His ideas on technical problems regarding currency, banking, trade, and the foreign exchanges were presented skillfully in pamphlets, letters, and speeches. His method, model building, led to his recognition in his own lifetime as the leading economic authority and one of the first "scientific" intellectuals. At the center of his system was a single-output model of aggregate economic relationships, the simplicity of which was appealing and won Ricardo considerable respect. But much of his reputation and subsequent influence derived from the popularizing work of his disciples, including James Mill and J. R. McCulloch, and less distinguished writers, such as Harriet Martineau, Jane Marcet, and James Wilson, editor of the
Economist. Outlets as varied as the
Encyclopedia Britannica; popular magazines; fashionable periodicals such as the
Westminster Review and
Edinburgh Review ; the Political Economy Club, founded in London in 1821; and speeches by supporters in the House of Commons promoted a growing awareness of the discipline through the propagation of Ricardo's ideas. Policy makers gradually became persuaded that the economic expert could contribute significantly to the resolution of social and economic problems.
David Ricardo was born on 18 April 1772 in the parish of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, City of London.
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