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# Public Lottery

## Definition

A government-sponsored gambling scheme where participants purchase tickets for chances to win prizes, which Smith uses as an analogy to illustrate how people systematically overvalue potential gains while undervaluing probable losses.

## Source Chapter

Book I, Chapter 10

## Context

Smith employs the public lottery as a metaphor for certain professions where a few individuals achieve great success while most fail completely. He argues that just as lottery players overvalue their chances of winning, people entering professions like law or the arts often overestimate their probability of success.

## Economic Domain

General Theory

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