Joseph Massie (died 1784) was an 18th-century

political economist Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour mar ...

who wrote about 15

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...

s dealing with economic and financial questions. Although he was probably less important than writers such as

James Denham-Steuart Sir James Steuart, 3rd Baronet of Goodtrees and 7th Baronet of Coltness (; 21 October 1712 – 26 November 1780), also known as Sir James Steuart Denham and Sir James Denham Steuart, was a prominent Scottish Jacobite and author of "probably ...

Josiah Tucker Josiah Tucker (also Josias) (December 1713 – 4 November 1799), also known as Dean Tucker, was a Welsh churchman, known as an economist and political writer. He was concerned in his works with free trade, Jewish emancipation and American indep ...

, he contributed to the birth of political economy before

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...

. Like most of the political economists writing in the 18th century (and in opposition to those writing in the 17th century), he was not engaged in economic activity. He was indeed a writer and

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

, owning more than 1,500 economic

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions."Treat ...

s, extending from 1557 to 1763. He used this collection, together with contemporary trade statistics, to write some 15 pamphlets on various questions such as urbanism, commerce, finances (and especially the problem of the

public debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt, or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit oc ...

during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

References

*For 18th-century economical writers before Adam Smith: "Managing the Great Machine of Trade", in

Nancy F. Koehn Nancy may refer to: Places France * Nancy, France, a city in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle and formerly the capital of the duchy of Lorraine ** Arrondissement of Nancy, surrounding and including the city of Nancy ...

, ''The Power of Commerce'', London and Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994. *Access to the list of Massie's pamphlets is at th
English Short Title Catalogue
of the British Library.

External links

* 1784 deaths British economists English economists Year of birth unknown {{UK-economist-stub