Nikos seems to have hit the nail on the head, to say nothing of having a better memory than individual who was editor the when Derobert’s article was published in JHET more than 20 years ago.
When Gary and Ross said, “Robbins,” I had a suspicion that Wicksteed might be the key. (Not to diminish Robbins, but he borrowed a lot, including from Wicksteed.) Derobert seems to suggest that Wicksteed was there with the basic theory in 1910. Whether it is that specific functional notation is another matter. Something else for me to look up when I get to the office on Monday!
Link to Derobert’s article here for those wanting a look: https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/70B237E5EA2DACA045206F226302A87E/S1053837200006878a.pdf/on-the-genesis-of-the-canonical-labor-supply-model.pdf
Steve
Steven G. Medema, PhD
George Family Research Professor of Economics
Associate Director, Center for the History of Political Economy
Research Associate, School of Law
Duke Universityhttps://sites.duke.edu/sgmedema/
From: Societies for the History of Economics <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of mauro boianovsky <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Saturday, April 22, 2023 at 6:11 PM
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [SHOE] Question on the history of neoclassical economics: who first conceived of the consumption, leisure utility function?Robbins further developed ideas originated by Dennis Robertson back in 1915, especially the notion of "elasticity of demand for income in terms of effort". See article by David Spencer in EJHET 2005: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09672560500112702?journalCode=rejh20. I deal with the macroeconomic consequences of Robertson's new concept in my 2018 article in HEI (26.3) on Robertson, Champernowne and the natural rate hypothesis, with reference to John Presley's 1979 book on Robertsonian Economics.
Mauro
Em sáb., 22 de abr. de 2023 às 17:04, Gary Mongiovi <[log in to unmask]> escreveu:
I’m not expert on this particular topic, but I seem to recall learning back in my grad school days that this idea can be traced back to Lionel Robbins. A quick internet search shows that he had an article on this very topic in the 1939 volume of the Economic Journal.
Gary
Gary Mongiovi
Economics & Finance Department
St John's University
Jamaica, NEW YORK 11439 (USA)
Tel: +1 (718) 990-7380
From: Societies for the History of Economics <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Steven Medema <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, April 22, 2023 10:59 AM
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [SHOE] Question on the history of neoclassical economics: who first conceived of the consumption, leisure utility function?
* External Email *
Maxime,
Given that this was/is the standard approach for modeling labor supply decisions at the individual level, it might be worthwhile to dive down the labor econ rabbit hole. Mark Killingsworth’s big book, Labor Supply (CUP 1983) might provide some clues about the history. I have a copy, but it is in my office at the university. Perhaps I can remember this long enough to check on Monday.
Best wishes,
Steve
Steven G. Medema, PhD
George Family Research Professor of Economics
Associate Director, Center for the History of Political Economy
Research Associate, School of Law
Duke Universityhttps://sites.duke.edu/sgmedema/
From: Societies for the History of Economics <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Maxime Desmarais-Tremblay <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Saturday, April 22, 2023 at 9:11 AM
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [SHOE] Question on the history of neoclassical economics: who first conceived of the consumption, leisure utility function?Dear Colleagues,
I am hoping you could perhaps help me retrace the origins of the common maximisation problem of u(C, L) function under the leisure-paid work constraint. Who was the first to pose the consumption-leisure bundle of goods? Who popularised the use of this model?
Was it predated by a (consumption, time worked) bundle (where work is a negative good)?
I saw that Becker (1965) refers to the “the traditional labour-leisure approach”. Marshall seems to make a big deal of the value of leisure, but I did not find an explicit conceptualisation of this idea. Jevons seems to connect utility to labour and commodities, but in the production side, not as consumption of commodities and leisure.
Any help on those questions would be greatly appreciated!
Best wishes,
Maxime
------------------------------------------------
Dr Maxime Desmarais-TremblaySenior Lecturer in Economics
Institute of Management Studies
Goldsmiths, University of London
New Cross, London SE14 6NW
UKBook Review Editor, The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought
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