The net product in the Formule du Tableau Economique: lessons from a formalism

It is well known since Phillips (1955) that the Formule du Tableau Economique can be translated into an input–output table. Phillips's translation is however far from faithful. We propose a more accurate translation that attempts to take seriously all the features of Quesnay's formalism, by considering in particular its clear, although tacit, distinction between current and capital accounts. This formalism is first approached as an autonomous object of analysis, and then serves as the basis for discussing the imputation of the net product, by considering successively three candidates to that imputation (other than the productive class): the class of landowners, the sterile class and nature.