A Study on the Change of Economic View with J.S. Mill as a Turning Point: Focusing on Value Theory

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K17099
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Economic doctrine/Economic thought
• Research Institution: Nagoya University of Commerce & Business
• Principal Investigator: Yoshii Satoshi 名古屋商科大学, 経済学部, 教授 (10514341)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: Equation / 過程分析

Outline of Final Research Achievements

It is generally considered that the theoretical development in supply-demand equilibrium theory by J. S. Mill from supply and demand ratio theory by Adam Smith and David Ricardo is the most important event in the history of economics. However, his pricing model is not governed by the laws of simultaneous determination between a quantity and a price at all. Followers have been misunderstanding the term “equation” that Mill used in the pricing. Mill’s system is not supply-demand equilibrium theory, but rather sequential process model with time.

Jenkin (1868; 1870) misconstrued J. S. Mill’s system as the view that was almost identical to the present-day microeconomics model. Additionally, Marshall (1879), who was very influenced by Jenkin, misread Mill’s reciprocal demand theory and introduced into economics the theme about the research of equilibrium and the stability condition in his construction of pure theory.

Free Research Field

理論経済学・経済学説史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

古典派経済学における価格決定の等式をある「均衡への傾向」を表すものと解釈すれば、これは均衡にいたる経緯についての過程分析と言える。一方で、新古典派経済学では価格と数量が同時に決定される市場均衡理論である。と結論付けられる。独創的な点は「Equation」解釈を通じた古典派経済学の再解釈である。この点に関しては世界的に全く研究が進んでいない。分岐点としてのJ.S.ミル体系の正確な理解とそれが曲解して伝わった理由を解明することは、経済学の歴史を正しく理解することにも繋がる。