Alfred Marshall
His 'Principles of Economics' synthesized classical and marginalist theories, introducing concepts like supply and demand curves and consumer surplus.
Quotes by Alfred Marshall
The most important of all the causes that determine the economic progress of a nation is the character of its people.
Economics is a study of mankind in the ordinary business of life.
The Mecca of the economist is economic biology rather than economic dynamics.
The two great factors of production are land and labour.
The more we examine the history of the past, the more we shall find that the economic conditions of the present are the result of a long and gradual evolution.
The element of time is a chief cause of those difficulties in economic investigations which make it necessary for man with his limited powers to go step by step.
The price of anything is governed by the demand for it and the supply of it.
The greater the demand for a thing, the higher will be its price.
The greater the supply of a thing, the lower will be its price.
The value of a thing is what it will exchange for.
The marginal utility of a commodity to anyone diminishes with every increase in the amount of it he already has.
The law of diminishing returns applies to all industries.
The law of increasing returns applies to some industries.
The normal value of a commodity is that which tends to be established in the long run.
The short period is that in which the supply of specialized skill and ability, of specialized capital and industrial organization, has not time to be fully adapted to demand.
The long period is that in which the supply of specialized skill and ability, of specialized capital and industrial organization, has time to be fully adapted to demand.
The stationary state is a state in which the forces of progress and decay are exactly balanced.
The representative firm is a firm which has a long life, which is managed with fair ability, and which has a fair share of the advantages and disadvantages of its trade.
The national dividend is the net aggregate of all commodities and services produced annually in a country.
The national income is the sum of the incomes of all the individuals in a country.