Sraffa's mathematical economics: a constructive interpretation

K. Vela Velupillai

Journal of Economic Methodology, 2008, vol. 15, issue 4, 325-342

Abstract: The claim in this paper is that Sraffa employed a rigorous logic of mathematical reasoning in his book, Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities (PCC), in such a way that the existence proofs were constructive. This is the kind of mathematics that was prevalent at the beginning of the nineteenth century, which was dominated by the concrete, the constructive and the algorithmic. It is, therefore, completely consistent with the economics of the nineteenth century, which was the fulcrum around which the economics of PCC was conceived.

Keywords: existence proofs; constructive mathematics; algorithmic mathematics; mathematical economics; mathematical methodology; B23; B24; B31; B41; B51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1080/13501780802112858

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