Finding Equilibrium (ebook)

Argumento de Finding Equilibrium (ebook)

"Düppe and Weintraub have written a powerful book that is both a marvelous introduction to modern economics for all who want to know what mathematical economists are up to, and a deep, textured account of the paths Arrow, Debreu, and McKenzie followed on their way to general equilibrium theory. A thoughtful mix of biography, intellectual history, and mathematical expertise, Finding Equilibrium invites us into the moments that proved decisive for economics as it exists today."--Peter Galison, author of Einstein's Clocks, Poincaré's Maps

"A fascinating account of one of the central quests of modern economics--finding general conditions under which the existence of a competitive equilibrium is assured. Offering remarkable insights into the workings of the economics profession, this book illuminates the interplay between the personalities of the researchers, the structure of their ideas, and the historical events of their time."--Jerry R. Green, Harvard University

"Lakatos used history to show us the informality of mathematics. Düppe and Weintraub use history to show us how personal mathematics is: how the commitments of economists, and their personalities, are expressed in their mathematical accounts. Three different economists, three different mathematics of general equilibria--this narrative brilliantly destabilizes any linear story about a central motif in the creation of modern economics."--Mary S. Morgan, London School of Economics and University of Amsterdam

"'Unputdownable' is a word more often used of novels than of books on general equilibrium theory, but it describes this book. Written in a style accessible to nonmathematicians, Finding Equilibrium makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in the rise of mathematical economics after the Second World War."--Roger Backhouse, author of The Ordinary Business of Life: A History of Economics from the Ancient World to the Twenty-First Century

"By focusing on what became one of the central theoretical endeavors in postwar economics--proving the existence of general market equilibrium--this important book investigates not just the transformation of economic theory, but also changes in the discipline of economics, the blurring of disciplinary boundaries, and the evolution of the economist's scientific persona."--Harro Maas, Utrecht University

"Finding Equilibrium is a testament to the importance of writing the history of recent economics. The fact that it is a gripping read . . . only adds to the impressiveness of Düppe and Weintraubs accomplishment. May it have many imitators."--Steven G. Medema, Journal of the History of Economic Thought

"[An] engaging and illuminating history of the mid-twentieth-century proofs of competitive general equilibrium and the three authors associated with them."--S. Abu Turab Rizvi, Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics

Till Düppe is assistant professor of economics at the Université du Québec à Montréal. He is the author of The Making of the Economy. E. Roy Weintraub is professor of economics at Duke University. He is the author of How Economics Became a Mathematical Science.

"A fascinating history about modern economics and some of its key historical actors . . . also a treatise on historiography."--Marcel J. Boumans, History of Economic Ideas

"The book has a marvelous and incredibly detailed reconstruction of the paths pursued by the three protagonists with mathematical details suppressed."--Olav Bjerkholt, EH.Net0Preface ix
Chronology xxiii
Part I People 1
Chapter 1 Arrow's Ambitions 3
Chapter 2 McKenzie's Frustrations 24
Chapter 3 Debreu's Silence 47
Part II Context 65
Chapter 4 Sites 67
Chapter 5 Community 98
Part III Credit 129
Chapter 6 Three Proofs 131
Chapter 7 Aftermath 172
Chapter 8 The Proofs Become History 204
Conclusion 231
Coda 245
Acknowledgments 249
References 251
Index of Names 267
Index of Subjects 273