@techreport{791a4e4bfced4af2afef7689149e6783,
title = "Nearer to Sraffa than Marx: Adam Smith on Productive and Unproductive Labour",
abstract = "We investigate Adam Smith{\textquoteright}s analysis of the properties of what he called {"}productive{"} - as against {"}unproductive{"} - labour, a concept which commentators have frequently found problematic. Puzzles have been noted and inconsistency alleged. A question arises – did Smith confuse two different concepts of productive labour? We believe that, despite the apparent problems, a coherent reading of Smith{\textquoteright}s account of productive and unproductive labour is in fact possible: if {"}productive labour{"} is understood to refer comprehensively to labour which not only maintains but, through producing a net surplus, adds to the community{\textquoteright}s stock of wealth – as regards either the financial or the real resources which make possible economic growth – the difficulties with Smith's treatment largely disappear. ",
keywords = "productive/unproductive labour, basic/non-basic goods, surplus production",
author = "Grieve, {Roy H}",
note = "Published as a paper within the Discussion Papers in Economics, No. 13-04 (2013)",
year = "2013",
month = may,
day = "14",
language = "English",
series = "Strathclyde Discussion Papers in Economics",
publisher = "University of Strathclyde",
type = "WorkingPaper",
institution = "University of Strathclyde",
}