Léon Walras

Marie Esprit Léon Walras ( born December 16, 1834 in Evreux, Normandy, † January 5, 1910 in Clarens, today Montreux, Switzerland ) was a French economist. He founded the Lausanne school and is considered one of the leading exponents of neoclassicism and copyright of the general equilibrium model.

Life

Youth

Léon Walras was the oldest of four children of Antoine- Auguste Walras (1801-1866) from Montpellier and his wife, the notary 's daughter Louise Aline de Sainte Beuve (1811 - 1892), from Évreux. Due to the professional advancement of the Father from teacher to professor of philosophy Léon Walras spent his childhood and youth in Paris as well as in several cities in Northern France, where he attended from 1844 to 1850 in Caen, and then the Collège Lycée in Douai. He obtained in 1851 the degree of Bachelier ès- lettres. After visiting other courses in general and specialized mathematics beyond one year he graduated in 1853 with the Bachelier ès- sciences. from. In the entrance examination ( concours ) for the École Polytechnique in Paris, he fell twice. "His course shows the practical inability of the thinker; Failures, as might be expected if one polytechnique for the École through the study of Descartes and Newton prepared;. Aversion to extended tracks as perceived by each student " Cournot's Recherches sur les He read principes Mathématiques de la théorie of richesses (German: " Investigation on the mathematical principles of the theory of wealth " ), and Lagrange.

Study

When he returned to study in the capital in 1853, the social and cultural life was still influenced by the revolutionary ideas of 1848. This lifestyle and the setting of the so-called bohemian also influenced Léon Walras. He led during and after his studies in Paris at first a relatively unconventional life. Since it was not accepted by his favorite college, he began in 1854 an engineering degree from the Ecole des Mines. But he quickly realized that he had little interest in engineering. Therefore, he neglected his studies and dealt more with the literature, philosophy, history, art criticism and literary criticism, as well as economic policy and social science. Whether he has nevertheless made ​​an engineering degree, can not be clarified beyond doubt.

Léon Walras wrong in intellectual circles in Paris and tried his hand as a novelist. The report published in 1858, Francis Sauveur novel depicts the life of a student in Paris in the 1850s and should have strong autobiographical elements. The shift away from the study was not well received by his parents, especially his father. She had hoped that her son had a career as a mining engineer. In a meeting called by Léon Walras as very formative Auguste Walras his son was clearly understood that this had to continue at least his father's economic and social scientific work. Therefore, Léon Walras attempted to establish itself in the years 1859-1862 with the journalistic work for the Journal of Economistes and La Presse. He used the arguments of his father, in order to refute the leading ideas of Pierre- Joseph Proudhon. So in the years 1859/60 he wrote his first economics work: L' économie politique et la justice; Examination critique et Refutation of the doctrines économiques de MPJ Proudhon Precedes d'une introduction à l' étude de la question sociale. With this article, he took in June 1860 in a competition at the international tax conference in Lausanne and won the fourth prize.

In the same year he began to publish his planned six-part series of articles in the Journal of the paradox Économiques Economistes. The first part of the paradox économiques I ( Que le sens commun n'est point le Critérium de la science en général, ni en particulier celui de l' économie politique ) described a discussion between a merchant and an economic experts about different practical problems, such as the free trade or taxes. The second part of the series was already written when the author fell out with his editor, so that each additional item has been rejected. After he is now in the Journal of Economistes could not publish, Walras also announced at La Presse.

His efforts to find accommodation in France as a lecturer in economics at a university failed. The eleven French Chairs of knowledge were occupied by orthodox economists and were passed according to Walras ' own words only through nepotism. His desire to publish their own newspaper about politics and social sciences, was not successful because he did not get government approval. Léon Walras used the acquaintance of his father to Horace Say, son of Jean- Baptiste Say, to find a job in the administration of the railroad company Chemins de Fer Du Nord. In 1862 Léon Say, the son of Horace Say and later finance minister, was one of the directors of the railway company. Léon Say later helped him to a post on the Board of a change of bank. In the years 1865-1868 he was responsible for accounting and could therefore also publish articles in Bank-financed cooperative magazine Le Travail. After the liquidation of the bank end of 1868, he got a job in the banker J. Hollander office.

