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

East Hampton North, New York

... age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 41 years. For every 100 females ...