Wealth of Nations Video Catalog
Adam Smith is one of the most influential economists of all time, and The Wealth of Nations is his greatest book. It remains a masterpiece to this day and key reading material for economics enthusiasts. MRU sets out to study it once again by examining the work of Adam Smith in our Great Economists course. Please join us in this quest to understand and to see the invisible hand!
In this series of videos, Professors Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok provide a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of The Wealth of Nations and explain its significance in historical and modern contexts. Professor Cowen first read The Wealth of Nations at the age of 15, and has regularly revisited this text since. As he outlines in What I Learned from Adam Smith, he is struck by Smith's emphasis on the importance of agriculture for economic growth, among other topics. See what you can learn by revisiting The Wealth of Nations or discovering its significance for the first time.
Get started by clicking on the videos below:
Book 1
- Ch. 1, Division of Labor
- Ch. 2, Truck and Barter
- Ch. 3, Extent of the Market
- Ch. 4, Origin and Use of Money
- Ch. 5, Real and Nominal Price
- Ch. 6, Component Parts of Price
- Ch. 7, Natural Price & Market Price
- Ch. 8, Wages of Labor
- Ch. 9, Profits of Stock
- Ch. 10, Inequalities of Wages
- Ch. 11, Rent of Land
- Ch. 11, Digression on Silver
Book 2
- Ch. 1, Nature and Division of Stock
- Ch. 2, Of Money
- Ch. 3, Unproductive Labor
- Ch. 4, Interest and Usury
- Ch. 5, Employment of Capitals
Book 3
- Ch. 1, Progress of Opulence
- Ch. 2, Discouragement of Agriculture
- Ch. 3, Cities and Towns
- Ch. 4, Towns and Country
Book 4
- Ch. 1, Mercantile Systems
- Ch. 2, Restraints Upon Production
- Ch. 3, 4-5
- Ch. 6, Commerce Treaties
- Ch. 7, Of Colonies
- Ch. 8, Mercantile Conclusions
- Ch. 9, Agricultural Systems
- Digression on Corn
Book 5
- Ch. 1, pt. 1, Expense of Defense
- Ch. 1, pt. 2, Expense of Justice
- Ch. 1, pt. 3, Public Works
- Ch. 1, pt. 3, article 2, Education of Youth
- Ch. 1, pt. 3, article 3, Religious Instruction
- Ch. 1, pt. 4, Expense of the Sovereign
- Ch. 2, pt. 1-2, Sources of the Public Revenue
- Ch. 2, pt. 3, article 4, Taxes on Commodities