Books

Second edition, revised, corrected and enlarged, of the French economist's major thesis which confirmed his status as the father of general equilibrium theory, first published in two parts in 1874 and 1877 respectively. Soon after becoming a professor of political economy at the University of Lausanne at the age of 36, Walras published Éléments. He focused his efforts on significantly revising several successive editions over the course of the next two decades; this second edition, for example, contains an introductory chapter which does not appear in subsequent editions. Appreciation for his work has grown steadily since the 1930s which has prompted Blaug to argue that Walras "may now be the most widely-read nineteenth century economist after Ricardo and Marx" (p. 262). Lindley Fraser (1904-63) was a British economist and popular broadcaster. He became a fellow in economics at Queen's College, Oxford in 1928, where he wrote his first book, Protection and Free Trade (1932) and was recognized as "a man of most acute mind and versatile gifts". He later went on to join the staff of the BBC's German Service in 1940. Octavo. Contemporary library buckram, spine lettered and dated in black. 6 folding plates as issued. Spine and boards toned, split to front joint repaired, light wear and rubbing to extremities, mild foxing to contents, a very good copy. From the library of Lindley Fraser, inscribed on the front free endpaper, "L. M. Fraser, Queen's, (Oxford, October, 1928)" with his occasional pencil annotations to the contents shaved by the binder. Walker 176; Mark Blaug, Great Economists before Keynes (Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press International, 1986).

Éléments d'économie politique pure is one of Léon Walras' most significant works, serving as a foundational text in the field of economics, particularly known for its presentation of the concept of general equilibrium.