Unveiling Economic Thought: A Textual Analysis of Keynes, Smith, and Ricardo

Economic texts authored by influential economists provide critical insights into the theories and ideologies that have shaped modern economic systems. This study analyzes five seminal works by John Maynard Keynes, Adam Smith, and David Ricardo, employing text mining techniques—including word frequency analysis, TF-IDF, and N-gram generation—to uncover patterns, correlations, and thematic distinctions. The hypothesis posited that these economists’ writings would exhibit unique vocabularies and ideological focuses, reflective of their distinct contributions to economics. Results confirmed that while all three authors frequently used terms like “price,” “produce,” “trade,” “labour,” “currency,” “capital,” and “market,” their specific word pairs and correlations diverged significantly. Keynes’ texts featured prominent pairs such as “Germany war,” “purchasing power,” and “currency exchange,” with high correlations for terms like “silesia upper” and “league nations.” Smith’s works emphasized pairs like “silver gold,” “land produce,” and “country produce,” with strong correlations for “butcher’s meat” and “forts garrisons.” Ricardo’s writings highlighted “Adam Smith,” “precious metals,” and “fish game” as frequent pairs, with corresponding high correlations. These findings underscore distinct focal points—Keynes on monetary and international dynamics, Smith on production and trade, and Ricardo on value and resources—illustrating their individualized approaches within the broader economic discourse. This analysis enhances our understanding of their foundational roles in shaping economic thought.