----------------- HES POSTING -----------------
My first reaction is: poor Cournot! More than 160 years and he still
doesn't get a break. Fig. 6 in his 1838 "Researches into the
Mathematical Principles of the Theory of Wealth" shows a demand
curve and two supply curves. The first supply curve is pre- the
imposed excise tax; the second, post excise tax. The figure illustrates
the equilibrium prices with, and without, the tax. Cournot correctly
concludes that (with upward sloping supply curves) the price will rise
by LESS than the tax. True, Cournot puts price on the horizontal axis
and quantity on the vertical axis, but should a 90 degree rotation
deprive him of his "first"? Other "firsts" in the this same book are: the
use of calculus to show that profits are maximized where marginal
revenue equals marginal cost, the first model of "imperfect
competition," the first use of what is now known the "Cournot-Nash"
concept of equilibrium-a foundation stone of modern game theory, and
his law of large numbers- namely as the number of sellers increased
from one to "unlimited," price would fall from the monpoly level to the
competitive level.
Although Cournot's work remained obscure at least through the 1860's,
we know Marshall read Cournot's book in 1868. His heavily annotated
copy is in the Marshall library. Marshall himself said he was heavily
influenced by Cournot and not by Dupuit, Jevons or Fleeming Jenkin.
His early theoretical writings make no mention of Hermann or Rau;
indeed, the only German economist mentioned is von Thunen.
So, whatever the merits of Hermann's 1841 paper (which I have never
seen) relative to Fleeming Jenkins' of 1870, Antoine Augustin still has
the priority.
Mike Lynch
Arlington, VA
>------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------
>For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]
>
>
------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------
For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]
|
