Esta dissertação de mestrado tem como objetivo apontar alguns indícios de uma transformação epistêmica a partir dos escritos de três economistas marginalistas: Menger, Jevons e Walras. Trata-se de um estudo dos discursos do saber econômico do final do século XIX, orientado por um uso do pensamento de Michel Foucault. O texto foi dividido em um capítulo de introdução, três de desenvolvimento e um capítulo de considerações finais. A introdução deste estudo dedicou-se à apresentação de um quadro geral da Economia Política da primeira metade do século XIX. A partir do pensamento de David Ricardo e também de Karl Marx, foi possível reconstituir o contexto teórico no qual um saber baseado na teoria do valor-trabalho e constituído por uma antropologia fundante é capaz de ordenar sua intelecção pela figura do homem. Esta introdução teve como propósito a apresentação do cenário teórico no qual o pensamento marginalista pôde se constituir. O primeiro capítulo de desenvolvimento do estudo tratou da caracterização do chamado momento marginalista, pontuando sua singularidade frente ao pensamento econômico do século XIX. Também foi exibida neste capítulo a teoria marginalista do valor, como uma ruptura com a teoria do valor-trabalho. Com esta análise, indicou-se a pretensão dos marginalistas de refundação da Ciência Econômica. Para além disso, a emergência de uma teoria do valor ancorada nos julgamentos individuais dos agentes econômicos propiciou o destaque de três características marcantes do pensamento marginalista: a constituição de novas bases para a cientificidade do saber econômico, uma nova orientação do eixo temporal, bem como um deslocamento do lugar ocupado pelo homem na inteligibilidade da economia. O segundo capítulo centrou-se no estudo da troca e dos preços nos escritos dos autores marginalistas. Esta leitura permitiu compreender o papel de destaque que a esfera da circulação de bens passou a ter no momento marginalista. No mais, também foi salientado como a maneira de constituição dos preços pôde representar uma forma de governo da pluralidade dos julgamentos individuais de valor. Com esta análise se indicou a maneira pela qual essa Ciência Econômica dos marginalistas produziu sua validade universal. O último capítulo de desenvolvimento deste trabalho debruçou-se sobre a concepção de mercado emergente no momento marginalista. Com o estudo do equilíbrio geral do mercado e da Lei de Walras, caracterizou-se o mercado como uma máquina capaz de ordenar toda a economia. Ao fim deste capítulo indicou-se o aparecimento desta concepção de mercado como um acontecimento, capaz de tomar o lugar ocupado pelo homem na ordenação saber econômico. Como considerações finais, apontou-se no momento marginalista a constituição de um saber que funda sua cientificidade no governo da multiplicidade de julgamentos individuais de valor. Também foi pontuado como o pensamento marginalista foi capaz de ordenar a economia de modo a atribuir às expectativas no futuro a constituição de sua conjuntura presente. Por fim, indicou-se que o mercado no momento marginalista funciona como uma máquina que se alimenta da liberdade fundadora do valor. Estes três eixos: a ciência, o tempo e o mercado, foram destacados neste estudo como indícios de uma transformação epistêmica. / The overarching goal of this masters dissertation is to uncover indications of an epistemic transformation found within the writings of three marginalist economists: Menger, Jevons and Walras. The diagnosis of this phenomenon was entirely guided by Foucaults thought framework. This text is divided into an introductory chapter, three development chapters, and closing remarks. The introductory chapter presents a general framework of the Political Economy in the early 19th century. Building from David Ricardos and Karl Marxs lines of thought, it was possible to reconstruct a theoretical framework guided by the labor theory of value and constituted by foundational anthropology enabling its understanding through the figure of man. In this introduction, the goal was to present the theoretical context in which marginalist thought can be built. The first development chapter addresses the characterization of the marginalist moment, punctuating its singularity from the perspective of the 19th century economic framework. Furthermore, this chapter presents the marginalist theory of value, as a rupture from the labor theory of value. This analysis revealed the marginalists pretention of economics refoundation. In addition, the emergence of a value theory based on the individual judgments of each economic agent propitiated the constitution of new bases for the scientificity of economic knowledge, a new orientation to the time axis, as well dislocation of the place occupied by man in the intelligibility of the economy. The second chapter focuses on trade and pricing in the writings of marginalist authors. Through this study, an understanding emerged of the prominent role that the circulation of goods played in the \"marginalist moment\". Moreover, a case is made for how price determination has represented a form of governance of the plurality of individual judgments of value. This analysis revealed how Economic Science of the marginalists established its universal validity. The last chapter of this work focuses on how market conceptualization ultimately emerged in the \"marginalist moment\". In light of the markets general equilibrium and Walras Law, the market is characterized in this chapter as a machine capable of commanding the entire economy. At the end of this chapter, market conceptualization is indicated as an event capable of taking mans place at the economic knowledges ordination. The final remarks present the argument that the \"marginalist moment\" marks the establishment of a knowledge framework that bases its scientificity on the governance of the multiplicity of individual judgments of value. It is also punctuated how marginalist thinking was able to command the economy with the goal of attributing the constitution of its current situation to future expectations. Lastly, the market in the \"marginalist moment\" is presented as a machine that feeds on the founding freedom of value. These three axes: science, time and the market, were highlighted in this study as signs of an epistemic transformation.

