjoyable read.
PORTUGUÊS
Que livrinho poderoso! Em “A Teoria da Economia Política”, William Stanley Jevons apresenta com impressionante clareza e concisão uma teoria inovadora que revolucionou a então Economia Política e estabeleceu as bases da Economia mainstream.
Conta-se que o britânico Jevons, o austríaco Carl Menger e o francês Leon Walras desenvolveram coincidentemente a mesma ideia básica por volta da mesma época, sem conhecerem as obras uns dos outros, fundando assim o que mais tarde foi chamado de “Revolução MarginalIsta”. Jevons tem a humildade de mencionar no prefácio da segunda edição de seu livro outros autores que desenvolveram as mesmas ideias básicas na mesma época ou mesmo antes dele, notadamente o caso do economista alemão Hermann Gossen (embora Gossen pareça ter tido menos reconhecimento), ou também usaram matemática para demonstrar suas ideias. Jevons também menciona Walras, mas não Menger, possivelmente porque ele parecia mais interessado em autores que usavam matemática na Economia, e Walras era claramente o caso. A exposição incrivelmente clara, direta e bem fundamentada aparentemente colocou Jevons como protagonista da dita “Revolução”.
A primeira coisa que chama a atenção neste trabalho é o seu método. Ao contrário dos economistas clássicos anteriores a ele — incluindo Adam Smith, David Ricardo e até mesmo Karl Marx — que ambiciosamente abordaram os fenômenos econômicos como um todo sistema complexo em funcionamento, Jevons estreitou tremendamente o foco do estudo da Economia ao nível de alguns sentimentos e motivações básicas do indivíduo, tomando emprestados princípios fundamentais da filosofia moral utilitarista de Jeremy Bentham e depois os extrapolou logicamente a um nível mais agregado.
A nova teoria também começa inevitavelmente a rascunhar o famoso “homem racional” como modelo de agente tomador de decisão econômica e ponto de partida de todos os fenômenos econômicos – que tem sobrevivido ao longo do tempo e só recentemente foi criticado (e ainda assim apenas parcialmente) como um modelo preciso para derivar todas as conclusões econômicas. Em suma, esse indivíduo ideal faz um cálculo de custo-benefício para cada decisão econômica tomada.
Apesar do título “A Teoria da Economia Política”, a clara intenção de Jevons com a nova teoria é remover toda a parte “política” dela — ele ainda se refere a uma revisão posterior do livro em que ele substituiu o termo “economia política” por apenas “economia” no texto, pois de fato ele pretendia lidar com economia “pura”; ele apenas não viu razão para mudar o título do livro.
Como mencionei em minha resenha de “O Capital” de Marx (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), Marx foi provavelmente o único grande economista que viu o fenômeno econômico pela perspectiva da classe trabalhadora. Para todos os outros economistas, era como se o evidente problema social da degradação da classe trabalhadora não existisse. Jevons não foi exceção a essa regra. Em seu livro, ele afirma que não dedicaria sua atenção a outras consequências de sua teoria, pois estava mais preocupado em mudar a forma como a economia via as coisas. Jevons também era filho da elite educada. Em uma passagem do livro ele afirma, por exemplo, que “raças inferiores” como a negra viam menos valor no trabalho.
O livro de Jevons (e a teoria) pode ser resumido em três pontos básicos:
1. A teoria do valor-trabalho está errada. O valor não vem do trabalho, mas da utilidade. E a utilidade na maioria das vezes vem da escassez. Isso segue a linha de pensamento de John Stuart Mill (minha revisão aqui https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... - Volume 2, item 12) e foi uma mudança radical no foco da economia. A então Economia Política clássica dava pouca ou nenhuma atenção ao valor subjetivo percebido pela demanda.
2. Uma curta e muito seletiva incursão no domínio da psicologia (então abordada pela Filosofia Moral) para identificar as motivações fundamentais de qualquer agente econômico, com base no princípio da utilidade de Jeremy Bentham: que o ser humano procura aumentar o prazer e evitar a dor. Jevons adapta esse princípio ao âmbito econômico, vislumbrando uma lei que descreve a queda na utilidade percebida dos produtos (ou que mais tarde ficou conhecida como “utilidade marginal”). Um primeiro copo de água tem uma enorme utilidade para uma pessoa com sede, embora esta utilidade diminua à medida que mais água é colocada à disposição da pessoa. Assim, quantidades sucessivas de um bem geram acréscimos de satisfação progressivamente menores ao consumidor. Jevons não usou o termo “utilidade marginal”, mas chamou-o de “utilidade última”, ou “grau final de utilidade”, pois tinha em mente uma unidade adicional de um bem em relação à última já consumida.
