2017年5月18日
Léon Walras on The Wealth of Nations — What did he learn from Adam Smith?
21st Annual ESHET Conference
- 記述言語
- 英語
- 会議種別
- 口頭発表（一般）
- 主催者
- European Society for the History of Economic Thought
- 開催地
- University of Antwerp
This study shows how Walras (1834–1910) understood Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (1776) by examining Walras’s handwriting in its French version by G. Garnier (1859), belonging to the Walras Library at the University of Lausanne.
From a theoretical viewpoint, Walras’s general equilibrium theory has often been compared to Smith’s concept of an “invisible hand.” The question is whether Walras actually intended to develop Smith’s invisible hand in the formation process of his general equilibrium theory.
In his Elements of Pure Economics (first edition, 1874–1877), in which he proposed the general equilibrium theory for the first time in history, Walras referred to Smith’s research only three times: when he argued the definition of political economy; the distinction between science, art, and ethics; and the origin of value in exchange. In the preface to the fourth edition (1900), although Walras suggested the theoretical linkage of Cournot, Gossen Jevons and himself to Adam Smith, he never referred to the invisible hand concept.
In this respect, Schumpeter denied the theoretical influence of Smith on Walras. In his History of Economic Analysis (1954), Schumpeter pointed out that Walras’s pure economics was rather under the influence of the French tradition and that Walras only “paid conventional respects to A. Smith.”
Jaffé even doubted that Walras ever read The Wealth of Nations attentively. He concluded that Walras refused to acknowledge the many resemblances between his and Smith’s work because of his fanatical Anglophobia (Jaffé, W. 1977, “A centenarian on a bicentenarian: Léon Walras’s Eléments on Adams Smith’s Wealth of Nations,” Canadian Journal of Economics, X, no.1)
In this study, I take a totally different approach. First, I examine the handwriting of Léon Walras in the French translation of the The Wealth of Nations (1859), not examined by either Schumpeter or Jaffé.
Second, I consider Walras’s references to Smith, not only in his writings on pure economics but also on other topics. Special attention is given to his “Cours d’économie politique appliquée,” also not hitherto considered. I find that Walras’s citations of Smith correspond to his handwriting in the Walras Library.
In conclusion, I prove that Walras studied The Wealth of Nations and was influenced by it differently than expected.
From a theoretical viewpoint, Walras’s general equilibrium theory has often been compared to Smith’s concept of an “invisible hand.” The question is whether Walras actually intended to develop Smith’s invisible hand in the formation process of his general equilibrium theory.
In his Elements of Pure Economics (first edition, 1874–1877), in which he proposed the general equilibrium theory for the first time in history, Walras referred to Smith’s research only three times: when he argued the definition of political economy; the distinction between science, art, and ethics; and the origin of value in exchange. In the preface to the fourth edition (1900), although Walras suggested the theoretical linkage of Cournot, Gossen Jevons and himself to Adam Smith, he never referred to the invisible hand concept.
In this respect, Schumpeter denied the theoretical influence of Smith on Walras. In his History of Economic Analysis (1954), Schumpeter pointed out that Walras’s pure economics was rather under the influence of the French tradition and that Walras only “paid conventional respects to A. Smith.”
Jaffé even doubted that Walras ever read The Wealth of Nations attentively. He concluded that Walras refused to acknowledge the many resemblances between his and Smith’s work because of his fanatical Anglophobia (Jaffé, W. 1977, “A centenarian on a bicentenarian: Léon Walras’s Eléments on Adams Smith’s Wealth of Nations,” Canadian Journal of Economics, X, no.1)
In this study, I take a totally different approach. First, I examine the handwriting of Léon Walras in the French translation of the The Wealth of Nations (1859), not examined by either Schumpeter or Jaffé.
Second, I consider Walras’s references to Smith, not only in his writings on pure economics but also on other topics. Special attention is given to his “Cours d’économie politique appliquée,” also not hitherto considered. I find that Walras’s citations of Smith correspond to his handwriting in the Walras Library.
In conclusion, I prove that Walras studied The Wealth of Nations and was influenced by it differently than expected.