This paper is focused on the notion of wealth as used by different authors in different periods of time. The paper deals with the contrast between the notion of wealth shared by all major classical economists, particularly by Adam Smith, and the notion previously held by the Mercantilists (by...

The distinction between ‘value’ and ‘riches’ was first highlighted by Ricardo in Chapter XX, ‘Value and Riches, their distinctive Properties’, of his Principles (1821). Ricardo’s aim was to clear up Smith’s famous statement that “every man is rich or poor according to the...

David Ricardo’s criticisms of Adam Smith on value and wealth have been rather ignored in the recent revival of Ricardian economics. This essay intends to fill the gap by revisiting Smith’s link between value and wealth in the light of Ricardo’s criticisms. This is done in two steps. The...

Ricardo’s criticisms of Adam Smith on value and wealth have been sometimes rejected and sometimes accepted in the period following the publication of his Principles. By contrast, they have been mostly ignored in the recent revivals of Ricardian economics both in the branch concerned with value...