Comparison of Usury/Interest and Asymmetric Information by Jacob Diny
Economics
The paper compares Adam Smith’s philosophy of Usury to the modern theory of usury and critiques the theory Adam Smith presents. After the comparison, there is discussion about how Adam Smith wanted to regulate usury or interest rates. I then present how asymmetric information played a role the 2008 financial crisis and give a brief overview on some of the causes of the “Great Recession” based on published literature. I then take Adam Smith’s theory on usury and describe how Adam Smith would have reacted to the 2008 crisis and the causes leading up to it. Adam Smith would have argued against the deregulation because Smith believed in only lending to the “sober people”, people who have proven themselves in business already.
Diny, Jacob
Senior Showcase Oral presentation
Ripon College
April 23, 2019
The author reserves all rights.
pdf
Major: Economic and Business Management
Greenleaf, Wisconsin
ECO 380 History of Economic Thought
Taxing the Wealth of Nations by Ethan Freiermuth
Economics
According to Adam Smith, whose insights still underpin economics as a discipline to this day, taxation is justified by the government’s ability to fulfill needs which cannot be supplied by the market and otherwise intervening to create efficiency and efficacy. While Smith’s recommendations and policy analyses were limited by his economic model and by the economic and technological development of his time, his principles are still very much applicable to the modern day. It is abundantly clear that Smith argues the vast majority of the market should be left alone to the natural incentives of the private sphere, however he does still envision a role for government which creates and enhances economic inefficiency, and provides still relevant guidelines for avoiding ill-advised policies which imprudently tax the wealth of nations.
Freiermuth, Ethan
Senior Showcase Oral presentation
Ripon College
April 23, 2019
The author reserves all rights.
pdf
Major: Politics, Economics, German
Minor: National Security Studies
Prairie Farm, Wisconsin
ECO 380
David Hume and Adam Smith: Comparing Mentor and Mentee Publications by Jordan Braband
Economics
Both Hume and Smith are influential philosophers and economists, and wrote some of the most important historical works in the beginnings of the study of economics. Both men wrote a variety of essays and publications on the subject, and were both published and respected men in their days. Hume and Smith have different writings with different focuses: Hume primarily focused on philosophy, while much of Smith’s writings centered on economics based on philosophy. While they may not have always agreed, there is a definite link between the two writers, and they are more similar than not in their writings.
Jordan Braband
Senior Showcase Oral Presentation
Ripon College
April 18, 2017
The author reserves all rights.
Majors: Economics and Business Management
Minor: Sociology
The Cause and Effects of Population Growth by Rebecca Rate
Economics and Business
Thomas Malthus was one of the first scholars to write about the issues of population growth. He feared that humans would surpass Earth's carrying capacity which would lead to disease, suffering, and ultimately death. He believed that higher wages were the cause of population growth, which was also how the economist Adam Smith explain this phenomenon. However, for Smith, population growth was necessary for economic growth and would ultimately result in greater prosperity in the long run. Both writers failed to recognize how the changing socioeconomic status of women would affect growth rates. Ultimately, it is the predictions of Smith that have held true so far. In fact, many contemporary writers have criticized Malthus for his failure to recognize how technology is able to expand Earth's carrying capacity. However, as concerns about global warming continue to grow, there is still a possibility that it will be Malthus who will be proven correct in the very end.
Rebecca Rate
Senior Showcase Oral presentation
Ripon College
April 17, 2018
The author reserves all rights.
pdf
Major: Economics and Business Management
Minor: Environmental Biology
Campbellsport, Wisconsin
ECO 481: Economics Senior Seminar
How Adam Smith Forgot About Women by Rose Hogmire
Politics and Government
In an initial read of Adam Smith’s landmark work Wealth of Nations for the young economics student, concepts known from our daily observations of economics are ingrained into our culture thanks to his contributions: self-interest motivates the economy, the division of labor increases production where necessary, and international trade is advantageous for all nations, to name a few. What may slip the mind of readers is the exclusion of women from Wealth of Nations, especially as the word is only given considerable time at three points throughout the series. It is a lost cause to expect economic writers of Smith’s time to be bleeding heart feminists, as thankfully the role of women in the economy has certainly evolved in passing centuries. This essay identifies Smith’s limiting narrative of women as wives, child-bearers, prostitutes, and self-sufficient individuals as their role in the wealth of nations.
Rose Hogmire
Senior Showcase Oral presentation
Ripon College
April 17, 2018
The author reserves all rights.
pdf
Majors: Politics and Government, Economics
History of Economic Thought
Roots of Economic Dichotomy: A Comparative Analysis of Adam Smith and Karl Marx by Eric Seiler
Economics
One of the most commonly referenced dichotomies in the field of economics is that which pits capitalism against communism. The economists behind these ideologies, Adam Smith and Karl Marx, respectively, are generally seen as foils of each other, not having anything in common while having strictly opposing ideals. This paper aims to analyze the works of Smith and Marx in order to see just how strong of a dichotomy exists between the two while exploring the idea that there may have been some agreement between the two.
Seiler, Eric
Senior Showcase Oral presentation
Ripon College
April 23, 2015
The author reserves all rights.
pdf
Major: Business Management/Economics
Minor: Sociology
Gurnee, Illinois
ECO 481 - History of Economic Thought