David Ricardo - Work

Along with many other Classical economists, the titles of Ricardo's works do not have the ring of best-sellers about them, but in their time (and now!) they are judged to be very significant. Because of his background in the money markets and Stock Exchange, much of his early work was on these subjects. Some of these works included:

• The high price of bullion, a proof of the depreciation of bank notes (1810)
• Reply to Mr Bosanquet's practical observations on the report of the Bullion Committee (1811)
• Proposals for an economical and secure currency (1816)

His more significant works were on market economics though:

• Essay on the influence of the low price of corn on the profits of stock (1815)
• The principles of political economy and taxation (1817)

It was in this latter work that he developed much of the theory we know about diminishing returns, and economic rent. For further details about his theories follow the links at the foot of the page.