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CHARLES RICHARD DE BUTRÉ: PIONEER OF MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2016

Loïc Charles  and
Christine Théré
Loïc Charles
Affiliation:
University of Paris 8 Saint-Denis (Led/EA 3391) and Ined, charles@ined.fr.
Christine Théré
Affiliation:
Ined, ch_there@ined.fr.
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Abstract

Historians of economics have acknowledged the significant role François Quesnay and the Physiocrats played in the early development of mathematical economics. It is, however, important to note that although the Tableau économique could well be translated into algebra, Quesnay never did it. As part of our research on Charles Richard de Butré, an obscure collaborator of François Quesnay, we have uncovered documents that show that he was one Physiocrat who did use algebra to explain his theoretical conceptions. In two texts written at the end of 1766 and the beginning of 1767, Butré systematically used algebra as an aid for economic reasoning. Our argument is that these texts provide very interesting insights into the development of early mathematical economics.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of the History of Economic Thought , Volume 38 , Issue 3 , September 2016 , pp. 311 - 327
Copyright
Copyright © The History of Economics Society 2016 

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