Two Hundred Years of Say's Law
Two Hundred Years of Say's Law

Author: Steven Kates

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13:

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From the 30 year General Glut debate at the start of the 19th century which focused solely on its truth, to the Keynesian revolution and Keynes's successful attempt to convince his fellow economists that Say's Law was wrong, it remains the most controversial principle in the history of economic theory. The central question - not resolved to this day - is this: can demand deficiency ever be the cause of recession and, if so, are greater levels of unproductive spending an appropriate response? The thrust of the argument is that if Say's Law is valid, much of modern macroeconomic theory is fatally flawed. This book explores the validity of this problematic principle, reminding us that this 200-year debate has not yet been laid to rest.

Letters to Thomas Robert Malthus on Political Economy and Stagnation of Commerce
Letters to Thomas Robert Malthus on Political Economy and Stagnation of Commerce

Author: Jean Baptiste Say

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2011-09-12

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 1105043126

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Jean Baptiste Say was that most unusual of economists, a theorist who lost his post (stripped of it by Napoleon) who then started a manufacturing firm and became very rich thereby. He was a leading French advocate of laissez-faire, influenced by Adam Smith and emphasizing the role of the entrepreneur in production. Thomas Jefferson received the present work from Say in February, 1804, just as he was reading Malthus on the topic of population, "a work of sound logic, in which some of the opinions of Adam Smith, as well as of the economists, are ably examined. I was pleased, on turning to some chapters where you [Say] treat the same questions, to find his opinions corroborated by yours." Actually part of Say's motive in writing these letters was to defend his famous law of production from Malthus' public criticism. Whatever the readers level of interest in economics, Say is always worth reading and this short work gives an overview of his principles and reasoning.