scholarly journals Replacing Cost-Based Theories of Value with Marginalist and Behavioral as a Key Factor of Improving Economic Theory and Enhancing its Credibility

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-95
Author(s):  
Yakov Yadgarov
Keyword(s):  
Marginal Utility ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Behavioral Approach ◽  
Economic Science ◽  
Labor Costs ◽  
Behavioral Theories ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
History Of ◽  
Legal Foundations ◽  
Theory Of Value

The purpose of the research is providing the basis for the following hypothesis: the quest for enhancement of economic science and regaining its credibility in history of economic thought has led to innovations made by adherents of marginalism, institutionalism and unorthodox neoclassical economics. It marked the start of high-quality thinking on theory of value from the prospective of its marginalist and behavioral versions. The text demonstrates the orthodox character of cost-oriented approach in theory of value, used by fathers of political economy, whose conclusions on commodity value were connected either with labor costs or with total costs of production. It was revealed that the first-wave marginalist economics defined marginal utility as a key price-determining factor, and due to it value therefore can be created only in consumption. The research also found that the second-wave marginalists considered that there are two main elements, which determine price, these are: marginal utility and marginal cost. This conclusion enabled them to overcome the subjectivism and psychologism in theory of value. The supporters of behavioral approach in theory of value put an emphasis on psychologically-based behavior of an individual, as well as on legal foundations of institutional behavior. As a conclusion, the article states that marginalist and behavioral theories of value are rather feasible, as they complement each other and could be applied in modern economic conditions, enhancing the genuine credibility of the economic science.

Nikolay Sieber in the history of prerevolutionary Russian economic thought

2018 ◽  
pp. 95-110
Author(s):  
L. D. Shirokorad
Keyword(s):  
Economic Theory ◽  
Political Economy ◽  
Organic Synthesis ◽  
Marginal Utility ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
History Of ◽  
Three Stages

This article shows how representatives of various theoretical currents in economics at different times in history interpreted the efforts of Nikolay Sieber in defending and developing Marxian economic theory and assessed his legacy and role in forming the Marxist school in Russian political economy. The article defines three stages in this process: publication of Sieber’s work dedicated to the analysis of the first volume of Marx’s Das Kapital and criticism of it by Russian opponents of Marxian economic theory; assessment of Sieber’s work by the narodniks, “Legal Marxists”, Georgiy Plekhanov, and Vladimir Lenin; the decline in interest in Sieber in light of the growing tendency towards an “organic synthesis” of the theory of marginal utility and the Marxist social viewpoint.

Economic thought in the 17th and 18th centuries: a linguistic approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 260-270
Author(s):  
Iara Vigo de Lima
Keyword(s):  
Economic Thought ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Front Position ◽  
History Of ◽  
Epistemological Model ◽  
Theory Of Language ◽  
Theory Of Value ◽  
Linguistic Approach ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse Michel Foucault’s new epistemological model regarding an analogy between the theory of language and economic thought in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Design/methodology/approach – Through the scrutiny of language, Foucault intended to demonstrate that some analogies, among different branches of knowledge (interdiscursive practice), allow us to apprehend the underlying configuration of thought regarding ontological and epistemological conditions that have historically determined knowledge. He draws a parallel between four theoretical segments borrowed from general grammar (Attribution, Articulation, Designation and Derivation) and economic thought on wealth. Findings – One of the most remarkable propositions of this approach is that the theory of language and economic thought were epistemologically isomorphic in that context. What the theory of language stated in relation to “attribution” and “articulation” corresponded to the “theory of value” in economic thought. What grammar investigated regarding “designation” and “derivation” was analogous to the “theory of money and trade” in economic thought. The relationships that were – directly and diagonally – identified between and among them led to the conclusion that there was ‘a circular and surface causality’ in economic thought insofar as “circulation” preceded “production”. It was “superficial” because it could not find an explanation for the cause of “wealth”, which was only possible when “production” was placed in the front position of theories. Practical implications – Such an epistemological point of view can inspire other studies in the history of economic thought. Originality/value – This paper offers a perspective on how to think about the history of ontological and epistemological conditions of economic thought.

