Professor of Economics and International Studies
University of Richmond
Dr. Wight is a professor of economics and international studies at the University of Richmond. His academic specialization focuses on global economics and development in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The son of a diplomat, Wight grew up in Africa and Brazil where he saw firsthand the tension between rich and poor. Wight, an economist, esearches the moral foundations and principles of capitalism and how they work in developing countries. He also explores and writes about the history of political economy, public health policy and social economics.
His current project is to make Adam Smith's ideas on the moral foundations for a global economy accessible and exciting. In his book Saving Adam Smith: A Tale of Wealth, Virtue, and Transformation (Prentice-Hall, 2002), he outlines the economic tenants of economist Adam Smith and their contemporary implications. In that work and in articles, Wight provides new ways of seeing the "father of economics” as a moral philosopher.
Wight completed his bachelor’s degree at Duke University and his master’s and doctoral degrees at Vanderbilt University. He has written extensively about teaching ethics in economics and economics and health in developing countries. He is a member of the American Economic Association and the Association for Social Economics.