ABSTRACT
First and foremost, David Ricardo was interested in issues concerning income distribution and economic growth. He sought to understand how the economic pie was divided up among rent, wages, and profits; and he sought to understand the principles causing economies to 45grow and decline. Like Adam Smith, Ricardo saw free international trade as one important force leading to greater economic growth. But he saw diminishing returns in agriculture as a counterforce, which tended to squeeze profits and slow economic growth.
