The Early Mercantilists: Thomas Mun (1571–1641), Edward Misselden (1608–1634) and Gerard de Malynes (1586–1623) (Pioneers in Economics series, 4)

Product Description The Mercantilist School never presented a common front but is associated with a common outlook: the idea of specie or bullion as the essence of wealth and the notion that a positive balance of trade is an index of national welfare. It is also associated with an emphasis on population growth and low wages, a concern with full employment and the far reaching denial of foreign trade as a source of net gain to the world as a whole; that is, international trade was regarded as a zero-sum gain and particular nations were thought to benefit from international trade only at the expense of others. The underlying idea that a permanent balance of trade surplus should be beneficial to a nation has been a source of discussion right down to the present day. About the Author Edited by the late Mark Blaug, former Professor Emeritus, University of London and Professor Emeritus, University of Buckingham, UK