How to evaluate Alfred Marshall

Answer 1

Alfred Marshall was a very influential modern British mathematician.

From the perspective of discipline development, he was one of the founders of the neoclassical school. Under his efforts, economics developed from a compulsory course in the humanities and history to an independent discipline with a scientific nature similar to physics. The University of Cambridge was also influenced by him to establish the world's first economics department.

He was the founder of partial equilibrium analysis. He studied the behavior of a single market and used supply and demand curves to analyze the factors affecting prices. He established the concept of elasticity and the formula for calculating elasticity, analyzed the price elasticity of demand and supply, and concluded that in the short term, demand was the decisive factor affecting prices, and in the long term, supply or production costs were the decisive factors affecting prices. His most important work, Principles of Economics, was an epoch-making work in the Western economics world. It was regarded as the continuation and development of the British classical political economy. The equilibrium price theory elaborated in the book was the core of his economic theory. The book constructed static economics. The concept of supply and demand in the book and the emphasis on the concept of individual utility constituted the foundation of modern economics. It was published many times during his lifetime and was regarded as the "Bible" of British economics for many years.

In terms of macro economics, he used the concept of purchasing power parities to explain the exchange rates between different countries 'currencies.

In terms of social issues, he paid special attention to income distribution and poverty. He attributed poverty to the labor market and believed that the wages of unskilled labor were maintained at a low level due to the influence of supply and demand. He advocated solving poverty through education, limiting family size, and establishing a gradual tax system.

In short, Marshall combined the achievements of economics from the first half of the 19th century to the end of the 19th century, forming a unique theoretical system and method, which had a profound impact on the development of modern Western economics. He was considered to be the successor and developer of British classical economics. He and his followers were called neoclassical theory and neoclassical school. He and his students taught at the University of Cambridge for a long time, also known as the Cambridge School.

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