Léon Walras' Elements of theoretical economics : or, the theory of social wealth / translated and edited by Donald A. Walker, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Jan van Daal, Triangle, University of Lyons-2.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Print version record.

Adam Smith's and J.-B. Say's definitions -- Distinction between science, the arts, and ethics -- Social wealth. Triple consequences of scarcity. The fact of value in exchange and of economic theory -- The fact of industry and applied economics. The fact of property and social economics -- The market and competition. The problem of the exchange of two commodities for each other -- Curves of effective demand and effective supply -- Discussion of the solution of the problem of exchange of two commodities for each other -- Utility or want curves. The theorem of maximum satisfaction -- Discussion of demand curves. General formula for the mathematical solution of the problem of exchange of two commodities for each other -- Rareté, or the cause of value in exchange -- The problem of the exchange of several commodities for one another. Theorem of general equilibrium -- General formula of the mathematical solution of the problem of the exchange of several commodities for one another. Law of the determination of the prices of the commodities -- Law of the variation of the prices of the commodities -- Theorem of equivalent redistributions. Choice of a standard of measurement and of a medium of exchange -- Purchase curves and sales curves. Price curves -- Exposition and refutation of Adam Smith's and J.-B. Say's doctrines of the origin of value in exchange -- Capital and income. The three services -- Elements and mechanism of production -- The entrepreneur. Business accounting and inventory -- Equations of production -- Solution of the equations of production. Law of the determination of the prices of products and services -- The principle of free competition. Law of the variation of the prices of products and services. Price curves -- Gross and net income. The rate of net income. The excess of income over consumption -- Equations of capital formation and credit -- Solution of the equations of capital formation and credit. Law of the determination of the rate of net income -- Theorem of the maximum utility of new capital goods. Law of the variation of the rate of net income -- Laws of the determination and variation of the prices of capital goods. The permanent market -- Increase of the quantity of products. Laws of the general variation of prices in a progressive society -- Critique of the doctrine of the physiocrats -- Exposition and refutation of the English theory of the prices of products -- Exposition and refutation of the English theory of rent -- Exposition and refutation of the English theories of wages and interest -- The problem of the value of money -- Mathematical theory of bimetallism -- Relative stability of the value of the bimetallic standard -- Fiduciary money and offsetting claims. Foreign exchange -- Price fixing and monopoly -- Taxation -- Appendixes: I Geometrical theory of the determination of prices -- II. Observations on the principle of Messrs. Auspitz's and Lieben's theory of prices -- III. Note on Mr. Wicksteed's refutation of the English theory of rent.

In his fourth edition of Éléménts d'économie politique pure (1900), León Walras introduced the device of written pledges to eliminate path dependency: sellers of products and services write out commitments to supply certain quantities at suggested prices with no commodities actually produced and supplied until a set of prices is found at which supply and demand are equal simultaneously in every market. This brought about very serious alterations to the character of the book. Unfortunately, these changes resulted in an incomplete, internally contradictory, and occasionally incoherent text. This translation, therefore, by two leading scholars of León Walras' work, Donald Walker and Jan van Daal, revisits the third edition of this seminal work, including Walras' brilliant explanation of his comprehensive model, with all its richness derived from reality. Growing research into Walras' work indicates that it was this third edition that contained his best theoretical research and a translation of this edition of the book is now a necessity.

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