History of Economic Thought in France

<p>Traditionally there has been a long and sustained interest in studying the history of economic ideas in France. Interest appeared to wane after World War II but in recent decades there has been a marked renaissance of interest and research in the contributions of French-speaking authors. Drawing on the flow of recent research this book presents a new assessment of the history of political economy in France incorporating both novel presentations of some traditional subjects and topics that are not usually studied.</p><p>This first volume deals with the history of political economy in France in the Age of Enlightenment. After presenting a kind of “review of the troops” and some main developments inherited from preceding centuries the chapters are devoted to P. de Boisguilbert’s foundation of liberal political economy; J. Law’s monetary theory and policy; the many strands of “commerce politique”; the theoretical developments of F. Quesnay and the physiocratic movement; and A.-R.-J. Turgot’s J.-J.-L. Graslin’s and M.-J.-A.-N. Caritat de Condorcet’s sensationist political economy. The volume then examines some political critiques of liberal political economy and goes on with a study of the first attempts to quantify economic variables and to formalise the economic discourse. It concludes with a chapter on the importance of translations into French of books published abroad and with the main institutional and theoretical developments which happened during the French Revolution.</p><p><em>A History of Economic Thought in France</em> will be invaluable reading for advanced students and researchers of the history of economic thought political economy intellectual history and French history.</p>