Abstract
Gossen was born in Düren (between Aachen and Cologne) on 7 September 1810; he died in Cologne on 13 February 1858. Little is known about his life, partly because the inconspicuous bachelor did not attract attention, partly because most of those who had known him were dead by the time he became famous, partly also because his literary remains, scant as they must have been, are lost. The principal biographical source is the essay by Walras (1885). The available facts are admirably surveyed by Georgescu-Roegen (1983), on whose masterly introduction to the English translation of Gossen’s book the following life sketch is mostly based.
Keywords
- Gossen, H. H.
- Imputation
- Intermediate products
- Invisible hand
- Libertarianism
- Marginal rate of substitution
- Marginal revolution
- Marginal utility
- Optimal allocation
- Optimal saving
- Rent
- Time preference
- Value theory
JEL Classifications
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsBibliography
Bagiotti, T. 1957. Reminiszenzen anlässlich des hundertsten Jahrestages des Erscheinens des Buches von Gossen. Zeitschrift für Nationalökonomie 17: 39–54.
Bousquet, G.-H. 1958. Un centenaire: l’oeuvre de H.H. Gossen (1810–1858) et savéritable structure. Revue d’économie politique 68: 499–523.
Edgeworth, F.Y. 1896. Gossen, Hermann Heinrich. In Dictionary of political economy, ed. R.H. Inglis Palgrave, vol. 2. London: Macmillan.
Georgescu-Roegen, N. 1983. Introduction to H.H. Gossen. The laws of human relations and the rules of human action derived therefrom. Trans. R.C. Blitz. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Jevons, W.S. 1879. The theory of political economy, 2nd ed. London: Macmillan.
Kautz, J. 1858/1860. Theorie und Geschichte der National-Oekonomik, 2 vols. Vienna: Gerold.
Krauss, O. 1910. Gossen, Hermann Heinrich. In Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. 55. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot.
Lange, F.A. 1875. Die Arbeiterfrage. Ihre Bedeutung für Gegenwart und Zukunft, 3rd ed. Winterthur: Bleuler-Hausheer.
Lexis, W. 1895. Art. Grenznutzen. Handwörterbuch der Staatswissenschaften, vol. 1 (Supplement). Jena: Fischer.
Liefmann, R. 1910. Hermann Heinrich Gossen und seine Lehre. Zur hundertsten Wiederkehr seines Geburtstages am 7. September 1910. Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik 40: 483–498.
Neubauer, J. 1931. Die Gossenschen Gesetze. Zeitschrift für Nationalökonomie 2: 733–753.
Pantaleoni, M. 1889. Principii di economia pura. Florence: G. Barbéra. Pure economics Trans. T.B. Bruce. London: Macmillan, 1898.
Riedle, H. 1953. Hermann Heinrich Gossen 1810–1858. Ein Wegbereiter der modernen ökonomischen Theorie. Winterthur: Keller.
Walras, L. 1885. Un économiste inconnu: Hermann-Henri Gossen. Journal des Economistes. Reprinted in L. Walrus, Etudes d’économie sociale. Lausanne: Rouge, 1896.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Copyright information
© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Niehans, J. (2018). Gossen, Hermann Heinrich (1810–1858). In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_811
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_811
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-95188-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95189-5
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences