recil, 1877- 7 BY A. C. PIGOU, M.A., F.S.S. FELLOW OF THE ROYAL ECONOMIC SOCIETY; FELLOW OF KING'S London NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1905 All rights reserved с PREFACE THE scope and purpose of this book is sufficiently explained in the introductory chapter to Part I. The work upon which it is based was begun in the spring of 1902. The preliminary results were used in an essay which obtained the Adam Smith prize at Cambridge in 1903, and also in a course of lectures delivered by me as Jevons Memorial Lecturer at University College, London. Since that time I have carried the analytical work somewhat further, have endeavoured to take account of a number of recent writings bearing upon the subject, and have recast the whole of my original draft. The investigation has proved difficult, and the conclusions now offered are tentative and provisional. On the one hand, for the successful application of general economic principles to the problems of real life, there is needed an experience and a knowledge of men, with which an academic student can scarcely be equipped. In all probability, therefore, there will A |