CAPITAL AND WAGES: A Lakatosian History of the Wages Fund Doctrine

by John Vint, Mark Blaug (Foreword by)

For almost a century the wages fund doctrine played an important role in classical economic thought, forming the theoretical basis of the classical analysis of the labour market. In Capital and Wages John Vint applies Imre Lakatos's methodology of scientific research programmes (MSRP) to the history of the wages fund doctrine to analyse and appraise its development and decline. After discussing the initial theoretical leaps that the wages fund doctrine made in the hands of Ricardo, Senior and Mill, Dr Vint argues that this progress came to a halt in the 1850s. He then analyses the major debate on the doctrine which took place in the 1860s by using the tools and concepts of the Lakatosian framework. This important book will be welcomed as a significant contribution to the history of economic thought and to our understanding of the development of classical economic thought.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published August 9, 1994