Sismondi et l’analyse des crises économiques

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a complete analytical reconstruction of Sismondi’s theory of economic crises, based on his principal contributions to economic theory. This reconstruction reveals two core features of Simondi’s work : First, Sismondi’s approach to the theory of crises reveals the extent to which his thought evolved from the Richesse Commerciale in which he adopts a clearly Smithian perspective to the Études sur l’Économie Politique that contains surprisingly modern elements, in particular with regard to the analysis of money and credit. Second, this intellectual evolution does not undermine the coherence of Sismondi’s overall theoretical framework that remains classical throughout, but gradually integrates new features of economic crises the author observed.