tailieunhanh - History of Economic Analysis part 38

History of Economic Analysis part 38. At the time of his death in 1950, Joseph Schumpeter-one of the major figures in economics during the first half of the 20th century-was working on his monumental History of Economic Analysis. A complete history of humankind's theoretical efforts to understand economic phenomena from ancient Greece to the present, this book is an important contribution to the history of ideas as well as to economics. | History of economic analysis 332 with the total labor costs of the corresponding imports. To one aspect of this we shall return. The employment argument was not only advanced per se but also in its indirect form via the stimulus which inflowing cash will give to business. Here we are not concerned with all those writers who considered the possibility of imparting this stimulus by the creation of paper money but only with those who thought of lubricating the wheels of business by means of the importation of coin and bullion. If the reader observes how very popular this idea is and always has been with the man in the street he will expect that it is practically ubiquitous so much so that it often is implied rather than explicitly stated. The only obstacle to its absolute sway was the treasure aspect of bullion importation the idea that the imported bullion should be hoarded against the requirements of war. Malynes and Misselden the two antagonists may however both be quoted as instances of this lubrication argument. Both saw the stimulus in connection with rising prices Malynes shade after having been for three centuries the object of practically universal vituperation drawing applause from Lord Keynes General Theory of Employment Interest and Money p. 345 for being aware of the fallacy of cheapness and the danger of excessive competition and for having associated increasing sales with rising instead of falling prices. But as we have seen other writers did not stress this relation of the stimulus with rising prices they either looked upon higher rising prices with misgivings or else they believed that bullion importation would stimulate trade without raising prices. That it is by no means foolish to hold the latter opinion will be shown later in a footnote. Child Mun and others afford examples of the proposition that foreign investments are inevitable in the short run if they said so from interested motives what of it but I am unable to quote instances of arguments .