Nesse cenário, a noção de “escassez” é fundamental, pois a utilidade está diretamente ligada às quantidades: quanto mais escasso um produto, maior a utilidade que ele tende a ter e vice-versa. Notável também é o uso da ideia de “custo de oportunidade”: mesmo não usando o termo, ele postula que uma pessoa com dois empregos inevitavelmente se dedicará àquele que lhe dá mais utilidade por menos sofrimento. Ele apresenta mais exemplos também nesse sentido: indústrias que fabricam mais de um produto na mesma linha de produção e suas respetivas utilidades.
3. Uso da matemática. Jevons enfatiza esse ponto e ainda lista todos os trabalhos sobre Economia cujos autores usaram a matemática na época da redação de seu livro. Este ponto, de fato, marca um importante divisor de águas entre as linhas de pensamento que mais tarde se seguiram, como a Escola Neoclássica e a Escola Austríaca: o uso enfático e confiante da matemática por Jevons (que segundo ele era inevitável, já que a Economia lida com quantidades) foi levado adiante pela Escola Neoclássica, enquanto a Escola Austríaca a via com mais desconfiança e a usava com mais parcimônia.
A teoria de Jevons está longe de ser perfeita — como qualquer coisa em Economia — mas seus insights têm durado e marcaram um avanço inegável na Economia, tornando-se um clássico. O estilo de escrita incrivelmente claro do autor também torna esta leitura relativamente agradável.
What a powerful little book! In “The Theory of Political Economy”, William Stanley Jevons lays out with impressive clarity and concision an innovative theory which revolutionized the then Political Economy and set the foundations for modern mainstream Economics.
It is said that British Jevons, Austrian Carl Menger and French Leon Walras coincidentally developed the same basic idea at around the same time without knowing about each other’s works, founding thus altogether what was later called the “Marginalist Revolution”. Jevons is humble to mention in the preface of his book’s second edition other authors who either developed the same basic ideas contemporarily or even before him, notably German economist Hermann Gossen (though Gossen seems to have had less recognition), or also used mathematics to demonstrate their ideas. Jevons also mentions Walras, but not Menger, possibly because he seemed more interested in authors who used mathematics in economics, and Walras was clearly the case. The incredibly clear, straightforward, and well-reasoned exposition apparently put him as a protagonist of said “Revolution”.
The first thing that calls attention in this work is its method. Unlike classical economists before him — including Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and even Karl Marx — who would ambitiously tackle the economic phenomena as a whole complex system at work, Jevons tremendously narrowed the focus of the study of Economics to the level of some basic feelings and motivations of the individual. He borrowed fundamental principles from the utilitarian moral philosophy of Jeremy Bentham to analyze those feelings and motivations, and then logically extrapolated them to a more aggregated level.
The new theory also inevitably starts sketching out the famous “rational man” as the model of the original economic decision-maker and the starting point of all economic phenomena — who has been surviving throughout time and only recently has been criticized (and even so only partially) as an accurate model to derive all economic conclusions. In sum, this ideal individual makes a cost-benefit calculation for every economic decision made.
Despite the title “The Theory of Political Economy”, Jevons’s clear intention with the new theory is to remove all the “political” part of it. He even refers to a further review of the book where he replaced the term “political economy” with just “economics” in the text, as in fact he intended to deal with “pure” economics; he just saw no reason to change the book title.
As I mentioned in my review of Marx’s “The Capital” (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), Marx was probably the only great economist who saw the economic phenomenon from the perspective of the labor class. To all other economists, it was as if the evident social problem of working class degradation did not exist. Jevons was no exception to that rule. In his book, he states that he would not dedicate his attention to further consequences of his theory, as he was more occupied with changing the way economics saw things. Jevons was also a son of the educated elite. In a passage of the book he states, for instance, that “inferior races” as the black saw less value in work.
Jevons’s book (and the theory) can be summarized in three basic points:
1. The labor theory of value is wrong. Value does not come from work, but from utility. And utility most of the times originates from scarcity. This follows John Stuart Mill’s line of thought (my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... - Volume #2, item 12) and was a radical shift in the focus of economics. The then classical Political Economy would give little to no attention to the subjective value perceived by the demand.
