Nearer to Sraffa than Marx : Adam Smith on Productive and Unproductive Labour

Grieve, Roy (2013) Nearer to Sraffa than Marx : Adam Smith on Productive and Unproductive Labour. Discussion paper. University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

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Abstract

We investigate Adam Smith’s analysis of the properties of what he called “productive” - as against “unproductive” - labour, a concept which commentators have frequently found problematic. Puzzles have been noted and inconsistency alleged. A question arises – did Smith confuse two different concepts of productive labour? We believe that, despite the apparent problems, a coherent reading of Smith’s account of productive and unproductive labour is in fact possible: if “productive labour” is understood to refer comprehensively to labour which not only maintains but, through producing a net surplus, adds to the community’s stock of wealth – as regards either the financial or the real resources which make possible economic growth – the difficulties with Smith’s treatment largely disappear.

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• Item metadata

  Item type:	Monograph(Discussion paper)
  ID code:	68109
  Dates:	Date Event 2013 Published
  Notes:	Published as a paper within the Discussion Papers in Economics, No. 13-04 (2013)
  Subjects:	Social Sciences > Economic Theory
  Department:	Strathclyde Business School > Economics
  Depositing user:	Pure Administrator
  Date deposited:	29 May 2019 12:58
  Last modified:	14 Apr 2024 01:15
  URI:	https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/68109