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Come back Marshall, all is forgiven? Complexity, evolution, mathematics and Marshallian exceptionalism

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  • Geoffrey M. Hodgson

Abstract

Marshall was the great synthesiser of neoclassical economics. Yet with his qualified assumption of self-interest, his emphasis on variation in economic evolution and his cautious attitude to the use of mathematics, Marshall differs fundamentally from other leading neoclassical contemporaries. Metaphors inspire more specific analogies and ontological assumptions, and Marshall used the guiding metaphor of Spencerian evolution. But unfortunately, the further development of a Marshallian evolutionary approach was undermined in part by theoretical problems within Spencer's theory. Yet some things can be salvaged from the Marshallian evolutionary vision. They may even be placed in a more viable Darwinian framework.

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  • Geoffrey M. Hodgson, 2013. "Come back Marshall, all is forgiven? Complexity, evolution, mathematics and Marshallian exceptionalism," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(6), pages 957-981, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:eujhet:v:20:y:2013:i:6:p:957-981
    DOI: 10.1080/09672567.2013.815245
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Geoffrey M. Hodgson, 1999. "Evolution and Institutions," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1481, March.
    2. Peter Groenewegen, 1995. "A SOARING EAGLE: Alfred Marshall 1842–1924," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 193, March.
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    Cited by:

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