Ladislaus Bortkiewicz
Encyclopedia
Ladislaus Josephovich Bortkiewicz , August 7, 1868 – July 15, 1931) was a Russian economist
and statistician
of Polish
descent, who lived most of his professional life in Germany
, where he taught at Strassburg University (Privatdozent, 1895–1897) and Berlin University (1901–1931). He was of minor nobility: for his earlier publication he used the German style "von
" as Ladislaus von Bortkewitsch, for his later publications he changed it slightly to Ladislaus von Bortkiewicz.
Bortkiewicz was born in Saint Petersburg
, Imperial Russia (today Russia
) where he graduated from the Law Faculty in 1890.
In 1898 he published a book about the Poisson distribution
, titled The Law of Small Numbers. In this book he first noted that events with low frequency in a large population follow a Poisson distribution even when the probabilities of the events varied. It was that book that made the Prussian horse-kick data famous. The data give the number of soldiers killed by being kicked by a horse each year in each of 14 cavalry corps over a 20-year period. Bortkiewicz showed that those numbers follow a Poisson distribution. The book also examined data on child-suicides. Some have suggested that the Poisson distribution should have been named the "Bortkiewicz distribution."
Bortkiewicz attempted to predict how many pieces of artillery would overheat in an intensive battle. He failed in this because of his limited knowledge of thermodynamics
and metallic composition of cannons.
In political economy, Bortkiewicz is important for his analysis of Karl Marx
's reproduction schema in the last two volumes of Capital
. Bortkiewicz identified a transformation problem
in Marx's work. Making use of Dmitriev´s
analysis of Ricardo
, Bortkiewicz proved that the data used by Marx was sufficient to calculate the general profit rate and relative prices. Though Marx´s transformation procedure was not correct - because it didn´t calculate prices and profit rate simultaneously, but sequentially - Bortkiewicz has shown that it´s possible to get the correct results using the marxian framework, i.e. using the marxian variables constant capital and variable capital it is possible to obtain the profit rate and the relative prices in a 3 sector model. This "correction of the marxian system" has been the great contribution of Bortkiewicz to classical and marxian economics but it was completely unnoticed until Paul Sweezy
´s 1942 book "Theory of Capitalist Development". Piero Sraffa
(1960) has provided the complete generalization of the simultaneous method for classical and marxian analysis.
Bortkiewicz died in Berlin
, Germany
. His papers, including a voluminous correspondence file (some 1,000 letters 1876–1931), are deposited at Uppsala University in Sweden, except for his correspondence with Léon Walras
which went into the collection of the Walras scholar William Jaffe in the USA.
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and statistician
Statistician
A statistician is someone who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. The core of that work is to measure, interpret, and describe the world and human activity patterns within it...
of Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
descent, who lived most of his professional life in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where he taught at Strassburg University (Privatdozent, 1895–1897) and Berlin University (1901–1931). He was of minor nobility: for his earlier publication he used the German style "von
Von
In German, von is a preposition which approximately means of or from.When it is used as a part of a German family name, it is usually a nobiliary particle, like the French, Spanish and Portuguese "de". At certain times and places, it has been illegal for anyone who was not a member of the nobility...
" as Ladislaus von Bortkewitsch, for his later publications he changed it slightly to Ladislaus von Bortkiewicz.
Bortkiewicz was born in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Imperial Russia (today Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) where he graduated from the Law Faculty in 1890.
In 1898 he published a book about the Poisson distribution
Poisson distribution
In probability theory and statistics, the Poisson distribution is a discrete probability distribution that expresses the probability of a given number of events occurring in a fixed interval of time and/or space if these events occur with a known average rate and independently of the time since...
, titled The Law of Small Numbers. In this book he first noted that events with low frequency in a large population follow a Poisson distribution even when the probabilities of the events varied. It was that book that made the Prussian horse-kick data famous. The data give the number of soldiers killed by being kicked by a horse each year in each of 14 cavalry corps over a 20-year period. Bortkiewicz showed that those numbers follow a Poisson distribution. The book also examined data on child-suicides. Some have suggested that the Poisson distribution should have been named the "Bortkiewicz distribution."
