author
William Smart
1853–1915
Remembered for making economics readable to a wider audience, this Scottish writer and professor helped introduce important continental ideas to English-speaking readers. His books combine clear explanation with a practical interest in how industry, labor, and public policy affect everyday life.
2 Audiobooks
Women's wages
by William Smart
About the author
Born in Barrhead, Renfrewshire, on April 10, 1853, he studied at the University of Glasgow, though his education was interrupted when he entered his family’s thread-making business. After succeeding in business, he returned to academic life and later became the first holder of the Adam Smith Chair of Political Economy at the University of Glasgow.
He is best known as an economist and interpreter of economic thought rather than as a novelist or man of letters. Early in his career he helped introduce English-language readers to the Austrian School through translations and explanatory writing, and he later moved closer to the neoclassical economics associated with Alfred Marshall.
His writing was valued for its clarity and teaching spirit. Alongside books on value, distribution, and public finance, he took an active interest in social questions and served on the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws in the early 20th century. He died in Glasgow on March 19, 1915.