Book Details

• Author: Christian Bidard

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

• Language: English

• Edition: 1

• ISBN: 9780415746540

• Pages: 308

• Binding: Paperback

• Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches

About The Book

Maurice Potron (1872–1942), a French Jesuit mathematician, created an innovative economic model that remains largely unknown. In this book, Christian Bidard brings Potron’s economic writings to life through translated texts, accompanied by an in-depth introduction based on extensive archival research and family documents, detailing Potron's life and intellectual environment.

Despite having no formal education in economics, Potron devised a general disaggregated economic model to address the ‘economic evils’ of his time. Drawing inspiration from the social doctrine of the Church, Potron developed a mathematical and engineering-based approach to defining ideal conditions in production, employment, prices, and wages. He introduced four key principles—‘sufficient production,’ the ‘right to rest,’ ‘justice in exchange,’ and the ‘right to live’—to establish satisfactory economic regimes and explore their feasibility.

This book highlights Potron’s pioneering contributions to economics, including his development of a full input-output model, use of the Perron-Frobenius theorem, duality results, and formulation of the Hawkins-Simon condition—concepts that are now fundamental in modern economic theory.

Ideal for postgraduate students and researchers in economics, this book offers essential insights into the history of mathematical economics and linear production theory.