Jean- Baptiste Say: the project "For a monetary reform in David Ricardo's style"

Abstract

Say’s writings include an unpublished manuscript: For a Monetary Reform in Ricardo’s style. The subtitle of Say’s project: « Project for the repayment of public debt » clearly states the targeted goal. At that time France’s major problem is that of its backwardness in the field of credit payment as compared to Great Britain and the difficulty it experienced as regards the use of its savings in order to finance economic activity. Say was not a theoretician on metallism but had a practical approach of it. If he agrees with Ricardo on his analysis of money, it is precisely because this latter, in spite of his long-term analytical approach, resorted to the short-term approach as regards money that focussed on demand.