This volume is a general survey of pure value and distribution theory written for students who have completed a more discursive elementary course, or, perhaps, for a select group of students entering on a series of courses in economics. The book is divided into two parts. Book I is a good, intelligent treatment of the scope and methods of Economics. Book II contains an algebraic analysis of pricing in an economy of two individuals, and of pricing and distribution with two commodities. Changes in price and distribution equilibria over time are discussed and illustrated in a series of admirably executed three-dimensional diagrams.

This is the author's attempt to sharpen and clarify in his own mind the basic principles and concepts of price theory. It attempts to be precise and it is entirely devoted to the problems of price theory. It may help some students of economics to concentrate on the fundamental problems of price theory and to master rigorous techniques in a way a more discursive book could not.

Burton S. Keirstead (1907-1973) was Dow Professor of Political Economy and Chairman of the Department at McGill University, Visiting Professor in Economics at the University of Arizona, and Professor of Political Economy at the University of Toronto until his retirement in 1971.

Burton Keirstead's profile page

Harold A. Innis (1894–1952) was an economic historian at the University of Toronto. He wrote widely on economics, media, and communication theory. His notable works include The Bias of Communication, The Fur Trade in Canada, and The Code Fisheries, all published by University of Toronto Press.

Harold Innis' profile page