Adam Smith and the not so invisible hand: A revision for the undergraduate classroom

Brandon Dupont and Yvonne Durham

International Review of Economics Education, 2021, vol. 36, issue C

Abstract: Students in introductory economics rarely get much exposure to historical ideas, but they often hear about at least one historical concept: “the invisible hand.” Unfortunately, what they learn about the invisible hand – at least as far as is evident in the leading undergraduate textbooks – is flawed, largely because it is removed from its historical context. In this paper, we describe recent research on Smith’s metaphor and suggest some simple ways for instructors to use it – informed by the context in which it was written and Smith’s original intent. We also describe some simple classroom experiments that aid in these discussions.

Keywords: Invisible hand; Adam Smith; Classroom experiments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ireced:v:36:y:2021:i:c:s1477388020300323

DOI: 10.1016/j.iree.2020.100205

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