A new resource about Adam Smith, created by The Economist Educational Foundation and the University of Glasgow, aims to help young people understand the ideas of the founder of modern economics.

Advert for the Global Economics: Division of Labour learning resource. Including the text: 'In The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith discussed how division of labour could be used in a pin factory in Glasgow.'

Global economics: Division of Labour, which is aimed at 10-15 year olds, was shared with a global network of teachers in September 2023. The resource is expected to reach more than 10,000 children, who will join discussions about Adam Smith and his legacy.

This is the first time that a resource about Adam Smith on this scale has been introduced to schools.

It will help teachers to engage young people in inspiring discussions, which encourage them to think critically, communicate effectively and understand important global challenges.

Through undertaking interactive activities, students will be supported to understand the societal impact of Adam Smith’s division of labour, and why history has proved this to be so effective for the economy and wider society.

The University of Glasgow provided expertise towards the resource as part of Adam Smith 300.

Professor Kathleen Riach, of the University of Glasgow’s Adam Smith Business School, said:

"As one of Scotland’s most famous intellectual exports, Adam Smith's 300th anniversary is a great time to highlight the richness and relevance of his work to contemporary debates surrounding how we create an efficient but also a fair economy. This resource highlights how Smith's ideas can help young people critically engage with today's global, interdependent and often unequal world, by providing ways of thinking about work, labour, and consumer society in the 21st century."

Harriet Boland, Head of Partnerships, The Economist Educational Foundation, said:

"We are thrilled to be working with the University of Glasgow to empower children with the knowledge and skills to thrive in school and as citizens. We're hugely grateful for the University's support and expertise which has enabled us to create a high-quality teaching resource on Adam Smith in his tercentenary year, illustrating to schoolchildren how his ideas are relevant in the modern world."

Get the Global economics: Division of Labour teaching resource

First published: 5 September 2023

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