Jevons, William Stanley
Published: September 23, 2008, 2:09 pm
Updated: September 23, 2008, 2:09 pm
This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor:
Peter Saundry
William Stanley Jevons.
William Stanley Jevons (1835-1882), a British economist, wrote The Coal Question in 1865, in which he called attention to possible socioeconomic impacts of the exhaustion of Britain's coal supplies. Jevons reasoned that as coal reserves were depleted, the price of coal would rise, making it economically feasible to extract coal from poorer or deeper seams. Jevons failed to anticipate the fact that as the price of an energy source rises, firms have an incentive to develop substitutes. Thus, he did not anticipate the development of oil and gas that ultimately replaced coal as the dominant energy source. While The Coal Question received great publicity, Jevons' major contribution was as a founder of the so-called marginal revolution in economics. Replacing the labor theory of value held by the classical economists, neoclassical economists believed that value is derived from people’s utility (satisfaction) from consuming goods and services.
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Citation
Cutler J. Cleveland (Lead Author);Peter Saundry (Topic Editor) "Jevons, William Stanley". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth September 23, 2008; Last revised Date September 23, 2008; Retrieved May 20, 2013 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Jevons,_William_Stanley>
The Author
Cutler J. Cleveland is Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University, where he also is on the faculty of the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies. Professor Cleveland is Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Energy (Elsevier, 2004), winner of an American Library Association award, the Dictionary of Energy (Elsevier, 2005), Handbook of Energy (Elsevier, forthcoming), and is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Earth. He is the recipient of the Adelma ... (Full Bio)
William Stanley Jevons.
William Stanley Jevons (1835-1882), a British economist, wrote The Coal Question in 1865, in which he called attention to possible socioeconomic impacts of the exhaustion of Britain's coal supplies. Jevons reasoned that as coal reserves were depleted, the price of coal would rise, making it economically feasible to extract coal from poorer or deeper seams. Jevons failed to anticipate the fact that as the price of an energy source rises, firms have an incentive to develop substitutes. Thus, he did not anticipate the development of oil and gas that ultimately replaced coal as the dominant energy source. While The Coal Question received great publicity, Jevons' major contribution was as a founder of the so-called marginal revolution in economics. Replacing the labor theory of value held by the classical economists, neoclassical economists believed that value is derived from people’s utility (satisfaction) from consuming goods and services.
Further Reading
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