William Jaffe's Essays on Walras Book

In this book Dr Walker brings together Dr William Jaffé's essays on the important and interesting work of Léon Walras, the founder of general equilibrium analysis. The essays were selected on the basis of their importance to the Walrasian literature, in that they provide information on Walras's intellectual biography with which we would otherwise be unfamiliar or they make a contribution to the interpretation and analysis of his ideas. One of Jaffé's main interests was to explain the genesis of Walras's work, which he did by examining Walras's biography. The biographical materials presented in the essays deal with the social and economic milieu in which Walras lived and worked, his father's influence on him, and his intellectual history. Using a wide variety of sources, Jaffé pieced together an account of these matters in the belief that biography is essential for understanding the origins and development of a scientist's work. Jaffé also dealt with many special topics in Walras's economics, including his theory of tâtonnement, and his exposition of equilibrium conditions in a system of interrelated markets. Jaffé corrected what he regarded as errors of interpretation of Walras by other writers, evaluated Walras's contributions, and indicated his significance for modern economics. The essays are informative, illuminating, and - as a result of Jaffé's scholarly and literary craftsmanship - aesthetically satisfying.