Two stand out. One is that the “invisible hand” of markets efficiently allocates resources, as long as certain conditions — including a stable currency, a degree of trust and moral rectitude among economic actors and credible property rights — are in place. Externalities (the unpriced impact of an entity’s activities on others) and informational gaps and asymmetries diminish the invisible hand’s efficiency and performance.
Next year will mark the 250th anniversary of the ratification of the Declaration of Independence, the founding document of the United States. But another foundational document, fundamental to our understanding of economics, will reach the same milestone in 2026: Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations.
At a time of rapid economic and structural transformation, its insights are worth revisiting.
