The Level and Distribution of Income in Mid-Eighteenth-Century France, According to François Quesnay

Author: Branko Milanovic

Publication: Journal of the History of Economic Thought. vol. 37, no. 1. pp. 17-37

Date: March 2015

Abstract: 

The paper uses the data from François Quesnay’s writings to derive a social table for pre-revolutionary France and estimate the level and distribution of income. It formalizes Quesnay’s thinking about the process of production and situates it within the modern national accounting framework. Quesnay’s estimates are compared with some contemporary and recent estimates of eighteenth-century French incomes and inequality.

Link: The Level and Distribution of Income in Mid-Eighteenth-Century France, According to François Quesnay (PDF)