Archibald Hutcheson's reputation as an economic thinker: his pamphlets, the National Debt, and the South Sea Bubble

Archibald Hutcheson's reputation as an economic thinker: his pamphlets, the National Debt, and the South Sea Bubble

Archibald Hutcheson M.P. (c. 1659-1740) was a British politician who opposed the South Sea Company's scheme to offer holders of British government debt its own shares in exchange for their claims on the state. Hucheson proposed an alternative scheme to pay off the entire debt by increasing taxe...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Paul, Helen Julia (Author)
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2012-05-01.
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Summary:Archibald Hutcheson M.P. (c. 1659-1740) was a British politician who opposed the South Sea Company's scheme to offer holders of British government debt its own shares in exchange for their claims on the state. Hucheson proposed an alternative scheme to pay off the entire debt by increasing taxes on land. Despite Hutcheson's opposition to the South Sea conversion scheme, it went ahead, to be followed by the South Sea Bubble and then the bursting of the bubble in 1720. This article argues that Hutcheson's posthumous reputation as an economic savant is undeserved.

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