Principles of Economics (Marshall book)

Principles of Economics is a leading political economy or economics textbook of Alfred Marshall (1842–1924), first published in 1890. It was the standard text for generations of economics students. Called his magnum opus, it ran to eight editions by 1920. A ninth (variorum) edition was published in 1961, edited in 2 volumes by C. W. Guillebaud.

Writing

Marshall began writing the Principles of Economics in 1881 and he spent much of the next decade at work on the treatise. His plan for the work gradually extended to a two-volume compilation on the whole of economic thought; the first volume was published in 1890 to worldwide acclaim that established him as one of the leading economists of his time. The second volume, which was to address foreign trade, money, trade fluctuations, taxation, and collectivism, was never published at all. Over the next two decades he worked to complete his second volume of the Principles, but his unyielding attention to detail and ambition for completeness prevented him from mastering the work's breadth.

I Introductory.
II The Fertility of Land.
III The Fertility of Land, Continued. The Tendency To Diminishing Return.
IV The Growth of Population.
V The Health and Strength of the Population.
VI Industrial Training.
VII The Growth of Wealth.
VIII Industrial Organization.
IX Industrial Organization, Continued. Division of Labour. The Influence of Machinery.
X Industrial Organization, Continued. The Concentration of Specialized Industries in Particular Localities.
XI Industrial Organization, Continued. Production on a Large Scale.
XII Industrial Organization, Continued. Business Management.
XIII Conclusion. Correlation of the Tendencies To Increasing and To Diminishing Return.

Book V. General Relations of Demand, Supply, and Value.

I Introductory. On Markets.
II Temporary Equilibrium of Demand and Supply.
III Equilibrium of Normal Demand and Supply.
IV The Investment and Distribution of Resources.
V Equilibrium of Normal Demand and Supply, Continued, With Reference To Long and Short Periods.
VI Joint and Composite Demand. Joint and Composite Supply.
VII Prime and Total Cost in Relation To Joint Products. Cost of Marketing. Insurance Against Risk. Cost of Reproduction.
VIII Marginal Costs in Relation To Values. General Principles.
IX Marginal Costs in Relation To Values. General Principles, Continued.
X Marginal Costs in Relation To Agricultural Values.
XI Marginal Costs in Relation To Urban Values.
XII Equilibrium of Normal Demand and Supply, Continued, With Reference To the Law of Increasing Return.
XIII Theory of Changes of Normal Demand and Supply in Relation To the Doctrine of Maximum Satisfaction.
XIV The Theory of Monopolies.
XV Summary of the General Theory of Equilibrium of Demand and Supply

Book VI. The Distribution of National Income.

I Preliminary Survey of Distribution.
II Preliminary Survey of Distribution, Continued.
III Earnings of Labour.
IV Earnings of Labour, Continued.
V Earnings of Labour, Continued.
VI Interest of Capital.
VII Profits of Capital and Business Power.
VIII Profits of Capital and Business Power, Continued.
IX Rent of Land.
X Land Tenure.
XI General View of Distribution. Marshall summarises how wealth is distributed through society.

XII General Influences of Economic Progress. Marshall discusses the causes of economic development.

XIII Progress in Relation To Standards of Life.

Appendices.

Appendix A The Growth of Free Industry and Enterprise.
Appendix B The Growth of Economic Science.
Appendix C The Scope and Method of Economics.
Appendix D Uses of Abstract Reasoning in Economics.
Appendix E Definitions of Capital.
Appendix F Barter.
Appendix G The Incidence of Local Rates, With Some Suggestions As To Policy.
Appendix H Limitations of the Use of Statical Assumptions in Regard To Increasing Return.
Appendix I Ricardo's Theory of Value.
Appendix J The Doctrine of the Wages-Fund.
Appendix K Certain Kinds of Surplus.
Appendix L Ricardo's Doctrine As To Taxes and Improvements in Agriculture.

Contribution

Marshall's influence on modifying economic thought is difficult to deny. He popularized the use of supply and demand functions as tools of price determination (previously discovered independently by Cournot); modern economists owe the linkage between price shifts and curve shifts to Marshall. Marshall was an important part of the "marginalist revolution;" the idea that consumers attempt to adjust consumption until marginal utility equals the price was another of his contributions. The price elasticity of demand was presented by Marshall as an extension of these ideas. Economic welfare, divided into producer surplus and consumer surplus, was contributed by Marshall, and indeed, the two are sometimes described eponymously as 'Marshallian surplus.' He used this idea of surplus to rigorously analyze the effect of taxes and price shifts on market welfare. Marshall also identified quasi-rents.

References

External links

full text of Principles of Economics by Marshall
Principles of Economics (8th ed.) by Alfred Marshall
Principles of Economics public domain audiobook at LibriVox

Principles of Economics (Marshall book)

Writing

Contents

Book I. Preliminary Survey.

Book II. Some Fundamental Notions.

Book III. On Wants and Their Satisfaction.

Book IV. The Agents of Production. Land, Labour, Capital and Organization.