Alfred Marshall's Idea of Progress and Sustainable Development

Abstract

The goal of bettering the quality of life (for the present and the future) is the inspiring principle of sustainable development, but even though this word is recent, it is not brand-new. Many of the conditions set for economic development to be ‘‘sustainable’’ were already recognized and stated by a few economists of the past. Among them Alfred Marshall deserves special mention. In this paper we shall attempt to strengthen this interpretation of Marshall’s contribution, in order to draw attention to interesting but less well-known aspects of his thought

Pigouvian versus Marshallian tax: market failure, public intervention and the problem of externalities

“…This explains, for instance, Marshall's involvement into the 'Society for Promoting Industrial Villages' and the 'Garden City Movement', two associations that aimed to improve the quality of life of the urban population, especially of the poor (see Caldari 2004). Unpolluted air, comfortable houses, and playgrounds are all necessary conditions to promote a better quality of life, and therefore to improve people's daily life and character.…”

“…(Marshall, Notes on Progress, in Caldari and Nishizawa 2011: 6-7) The fresh-air rate is an example of this. The consequences of a lack of fresh air or green spaces are a serious threat to people's health, physical and moral, and therefore cause a detrimental effect on the most important source of progress, economic progress included (Caldari 2004). It is not mainly a matter of reaching a monetary balance, but of quality of people's lives.…”

Mechanism of ensuring financial sustainability of agricultural enterprises

“…5. The idea that human well-being cannot be evaluated simply in "quantity of goods" but has to be considered in terms of quality of life [Caldari 2004]. In turn, Quesnay, Walras, Marx and Neumann identified the concept of sustainability with the concept of economic equilibrium [Francois at al.…”

La demografía importa: convergencia y cambio estructural por defecto en las regiones y provincias españolas, 1959-1999

“…Más adelante, el neoclásico Marshall consideró inherente al desarrollo económico el crecimiento de la humanidad en número (cfr. Caldari, 2004). Y, aunque Malthus y Ricardo, con su "análisis estático", incidieron en los límites al crecimiento impuestos por el aumento de la población (en el contexto histórico de una economía agraria en la que el factor tierra quedaba rígidamente sujeto a rendimientos decrecientes), la vuelta al "enfoque dinámico" de Smith protagonizada por Hansen (1939) se produjo precisamente cuando la tasa de crecimiento demográfico empezó a desacelerarse en los países desarrollados.…”

“…146, julio-septiembre / 2006 Introducción A lfred Marshall escribió en una ocasión que "el crecimiento de la humanidad en número [...] es el fin de todos nuestros estudios" (cfr. Caldari, 2004). El objetivo de este trabajo es mostrar cómo la convergencia económica y el cambio estructural de numerosas regiones y provincias españolas se ha producido en las últimas cuatro décadas por defecto, esto es, sobre la base de su declive demográfico (ya sea en términos absolutos o relativos).…”