Organization and Knowledge in Alfred Marshall’s Economics

One of the main shortcomings of the Walrasian model of economic general equilibrium is certainly its treatment of information. This is why economists tried to offer a more satisfactory approach to the problem, first within the Walrasian tradition, then outside it, regarding the emergence of the assumptions of incomplete and/or asymmetric information. More recently, various economists began to recognize the importance of the concept of knowledge for economic theory. This attention paid to knowledge strongly contributed to the emergence of a new field of investigation, sometimes referred to as the ‘economics of the mind’ or ‘cognitive economics’ (see, for instance, Walliser 2000 or Rizzello 1999). It is not, however, as if these approaches had emerged out of some sort of void: most of the great names in the history of economic thought have paid considerable attention to the role of knowledge, even if the history of knowledge economics remains to be written. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the contribution of one such economist in particular, namely Alfred Marshall, whose understanding of the main economic aspects of the concept of knowledge is certainly among the most advanced.