A Study on Alfred Marshall's Economics with Focus on the History of Mathematics and Science

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K17097
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Economic doctrine/Economic thought
• Research Institution: University of Hyogo
• Principal Investigator: Matsuyama Naoki 兵庫県立大学, 国際商経学部, 准教授 (80583161)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: マーシャル / 経済学方法論 / 経済学と天文学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this research project was to elucidate some features of Alfred Marshall's Economic Science from the viewpoint of not only the history of economics but also the history of mathematics and science. Marshall, a founder of microeconomics, has engaged in several research areas such as mathematical science, psychology, philosophy and etc. from 1861 to 1872. In this research project, I focused on Marshall's study on mathematical science, which has been considered as one of his original ideas of his diagrammatic demand and supply analysis developed in his "Principles of Economics" (1890). This research has therefore been developed with Marshall's original manuscripts and his annnotated books kept in the Marshall Library of Economics, Cambridge. In sum, I clarified that fundamental notions and methodology of Marshall's economic science have a root in the 18th and 19th century's French astronomy and political economy.

Free Research Field

経済学史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

マーシャルは，経済学を人間研究の一部に位置づけ，経済学が倫理や道徳を扱うことの重要性を説いた．そして，生きた人間が織りなす複雑な経済現象は必ずしも数学的に表現できるものではないと考えていた．本研究プロジェクトでは，経済学史，数学史，科学史の文脈において，マーシャルの経済分析における基礎的な概念や方法論が，18世紀から19世紀にかけて展開されたフランスの天文学や経済学から影響を受けて形成されていたことを明らかにした．上述のように，マーシャルは力学的な分析枠組みを超克する新たな分析枠組みを模索していたのであり，本研究プロジェクトにおいてその理論的ないし方法論上の根拠を示した．