Producer choice and technical unemployment: John E. Tozer's mathematical model (1838)

Abstract

The paper presents Tozer's study of the effects of the mechanization of productive activities on employment as an effort to devise a mathematical model, as an analytical method that would be more general and robust than Ricardo's numerical examples. The contradictory nature of this achievement is emphasized: while with the help of algebra Tozer made significant progress in model building in economics, it is argued that his contribution to a deeper understanding of the phenomenon under study is much less satisfactory, due to the difficulties he faced in his effort to incorporate consumption and demand into a classical analytical framework