Robert Torrens (economist)

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For the third Premier of South Australia, see Robert Torrens.

.Colonel Robert Torrens (1780 – 1864) was a British army officer and owner of the influential Globe newspaper.

Robert Torrens was an independent discoverer of the David Ricardo's principle of comparative advantage in international trade. He was also one of the first to theorize about the optimal tariff, predating J.S. Mill's thoughts on the subject by 11 years. Torrens remained a consistent critic of the "labor theory of value".

The River Torrens which runs through Adelaide, Australia, is believed to have been named after him.

[edit] Works of Robert Torrens

The Economist Refuted, 1808
An Essay on Money and Paper Currency, 1812.
An Essay on the External Corn Trade, 1815.
An Essay on the Production of Wealth, 1821.
Letters on Commercial Policy, 1833
On Wages and Combination, 1834
The Principles and Practical Operation of Sir Robert Peel's Bill of 1844, 1844.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Thomas Barrett-Lennard	Member of Parliament for Ipswich 1826–1827	Succeeded by Charles Mackinnon Robert Adam Christopher
Preceded by Sir Lawrence Palk	Member of Parliament for Ashburton 1831–1832	Succeeded by None
Preceded by None	Member of Parliament for Bolton 1832–1835	Succeeded by Peter Ainsworth