William Stanley Jevons' Erroneous Comparison of Adam Smith and Robert Cantillon - Overlooking the Risk versus Uncertainty Divide.

Abstract

William Stanley Jevons’ misevaluated Adam Smith’s contributions in the Wealth of Nations in 1881 by overlooking the originality of Smith’s unique contributions to decision theory, his definition of uncertainty, and his application of the uncertainty versus risk distinction in Smith’s analysis of occupational choice in chapter 10 of Part I of the Wealth of Nations.