Robert Torrens
Robert Torrens (* 1780 in Hervey Hill , Derry , † May 27, 1864 in London ) was a British officer and economist.
Together with David Ricardo, Torrens argued that the base money must be limited. On the other hand, John Fullarton and Thomas Tooke advocated the opposite thesis, according to which an economy's need for money would regulate itself .
Torrens also became known as the creator of the " Terms of Trade " argument, which states that a country with a significant share of world demand (of a good) can influence world demand and thus world market price by imposing tariffs, and at the expense of additional welfare his trading partners can acquire. In 1844, Torrens put forward this argument in the opposite context: The British government under Robert Peel threatened to damage the national welfare of England by abolishing the grain tariffs, while according to the theorem of the comparative advantage it would benefit the world welfare . Torrens is therefore, together with John Stuart Mill, the creator of the concept of the terms of trade.
The River Torrens in South Australia is named after him.
His son Robert Richard Torrens was Premier of South Australia in 1857 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Robert Torrens in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Torrens, Robert |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British economist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1780 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hervey Hill |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 27, 1864 |
| Place of death | London |