When economists speak of the "gender gap" these days, they usually are referring to systematic differences in the outcomes that men and women achieve in the labor market. These differences are seen in the percentages of men and women in the labor force, the types of occupations they choose, and their relative incomes or hourly wages. These economic gender gaps, which were salient issues during the women's movement in the 1960s and 1970s, have been of interest to economists at least since the 1890s.... MORE

French economist J. B. Say is most commonly identified with Say's Law, which states that supply creates its own demand. Over the years Say's Law has been embroiled in two kinds of controversy--the first over its authorship, the second over what it means and, given each meaning, whether it is true.

On the first controversy, it is clear that Say did invent something like Say's Law. But the first person actually to use the words "supply creates its own demand" appears to have been James Mill, the father of John Stuart Mill.... MORE