The Relevance of the Marshallian Concept of Normality in Interior and in Inertial Dynamics as Revisited by G. SHACKLE and J. KORNAI

This study endeavours to explicate the relevance of the Marshallian concept of normal in the evolution of supply curves and the price mechanism in time. This concept is based on the contradictory or at least ambiguous combination of an ex ante perspective of expectation formation and an ex post inertial dynamics. We first explore the ex ante side of the contradiction by drawing upon the writings of G. Shackle. Subsequently, we examine J. Kornai's conception of the normal state as system-specific. We identify the relationship between normality and the co-ordination mechanism in Kornai's ex post approach which may be regarded as an alternative to Shackle's solution. Finally, the pertinence of the Marshallian concept of normal will be demonstrated as will its divergent developments by Shackle and Kornai. This leads us to the conclusion that a further development of the concept is required in order to reconcile both ex ante and ex post approaches which might be based on recent evolutionary analysis.