William Jaffe's Essays on Walras

In this book Dr Walker brings together Dr William Jaffè's essays on the important and interesting work of Lèon 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 Jaffè's main interests was to explain the genesis of Walras's work, which he did by examining Walras's biography. Using a wide variety of sources, Jaffè 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. Jaffè 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 Jaffè's scholarly and literary craftsmanship - aesthetically satisfying.