Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • English economist: David Ricardo was a British political economist, one of the most influential classical economists.
   • Proponent of free market principles: He is best known for his theory that the laws of supply and demand should operate in a free market with minimal government intervention.

Usage Examples

• Proper noun:
  • David Ricardo developed the theory of comparative advantage, a fundamental concept in international trade.
  • The ideas of David Ricardo were central to 19th-century economic thought.
  • In his book "On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation," David Ricardo analyzed the distribution of income among landowners, workers, and capitalists.

Advanced Usage

• "Ricardian economics": Refers to the school of economic thought based on David Ricardo's theories.
  • Ricardian economics emphasizes the role of labor in determining value and the benefits of free trade.
• "Ricardian equivalence": A theory (named in reference to his work on public debt) suggesting that government borrowing and taxation are equivalent in their economic effect.
  • The proposition of Ricardian equivalence is a subject of debate among modern economists.

Variants and Related Words

• Ricardian (adjective): Pertaining to David Ricardo or his economic theories.
  • The Ricardian model of trade simplifies complex economic relationships.

Synonyms

• Classical economist: A general term for economists of the 18th and 19th centuries, including Ricardo, Adam Smith, and Thomas Malthus.
• Political economist: A scholar who studies the interaction between politics and economics, a common descriptor for Ricardo's work.

Related Terms and Concepts

• Comparative advantage: Ricardo's most famous theory, which states that countries should specialize in producing goods where they have a lower relative cost.
  • David Ricardo used the example of English cloth and Portuguese wine to illustrate comparative advantage.
• Iron law of wages: A theory associated with Ricardo suggesting that wages naturally tend toward the minimum necessary for subsistence.
• Law of diminishing returns: A principle he applied to agricultural production, stating that adding more labor to a fixed amount of land yields progressively smaller increases in output.

Noun

1. English economist who argued that the laws of supply and demand should operate in a free market (1772-1823)