‎SAY, J.B.‎
‎Traité d'économie politique, ou simple exposition de la manière dont se forment, se distribuent et se consomment les richesses. Troisième édition, à laquelle se trouve joint un épitome des principes fondamentaux de l'économie politique.‎

‎Paris, Deterville, 1817. 2 volumes. 79, (1), 452; (4), 486 pp. 8vo. Contemporary tree calf, spines richly gilt in compartments, red labels with gilt lettering, very lightly worn. Kress 7041; Goldsmiths 21737; Teilhac 376; this edition not in Einaudi and not in Mattioli. Third edition. Jean-Baptiste Say is primarily remembered for Say's Law: 'that supply creates its own demand'. Say never resolved his differences with Ricardo as to whether value was based on labour or utility, but in an attempt to clarify his position in 1822, Say spoke of 'the quantity of useful things' as being crucial. In his correspondance with Sismondi and Malthus, he came finally to reconcile Say's Law with their theories of aggregate disequilibrium. Say was a policy-orientated economist rather than a model builder like Ricardo. In his introduction to the new restrictions added to his chapter on the law of the markets, Say remarked: 'Now, we are studying practical political economy here. To Malthus he wrote: 'It is better to stick to facts and their consequences than to syllogisms' (New Palgrave, iv, p. 249). ‎

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