@article{Schumacher2020,
  author    = {Schumacher, Reinhard},
  title     = {Altering the pattern of trade in the wealth of nations},
  series = {Journal of the history of economic thought},
  volume    = {42},
  journal   = {Journal of the history of economic thought},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
  address   = {New York},
  issn      = {1053-8372},
  doi       = {10.1017/S1053837219000130},
  pages     = {19 -- 42},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {There are three different interpretations of Adam Smith's trade theory in modern literature: first, the neoclassical theory of absolute advantage; second, an interpretation based on increasing returns; third, an interpretation of uneven development. These interpretations come to widely different conclusions, especially considering the development of the pattern of trade in Smith's theory. I discuss how these three interpretations emerged. They do not stem from a more detailed analysis of Smith's works itself but reflect changes within international trade theory. They all result from the fact that economists have imposed nineteenth- and twentieth-century modes of thoughts on Smith's theory, forcing his writings into later-developed theoretical frameworks. In contrast to classical economists in the nineteenth century, these subsequent interpretations misrepresent Smith's trade theory in order to portray him as a forerunner of later theories. The differing interpretations can thus be explained only against the backdrop of the development of international trade theory.},
  language  = {en}
}