Rev. version of the author's thesis (doctoral). / Includes bibliographical references and index.

Proefschrift Universiteit van Amsterdam. / Omslagtitel: Mechanical reasoning: William Stanley Jevons and the making of modern economics. Met index, lit. opg. - Met samenvatting in het Nederlands.

Thesis (M. Econ.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-100).

Thesis (M.Econ.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-100). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duke University, 1937. / Without thesis note. Description based on print version record.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-01T23:39:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_8245_194-Vinícius de Souza Baptista.pdf: 1751010 bytes, checksum: 8aafd936086e86b51dcf1cfef3770f0b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-05-19 / Ao se estudar História do Pensamento Econômico (HPE) nos livros-textos de graduação, percebe-se que o tratamento dado ao triunvirato formado por William Stanley Jevons, Léon Walras e Carl Menger mostra que suas ideias eram homogêneas. Entretanto, na leitura dos principais livros de Jevons, percebe-se que há um distanciamento de ideias e de definições bastante grande entre ele e, por exemplo, Walras, tal como ambos também concluíram em suas correspondências. A intenção desse trabalho é de revisitar as obras de William Stanley Jevons a fim de desomogeneizá-lo dos outros dois marginalistas. Para isso, na primeira parte desse trabalho, serão analisadas as principais obras de lógica de Jevons e de sua obra em metodologia The Principles of Science, uma vez que, segundo Mosselmans (1998), Stanley Jevons tentou aplicar seu conhecimento em lógica na Economia. No segundo capítulo, de posse dos argumentos lógicos e metodológicos de Jevons, será feita uma análise histórica e econômica da obra The Coal Question e suas consequências na vida acadêmica de Jevons. Neste mesmo capítulo serão analisadas as Teorias da Utilidade, da Troca e do Trabalho de modo que se evidenciem os principais conceitos e métodos matemáticos utilizados pro Jevons no livro The Theory of Political Economy. Também será analisada a Teoria do Sun-spot considerada o primeiro passo na Manchester Statistical Society em analisar os ciclos econômicos. Por fim, no último capítulo, será exposta a tese de William Jaffé sobre a desomogeneização do triunvirato marginalista e, nas seções subsequentes, haverá a tese levantada por Sandra Peart sobre a re-homogeneizaçao de Jevons e Menger.

