Contenu de l'article

Titre Théorie des prix et liberté d'exportation du blé chez Quesnay : une interprétation
Auteur Loïc Charles
Mir@bel Revue Cahiers d'économie politique
Numéro no 32, automne 1998
Page 41-65
Résumé anglais This paper will show that the current historical and analytical interpretations of Quesnay's theory of the liberalization of grain trade has major shortcomings. The first point will focus on the historical roots of Quesnay's analysis. Then, I will present the mechanism of the equalization of grain's market prices which allowed a raise of the farmer's net revenue without making the consumer pay for it. According to the commentators, the liberalization by making the competition tougher for the middle-men (traders) brings down their profit to zero. Nevertheless, this interpretation lacks textual evidence. It will be shown that Quesnay's writings leave the door open for another interpretation of the mechanism which does not consider the role of the trader. It is based on the idea that Quesnay's theory of liberalization relies on two different arguments - the equalization of prices and the raise of the corn's market price in the normal year - which he calls merely, and mistakenly, "equalization of prices".
Source : Éditeur (via Persée)
Article en ligne http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/cep_0154-8344_1998_num_32_1_1226