2. A short and very selective incursion in the realm of psychology (at the time approached by the Moral Philosophy) to identify the fundamental motivations of any economic agent, based on Jeremy Bentham’s utility principle: that humans seek to increase pleasure and avoid pain. Jevons adapts this principle to the economic realm, envisioning a law describing the fall in the perceived utility of products (or which later became known as “marginal utility”). The first glass of water has an enormous utility for a thirsty person, though this utility falls as more water is put at the person’s disposal. Thus, successive quantities of a good generate progressively smaller increases in satisfaction for the consumer. Jevons did not use the term “marginal utility”, but rather called it “final (degree of) utility”, as he had an additional unit of a good in mind compared to the last one already consumed.
In this scenario, “scarcity” is key, as utility links directly with quantities: the scarcer a product, the higher utility it tends to have, and the other way around. Also notable is the use of the idea of “opportunity cost”: even though he does not use the term, he posits that a person with two jobs will inevitably be dedicated to the one which gives more utility for the least suffering. He also presents more examples along these lines: industries that manufacture more than one product on the same production line and their respective utilities.
3. Use of mathematics. Jevons emphasizes this point and even lists all the works on Economics whose authors used mathematics at the time of the writing of his book. This point in fact marks an important watershed between the lines of thought which later followed as the Neoclassical School and the Austrian School. Jevons’s emphatic and confident use of mathematics (which according to him was inevitable as Economics deals with quantities) was carried on by the Neoclassical School, while the Austrian School saw it more suspiciously and used it more sparingly.
Jevons’s theory is far from perfect — as is anything in Economics — but his insights have endured and marked an undeniable advance in Economics, becoming a classic. His incredibly clear writing style also makes it a relatively enjoyable read.
PORTUGUÊS
Que livrinho poderoso! Em “A Teoria da Economia Política”, William Stanley Jevons apresenta com impressionante clareza e concisão uma teoria inovadora que revolucionou a então Economia Política e estabeleceu as bases da Economia mainstream.
Conta-se que o britânico Jevons, o austríaco Carl Menger e o francês Leon Walras desenvolveram coincidentemente a mesma ideia básica por volta da mesma época, sem conhecerem as obras uns dos outros, fundando assim o que mais tarde foi chamado de “Revolução MarginalIsta”. Jevons tem a humildade de mencionar no prefácio da segunda edição de seu livro outros autores que desenvolveram as mesmas ideias básicas na mesma época ou mesmo antes dele, notadamente o caso do economista alemão Hermann Gossen (embora Gossen pareça ter tido menos reconhecimento), ou também usaram matemática para demonstrar suas ideias. Jevons também menciona Walras, mas não Menger, possivelmente porque ele parecia mais interessado em autores que usavam matemática na Economia, e Walras era claramente o caso. A exposição incrivelmente clara, direta e bem fundamentada aparentemente colocou Jevons como protagonista da dita “Revolução”.
A primeira coisa que chama a atenção neste trabalho é o seu método. Ao contrário dos economistas clássicos anteriores a ele — incluindo Adam Smith, David Ricardo e até mesmo Karl Marx — que ambiciosamente abordaram os fenômenos econômicos como um todo sistema complexo em funcionamento, Jevons estreitou tremendamente o foco do estudo da Economia ao nível de alguns sentimentos e motivações básicas do indivíduo, tomando emprestados princípios fundamentais da filosofia moral utilitarista de Jeremy Bentham e depois os extrapolou logicamente a um nível mais agregado.
A nova teoria também começa inevitavelmente a rascunhar o famoso “homem racional” como modelo de agente tomador de decisão econômica e ponto de partida de todos os fenômenos econômicos – que tem sobrevivido ao longo do tempo e só recentemente foi criticado (e ainda assim apenas parcialmente) como um modelo preciso para derivar todas as conclusões econômicas. Em suma, esse indivíduo ideal faz um cálculo de custo-benefício para cada decisão econômica tomada.
Apesar do título “A Teoria da Economia Política”, a clara intenção de Jevons com a nova teoria é remover toda a parte “política” dela — ele ainda se refere a uma revisão posterior do livro em que ele substituiu o termo “economia política” por apenas “economia” no texto, pois de fato ele pretendia lidar com economia “pura”; ele apenas não viu razão para mudar o título do livro.
