Synopses & Reviews
In this book Dr Walker brings together Dr William Jafféâs essays on the important and interesting work of Léon Walras, the founder of general equilibrium analysis. The essays were selected on the basis of their importance to the Walrasian literature, in that they provide information on Walrasâs intellectual biography with which we would otherwise be unfamiliar or they make a contribution to the interpretation and analysis of his ideas. One of Jafféâs main interests was to explain the genesis of Walrasâs work, which he did by examining Walrasâs biography. Using a wide variety of sources, Jaffépieced together an account of these matters in the belief that biography is essential for understanding the origins and development of a scientistâs work. Jaffécorrected what he regarded as errors of interpretation of Walras by other writers, evaluated Walrasâs contributions, and indicated his significance for modern economics. The essays are informative, illuminating, and - as a result of Jafféâs scholarly and literary craftsmanship - aesthetically satisfying.
Table of Contents
Preface; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Part I. Walrasâs Biography: 1. Unpublished papers and letters of Léon Walras (1935); 2. Léon Walras, an economic advisor manqué(1975); Part II. The Genesis and Development of Walrasâs Ideas: 3. A. N. Isnard, progenitor of the Walrasian general equilibrium model (1969); 4. The birth of Léon Walrasâs Eléments (1977); 5. A centenarian on a bicentenarian: Léon Walrasâs Eléments on Adam Smithâs Wealth of Nations (1977); 6. Léon Walras and his relations with American economists (1960); Part III. The Scope of Walrasâs Work: 7. Léon Walras and his conception of economics (1956); 8. Léon Walras (1968); Part IV. Special Topics in Walrasâs Economics: 9. Léon Walrasâtheory of capital accumulation (1942); 10. Walrasâs theory of capital formation in the framework of his theory of general equilibrium (1953); 11. New light on an old quarrel: Baroneâs unpublished review of Wicksteedâs âEssay on the coordination of the laws of distributionâand related documents (1964); 12. The Walras-Poincarécorrespondence on the cardinal measurability of utility (1977); 13. Walrasâtheory of tâtonnement: a critique of recent interpretations (1967); 14. Another look at Léon Walrasâs theory of tâtonnement (1981); Part V. Walrasâs Place in the History of Economic Thought: 15. Reflections on the importance of Léon Walras (1971); 16. Léon Walrasâs role in the âmarginal revolutionâof the 1870s (1972); 17. Menger, Jevons and Walras de-homogenized (1976); 18. The normative bias of the Walrasian model: Walras versus Gossen (1977); 19. Walrasâs economics as others see it (1980); Index.