SAY, J(EAN-)B(APTISTE)

born Jan. 5, 1767, Lyon, Fr. died Nov. 15, 1832, Paris French economist, best known for his law of markets, which postulates that supply creates its own demand. After completing his education, Say worked briefly for an insurance company and then as a journalist. In 1794 he became an editor of a new magazine dedicated to the ideas of the French Revolution; he later became editor in chief of the magazine. He was appointed to the Tribunate under the consulate in 1799 but was later dismissed by Napoleon. He started a cotton-spinning mill in 1807 but sold out in 1813. He held a chair in industrial economy at the Conservatory of Arts and Crafts from 1817 to 1830 and was professor of political economy at the Collge de France from 1830 until his death. His major publication was Trait d'conomie politique (1803; A Treatise on Political Economy). Say attributed economic depression not to a general deficiency in demand but rather to temporary overproduction for some markets and underproduction for others. This imbalance must automatically adjust itself, he believed, because overproducers have to redirect their production to conform with consumers' preferences or be forced out of business. Say's law remained a central tenet of orthodox economics until the Great Depression of the 1930s. An obvious implication of Say's law is that the capitalist system is self-regulating; thus there is no need for government intervention in economic affairs.