Public Debt and Government Finance in the French Liberal Thought (1840-1900)

Between the 1840 decade and the end of the 19th century, the French economists show an increasing interest for the issue of the scope of public intervention and that of the ways to finance its constantly growing expenses. This article aims at examining the evolution in the French liberal thought regarding public finance (especially public debt) between its golden age and its decline and progressive replacement with a new generation of economists. We analyze the changes in the appraisal of the different ways to finance public expenses, particularly the trade-off between taxation and public debt. We show an inflexion in the liberal orthodoxy and underline the appearance of new conceptions of public debt by the end of the century.