Encyclopedia > Adam Smith rule

Article Content

Adam Smith rule

The Adam Smith rule, named after Adam Smith, is a simplification of political behavior derived from a study of Oakland, California which was conducted by Frank Levy[?], Arnold Meltsner[?], and Aaron Wildavsky[?] and briefly mentioned in Managing Urban America.

This rule states, "When a customer makes a request, take care of him in a professional manner; otherwise, leave him alone."

An applied example of this would be a city which professionally maintains certain streets, and ignores maintenance on others.

Featured Article

Accelerando

... minute in a piece marked allegro, for example, will depend on the music itself. A piece consisting mainly of minims (half notes) can be played very much quicker in terms of ...