Introduction
The
thought of Adam Smith, as indeed of any other thinker, should be examined
against the social-economic background of his time thought of smith was on the
wealth of a nations through which he stressed on how to rise the class of small
manufacture and farmers. He published a lot of books on how to provide a body
of thought in terms of which the effort to equip the country for procuring the
requirements of commerce and industry could be made and understood.
Assumption of Adam Smith on Economic
development
1.
The Economic
development of a society occurs when there is an improvement, cultivation of
the society, therefore which affords subsistence, must necessarily, be prior to
the increase in towns which furnishes
only the means of convenience and luxury
2.
According to
Another of Adam Smith on Economic development. It states that to the natural
course of things, therefore, the greater part of the capital of every growing
society is, first, directed to Agriculture, Afterwards to the manufacturers and
at last of all the foreign. Commerce.
3.
Adam Smith also
stated in his third Assumption that Economic development of a every society
must be view as gradual process due to some political, environment and cultural
influences on in social development factors.
4.
Increase in
population of any society is the mobilizing factor for Economic development
because when there is increase in the population of any society there will be
relative increase on the method of
providing the social need of such population.
Example agriculture started from hunting of animals to a point, when
there is an increament in the population which resulted to an extend of moving
from the stage of hunting to a stage of
domesticating animals and cultivation of crops to feed the of population
Content of the Models
The
following are the content of Adam Smith model on the economic development .
1.
Humans are agents
of economic development
2.
Agriculture
should be view as bedrock of economic development of any society.
3.
Environmental
factors, cultural factors and political factors of any society are also a major
determinant of economic development rate.
4.
Civilization
stimulate economic development of any society
Models
Models
derived from Adam smith theory of economic development;
1.
Economic
development of any society is dependent on the population size of that society.
2.
Economic
development as a process in which
countries develop in an interdependent manner, rather than autonomous.
3.
The lobbying and
the privileges granted to special interest group, play a role as important as
other economics variable
4.
Commerce
capacity, ability of any society determines its economic development
Application
1.
This theory is
apply in the area of extension services using the interested group to motivate
the uninterested groups within the society.
2.
Agro – industrial
development
3.
Population
analysis
4.
Controlling both
government / political affect on agricultural establishment
Criticisms of Adam Smith Theory of Economic Development
1.
He fails to give
proper explanation of political, cultural and environmental factors that
influences economic development of a society.
2.
He stared the
initial stage of agriculture in form of model in his theory but was unable to
give good explanation of history
3.
Smith tells us it
is possible to model the economic
system limited to the progress of opulence, which took centuries and centuries
to develop. But
fails also to tell us opulence developed in unpredictable form.
4.
Smith failed to
establish “that the natural progress of
opulence described the way in which economics could, which resulted from his
methodological approach applied by smith.