Bortkiewicz attempted to predict how many pieces of artillery would overheat in an intensive battle. He failed in this because of his limited knowledge of thermodynamics
Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a physical science that studies the effects on material bodies, and on radiation in regions of space, of transfer of heat and of work done on or by the bodies or radiation...
and metallic composition of cannons.
In political economy, Bortkiewicz is important for his analysis of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
's reproduction schema in the last two volumes of Capital
Das Kapital
Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie , by Karl Marx, is a critical analysis of capitalism as political economy, meant to reveal the economic laws of the capitalist mode of production, and how it was the precursor of the socialist mode of production.- Themes :In Capital: Critique of...
. Bortkiewicz identified a transformation problem
Transformation problem
In 20th century discussions of Karl Marx's economics the transformation problem is the problem of finding a general rule to transform the "values" of commodities into the "competitive prices" of the marketplace...
in Marx's work. Making use of Dmitriev´s
Vladimir Karpovich Dmitriev
Vladimir Karpovich Dmitriev was a Russian mathematical economist and statistician. Dmitriev was born in Smolensk and completed his studies in Moscow.-Major works:...
analysis of Ricardo
David Ricardo
David Ricardo was an English political economist, often credited with systematising economics, and was one of the most influential of the classical economists, along with Thomas Malthus, Adam Smith, and John Stuart Mill. He was also a member of Parliament, businessman, financier and speculator,...
, Bortkiewicz proved that the data used by Marx was sufficient to calculate the general profit rate and relative prices. Though Marx´s transformation procedure was not correct - because it didn´t calculate prices and profit rate simultaneously, but sequentially - Bortkiewicz has shown that it´s possible to get the correct results using the marxian framework, i.e. using the marxian variables constant capital and variable capital it is possible to obtain the profit rate and the relative prices in a 3 sector model. This "correction of the marxian system" has been the great contribution of Bortkiewicz to classical and marxian economics but it was completely unnoticed until Paul Sweezy
Paul Sweezy
Paul Marlor Sweezy was a Marxist economist, political activist, publisher, and founding editor of the long-running magazine Monthly Review...
´s 1942 book "Theory of Capitalist Development". Piero Sraffa
Piero Sraffa
Piero Sraffa was an influential Italian economist whose book Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities is taken as founding the Neo-Ricardian school of Economics.- Early life :...
(1960) has provided the complete generalization of the simultaneous method for classical and marxian analysis.
Bortkiewicz died in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. His papers, including a voluminous correspondence file (some 1,000 letters 1876–1931), are deposited at Uppsala University in Sweden, except for his correspondence with Léon Walras
Léon Walras
Marie-Esprit-Léon Walras was a French mathematical economist associated with the creation of the general equilibrium theory.-Life and career:...
which went into the collection of the Walras scholar William Jaffe in the USA.
Major publications
- Die mittlere Lebensdauer. Die Methoden ihrer Bestimmung und ihr Verhältnis zur Sterblichkeitsmessung. Gustav Fischer, Jena 1893 (Göttinger Digitalisierungszentrum)
- "Review of Léon Walras, Éléments d'économie politique pure, 2e édit.", 1890, Revue d'économie politique
- Das Gesetz der kleinen Zahlen, 1898
- "Wertrechnung und Preisrechnung im Marxschen System", 1907, Archiv fur Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik.
- "On the Correction of Marx's Fundamental Theoretical Construction in the Third Volume of Capital."
- Die Iterationen, spanish version 1917
- Value and Price in the Marxian System, 1952, IEP.
- "Die Rodbertus'sche Grundrententheorie und die Marx'sche Lehre von der absoluten Grunderenten, from Die Archiv fur die Geschichte des Sozialismus und der Arbeiterbewegung, 1910-11"
External links
- Biographical sketch on the web site of the University of St. Andrews (in ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
) - New School: Ladislaus von Bortkiewicz