<!-- generated: provider=openrouter model=arcee-ai/trinity-large-preview:free date=2026-02-19 source=book-1-chapter-06 -->

# Capital Employed

## Definition

The total value of resources, including materials and wages, that an investor advances in a productive enterprise. This represents the stock committed to generating profits through manufacturing or commercial activities.

## Source Chapter

Book I, Chapter 6

## Context

Central to Smith's explanation of how profits are determined. He argues that profits are regulated by the amount of capital employed rather than by the labour of supervision, using examples of different scales of manufacturing to illustrate this principle.

## Economic Domain

Accumulation

---
