ABSTRACT
The Greek word oikonomike was used by Aristotle to describe household man agement, and in mediaeval times the Latin oeconomia was similarly used. In early seventeenth century France, étatist in outlook under King Louis XIII and his chief minister Cardinal Richelieu, the preferred term was economie politique which included in its reference the idea of public administration and affairs of state. It was in this sense that this term crossed the channel to England, where the first recorded use was by Sir William Petty in 1691. Adam Smith certainly believed he was engaged in the study of political economy, and Ricardo’s major work of 1817 was entitled The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation.
