Caleb Petitt is a Research Associate for the Independent Institute, where he researches historical political economy, history of economic thought, and trade. He holds a PhD in economics from George Mason University.
Caleb Petitt and Daniel Klein explain why Adam Smith chose to use certain words frequently in The Theory of Moral Sentiments but rarely in The Wealth of Nations.
Impersonal commercial transactions that include fixed prices were not the norm throughout history. Caleb Petitt traces how the weakening of kinship networks in Western Europe starting in the eleventh century fundamentally changed commercial transactions.
Did Adam Smith—celebrated hero of free trade—make a big exception for reasons of national defense? Would he support the Jones Act of today? Caleb Petitt argues that a careful reading of Smith on the Navigation Acts reinforces the general claim that Smith was a staunch supporter of open markets and free trade.
