The purpose of the paper is to reconstruct Smith's view not only of human being but also of the economic system basing on his action, so as to show in what way Amartya Sen constructs his moral economic account on these presuppositions and how he conceptualizes some specific Smithian principles, reintegrating them in economic theorising. Sen's model of behavior but also his holistic views on the economy and human development, which have accumulated in the well known capability approach, is inspired by the philosophical work of Adam Smith. In fact, there are more similarities between the two economists than one might think. (...) (author´s abstract) / Series: Working Papers / Institut für Sozialpolitik

Professor Kurt W. Rothschild died on November 15, 2010 at the age of 96. Austria has lost with him one of its most thoughtful and original economic thinkers of the past century. Commemorating the 1st anniversary of his death the Oesterreichische Nationalbank jointly with the University of Economics, Vienna, the University of Linz and the Austrian Institute of Economic Research organises this conference in honour of Kurt W. Rothschild and his contribution to economics.