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MORAL SENTIMENTS AND SELF-INTEREST IN ADAM SMITH: TWO COMMENTS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2023

Sayantan Ghosal*
Affiliation:
Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Abstract

This study is a reconsideration of a theme, connecting The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations, namely the interplay between moral sentiments and self-interest. Two aspects of the theme are examined. The first consists of an interpretation of the so-called ‘das Adam Smith Problem’, an issue originally pointed out by nineteenth-century German scholars. The second, building on the insight of Smith on the association of shame and poverty, reports on recent research that seeks to examine how emotions impact the perception of economic interests and behaviour in marginalized groups.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of National Institute Economic Review

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