Wolfgang Mühlpfordt - ein Vorgänger von Bortkiewicz? Zu den theoretischen Quellen des sogenannten Transformationsproblems

This article will be a contribution to that discussion from a historical point of view. It is shown that the correct mathematical treatment of the transformation between values and prices can already be found in the works of the unknown German economist Wolfgang Mühlpfordt. His writings appeared more than ten years before Bortkiewicz's famous articles were published. Mühlpfordt has developed an approach that is an anticipation of Bortkiewicz's solution and - in some respect - Sraffa's theory too.