L’épuisement des énergies fossiles est un thème d’actualité dont les prémices datent, selon l’opinion courante, des années 1970 et du premier choc pétrolier. En réalité, c’est une préoccupation plus ancienne, intimement liée à l’ère industrielle. Dans la deuxième partie du XIXème siècle, les économistes se sont penchés sur la question de l'épuisement des minerais, ‘objet non identifié’ jusqu'alors et nécessitant la mise sur pied de nouveaux outils d'analyse (effet-rebond chez Jevons, rente minière chez Marshall-Einaudi notamment). Avec le progrès des techniques et l'apparition de nouvelles énergies (pétrole, hydro-électricité), leurs craintes de déclin industriel se sont progressivement dissipées dans les années 1910 et 1920. Mais ces évolutions tenant à l’histoire des faits ne sont pas les seules à considérer. Des facteurs internes à la discipline économique, comme l'émergence du marginalisme dans les années 1870 et de la théorie de l'épargne et du capital dans les années 1890, ont aussi changé le regard des économistes sur la question de l'épuisement des ressources. Pourquoi ? Comment ? Quels enseignements peut-on en tirer pour les défis environnementaux d'aujourd'hui ? Voilà les questions qui sont traitées dans ce travail de thèse. / Fossil fuels exhaustion is a current topic. It is often said that its first presages appeared in the 1970s with the first oil shock. Actually, this exhaustion fear is much older than that, it started with the Industrial Revolution and kept going since then. In the second part of the 19th century, some economists focused their attention on the mineral resources depletion, which was at the time an ‘unknown item’ that necessitated the creation of new concepts and new analytical tools to deal with (for example Jevons’ rebound-effect, Marshall-Einaudi’s mining rent). In the 1910s and 1920s, thanks to technical progress and the development of new energies (oil, hydro-electricity), their fears about industrial decline progressively dissipated. Yet, these factual evolutions are not the only ones to consider. Internal factors, inside economic science (marginalism in the 1870s, capital theory in the 1890s), also shaped economists’ viewpoint on resources exhaustion. Why? How? What lessons can we get from this period for our current environmental challenges? These are the questions that are studied in this thesis.

How can we explain the paradoxical outcomes of resource efficiency? As a key pillar of worldwide sustainable development policies, the concept of resource efficiency has become increasingly important to scrutinize. The overreliance on efficiency coupled with the intention of conserving scarce resources can sometimes backfire. Understanding the intermediate process that leads to the negative, paradoxical outcome is imperative for a sustainable future, especially for societies that risks resource degradation. This study takes the explanatory route and aims to problematize the usage of efficient technology in a resource scarce developing country, namely, Morocco. It is argued that the causal mechanism which links the independent variable (drip irrigation technology) to the observed outcome (total increased resource consumption) has to do with production and consumption processes, which is theorized to be spurred by efficiency. These mechanisms have been derived from the theory of Jevons Paradox and juxtaposed with empirical findings from the Guerdane irrigation scheme, a scheme which sought to increase productivity and simultaneously reduce water scarcity. The study makes use of the case-study approach and the process-tracing method. The chosen method provides a means for establishing a timeline of events, alternative explanations, as well as providing grounds for a primary explanation for the observed outcome. The findings point to reduced labour costs and initial water savings as the empirically derived causal mechanisms. These mechanisms, spurred by the implementation of drip irrigation technology, consequently gave rise to the expansion of irrigated land which in turn increased water withdrawals and eventually resulted in a paradoxical, negative outcome where the total consumption of water resources increased. Taken together, these results deepen our understanding of the problematic usage of efficient technology when different types of social processes are not accounted for.

Today, a lot of resources are put into researching technological solutions concerning “carbon neutral” displacement materials and products, with the common goal of mitigating the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The aim of this study was to find out whether a displacement of concrete to glulam beams, in the construction industry, could create substitution effects that reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. To go about this, interviews were conducted with one producer of glulam beams, four construction companies and a non-profit foundation that funds research in fire prevention. Furthermore, sustainability declarations of glulam beams from three glulam beam producers, were analyzed. To compare carbon dioxide emissions in different scenarios, the interview results, as well as the sustainability declarations of the glulam beam producers, were compared and examined. Calculations of carbon dioxide sequestered in glulam beams and emitted from the concrete industry in Sweden were also regarded. The results showed that the possible substitution effects derived from a displacement of concrete to glulam beams, would have a small mitigating impact on the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. However, recent findings point out that the pay back period for harvested trees, is longer than assumed. Moreover, the concrete production is not decreasing, but increasing. In respect of Jevons’ paradox (which concludes that higher efficiency in production leads to more consumption, not less), the conclusion of this study, was that no substitution will mitigate enough CO2 in the atmosphere. Our approach to consumption is what must change.