DENHAM, SIR JAMES STEUART, 4TH BARONET

born Oct. 21, 1712, Edinburgh, Scot. died Nov. 26, 1780, Edinburgh original name (until 1773) James Steuart Scottish economist whose exposition of mercantilist views showed a sophistication ahead of his time. Denham was educated at the University of Edinburgh (172425). In the course of continental travels following his qualification as a lawyer (1735), he became embroiled in the Jacobite cause. Denham's involvement in the 1745 rebellion of the Stuart pretender to the throne forced him to remain in exile until 1763, when he finally returned to Edinburgh. He then retired to Coltness. In 1773 his father obtained the estates of his uncle, Sir Archibald Denham, on the condition that he and his father adopt Denham as a surname. In 1780 he succeeded his father in two baronetcies. His chief work, Inquiry into the Principles of Political Economy (1767), is probably the first systematic treatise on economics in English. As an exponent of mercantilist economics, Denham accorded government a key role in the economic development of society, particularly in the management of population and employment. Government intervention was also desirable, in his view, to bring about market equilibrium. Consistent with his mercantilist views, Denham believed that an industrializing country would experience loss of international markets because of rising wages; thus, he believed that reliance upon internal markets was important. His theory of the role of money in economic growth remains of interest to contemporary economists.