[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cup/jhisec/v46y2024i1p27-47_2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From “Tired Muscles” To “Might-Have-Beens”: A Debate On The Nature Of Costs In The Late Nineteenth Century

Author

Listed:
  • Barbieri, Fabio
  • Lourenço Filho, Marcelo
Abstract
This article explores a debate on the theory of cost that occurred in the 1890s between economist Silas MacVane and Austrian economists. MacVane defended the idea of objective “real cost” and the Austrians argued for subjective opportunity cost. Although this debate is rarely mentioned, it represents a noteworthy episode of active contrast between ideas on value and on cost, with implications that are relevant for contemporary economists. By highlighting the incompatibility of the objective and subjective conceptions of cost, this debate sheds light on the evolution of economic theory. The contributions of relatively unknown authors, such as MacVane and David Green, are also discussed. We interpret the debate in terms of the contrast between research programs based on wealth and on exchange, and note that the gradual shift in the period regarding the fundamental problem that informs economic theory is key to understanding the modern concept of cost.

Suggested Citation

  • Barbieri, Fabio & Lourenço Filho, Marcelo, 2024. "From “Tired Muscles” To “Might-Have-Beens”: A Debate On The Nature Of Costs In The Late Nineteenth Century," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(1), pages 27-47, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jhisec:v:46:y:2024:i:1:p:27-47_2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1053837223000226/type/journal_article
    File Function: link to article abstract page
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cup:jhisec:v:46:y:2024:i:1:p:27-47_2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kirk Stebbing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cambridge.org/het .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.