IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/osf/socarx/gshwz.html

From 'Tired Muscles' To 'Might-Have-Beens': A Debate On The Nature Of Costs In The Late 19th Century

Author

Listed:
  • Barbieri, Fabio
  • Filho, Marcelo Lourenço

Abstract

This article explores a debate on the theory of cost that occurred in the 1890s between economist Silas MacVane and Austrian economists. MacVane defended the idea of objective “real cost,” while the Austrians argued for subjective opportunity cost. Although this debate is rarely mentioned, it represents a noteworthy episode of active contrast between ideas on value and cost, with implications that are relevant for contemporary economists. By highlighting the incompatibility of the objective and subjective conceptions of cost, this debate sheds light on the evolution of economic theory. The contributions of relatively unknown authors, such as MacVane and David Green, are also discussed. We interpret the debate in terms of the contrast between research programs based on wealth or exchange, and note that the gradual shift in the period regarding the fundamental problem that informs economic theory is key to understanding the modern concept of cost.

Suggested Citation

  • Barbieri, Fabio & Filho, Marcelo Lourenço, 2024. "From 'Tired Muscles' To 'Might-Have-Beens': A Debate On The Nature Of Costs In The Late 19th Century," SocArXiv gshwz, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:gshwz
    DOI: 10.31235/osf.io/gshwz
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://osf.io/download/65b27c924aa63c075cdf1e22/
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.31235/osf.io/gshwz?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Frank H. Knight, 1928. "A Suggestion for Simplifying the Statement of the General Theory of Price," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(3), pages 353-353.
    2. Edward S. Mason, 1982. "The Harvard Department of Economics from the Beginning to World War II," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 97(3), pages 383-433.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rod O’Donnell, 2016. "Complexities in the examination of opportunity cost," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(1), pages 26-31, January.
    2. Jacques-Laurent Ravix, 1997. "Fondements critiques pour une analyse de la dynamique industrielle : la méthode de Allyn Young," Revue Économique, Programme National Persée, vol. 48(4), pages 965-988.
    3. Abigail Devereaux, 2025. "Costs of choice: reformulating price theory without heroic assumptions," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 202(3), pages 455-481, March.
    4. Signorino, Rodolfo, 2012. "Edward H. Chamberlin (1899 − 1967)," MPRA Paper 39213, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Claude Diebolt & Michael Haupert, 2021. "The Role of Cliometrics in History and Economics," Working Papers of BETA 2021-26, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    6. Luca Fiorito & Cosma Orsi, 2016. "Survival Value And A Robust, Practical, Joyless Individualism: Thomas Nixon Carver, Social Justice, And Eugenics," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza def044, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    7. Eusepi Giuseppe, 1991. "Before And After “Cost And Choice”," Journal des Economistes et des Etudes Humaines, De Gruyter, vol. 2(1), pages 135-150, March.
    8. Joel Potter & Shane Sanders, 2012. "Do Economists Recognize an Opportunity Cost When They See One? A Dismal Performance or an Arbitrary Concept?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 79(2), pages 248-256, October.
    9. Tavlas, George S, 1997. "Chicago, Harvard, and the Doctrinal Foundations of Monetary Economics," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(1), pages 153-177, February.
    10. Paul Dalziel & Jane Higgins, 2006. "Pareto, Parsons, and the Boundary Between Economics and Sociology," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(1), pages 109-126, January.
    11. Sandilands, Roger, 2009. "New Evidence on Allyn Young’s Style and Influence as a Teacher," SIRE Discussion Papers 2009-16, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE).
    12. Demade, Julien, 2018. "Produire un fait scientifique: Beveridge et le Comité international d'histoire des prix [The Production of Scientific Facts. The Methodology of the History of Prices Between Academic Structures and Intellectual Pursuits (late 19th-mid 20th century," MPRA Paper 97119, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Julien Demade, 2018. "The Production of Scientific Facts: Beveridge and the International Scientific Committee on Price History [Produire un fait scientifique : Beveridge et le Comité international d'histoire des prix]," Post-Print halshs-00688447, HAL.
    14. Sheetal Bharat, 2020. "Opportunity Cost: Beginning, Evolution And A Much-Needed Clarification," BASE University Working Papers 02/2020, BASE University, Bengaluru, India.
    15. Roger J. Sandilands, 1999. "New evidence on Allyn Young’s style and influence as a teacher," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(6), pages 453-480, December.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:gshwz. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: OSF (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://socarxiv.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.