Tackling the UK’s productivity problem will require long-term public investment in quality education aimed at closing the skills gap and boosting equality – a plan the 18th-century economist Adam Smith would certainly have agreed with.
Smith – whose tercentenary we celebrate this year – was a pioneer of economics. He was one of the greatest thinkers the world has seen and an alumnus of the University of Glasgow. He was tied to education throughout his life; first, as a student at Glasgow aged 14, and later as a teacher, professor, Praeses (unofficial vice-rector) and rector of the university.
Smith’s first great work, the Theory of Modern Sentiments (1759), sets the philosophical foundations for his magnum opus, The Wealth of Nations (1776). Although it is sometimes incorrectly characterised as arguing that markets should operate in an unfettered manner, it is a much more subtle contribution to economic thinking.
