The renewed interest in the works of the great classical economists reflects in part a recognition that there is still much to be learned from them about the operation of the economy. This volume is the first in a series of four in which Professor Hollander will provide an analytical and critical assessment of the thought of the British school of classical economists; later volumes will elucidate the thought of Ricardo and Malthus, Mill, and Marx. This study relates Smith's theoretical position to contemporary history and economic practice. It pays particular attention to Smith's vision of the process of industrialization during the mid-eighteenth century, his approach to British colonial policies, and his view of the desirability of economic development. Coming in time for the bicentennial celebrations of The Wealth of Nations, this work should interest all economists with a sense of the evolution and purpose of their discipline, and should commend itself as a detailed and careful reinterpretation of what Adam Smith was thinking about. One authoritative reader has called it: 'one of the most distinguished essays in the history of economic thought of the last quarter century.' (Studies in Classical Political Economy)

SAMUEL HOLLANDER was appointed Professor in 1970 and University Professor in 1984 in the Department of Economics at the University of Toronto. Amother his other books are The Economics of John Stuart Mill(1985), The Economics of David Ricardo(1979), and The Economics of Adam Smith (1973), all published by University of Toronto Press. He is a Professor Emeritus at Ben-Gurion University.

Samuel Hollander's profile page

'... based on a formidable knowledge ... should prove of interest to people both inside and outside the economic profession.'

Times Educational Supplement

'There can be no doubt that The Economics of Adam Smith is the most important work on the Wealth of Nations that has been published for many decades and that Professor Hollander must be disregarded as in the front rank of authorities on Adam Smith. The fundamental importance of the book is that it is a comprehensive analytical study of the economics of Adam Smith himself instead of the various versions of his theories as interpreted or developed by subsequent writers. Professor Hollander ... provides a long overdue re-assessment and a restoration of emphasis.'

Economic Journal

'Of the many works which have been written on the economics of Adam Smith, this seems to me to be by far the best I have ever read. It shows an exhaustive acquaintance with the text to be discussed, a profound analytical grasp of the various issues raised by its interpretation, and a logical classification of its subject matter which is intellectually extremely satisfying ... one of the most distinguished essays in the history of economic thought of the last quarter of a century.

Lord Robbins

'... a major contribution to Smithsonian scholarship, which imposed a new perspective on certain unresolved puzzles in the Wealth of Nations.'

Economica