From 1759 to 1762, François Quesnay had systematically appealed to an obscure physiocrat, Charles Richard de Butré, when he had to make a numerical estimate or to do a nonelementary computation. In the present article, we use two important unpublished writings by Butré to discuss and assess...

Starting from the historiographical contribution of Quesnay’s works edition INED 2005, the article shows the historical and analytical issues that editing raises for the historian of economic thought. The authors argue that editing can be a major stage in the work of interpretation. The...

Using archival materials, we investigate the scientific practices of François Quesnay and the individuals who worked with him in relation to their social background. Our contention is that, before 1764, the group of authors who shared Quesnay's commitment to an agrarian economic theory are best...

This article investigates the scientific practices—and their transformations across time—of the physiocrats in relation to their social background. Our contention is that, in this regard, the physiocratic movement can be broken down in two successive creative communities: The writing...

Brian (Éric), Théré (Christine).- The chequered career of Louis Messance (2 January 1734-19 April 1796) Louis Messance, author of Recherches sur la population de la France (1766) and Nouvelles Recherches (1788), is considered to be one of the founders of demography. He yet remains a little...