Economic history

What makes Thomas Piketty so sure he can save the world?

28 March 2020 9:00 am

The French economist, statistician and polymath Thomas Piketty sprang to fame in 2013 with a daunting tome, Capital in the…

Engraving of John Law in 1720, at the height of his power: adviser to the king of France and controller-general of finance

John Law: the Scottish gambler who rescued France from bankruptcy

8 September 2018 9:00 am

John Law was by any standards a quite remarkable man. At the apogee of his power in 1720, he was…