ABSTRACT
In this issue devoted to Hicks his main works are considered, that is to say ‘Value and Capital’ and his books on growth. His considerable originally and contribution are noted, but also his occasional lack of technical expertise and his very English reluctance to read other people’s work. It is argued that while his work was clearly in the Neo-classical tradition he was, it is argued, especially in his later years, uncomfortable in it. One of his great achievements was to propose a framework for dynamic analysis (based on a simple periodisation, “the week”): His work here was very influential. He returned to it in his later work on growth where he studied “the traverse” from one growth path to another. (But the complexity of this task was really to high for crisp results). This paper also re-evaluates the famous “Mr. Keynes and the Classics” which has lately been much derided. It is argued however that with the exception of his Trade Cycle book, Hicks never published anything which did not carry the marks of distinction. The “Revision of Demand Theory” and “A Suggestion for Simplifying the Theory of Money” are instances offered in evidence.
