L On Walras Elements Of Theoretical Economics

This is an English translation of the third edition (1896) of León Walras' Elements of Theoretical Economics. The translators of the work undertook this project for three reasons. First, this edition is Walras's best theoretical work. Second, the two subsequent editions contain new elements that spoil his previous work; furthermore, important parts of the third edition do not appear in the subsequent editions. Third, William Jaffé's translation (1954) of the last edition is now outdated in the light of recent research on Walras's ideas; furthermore, Jaffé's terminology in the parts shared by the third and subsequent editions is not always accurate.

Elements of Pure Economics was one of the most influential works in the history of economics, and the single most important contribution to the marginal revolution. Walras' theory of general equilibrium remains one of the cornerstones of economic theory more than 100 years after it was first published.

First Published in 2004. Studies in Applied Economics is an English translation of Études d’économie politique appliquée (1898) by Léon Walras (1834–1910). Until now, Éléments d’économie politique pure (1874) was the only book by Walras available in English (Elements of Pure Economics, 1954). It contains the theory of general economic equilibrium under free competition, with the concept of utility maximization as its core. Walras’s conclusion was that where free competition is possible, it should be the rule. So, in the present book, he advocates protective regulation, within which economic agents may compete freely. For water, gas or railway transport, for instance, where free competition is impossible, rules are formulated to maintain its advantages. Issues such as money, capital, credit, banking and the stock markets are also dealt with. The book’s final chapter recapitulates the themes of Walras’s three main works: Éléments, Études d’économie sociale and this volume, Études d’économie politique appliquée. Walras’s aim was to provide an economic blueprint for a social ideal where poverty and similar evils could be banished.

The existing literature on Walras has focused on his Elements of Pure Economics to an extent which has unbalanced our view of his work. Jan van Daal and Albert Jolink pay very careful attention to Walras' general equilibrium models, tracing their development through the five editions of his Elements. But they also place his equilibrium exercises in a broader context, arguing that these models should be considered as an instrument in Walras' design for optimal economic order.