François Quesnay

François Quesnay (4 June 1694–16 December 1774) was a French economist of the Physiocratic school. He is known for publishing the "Tableau économique" (Economic Table) in 1758, which provided the foundations of the ideas of the Physiocrats. This was perhaps the first work to attempt to describe the workings of the economy in an analytical way, and as such can be viewed as one of the first important contributions to economic thought. They wanted the government of Louis XV to deregulate and reduce taxes on French agriculture so that poor France could emulate wealthier Britain, which had a relatively laissez-faire policy. Indeed, it is said it was Quesnay who coined the term "laissez-faire, laissez-passer". His great pupil was Turgot.