Ricardo’s Principles , 200 Years Later

Abstract

David Ricardo’s 1817 work, On the Principles of Political Economy, and Taxatio n ( Principles hereafter), is a classic in economics, and revised editions were published in 1819 and 1821. Unfortunately, all classics are ill-fated because they are often quoted but seldom read. Classics are revered and quotations from them adorn the walls of economics departments. Another way in which economics students learn about Ricardo is in the initial chapters of their textbooks, suggesting that these ideas were once-upon-a-time relevant, and that the current economics is an intellectual advance over Ricardo’s economics. It is in this way that his comparative advantage theory, growth theory, rent theory, and tax theory have been assimilated into various textbooks.