Comments on “Mill and Ricardo: The Genesis of Comparative Advantage” by Roy J. Ruffin

Abstract

While economists tend to interpret the appearance of a new theoretical frame as “discovery” or as “invention,” historians prefer to consider them as the result of pressures from within their cultural context in which they originate. In this sense, there are very specific reasons why Ricardo’s Comparative Advantage emerged around 1816–1817. These reasons have a biographical (why Ricardo and not someone else), a historical (why in 1816–1817, and not before), or a philosophical background (why a Comparative, and not the already pre-existing Absolute Advantage). These reasons are shortly presented in this response to Roy J. Ruffin’s paper, printed as Chap. 9 of this book.

Note: This chapter is based on a transcription of the presentation given at the Conference “Celebrating 200 Years of Ricardian Trade Theory” on May 12, 2017, at the University of Basel, Switzerland. It is a comment to the paper by Roy J. Ruffin, i.e., to Chap. 9 of this book.