TCD Economist’s Book Launched in Paris

Posted on: 30 June 2008

TCD economist Prof Antoin Murphy’s book ‘John Law – Economiste et Homme D’Etat’ was recently launched by Ambassador Anne Anderson at the Irish Embassy in Paris . The book documents the story of how John Law, a Scotsman who had been sentenced to the  death for murder in London , became Prime Minister of France and created Europe ‘s first stockmarket boom in 1720. 

Prof Murphy’s book was introduced by Prof Gilbert Faccarello, author of a book on Boisguilbert, who was the first economic writer to use the term laissez-faire. Guests at the event included descendants of two of France ‘s greatest economists, Anne Robert Jacques Turgot and Jean Baptiste Say. Madame Ysobel de Naurois Turgot represented the Turgot family, whose ancestor was the first economist to introduce capital into the financial lexicon. Jean Baptiste Say was represented by his relatives Henri and Richard Devin.

Prof Murphy’s book was first published by Oxford University Press as ‘John Law Economic Theorist and Policy-Maker’  in 1997 and was also been published in German as John Law Okonom und Visionar in 2002. His latest book ‘The Genesis of Macroeconomics’  will be published by Oxford University Press in the second
half of this year.