Theory of Business Enterprise First Edition - Thorstein Veblen - Bauman Rare Books

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Theory of Business Enterprise

Thorstein VEBLEN

Item#: 125877 We're sorry, this item has been sold

Theory of Business Enterprise

Theory of Business Enterprise

"THE INTELLECTUAL FATHER OF THE INSTITUTIONALIST SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS"

VEBLEN, Thorstein. The Theory of Business Enterprise. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1904. Octavo, original burgundy cloth, top edge gilt, uncut.

First edition of this work on business cycles, by one of the most important American economists.

In The Theory of Business Enterprise, Veblen lays out an interpretation of the business cycle centering on the inevitability of expansion and contraction. "In sharp contrast to other economists writing on business cycles in the early 20th century, Veblen saw no tendencies for the economic system to equilibrate. Rather, he saw unending instability and oscillation. Any analysis of how economies reached an equilibrium was therefore unscientific according to Veblen. For economic analysis to be scientific, it had to focus on the evolutionary changes of institutions over time rather than on the way an economy moves to a static equilibrium point… Veblen was one of two or three best-known American economists in the early 20th century… As a result of [his] work, Veblen has become the intellectual father of the institutionalist school of economics" (Pressman, 90-91). Owner ink signatures to front pastedown and first leaf of Preface.

Just a touch of rubbing to spine ends and corners. A bright, fresh, clean copy, very nearly fine.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
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