From Freakonomics to Political Economy

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 81-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Fine ◽  
Dimitris Milonakis
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Intellectual History ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Neoclassical Economics ◽  
Economic Science ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World

AbstractIn this response to the symposium on our two books we try to deal as fully as possible in the brief space available with most of the major issues raised by our distinguished commentators. Although at least three of them are in agreement with the main thrust of the arguments put forward in our books, they all raise important issues relating to methodology, the history of economic thought (including omissions), and a number of more specific issues. Our answer is based on the restatement of the chief purpose of our two books, describing the intellectual history of the evolution of economic science emphasising the role of the excision of the social and the historical from economic theorising in the transition from (classical) political economy to (neoclassical) economics, only for the two to be reunited through the vulgar form of economics imperialism following the monolithic dominance of neoclassical economics at the expense of pluralism after the Second World War. The importance of political economy for the future of economic science is vigorously argued for.

scholarly journals 200 Years To Political Economy in Vilnius University

Ekonomika ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Egidija Laumenskaitė
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Economic Science ◽  
Special Event ◽  
Concise Overview ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Vilnius University

This paper gives a concise overview of the development of the economic thought in Lithuania mentioning the very special event in the history of the economic science - the establishment of the Department of Political Economy in Vilnius University in 1803 as the first Department of Political Economy in the world.

Methodological Institutionalism: A New Approach to the Evolution of Economic Science

2008 ◽  
pp. 90-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Frolov
Keyword(s):  
Economic Thought ◽  
History Of Economic Thought ◽  
Economic Science ◽  
Evolutionary Analysis ◽  
Scientific Communities ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Scientific Cognition ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
History Of ◽  
Institutional Traps

In the article the perspective approach in philosophy of science - methodological institutionalism - is discussed which regards economic ideas as scientific and ideological institutions. This approach allows to apply tools of modern institutional theory to the history of economic thought. The evolutionary analysis of science should put an emphasis on studying status interests of scientists, local rationalities and informal hierarchies of scientific communities, informal norms and values, epistemological institutional "traps" and models of scientific cognition.

Marginalism and Marxism: The first encounter

2021 ◽  
pp. 102-132
Author(s):  
R. I. Kapeliushnikov
Keyword(s):  
Economic Thought ◽  
History Of Economic Thought ◽  
Labor Theory Of Value ◽  
Historical Significance ◽  
Labor Theory ◽  
History Of ◽  
Theory Of Value ◽  
Scientific Socialism ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Complete Collapse

The paper discusses a critical episode in the history of economic thought of the 19th century — the first encounter between marginalism and Marxism. It happened in 1884, when Philip Wickstead published a short twenty-page text in the magazine of “scientific” socialism “To-Day” under the laconic title “Das Kapital: a Сriticism”. The paper briefly traces the creative path of Wickstead; considers the reasons that prompted him to make a stand against Marxism; analyzes his main criticisms; describes the reaction to them by his contemporaries (both professional economists and adherents of socialism) and evaluates the place of his work in the history of ideas. It is noted that Wicksteed’s article was not only the first encounter of marginalism with Marxism, but also the first popular exposituion of the theory of marginal utility (in the version of S. Jevons), which was completely new for that time. His criticism was radical in nature, since it was aimed not at revealing partial shortcomings, but at the complete collapse of the Marxist construction and its replacement with an alternative theoretical scheme. Amazingly, none of Marx’s supporters dared to accept Wickstead’s challenge and his criticism was never publicly contested by them. This seemingly inconspicuous event turned out to be of crucial historical significance. Under the influence of Wickstead, the Fabians rejected the labor theory of value and British socialism (in its main part) ceased to be Marxist forever.

