Alfred Marshall: Economist 1842–1924

223 Pages·2007·2.09 MB·English

by  Peter Groenewegen (auth.)

Alfred Marshall
Economist 1842–1924
Peter Groenewegen
GreatThinkersinEconomicsSeries
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Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills,
Basingstoke,HampshireRG216XS,England
Alfred Marshall
Economist 1842–1924
Peter Groenewegen
EmeritusProfessorofEconomics,UniversityofSydney,Australia
©PeterGroenewegen2007
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2007
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Contents
Preface viii
1 Introduction:AlfredMarshall,aGiantAmong
Economists 1
1.1 Marshall’sworkasaneconomist 2
1.2 Marshall’sspecificcontributionstoeconomics 3
1.3 Marshall’smajorbooks 5
1.4 Marshall’sOfficialPapersandhistwo
smallerbooks 10
1.5 Thebookinoutline 12
1.6 Marshall’sgreateminencedemonstrated 13
2 Family,ChildhoodandEducation(1842–65) 16
2.1 Childhoodandschool(1842–61) 18
2.2 Undergraduate at St John’s College, Cambridge
(1861–65) 20
3 Marshall’sMoralSciencesApprenticeshipandSearchfor
aNewVocation(1866–77) 28
3.1 MarshallatCliftonCollegeandasFellowat
StJohn’s 31
3.2 MembershipofCambridgeclubsandgraduallossof
faith 32
3.3 Philosophicalinquiryincludingfourphilosophical
papers 34
3.4 Fromphilosophytoeconomics 36
3.5 AlfredMarshallandthePoliticalEconomyofJohn
StuartMill 38
3.6 OtherearlyinfluencesonMarshall’seconomics 40
3.7 Earlyteachingandwritingineconomics 41
3.8 Travel,engagement,marriageanddeparturefrom
Cambridge(1877) 47
v
vi Contents
4 BristolandOxford(1877–84)andTwo‘Small’Books
(1879) 49
4.1 PrincipalandProfessorofPoliticalEconomyatBristol
UniversityCollege(1877–81,1882–83) 50
4.2 AyearinSicilyandEurope(1881–82) 52
4.3 EconomicsLectureratBalliolCollege,Oxford
(1883–84) 53
4.4 Ashortbookforbeginners:TheEconomicsofIndustry
(1879,1881) 55
4.5 Puretheoryofforeigntradeandofdomesticvalue
(1879) 67
5 Professor at Cambridge (1885–1908) and Adviser to
Governments 71
5.1 Thepresentpositionofeconomics(1885) 72
5.2 ProfessorialteachingatCambridge(1885–1908) 74
5.3 ThenatureofMarshall’sCambridgestudents 77
5.4 ThenewEconomicsandPoliticsTripos(1903)andits
consequences 78
5.5 Givingadvicetogovernments 81
5.6 MemberoftheLabourCommission(1891–94) 90
6 WritingandRevisingthePrinciples(1882–1922) 94
6.1 PreparingthefirsteditionofthePrinciples(1880–90) 95
6.2 Thefirstedition(1890):contentsandreception 97
6.3 Adangerousinterruption:breakingtheflowwithan
earlysecondedition(1891)andasummary,Elements
oftheEconomicsofIndustry (1892) 102
6.4 Anindefinitelypostponedsecondvolume 103
6.5 ThefinaleditionsofthePrinciples,includingthe
definitiveeighthedition(1920) 106
6.6 ThesignificanceofthePrinciples 111
7 PoliticalandSocialThought:‘AYouthfulTendencyto
Socialism’;ChangingViewsontheWomen’sIssue;anda
TasteforAdvocacyandOccasionalControversy 116
7.1 Marshall’spoliticalandsocialthought–anoverview 117
7.2 Atasteforoccasionallyinitiatingcontroversy:quarrels
withCunningham,Böhm-BawerkandPearson 122
7.3 Housingpolicy,thepoor,poorlawreformandthe
CharityOrganisationSociety 125
Contents vii
7.4 Member of learned economic societies and
formationoftheBritishEconomicAssociation
(laterRoyalEconomicSociety) 130
7.5 Marshall’sshiftingopinionontertiaryeducation
(anddegrees)forwomenatCambridge 133
7.6 Concludingcomments 137
8 Retirement and Industry and Trade (1919): An
ImportantCompanionVolumetothePrinciples 139
8.1 Retirementandfinallecture 141
8.2 Electing Marshall’s successor as Professor of
PoliticalEconomy 143
8.3 Learning,writingandcontinuingcontactwith
