The financial experiment of John Law

Abstract

This thesis aimed to provide a comprehensive study of the experiment of John Law. The position was taken that past studies of Law had been either incomplete, in that they did not examine his theories and operations as a whole, or that they had not been based on an objective appraisal of his system. As a result of this, Law had not been given credit for the innovations in monetary theory that he introduced, and there was a need for an interpretation of Law in the light of recent developments in economic theory. The historical method was used, the actual operation of the financial system of Law being examined from the initiation of the experiment in 1715 to the collapse in 1720. This study constitutes the body of the thesis. A survey was made of French economic history for the period preceding the period covered by the system of Law to place the setting in its proper focus, as some of the causes for the collapse of the system may be found in the institutions of eighteenth century France [TRUNCATED]