Rowland Hill’s Contribution as an Economist

Abstract

In 1840, with the introduction of the Penny Post in England, modern postal service was born. The era of cheap, ubiquitous, and rapid communication had begun. Rowland Hill is credited with the major role in introducing the Penny Post and is regarded as the father of modern postal service. Hill was an educator, business man, reformer, and economist. His contribution as an economist stems not from his fundamental thinking and sculpting the discipline of economics, but from his brilliantly successful application of microeconomic analysis to the important practical problem of pricing and organizing postal service. Indeed, we are hard-pressed to think of any other application of microeconomic theory that has had such a widespread and long-lasting impact. Of course, Hill’s contributions are those of a practical economist and are not of the same character in shaping the discipline as the fundamental works of early economist such as Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and Thomas Malthus.¹