Quesnay, Francois, << keh NAY, fron SWAH >> (1694-1774), was a French economist who made some of the earliest contributions to the development of economics. He headed a group of economic writers called the physiocrats. The physiocrats believed that natural laws direct economic activity, and they tried to discover these laws. They devised early forms of economic models, charts or sets of formulas showing the relationships between various parts of a nation’s economy.
Quesnay developed the idea that wealth flows continuously between producers and consumers. He and his followers considered land the only source of wealth. Only agriculture, they believed, could yield products of greater value than the resources used for production. In a chart called the Tableau Economique (1758), Quesnay traced the relationships between different economic classes, such as farmers and merchants. He showed how the wealth created by agricultural production circulates throughout the economy.
Quesnay was born on June 4, 1694, in Mere, France, near Paris. Before taking up economics, he studied medicine and served as the personal physician of King Louis XV of France. He died on Dec. 16, 1774.
