The Entrepreneur in the History of Political Economy

The Hunting for Heffalumps in the Early Economic Analysis
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-032-87757-0
Verlag: Routledge

Buch, Englisch, 168 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 426 g

Reihe: Routledge Studies in the History of Economics

Modern economic theory has marginalised the figure of the entrepreneur, despite their significance in economic activity. Entrepreneurs rose in prominence as economic agents during the Enlightenment, but no consensus on this issue was formed in the period. This book addresses the role of the entrepreneur in the economic thought of the 18th and early 19th centuries, filling a gap in the historiography of economics.

The book reassesses the conflicting views on the entrepreneur held by leading economic thinkers such as Richard Cantillon, David Hume, François Quesnay, A.R.J. Turgot, Adam Smith, Jeremy Bentham and Jean-Baptiste Say. They had differing opinions on the role of the entrepreneur in various economic debates, including economic growth, price formation, conception of production, construction of economic agents, innovation, and the market of capital. These debates and treatises highlight the importance of the entrepreneur and yet the figure was later excluded from the classical canon in economics. This book explores the emergence of entrepreneurial activity as a recognised factor of production in economic theory, the contributions and connections of Enlightenment economist, and the reasons for the concept's disappearance.

The book will be of great interest to readers in the history of economic thought, history of entrepreneurship and management, economic history and economic theory more broadly.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Menudo, José M.

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftsgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Tables. Acknowledgements. Aims & Scope I. A necessary theoretical framework II. Cantillon and the Physiocrates: from merchants to entrepreneurs III. A.-R.-J. Turgot: in search of an entrepreneurial factor of production IV. The British Tradition and the creative-disruptive entrepreneur V. Jean-Baptiste Say: an entrepreneur for classical economics VI. Final Chapter: Little to harvest in the wasteland Bibliography. Index.

Über Autor(innen)

José M. Menudo is a Full Professor of Economics at the Universidad Pablo de Olavide (Spain). His teaching and research focus on the history of economic thought. José received his BA in Economics in 1996 and his PhD in Economics in 2003. He is the author or editor of several books, including The Economic Thought of Sir James Steuart. First Economist of the Scottish Enlightenment (Routledge, 2019). He has also been recognised for his undergraduate teaching, graduate teaching, and graduate advising.