History of Economic Thought

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the history of economic thought by looking at theories such as the mercantile school, the theory of comparative costs and also at economists such as the Adam Smith and Thomas Malthus. The author offers descriptions and explanations of each school of thought and gives examples of known people who supported or opposed the theories.

Outline:
Mercantilist School
The Physiocrats
Adam Smith
David Ricardo
Thomas Malthus
References

From the Paper:

"The ideas promoted by the mercantilist school can be linked to the history of the era. The geographical discoveries and the development of the European countries meant more trade opportunities. They represented more destinations to which products could be sold and as such, more sources of further revenues. But they also represented that new products could be brought in from these regions, imports which would lead to decreased sales of the local products - ergo, the mercantilist policies in regard to the limitation of imports and the subsidizing of exports."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bancroft, S., Clough, C.W., Economic History of Europe, Heath, 1952
• Berdell, J.F., Adam Smith and the ambiguity of nations, Review of Social Economy, Volume 56, 1998
• Bouare, O., An Evaluation of David Ricardo's Theory of Comparative Costs: Direct and Indirect Critiques, Retrieved from Policy Innovations http://www.policyinnovations.org/ideas/policy_library/data/01445 on March 6, 2008
• Heilbroner, R.L., The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers, Touchstone, 1999
• Henderson, R., Biography of Adam Smith (1723-90), The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics, 1999-2002, http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Smith.html last accessed on March 6, 2008

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