A Survey of Thomas Tooke's Contributions to Political Economy

Download or read book A Survey of Thomas Tooke's Contributions to Political Economy written by Matthew Smith and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The leading theorist of the banking school, the main author of the monumental six-volume History of Prices (1838-1857) and the author of the brilliant pamphlet, An Inquiry into the Currency Principle (1844), Thomas Tooke (1774-1858) can be rightfully counted among the most prominent figures in English nineteenth-century monetary thought. Aside from an impressive number of writings, Tooke gave evidence to ten parliamentary committees concerned with various economic policy issues between 1819 and 1848. But despite Tooke's considerable contribution, the literature is bereft of a comprehensive survey of his life and work. This paper endeavours partially to fill this void in the literature, by providing a biographical sketch of Tooke together with a chronological survey of all his contributions to political economy. In particular, the paper shows how most of Tooke's writings were motivated by debates over economic policy issues.