H. J. Davenport's Loan Fund Theory of Capital

1998 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Patrick Gunning
Keyword(s):  
Opportunity Cost ◽  
Marginal Utility ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
History Of Economic Thought ◽  
Neoclassical Economic ◽  
Book Value ◽  
Loan Fund ◽  
History Of

The loan fund theory of capital was developed by the unheralded American economist, Herbert J. Davenport (1861-1931). Davenport's name has virtually disappeared from writings on the history of economic thought. Today, he seems best known as a teacher of Frank Knight at Cornell around 1915. Davenport wrote three major books during an 18-year period between 1896 and 1914. The first (1896) was a treatise based on what he called the “principle of sacrifice,” or subjective opportunity cost. His second book, Value and Distribution (1908), covered much of the same ground but also presented some original contributions. It marked his emergence as a professional economist, since he presented his ideas within the context of an appraisal of classical and neoclassical economic doctrine. Among other things, the book contained a penetrating, subjectivist critique of four ideas in the history of subjectivist economics: marginal utility, Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk's theory of capital, Friedrich Wieser's theory of cost, and Frank Fetter's theory of market interest. It also introduced the loan fund theory of capital, which is the topic of this paper.

scholarly journals Socio-economic views of P. B. Struve (to the 150th anniversary of his birth)

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-214
Author(s):  
Dmitrii K. Stozhko
Keyword(s):  
Economic Thought ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Economic Science ◽  
Price Theory ◽  
Land Rent ◽  
Price Equilibrium ◽  
Russian Scientist ◽  
150Th Anniversary ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Figure

Introduction. In 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of P. B. Struve, an outstanding Russian scientist, economist and philosopher, public and political figure. The aim of the study is to evaluate the scientific contribution of P. B. Struve to the development of Russian socio-economic thought, taking into account the existing new social reality. Materials and Methods. The study used the methods of analysis, synthesis, generalizations and axiology, as well as historical and retrospective, historical and genetic and hermeneutical methods of studying problematic issues in the history of economic science. The study is based on primary sources: the economic works of P. B. Struve himself and his contemporaries. Results. Among the most significant political and economic ideas of P. B. Struve, the scientific concepts formulated by him of the “state-master” and “human fitness” are highlighted. The differences between P. B. Struve and V. I. Lenin in understanding the nature and nature of land rent are shown. The scientist’s contribution to the development of price theory and pricing issues is revealed. The conclusion is drawn on the political and economic essence and content of the socio-economic views of P. B. Struve as an ideology of economic humanism. Discussion and Conclusion. Domestic and foreign studies of the views of P. B. Struve of the second half of the 20th and the first decades of the 21st centuries are noted. The assessment of the concept of macroeconomic (price) equilibrium by P. B. Struve in comparison with similar ideas of A. Marshall, A. Pareto, L. Walras, J. R. Hicks is given. The main stages in the evolution of the socio-economic views of P. B. Struve are highlighted.

Sull'inseparabilitŕ delle strutture sintattiche nell'analisi classica del valore e della distribuzione

2009 ◽  
pp. 5-46
Author(s):  
Duccio Cavalieri
Keyword(s):  
Economic Thought ◽  
History Of Economic Thought ◽  
Relative Prices ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Theory Of Value ◽  
Analytical Separation ◽  
Present World ◽  
Theory Of Production ◽  
Distribution Of Income

The paper deals with a fundamental issue in the history of economic thought: the alleged separability in the classical analysis of distinct and sequential logical stages. It will be recalled that the contested idea of an analytical separation of the theory of value (relative prices), the theory of production (relative quantities) and the theory of the social distribution of income was initially advanced by Ricardo, in his lost Papers on the Profits of Capital and in his Essay on Profits, but later abandoned, in the third edition of the Principles. It was then reproposed by J.S. Mill, Jevons, Sraffa and Garegnani, and opposed by Malthus, Marshall and Walras. Today a separability thesis cannot be maintained, as it presupposes the existence of a given physical vector of the real wage, a circumstance which is not satisfied in the present world.

Marx — XXI

2018 ◽  
pp. 57-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Belykh ◽  
V. A. Mau
Keyword(s):  
Economic Theory ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Economic Science ◽  
Marxian Theory ◽  
Modern Economy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Theory Of Value

The article discusses the current relevance of Marx’s economic theory. It demonstrates the difficulties of the Marxian theory of value and the ambiguity of Marx’s own attitude towards this theory. The role of Marx and Marxism in the history of Russia is examined. Marx’s ideas about the connection between technology and social relations and his conception of historical development are critically analyzed in the context of modern economy and economic science.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document