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International Trade and Economic Growth in Open Economies: The Classical Dynamics of Hume, Smith, Ricardo and Malthus
Author(s): John Berdell (Author)
- Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
- Publication Date: May 1, 2002
- Language: English
- Print length: 200 pages
- ISBN-10: 1858981646
- ISBN-13: 9781858981642
Book Description
In this enlightening book, John Berdell addresses the widely-held belief that classical economics distanced itself from policy issues and public debates regarding the effects of international trade on economic growth in advanced economies. He argues, through a detailed consideration of the evolution and structure of Hume’s, Smith’s, Ricardo’s and Malthus’ analyses, that it is not only contemporary international economic theory which takes account of these issues.
Berdell uses a series of non-linear dynamic models to illustrate and analyse important aspects of each author’s discussion of the interactions between trade and growth. The findings are then extended to create a comparison of the classical models with recent empirical research in this area. Berdell suggests that John Stuart Mill’s plan to synthesise and extend Hume’s, Smith’s and Ricardo’s analysis of commercial society was rendered intractable by the limitations of Hume’s associationalist psychology.
This work will be of great interest to both historians of economic ideas and economists concerned with modelling the interactions between growth and international trade.
Editorial Reviews
Review
‘. . . this is a highly original, stimulating contribution to the study of classical economics. . . The book will be of interest to historians of economics for its path-breaking attempt to follow Waterman’s suggestions for writing good history, and it will be of interest to contemporary practitioners for its rational reconstructions.’
About the Author
John Berdell, Associate Professor of Economics, DePaul University, US
