Economists
David Ricardo
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David Ricardo was a British political economist and a central figure of classical economics, alongside Adam Smith. In his 1817 work On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, he formalized the theory of comparative advantage, showing that two countries gain from trading with each other even when one of them can produce every good more efficiently than the other, so long as each specializes in what it produces relatively best. Ricardo also developed influential theories of rent and value, and served as a Member of Parliament advocating free trade and the repeal of Britain's protectionist Corn Laws.
Facts
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage supplied the intellectual case free traders used against the Corn Laws.
Associated With School
Concepts Originated
Additional Source WikipediaDavid Ricardo Debated With
Ricardo and Malthus corresponded from 1817 onward in what historians call the Malthus-Ricardo debate, disagreeing over rent theory, the possibility of general economic gluts, and the Corn Laws, with Malthus favoring protection for British agriculture and Ricardo favoring free trade. A contemporary described the two as holding different shades of opinion rather than belonging to diverging camps.
Influenced
Additional Source WikipediaKarl Marx, "Paris: 1843-1845" section Influenced By
Additional Source WikipediaInfobox, David Ricardo (Influences) Sources
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1. Wikipedia
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With School: Classical EconomicsView the Source 1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationDebated With: Thomas Malthus, Thomas Robert MalthusView the Source 1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationInfluenced By: Adam Smith, Infobox, David Ricardo (Influences)Quote, Influenced By: Adam Smith, Infobox, David Ricardo (Influences)
Bentham · Smith
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationInfluenced: Karl Marx, Karl Marx, "Paris: 1843-1845" sectionQuote, Influenced: Karl Marx, Karl Marx, "Paris: 1843-1845" section
During the time that he lived at 38 Rue Vaneau in Paris (from October 1843 until January 1845), Marx engaged in an intensive study of political economy (Adam Smith, David Ricardo, James Mill, etc.)
The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics
Palgrave MacmillanRicardo, David
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.Associated With: Repeal of the Corn Laws
On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation
Concepts Originated: Diminishing Marginal Returns
On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation
Concepts Originated: Comparative Advantage, Chapter 7, On Foreign TradeQuote, Concepts Originated: Comparative Advantage, Chapter 7, On Foreign Trade
Ricardo set out the principle in his 1817 On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, showing that two countries each gain from trade by specializing in the good each produces at the lowest opportunity cost, even when one country is more efficient at producing everything.
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