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Natural Equality, Increasing Returns, And Economic Progress: A Reinterpretation Of Adam Smith'S System

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Author Info
JAMES M. BUCHANAN (James M. Buchanan Center for Political Economy, George Mason University, USA)

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Abstract

My aim in this paper is to reinterpret Adam Smith's theory of economic interaction by assigning a central role to his foundational presumption that persons are natural equals. There are implications of this presumption to be drawn both for the behavioral adjustments that move the system toward an equilibrium and for the properties of equilibrium itself — implications that make the whole analysis significantly different from the more familiar analyses that embody the presumption of individual differences. This reinterpretation allows for the construction of an internally coherent model that critically depends on the incorporation of Smith's principle that relates the endogenous specialization of labour to the size of the market nexus. By contrast, if persons are presumed to differ, one from another, one step in the equilibrating process remains outside the model, and the division or specialization of labour remains exogenous and, thereby, independent of market size.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. in its journal Division of Labor & Transaction Costs.

Volume (Year): 01 (2005)
Issue (Month): 01 ()
Pages: 57-66
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Handle: RePEc:wsi:dltcxx:v:01:y:2005:i:01:p:57-66

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Related research
Keywords: Generalized increasing returns; extent of market; natural equality;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
C62 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods and Programming - - - Existence and Stability Conditions of Equilibrium
D - Microeconomics
E1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models
F - International Economics
F11 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Neoclassical Models of Trade
F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies
F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
L - Industrial Organization
O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth

Cited by:
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  1. Guang-Zhen Sun, 2005. "A Review Of Selected Literature In The Economics Of Division Of Labor From 5th Century To Wwii: Part I," Monash Economics Working Papers 01/05, Monash University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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