INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS

Economics is the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses. Lionel Robbins

Schools of thought Often presented as coherent, opposed schools of thought 2. But, actually, schools of thought are most often neither as coherent, nor as self-aware, nor as opposed as usually presented

MARGINALISM (late 19th century-today) Context The increasing prestige of mathematics b) A focus on the individual 2. Major authors William Stanley Jevons b) Alfred Marshall c) Leon Walras 3. Major ideas Marginal utility analysis and equilibrium b) Mathematical modeling

MARXISM (mid-19th century-today) Context Industrial revolution in full swing b) Internal migrations c) Deprivation 2. Major authors Karl Marx b) Many others 3. Major ideas Labor theory of value b) Class conflict and revolution

What is the relationship between the wage and the number of working hours offered? Who chooses the distribution of total hours between work and leisure? Does only the wage affect the choice of working hours?