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

Roy Grieve ()

No 2013-36, SIRE Discussion Papers from Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE)

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.

Keywords: Productive/Unproductive Labour; Basic/Non-basic Goods; Surplus Production (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hme and nep-hpe
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:edn:sirdps:447

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