Adam Smith

Summary

This conference, sponsored by British Academy-DSIT and the RSE, with support from the Bonar MacFie bequest, brings together world-leading economists and economic historians to examine our current understanding of why some nations prosper while others remain poor. The speakers will address fundamental questions about economic development from diverse perspectives - from the role of geography and agriculture to the importance of culture, institutions and human behaviour.

Despite remarkable advances in living standards since Smith's time, stark differences in prosperity persist across the globe. Even advanced economies have experienced significant slowdowns in productivity growth and living standards in recent decades, raising fundamental questions about the sustainability of economic progress. By exploring contemporary research on the determinants of economic success - both historical and immediate - this conference will illuminate our modern understanding of what drives the wealth of nations.

The conference will also feature two roundtables. One, sponsored by RSE, will bring together some of the main speakers with invited experts from other disciplines, discussing inter-disciplinary perspectives on the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. A second, sponsored by the Scottish Economic Society, will bring together selected main speakers with invited guests from the policy world, to draw out what we know about the role of institutions and policy in shaping long-run outcomes.

The conference forms part of a broader scholarly initiative that includes a volume with Cambridge University Press edited by Alex Trew. The distinguished scholars who contributed to the volume will also serve as speakers at the conference, providing a strong foundation for an event of lasting significance.