The Intellectual Journey of Classical Economics

References:  

Kates,S.(2020).Classical Economic Theory and the Modern Economy.elgaronline.com .https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.elgaronline.com/display/9781786433565.00004.xml&ved=2ahUKEwi8mdmx__eAAxXK1TgGHUuyD_4QFnoECBQQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2VJUYDwOyVZfyK6VltOjJu 

Stanley,L and Randy,R.(2013) The Evolution of Economic Thought(8th edition) .[online].Available at https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://handoutset.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/The-Evolution-of-Economic-Thought-Stanley-Brue-Randy-Grant.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjl08qqk_iAAxX6dPUHHWQJC5Q4HhAWegQIChAB&usg=AOvVaw1r8kZJFdBDxtq6zvGJt5Cc Accessed on 13th of August 2023.  

Pre Modern Economic Thought

      

Introduction

Pre-economic thought refers to the economic ideas and concepts that were developed before the emergence of economics as a distinct academic discipline. This period spans from ancient times to the late 18th century and encompasses a wide range of cultures and civilizations.

• Premodern Economic thought was existed in the 18th century, before the emergence of the modern economic thought. It focused on the ideas and practices of ancient civilizations like Greece, Rome, China, India, Iraq and British.
• Premodern economic thought was mainly on the concerns with issues of production, consumption and distribution of products and it was heavily influenced by the religious and moral values. 

Due to the religious and moral influences prevailed in the society economic activities were classified as morally or ethically justifiable or unjustifiable. Specially, we can mention Catholic religion, Islamic concept of Zakat and so on as the religious influences which had played a crucial role in shaping the economic thought.

Under Pre modern economic thought, the era has been classified to main six (6) parts such as Greek Economic Thought, Roman Economic Thought, Indian Economic Thought, Chinese Economic Thought, Islamic Economic Thought and finally the British Economic Thought.

Under these each classification we can learn few personalities who have greatly contributed to the development of Economic Thought.

These personalities will be discussed in detail manner with upcoming blog posts.
Written by: Dinithi Jayasuriya & Dismi HansikaREFERENCEShttps://shorturl.at/lyDH6

The David Ricardo’s Chronicles

David Ricardo was a British Political Economist, Politician and member of the Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland. He is recognized as one of the most influential classical economists. He was a man of the financial world. 

Biography

¬ Born: On 18^th of April 1772 in London, England.

¬ Personal Life: Ricardo was the third surviving children of successful stockbroker Abraham Israel Ricardo and Abigail. He was leaved from his family at 21 for marrying outside his religion.

¬ Profession: Businessman - At the age of 14^th (in 1786), he entered into business with his father, who had made a fortune on the London stock exchange as a stockbroker. &    Economist.

 

Ricardo’s interest in economic questions began in 1799, when he read an Inquiry of the Wealth of Nations, by the Scottish economist and Adam Smith. His first published pamphlet was The High Price of Bullion, a Proof of the Depreciation of Bank Notes in 1810. For 10 years he studied economics with greater concentration. Bullion Committee confirmed Ricardo’s views and recommended the revoke of the Bank Restriction Act. Economist James Mill (Scottish, historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher) was a political and editorial counselor to Ricardo. At the age of 42 (in 1814), he had retired from business.

His essays on the Influence of a Low Price of Corn on the Profits of Stock were published in 1815 and regulated the import and export of grain. This essay established him as one of the England’s most able economists. Later, he published a book on Principles of Political Economy and Taxation in 1817. This book was replaced the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. In 1819 Ricardo purchased a seat in the House of Commons and entered Parliament as a member. Ricardo retired from Parliament in 1823 because of an illness. He died that year at the age of 51. Ricardo achieved a leading position among the economists of his time even in a shorter period. The Ricardo’s work continuous to attract attention is evidenced by its recent reexamination.

Written by: Imthiyas Sameera

 

References:

Stanley,L and Randy,R.(2013) The Evolution of Economic Thought(8^th edition) .[online].Available at https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://handoutset.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/The-Evolution-of-Economic-Thought-Stanley-Brue-Randy-Grant.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjl08qqk_iAAxX6dPUHHWQJC5Q4HhAWegQIChAB&usg=AOvVaw1r8kZJFdBDxtq6zvGJt5Cc Accessed on 21^st of August 2023.

David Ricardo – British economist at https://www.britannica.com/biography/David-Ricardo Accessed on 21^st of August 2023

 

Methods, Economic Policy, and Scope of David Ricardo

Beyond his contribution to purely theoretical economics, David Ricardo has had a significant impact on the evolution of economic thought. He also shifted the focus of economics away from Adam Smith’s method and scope of economics and he used his abstract analysis of tariffs, that are a raging political issue at that time. 

Methods of Ricardo 

Ricardo is an example of a pure theorist at work. He abstracted from the economy and used the deductive method focusing on policy issues like tariffs on grain importation and income distribution. Ricardian economics is strongly focused on policy, even though Ricardo’s method can give the impression that he was a purely theoretical, impractical economist to the common observer. Although his mathematical technique was somewhat clumsy, he is nonetheless revered by pure theorists today. 

Ricardo and economic policy 

Ricardo’s policy approach significantly influenced subsequent economists’ policy making methods. Using Ricardo as a model, the best method to develop good policy is to create a highly theoretical model that will identify the causal relationships between variables by abstracting from the nonessential.  

Ricardianism consists of highly abstract theory and non-contextual policy making based on abstract models. Some view this as a dubious heritage, while others argue it’s essential for economics to abstract from reality and develop policy solutions in a non-contextual framework. However, a review of economic thought and policy history doesn’t provide a clear answer to the appropriate degree of abstraction and contextual analysis. 

The Scope of Economics – According to Ricardo 

According to Ricardo, the principle purpose of economics is to identify the laws that govern the distribution of income among landlords, capitalists, and laborers.  

Ricardo was focused on what is now known as the functional distribution of income or the proportions of annual output that go to labor, land and capital in that order.  

Ricardo’s interest in income distribution led him to study changes in relative prices over time. His main concern was how income distribution affected the growth of the economy and the accumulation of capital. His labor theory of value influenced subsequent attempts to explain relative prices. However, Ricardo’s victory over Malthus in the macroeconomic stability debate closed the topic for nearly a century. 

Written by; D.M.A.S. Gunawardana 

References  

Stanley,L and Randy,R.(2013) The Evolution of Economic Thought(8th edition) .[online].Available at https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://handoutset.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/The-Evolution-of-Economic-Thought-Stanley-Brue-Randy-Grant.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjl08qqk_iAAxX6dPUHHWQJC5Q4HhAWegQIChAB&usg=AOvVaw1r8kZJFdBDxtq6zvGJt5Cc Accessed on 01st of September 2023.