Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, Jean Buridan, Ibn Khaldun, Nicole Oresme, and Antonin of Florence were medieval economists who made important contributions between the 13th-15th centuries. Their works discussed concepts including just price, usury, supply and demand, taxes, money, and theories of value. For example, Aquinas believed high prices due to demand were a form of theft, while Ibn Khaldun formulated early theories of the lifecycle of civilizations and value of money as a means of exchange. These economists helped establish foundations for modern economic thought.

1. Economist during
the Medieval Period
(500-1500AD)
PREPARED BY:
CIELO UEHARA

2. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)
• Italian theologian, economic writer
• Catholic scholars known as the Schoolmen
• Summa Theologica
 classics of the history of philosophy
• Concept of just price
 reproduction of the social order
 modern concept of long run equilibrium
 costs of production
 maintenance of a worker and his family

3. • Aristotle’s theory, Questions 77 and 78 economic issues:
 what a just price might be
 fairness of a seller dispensing faulty goods
• Usury
 raising the price of a product from its original
price
• Aquinas taught that high prices in response to high
demand is theft
 sellers raise their prices simply because buyers had
a pressing need for a product.

4. Duns Scotus (1265–1308)
• from Scotland
• taught in Oxford, Cologne, and Paris.
• Sententiae (1295)
• calculated the price in a precise manner
than Aquinas
• emphasize the costs of labor and expenses
• merchants perform necessary and useful
social role by:
 transporting goods
 making them available to the public

5. Jean Buridan (1300 – 1358)
 Latin name : Johannes Buridanus
 French priest
 Two angles of money which he
acknowledged can vary.
 metal value
 determinepurchasing power
 Demand and Supply
 market prices
 Price was what the society collectively
and not just one individual is willing to
pay.

6. Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406)
• Arab Muslim scholar from Tunisia
• 2nd candidate as “Father of Economics”
• Arnold Toynbee called Ibn Khaldun:
 a genius
 inspired by no predecessors and to have found no
kindred souls among his contemporaries
• formulated a philosophy of history
 expressed a theory of the lifecycle of civilizations
 the specialization of labor
 the value of money as a means of exchange

7. • His ideas on taxes bore resemblance to:
 supply-side economics
 laffer curve
 beyond a certain point higher taxes
discourage production and actually cause
revenues to fall
• “Businesses owned by responsible and
organized merchants shall eventually surpass
those owned by wealthy rulers”

8. Nicole Oresme (1320–1382)
 French name: Nicolas d'Oresme
 French philosopher and priest
 De origine, natura, jure et
mutationibus monetarum
the origin, nature, law, and
alterations of money.
one of the earliest manuscripts
on the concept of money.

9. Antonin of Florence (1389–1459)
 Saint Antoninus of Florence
 Italian Dominican friar and Archbishop of Florence.
 Social and Economic Development
 Duty of the state:
 intervene in mercantile affairs for the common good.
 obligation to help the poor and needy.
 “Summa theologica”
 price
 justice
 capital Theory.

10. • Natural value of goods and its practical value.
• Latter is determined by:
 suitability to satisfy needs (virtuositas)
 rarity (raritas)
 subjective value (complacibilitas)

11. End of Slide