Como mencionei em minha resenha de “O Capital” de Marx (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), Marx foi provavelmente o único grande economista que viu o fenômeno econômico pela perspectiva da classe trabalhadora. Para todos os outros economistas, era como se o evidente problema social da degradação da classe trabalhadora não existisse. Jevons não foi exceção a essa regra. Em seu livro, ele afirma que não dedicaria sua atenção a outras consequências de sua teoria, pois estava mais preocupado em mudar a forma como a economia via as coisas. Jevons também era filho da elite educada. Em uma passagem do livro ele afirma, por exemplo, que “raças inferiores” como a negra viam menos valor no trabalho.
O livro de Jevons (e a teoria) pode ser resumido em três pontos básicos:
1. A teoria do valor-trabalho está errada. O valor não vem do trabalho, mas da utilidade. E a utilidade na maioria das vezes vem da escassez. Isso segue a linha de pensamento de John Stuart Mill (minha revisão aqui https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... - Volume 2, item 12) e foi uma mudança radical no foco da economia. A então Economia Política clássica dava pouca ou nenhuma atenção ao valor subjetivo percebido pela demanda.
2. Uma curta e muito seletiva incursão no domínio da psicologia (então abordada pela Filosofia Moral) para identificar as motivações fundamentais de qualquer agente econômico, com base no princípio da utilidade de Jeremy Bentham: que o ser humano procura aumentar o prazer e evitar a dor. Jevons adapta esse princípio ao âmbito econômico, vislumbrando uma lei que descreve a queda na utilidade percebida dos produtos (ou que mais tarde ficou conhecida como “utilidade marginal”). Um primeiro copo de água tem uma enorme utilidade para uma pessoa com sede, embora esta utilidade diminua à medida que mais água é colocada à disposição da pessoa. Assim, quantidades sucessivas de um bem geram acréscimos de satisfação progressivamente menores ao consumidor. Jevons não usou o termo “utilidade marginal”, mas chamou-o de “utilidade última”, ou “grau final de utilidade”, pois tinha em mente uma unidade adicional de um bem em relação à última já consumida.
Nesse cenário, a noção de “escassez” é fundamental, pois a utilidade está diretamente ligada às quantidades: quanto mais escasso um produto, maior a utilidade que ele tende a ter e vice-versa. Notável também é o uso da ideia de “custo de oportunidade”: mesmo não usando o termo, ele postula que uma pessoa com dois empregos inevitavelmente se dedicará àquele que lhe dá mais utilidade por menos sofrimento. Ele apresenta mais exemplos também nesse sentido: indústrias que fabricam mais de um produto na mesma linha de produção e suas respetivas utilidades.
3. Uso da matemática. Jevons enfatiza esse ponto e ainda lista todos os trabalhos sobre Economia cujos autores usaram a matemática na época da redação de seu livro. Este ponto, de fato, marca um importante divisor de águas entre as linhas de pensamento que mais tarde se seguiram, como a Escola Neoclássica e a Escola Austríaca: o uso enfático e confiante da matemática por Jevons (que segundo ele era inevitável, já que a Economia lida com quantidades) foi levado adiante pela Escola Neoclássica, enquanto a Escola Austríaca a via com mais desconfiança e a usava com mais parcimônia.
A teoria de Jevons está longe de ser perfeita — como qualquer coisa em Economia — mas seus insights têm durado e marcaram um avanço inegável na Economia, tornando-se um clássico. O estilo de escrita incrivelmente claro do autor também torna esta leitura relativamente agradável.
June 4, 2017
A classic. Extremely clear. A lot of fun, too.
I read a later edition, I think — the one with the extensive foreword covering Jevons's precursors in mathematical and marginalist economics.
Jevons's term for marginal utility was "final degree of utility."
I read a later edition, I think — the one with the extensive foreword covering Jevons's precursors in mathematical and marginalist economics.
Jevons's term for marginal utility was "final degree of utility."
March 28, 2022
Impresionante leer la manera en que se hace y se piensa la economía moderna (matematización y marginalismo) desde una fuente original que fue relativamente ignorada en su tiempo.
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September 23, 2010The theory of political economy (W.S. Jevons: writings on economics) by W. Stanley Jevons (2001)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews