2016/01/01 by Lars Behrisch, Behrisch, Lars · 1 citation
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Agrarian statistics #Ancien Régime #French Revolution #Historical Economic and Social Studies #cameralism #conventions of equivalence #enlightened absolutism #physiocracy #political arithmetic #political economy
paper · pdf · doi:10.12759/hsr.41.2016.2.238-257
openalex publication_date 2016/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The article first gives an overview over the early history of statistics in politics, and then zooms in on the first attempts at establishing a nationwide agrarian statistics in pre-revolutionary France. Attention is given to the obstacles as well as to the long-term successes in standardizing and quantifying agrarian productivity. The corresponding learning experience, both in terms of concepts and practice, was a condition for the institutionalization of statistics in the early nineteenth century. It had its roots in the secular-utilitarian agenda of “enlightened absolutism” and its focus on a systematic and state-sponsored relaunch of the national economy.