A Theory of the Consumption Function.

FRIEDMAN, Milton.

$15,000.00

Item Number: 3694

Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1957.

First edition of Friedman’s magnum opus. Octavo, original cloth, graphs and charts throughout. Boldly signed by Milton Friedman on the front free endpaper. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed.

This economist's masterpiece of economic theory "reinterpreted that Keynesian concept of the consumption function by relating it to lifetime instead of current income. For its ingenious manipulation of data and its reconciliation of apparently conflicting evidence, this book must rank as one of the masterpiece of modern econometrics" (Blaug, 63). "Milton Friedman offered conservative answers to the great questions of economics, at the same time challenging economic thought since Keynes. In this book, Friedman disputes Keynes' idea that aggregate spending and income are directly linked (and therefore open to government influence). Rather, he writes, consumer spend independent of government policy, based on their expected long-term, or 'permanent' income. In all his writing, Friedman embraces a laissez-faire approach that celebrates individual freedom. He sees the ideal role for government as 'umpire', not 'parent' (NYPL Books of the Century 144).