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General equilibrium theory behind the iron curtain: the case of Victor Polterovich

Author

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  • Ivan Boldyrev

    (National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow/Humboldt University, Berlin.)

  • Olessia Kirtchik

    (National Research University Higher School of Economics)

Abstract

In this paper we address the story of developments in general equilibrium theory (GET) in the USSR during the 1970s through the lens of a single biography. The Soviet advances in mathematical economics, only fragmentarily known in the West, give an occasion to reflect on the extension of the Walrasian paradigm to non-market societies, as well as on the ideological effects of GET and its interpretations in a Soviet context. Our contribution is focused on the development of general equilibrium theorizing in the work of Victor Meerovich Polterovich (b. 1937) who has been one of the leading figures in mathematical economics and general equilibrium theory in the USSR and post-Soviet Russia. His papers on the abstract models of exchange, dynamic general equilibrium and optimal growth theory, excess demand correspondences, monotonicity of demand functions, and disequilibrium theory were for the large part published in English and gained considerable attention within the field. We reconstruct the political and ideological basis of the general equilibrium concept and show how abstract mathematical models reflected the discursive shift from optimal centralized planning to various forms of decentralization. We argue that the Soviet work on general equilibrium was a part of the global development of mathematical economics but was not integrated into it institutionally

Suggested Citation

  • Ivan Boldyrev & Olessia Kirtchik, 2013. "General equilibrium theory behind the iron curtain: the case of Victor Polterovich," HSE Working papers WP BRP 14/HUM/2013, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hig:wpaper:14hum2013
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dana, Rose-Anne, 1995. "An extension of Milleron, Mitjushin and Polterovich's result," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 259-269.
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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Soviet general equilibrium theory
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2013-12-23 20:32:00

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    1. Kirtchik, Olessia & Boldyrev, Ivan, 2024. "“Rise And Fall” Of The Walrasian Program In Economics: A Social And Intellectual Dynamics Of The General Equilibrium Theory," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(1), pages 1-26, March.
    2. Libman, Alexander & Zweynert, Joachim, 2014. "Ceremonial science: The state of Russian economics seen through the lens of the work of ‘Doctor of Science’ candidates," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 360-378.
    3. Carsten Herrmann-Pillath, 2019. "Power, ideas and culture in the ‘longue durée’ of institutional evolution: theory and application on the revolutions of property rights in Russia," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 29(5), pages 1483-1506, November.
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    6. Alexander A. Maltsev & Vasiliy Sukhih, 2019. "The origins of the Russian economics backwardness: the case of one region [Истоки Отставания Российской Экономической Науки: Случай Одного Региона]," Post-Print hal-04088077, HAL.

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    JEL classification:

    • B16 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Quantitative and Mathematical
    • B21 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Microeconomics
    • B23 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Econometrics; Quantitative and Mathematical Studies
    • B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals

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