studentsandcolleagues 145
8.4 Aprincipledwareffort(1914–18) 147
8.5 Constructingthefirst‘companionvolume’tothe
Principles 150
8.6 ContentsandreceptionofIndustryandTrade 152
8.7 Conclusion 160
9 FinalYearsandSomeFurtherVolumes(1919–24) 162
9.1 Thesageinoldage(1919–24) 163
9.2 Money,CreditandCommerce –writing,contentsand
reception 168
9.3 Abookonprogressthatneverwas 173
9.4 Finaldaysanddeath(July1924) 179
9.5 Concludingremarks 183
10 ARichandEnduringLegacy 185
10.1 Ageneroustestatorydisposition 186
10.2 Asubstantialdoctrinallegacy 189
10.3 Directandindirect‘pupils’toformaCambridge
School 193
10.4 Finalconcludingremarksonanenduringlegacy 199
Bibliography 201
ChronologicalBibliographyofMarshall’sWritings 204
Index 207
Preface
This book on Marshall draws heavily on material contained in my
biography of him published by Edward Elgar in 1995 under the title
A Soaring Eagle. Alfred Marshall 1842–1924. Most of the biographical
material in this study of Marshall as a major British economist derives
from the research carried out for the earlier volume. However, the
present book is not to be taken simply as a condensed version of
the 1995 biography. Two features of the new work differentiate these
products.ThefirstisthatthenewbookemphasisesMarshall’sworkasan
economist to a far greater extent than the 1995 biography by carefully
outlining Marshall’s economic ideas in considerable detail. Secondly,
thenewbookisabletodrawonthetenyearsofnewMarshallresearch
byagrowingnumberofMarshallscholars.Ofthese,thepublicationin
1996ofJohnWhitaker’sthreevolumeeditionofMarshall’scorrespond-
ence is particularly noted, as is that of the Elgar Companion to Marshall
publishedtenyearslaterin2006.
As part of a series on Great Thinkers in Economics, the emphasis of
thisbookhastobeonMarshalltheeconomist.Thisallowsnotonlyan
overviewofthehostofimportantthingsMarshallsaidasaneconomist
overthefivedecadesfromthelate1860swhichhedevotedtostudying
economics but also gives an opportunity to appreciate the continuing
relevanceofsomanycrucialaspectsofhiseconomics.Inshort,emphasis
in the book is on Marshall’s economic method and ideas as developed
by him over half a century in his various books and articles and on
the manner in which these were passed on to the many pupils whom
he had taught himself, who then in turn passed it on to their pupils.
Thebook,therefore,alsohassomethingtosayontheeconomicschool
Marshall created by not only presenting major aspects of the nature of
Marshall’s economics, but also by addressing the manner in which it
wasgraduallydiffusedovervariouspartsoftheworld.
OnefurthercomparativecommentcanbemadeonthisMarshallbook
andits1995predecessor.Inthisbook,footnoteshavebeencompletely,
anddeliberately,avoided.Allreferencesareprovidedinthetextbythe
Harvardmethod.
Thisprefacealsoprovidesanopportunitytothankthegeneraleditor
oftheseries,TonyThirlwall,forhiscarefulcopy-editingofthefirstdraft,
tothebenefitofmystyleandsomeoftheothercontentsaswell.
viii
Preface ix
Itishopedthatthisbookwillbeofinterestnotonlytohistoriansof
economicsbutthatitwillbereadespeciallybyMarshall’strueheirs,the
currentpractitionersofeconomicswhowishtolearnmoreabouttheir
subject’s origins and about a person who shaped its foundations. They
maythenalsolearnthateconomicsevenifoveracenturyold,asisthe
case of most of Marshall’s economics, may still have important things
toteachtocontemporarypractitioners.Ifthisbookencouragesreaders
togobacktoMarshall’sworks,andtherebylearnmoretoappreciatehis
manycontributions,Iwillbemorethanwellpleasedasitsauthor.
Sydney,May2007