Book Description
This work is the eighth in the series of Critical Assessments of leading economists. It presents a selection of the critical literature commenting on the life and works of William Stanley Jevons. ... Read more

Book Description
The Victorian polymath William Stanley Jevons (1835-82) is generally and rightly venerated as one of the great innovators of economic theory and method in what came to be known as the 'marginalist revolution'. This book is an investigation into the cultural and intellectual resources that Jevons drew upon to revolutionize research methods in economics. Jevons's uniform approach to the sciences was based on a firm belief in the mechanical constitution of the universe and a firm conviction that all scientific knowledge was limited and therefore hypothetical in character. Jevons's mechanical beliefs found their way into his early meteorological studies, his formal logic, and his economic pursuits. By using mechanical analogies as instruments of discovery, Jevons was able to bridge the divide between theory and statistics that had become more or less institutionalized in mid nineteenth-century Britain. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Papers & Correspondence of William Stanley Jevons by him
Jevons was a proponent of a famous theory on utility in
fair exchanges. His work was mathematical and statistical
in nature. He argued:

"If a person has any useful object, but an object belonging to
another person would have greater utility, he will be glad
to give the one in return for the other. But it is a necessary
condition that the other person will likewise gain, or at least
not lose by the exchange."

In addition, he concluded that:

"A balance of utility on both sides will lead to an exchange."

A brief account of a general mathematical theory of political
economy was presented in the Journal of the Royal Statistical
Society of London in June of 1866pp. 282-287

This work summarizes some of Jevons' more important
correspondence and personal papers. It serves as an excellent
reference for economic theorists, historians and econometricians.
These papers will complement any course in economic theory
by providing the personal dimension of the author as enunciated
in the original writings. The fact that some of the papers
were published just after Lincoln's Presidency will add an
additional dimension for exploration by professional historians. ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1905 edition by Macmillan and Co., Limited, London. ... Read more

Book Description