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David Ricardo

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David Ricardo
Why is studying the economy worthwhile? There can be many differing answers to this question. One obvious answer is that it is interesting on its own merits and important when dealing with investment, but who actually formulated the theories that had great importance and significance in the time that they lived and is still prevalent today? Who deserves a place in the International Economist Hall of Fame? Today, I am here to present to you why the economist, David Ricardo, is important to the development of economic theory and therefore, presenting why he deserves to be in the International Economist Hall of Fame. By using the criteria of what contribution Ricardo made to the development of economic thought and the importance and current relevance of that contribution in comparison to other economic theorists, I will establish Ricardo’s importance. In the words of one commentator, Ricardo burnt ‘deep scars’ on other classical theorists.
Ricardo was born in 1772 and died in 1823. Ricardian economics was a response to the situation in Britain doing the Napoleonic Wars, when the price of corn and agricultural rents rose dramatically and the margin of cultivation was extended (Roger E Backhouse, 2002). The legacy of Ricardo dominated economic thinking throughout the 19th Century (The Professor Network, 2004).
The brilliant British economist David Ricardo was one the most significant people involved in the evolution of economic theory. He was definitely not a late bloomer to discover his budding talent for business. In fact, at the young age of fourteen, Ricardo's father employed him full-time at the London Stock Exchange. With his undeniable talent for the field of economics and already significant reputation in the City of London, Ricardo managed to set up his own business as a dealer in government securities, finding himself "sufficiently rich to satisfy all [his] desires” (Letter to Mill, 1815). Ricardo was primarily interested in the currency and commercial

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