The Malthus versus Ricardo 1815 Corn Laws Controversy: An appraisal

Salvadori, Neri and Signorino, Rodolfo (2013): The Malthus versus Ricardo 1815 Corn Laws Controversy: An appraisal.

Abstract

The paper proposes a rational reconstruction of the arguments developed by Malthus and Ricardo in their 1815 essays, Grounds of an Opinion and An Essay on Profits, to repudiate and endorse a policy of free corn trade, respectively. Malthus envisaged defence and opulence as two mutually alternative options and, if required to make a choice, he had no doubt in choosing the former. By contrast, Ricardo excluded any alternative between defence and opulence: trade does note give a sustainable weapon to potential enemies of Great Britain whereas trade-driven opulence may give Great Britain greater means to wage a war.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Malthus, Ricardo, Corn Laws, Coordination Games
• Subjects: B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B1 - History of Economic Thought through 1925 > B12 - Classical (includes Adam Smith); B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B3 - History of Economic Thought: Individuals > B31 - Individuals

References

Bharadwaj, K. (1983). On a controversy over Ricardo’s theory of distribution. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 7 (1), pp. 11 – 36.

Blaug, M. (1956). The Empirical Content of Ricardian Economics. Journal of Political Economy, 64 (1), pp. 41 – 58.

Burgstaller, A. (1986). Unifying Ricardo’s Theories of Growth and Comparative Advantage. Economica, New Series, 53 (212), pp. 467 – 481.

Chipman, John S. (1965). A Survey of the Theory of International Trade: Part 1, The Classical Theory. Econometrica, 33 (3), pp. 477 – 519.

De Vivo, G. (1985) Robert Torrens and Ricardo’s ‘Corn-Ratio’ Theory of Profits. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 9 (1), pp. 89 – 92.

Eatwell, John L. (1975). The Interpretation of Ricardo’s Essay on Profits. Economica, 42 (166), pp. 182 – 187.

Fay, Charles R. (1932). The Corn Laws and Social England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Findlay, R. (1974). Relative Prices, Growth and Trade in a Simple Ricardian System. Economica, New Series, 41 (161), pp. 1 – 13.

Garegnani, P. (1982). On Hollander’s interpretation of Ricardo’s early theory of profits. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 6 (1), pp. 65 – 77.

Garegnani, P. (1983). Ricardo’s Early Theory of Profits and its ‘Rational Foundation’: A Reply to Professor Hollander. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 7 (2), pp. 175 – 178.

Harsanyi, John C. (1995). A New Theory of Equilibrium Selection for Games with Complete Information. Games and Economic Behavior, 8 (1), pp. 91 – 122.

Hilton, B. (1977). Corn, Cash, Commerce. The Economic Policies of the Tory Governments 1815 – 1830. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hollander, S. (1973). Ricardo’s Analysis of the Profit Rate, 1813 – 1815. Economica, New Series, 40 (159), pp. 260 – 282.

Hollander, S. (1977). Ricardo and the Corn Laws: a revision. History of Political Economy, 9 (1), pp. 1 – 47.

Hollander, S. (1979). The Economics of David Ricardo. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Hollander, S. (1983). Professor Garegnani’s Defence of Sraffa on the Material Rate of Profit. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 7 (2), pp. 167 – 174.

Hollander, S. (1992). Malthus’s Abandonment of Agricultural Protectionism: A Discovery in the History of Economic Thought. The American Economic Review, 82 (3), pp. 650 – 659.

Hollander, S. (1995). More on Malthus and Agricultural Protection. History of Political Economy, 27 (3), pp. 531 – 538.

Hollander, S. (1997). The Economics of Thomas Robert Malthus. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Kurz, Heinz D. (2011). On David Ricardo’s Theory of Profits: The Laws of Distribution Are ‘Not Essentially Connected with the Doctrine of Value’. The History of Economic Thought, 53 (1), pp. 1 – 20.

Malthus, Thomas R. (1814 [1986]). Observations on the Effects of the Corn Laws, and of a Rise or Fall in the Price of Corn on the Agriculture and General Wealth of the Country. In The Works of Thomas Robert Malthus, edited by Edward A. Wrigley and David Souden. 8 Vols. London: Pickering, Vol. 7, pp. 87 – 109.

Malthus, Thomas R. (1815 [1986]). The Grounds of an Opinion on the Policy of Restricting the Importation of Foreign Corn: intended as an Appendix to “Observations on the Corn Laws”. In The Works of Thomas Robert Malthus, edited by Edward A. Wrigley and David Souden. 8 Vols. London: Pickering, Vol. 7, pp. 151 – 174.

Maneschi, A. (1983). Dynamic Aspects of Ricardo’s International Trade Theory. Oxford Economic Papers, 35 (1), pp. 67 – 80.

Maneschi, A. (1992). Ricardo’s international trade theory: beyond the comparative cost example. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 16 (4), pp. 421 – 437.

O’Brien, Denis P. (1981). Ricardian Economics and the Economics of David Ricardo. Oxford Economic Papers, 33 (3), pp. 352 – 386.

Peach, T. (1984). David Ricardo’s Early Treatment of Profitability: A New Interpretation. The Economic Journal, 94 (376), pp. 733 – 751.

Pullen, J. (1995). Malthus on Agricultural Protection: An Alternative View. History of Political Economy, 27 (3), pp. 517 – 530.

Ricardo, D. (1951 – 1973). The Works and Correspondence of David Ricardo, edited by Piero Sraffa with the collaboration of Maurice H. Dobb. 11 Vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, in the text referred to as Works, vol. no., page no.

Ruffin, R. (2002). David Ricardo’s Discovery of Comparative Advantage. History of Political Economy, 34 (4), pp. 727 – 748.

Schonhardt-Bailey, C. (2006). From the Corn Laws to Free Trade: Interests, Ideas, and Institutions in Historical Perspective. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press.

Smart, W. (1910-1917). Economic Annals of the Nineteenth Century. 2 Vols. London: Macmillan.

Sraffa, P. (1951). Introduction. In Ricardo, D. (1951 – 1973). The Works and Correspondence of David Ricardo, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. xiii – lxii.