Petty, Sir William

Petty, Sir William
born May 26, 1623, Romsey, Hampshire, Eng.
died Dec. 16, 1687, London

British political economist and statistician.

He gave up a life at sea to study medicine, and taught anatomy at the University of Oxford. He founded mines, ironworks, and fisheries in Ireland. He was also responsible for several inventions and was a founder of the Royal Society. Petty was an originator of political arithmetic, which he defined as the art of reasoning by figures upon things relating to government. In his best-known work, Treatise of Taxes and Contributions (1662), he favoured giving free rein to the forces of individual self-interest but declared the maintenance of a high level of employment to be a duty of the state. He also argued that the labour necessary for production was the main determinant of exchange value.

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▪ English political economist
born May 26, 1623, Romsey, Hampshire, England
died December 16, 1687, London
 English political economist and statistician whose main contribution to political economy, Treatise of Taxes and Contributions (1662), examined the role of the state in the economy and touched on the labour theory of value.

      Petty studied medicine at the Universities of Leiden, Paris, and Oxford. He was successively a physician, a professor of anatomy at Oxford, a professor of music in London, inventor, surveyor and landowner in Ireland, and a member of Parliament.

      As a proponent of the empirical scientific doctrines of the newly established Royal Society, of which he was a founder, Petty was one of the originators of political arithmetic, which he defined as the art of reasoning by figures upon things relating to government. His Essays in Political Arithmetick and Political Survey or Anatomy of Ireland (1672) presented rough but ingeniously calculated estimates of population and of social income. His ideas on monetary theory (money) and policy were developed in Verbum Sapienti (1665) and in Quantulumcunque Concerning Money, 1682 (1695).

      Petty originated many of the concepts that are still used in economics today. He coined the term full employment, for example, and stated that the price of land equals the discounted present value of expected future rent on the land.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Petty, Sir William — (26 may. 1623, Romsey, Hampshire, Inglaterra–16 dic. 1687, Londres). Economista político y estadístico británico. Renunció a una vida en el mar para estudiar medicina. Enseñó anatomía en la Universidad de Oxford. En Irlanda fundó minas,… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • PETTY, SIR WILLIAM —    political economist, born in Hampshire; was a man of versatile genius, varied attainments, and untiring energy; was skilled in medicine, in music, in mechanics, and in engineering, as well as economics, to which especially he contributed by… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • William Petty — William Petty. Sir William Petty (26 de mayo de 1623 Londres, 16 de diciembre 1687) fue un filósofo, médico, economista y estadístico inglés.[1 …   Wikipedia Español

  • William Petty — Sir William Petty (* 27. Mai 1623 in Romsey in der Grafschaft Hampshire; † 16. Dezember 1687 in London) war ein Ökonom, Wissenschaftler und Philosoph. Er gilt als der Vater der englischen Nationalökonomie …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • PETTY (W.) — PETTY sir WILLIAM (1623 1687) Tour à tour marin, chirurgien, membre du Parlement, homme public et homme d’affaires, sir William Petty est surtout connu pour ses écrits économiques. L’ensemble de son œuvre permet de le situer comme l’un des plus… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Petty — Petty, Sir William, engl. Volkswirt, geb. 26. Mai 1623 in Rompy bei London, seit 1652 Generalarzt der Armee von Irland, Mitbegründer der Royal Society, starb 16. Dez. 1687 in London; ein Vorgänger von Adam Smith, schrieb: »Treatise of taxes and… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • sir — /serr/, n. 1. a respectful or formal term of address used to a man: No, sir. 2. (cap.) the distinctive title of a knight or baronet: Sir Walter Scott. 3. (cap.) a title of respect for some notable personage of ancient times: Sir Pandarus of Troy …   Universalium

  • William — /wil yeuhm/, n. 1. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter W. 2. a male given name: from Germanic words meaning will and helmet. * * * (as used in expressions) Huddie William Ledbetter Aberhart William George William… …   Universalium

  • petty — pettily, adv. pettiness, n. /pet ee/, adj., pettier, pettiest. 1. of little or no importance or consequence: petty grievances. 2. of lesser or secondary importance, merit, etc.; minor: petty considerations. 3. having or showing narrow ideas,… …   Universalium

  • Petty — /pet ee/, n. 1. Richard, born 1937, U.S. racing car driver. 2. William, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, 1st Marquis of Lansdowne. See Lansdowne, 1st Marquis of. * * * (as used in expressions) Petty Richard Petty Sir William Lansdowne Henry Charles Keith… …   Universalium

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