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'Our daily bread': Maurice Potron, from Catholicism to mathematical economics

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  • Christian Bidard
  • Guido Erreygers
  • Wilfried Parys

Abstract

Maurice Potron (1872-1942) is a French Jesuit and mathematician whose main source of inspiration in economics is the encyclical Rerum Novarum. With virtually no knowledge in economic theory, he wrote down a linear model of production in which he formalized the notions of just prices and just wages. As early as 1911, he used the Perron-Frobenius theorem to prove the existence of a positive solution and established a duality result between the quantity side and the price side of the model. He returned to economics in the 1930s, but in both periods he failed to make a lasting impression upon economists. JEL Classification Code: B3

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Bidard & Guido Erreygers & Wilfried Parys, 2009. "'Our daily bread': Maurice Potron, from Catholicism to mathematical economics," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 123-154.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:eujhet:v:16:y:2009:i:1:p:123-154
    DOI: 10.1080/09672560802707456
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    1. Lembke B., 1918. "√ a. p," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 111(1), pages 709-712, February.
    2. Taylor, Frederick Winslow, 1911. "The Principles of Scientific Management," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number taylor1911.
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    Cited by:

    1. Oslington, Paul, 2022. "The Economics Of Bernard Lonergan: Context, Modeling, And Assessment," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(2), pages 182-204, June.
    2. PARYS, Wilfried, 2018. "Labour values and energy values," Working Papers 2018006, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    3. Kenji Mori, 2008. "Maurice Potron'S Linear Economic Model: A De Facto Proof Of ‘Fundamental Marxian Theorem’," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 511-529, July.
    4. PARYS, Wilfried, 2013. "All but one: How pioneers of linear economics overlooked Perron-Frobenius mathematics," Working Papers 2013030, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Business and Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Catholic doctrine; duality; Hawkins-Simon; linear model of production; Perron-Frobenius; Potron; social question;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B3 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals

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