author
David Ricardo
1772–1823
One of the founding figures of classical economics, he turned market experience into ideas that still shape how people think about trade, value, and taxation. His work is especially remembered for explaining comparative advantage and for giving early economics a clear, systematic form.
2 Audiobooks
On The Principles of Political Economy, and Taxation
by David Ricardo
Letters of David Ricardo to Thomas Robert Malthus, 1810-1823
by David Ricardo
About the author
Born in London in 1772, David Ricardo built a fortune as a stockbroker before becoming one of the most influential economic thinkers of the 19th century. He was born into a Sephardic Jewish family with roots in the Netherlands, and his practical experience in finance helped shape the sharp, analytical style of his later writing.
Ricardo came to economics after reading Adam Smith, and he went on to develop major ideas about rent, wages, profits, and international trade. His best-known book, On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817), helped define classical political economy and introduced the argument behind comparative advantage, which remains central to discussions of trade.
He was also active in public life, serving as a member of the British Parliament. Ricardo died in 1823, but his influence lasted far beyond his lifetime, affecting later economists and keeping his work at the center of debates about how economies grow and how wealth is distributed.