With contributions from authorities on four continents, this edited volume provides a comprehensive survey of the life and work of David Ricardo (1772-1823), a major contributor to the British classical school of political economy. After an editorial introduction that sets Ricardo's work in the economic, political and social climate of his time, individual chapters are devoted to his business activities; his political work and its influence; his relationship with Robert Malthus; his thinking on the theories of value, distribution, trade and money; some important misunderstandings of his analytical work; his relationship to Karl Marx; and his reception in Australia.