1870-1892: Chair in Lausanne

Walras lived together for over ten years with his first wife Aline Célestine Ferbach (1834-1879) before he married her in 1869. With this marriage, born in 1863 his twin daughter Marie Aline was legitimized, while her twin sister had died in infancy. Léon Walras adopted after he had married Célestine whose son Georges (1857 - 1934), who came from a previous non-marital relationship. Célestine Walras died in 1879 after three years of disease. To cover the cost of treatment, Léon Walras significantly indebted. His financial situation improved only in 1884, when he Désirée Mailly Léonide (1826 - 1900), married, as they earned an annuity in the marriage. In 1892, Walras received after the death of his mother a legacy of 100,000 francs, with which he could pay his debts and own -bought annuity.

In 1870 came the decisive turning point for Léon Walras ' career. The government of the Swiss canton of Vaud invited him to participate in the Concours for the newly established chair of political economy at the University of Lausanne. Those responsible still remembered his introduced in 1860 when Congress tax contribution. Since the seven-member selection committee consisted of three members of the cantonal government and Léon Walras failed to impress one of the four economic policy professors positive, he was the winner of the Concours.

The first years of Lausanne were his most productive. He reflected back to the core statements of the paternal economic theory, that scarcity and benefits were the source of value and mathematical tools are used. He also drew Cournot's work in its deliberations. His father had already endeavored to outline a theory to the effect, but only Léon Walras could formulate. His most important works were written in the 1870s. In 1874, the essay Principe d'une théorie de l' échange mathématique appeared (about principle a mathematical theory of exchange ) in the Journal of Economistes after he had previously been rejected by publishers already once a year.

In 1874, the first edition of his most important work was published, the d' économie politique pure Éléments, ou théorie de la richesse sociale ( in English: Elements of Pure Economics, or the Theory of Social Wealth, dt: Mathematical theory of price determination of economic goods ). They consist of the principle of a mathematical theory of exchange from 1873, the equations of exchange from 1875 as well as the equations of production, equations of capitalization and loan to 1876 Ludwig Gebhard von Winterfeld (1853 - 1904)., a Prussian officer, this work translated for the first time in 1881 in the German language, as he was in Lausanne in winter 1880/81.

In 1874 Léon Walras also took up contact with a wide variety of economists of his time, including William Stanley Jevons with, Antoine -Augustin Cournot, Alfred Marshall, Carl Menger, Philip Wicksteed, Francis Ysidro Edgeworth, Vilfredo Pareto and Knut Wicksell. He wanted to make his ideas known and looked into this contact to the economics of his time the way to it. Had little success attempts, his ideas and insights, in particular monetary theory to establish in France.

In order to pay the high medical costs of his wife Célestine of treatment, he had to pursue still other pursuits in addition to his work at the University. He gave private, articles wrote under a pseudonym for the Gazette de Lausanne and the Bibliothèque Universelle, he also worked as a consultant for the insurance company La Suisse.

1892-1910: late work and death

After his inheritance in 1892, Léon Walras wanted to originally pull back for just one year of his teaching to overcome his health problems, but he took his lecturer never again. As a visiting professor, he continued working for the University in Lausanne, but had to hold no lectures. His chair at the university took over Vilfredo Pareto. His other scientific work were then less innovative than editorial, despite numerous publications. Léon Walras ' political interests were the same as his father, such as the idea of reforming the tax system and the land nationalization. With Études d' économie sociale; Théorie de la richesse sociale de la répartition Léon Walras published in 1896 a collection of his articles and readings from thirty years on social policy. In 1898 he published Études d' économie politique in appliquée; Théorie de la production de la richesse sociale a collection of his newspaper articles and readings as well as correspondence on economic topics. The d' économie politique pure Éléments, ou théorie de la richesse sociale he published until 1900 in each of four revised editions. He was extremely proud of his membership in the scientific societies in Europe and the U.S. and which took place on June 21, 1909 honoring his forty years of service anniversaries at the University of Lausanne, as a bronze bust was erected.

Work

Walras developed simultaneously, but independently ( this independence is disputed) by Stanley Jevons and Carl Menger, the concept of marginal utility ( " rareté " in Walras ).

Walras reasoned with the Walras law for the first time a fully developed microeconomic model total. It is therefore considered as the founder of microeconomic total analysis.

As a model assumption of his theory of the Walrasian auctioneer is known.

Works (selection)

• Éléments d' économie pure ou théorie de la richesse sociale. Lausanne: Corbaz et al. 1874, see also General equilibrium theory
• Théorie de la monnaie ( Monetary Theory )
• Études d' économie politique appliquée ( studies of applied political economy)