Ricardo on Money and Finance ― A Bicentenary Reappraisal

David Ricardo, one of the major figures in the history of economic thought, particularly in the English classical political economy, deployed his activities as economist just two hundreds of years ago. Since then his economics has been generally estimated as the culminating point of the classical economics, and his name and theory has been exerting an enduring influence up to the present. This book, consisting of articles contributed by historians of economic thought on money and finance, intends to reappraise the Ricardo’s monetary and financial thought on the occasion of its bicentenary and to offer historical clues to understanding today’s world wide financial crisis.

The book consists of nine chapters divided into three parts. The first part is devoted to the historical background of Ricardo’s thought (Hume, Smith, Thornton etc.). It serves to bring in relief the originality of Ricardo’s thought in the historical context. The second and central part consists of four chapters discussing the most important aspects of Ricardo’s monetary thought: Ricardo and quantity theory of money, the ideal monetary regime conceived by Ricardo very early in his career and matured till the last moment of his life, plan for the establishment of a national bank. In this part, the relation between the quantity of money and its value in Ricardo’s theory is examined in a new light and Ricardo appears as a non-quantity theorist. The two chapters in the third and last part discuss the problems raised after Ricardo in relation to his monetary thought.

Tracing Ricardo's economic thought to the early 19th century, this book may provide readers insight to help them understand the present day financial crises through his works.

Yuji Sato is Professor of Economics at Shonan Institute of Technology, Kanagawa, Japan. His previous positions include Associate Professor of Economics at Toyama University of International Studies, Toyama, Japan. A specialist in classical monetary theory and in classical economics, he has published articles on Adam Smith, Thomas R. Malthus, David Ricardo, and the history of monetary thought. He is the co-editor of Money and Finance in the History of Economic Thought.

Susumu Takenaga spent two years in Paris studying for a doctorate at Paris University X Nanterre after obtaining a Master's degree at the Faculty of Economics of Osaka City University. He received his Ph.D. in economics in 1984 with a dissertation on the theory of value of Marx in relation with the classical theory. He is Professor at Daitobunka University in Tokyo since 1996, teaching the history of economics. His research interests are in the English classical economics including Smith and Ricardo, Marx and the history of Marxism, and also Keynesian and Post-Keynesian economics.