marginalisti

Marginalisti refers to economists who employ marginal analysis in their theories. This approach focuses on the effects of small, incremental changes on economic variables, such as the additional satisfaction gained from consuming one more unit of a good (utility) or the additional cost incurred by producing one more unit of output (marginal cost). The marginalist school of thought emerged in the late 19th century, with key figures including William Stanley Jevons, Carl Menger, and Léon Walras. They independently developed similar ideas, leading to what is often called the "marginal revolution."

Marginalism provided a new framework for understanding value, shifting the focus from the labor theory of value, which had dominated classical economics, to subjective individual preferences. This subjective theory of value, based on utility, became a cornerstone of neoclassical economics. Marginal analysis is applied across various economic fields, including microeconomics to determine optimal consumption and production levels, and macroeconomics to analyze changes in aggregate demand and supply. The concept of marginal utility, for instance, explains why the price of water, essential for life, is typically lower than the price of diamonds, which are less essential but more scarce and highly valued at the margin. The marginalist approach emphasizes rational decision-making by individuals and firms who weigh marginal benefits against marginal costs to maximize their objectives.