# principal clerk

**Definition**  
A principal clerk is a senior administrative officer who oversees the inspection and direction labour in large manufacturing enterprises. His wages represent the value of managerial supervision and are often the primary recipient of the profit component in such enterprises.

**Source Chapter**  
*The Wealth of Nations*, Book 1, Chapter 6.

**Context**  
Smith mentions the principal clerk when describing “many great works” where “the whole labour of this kind is committed to some principal clerk.” He notes that the clerk’s wages express the value of inspection and direction labour.

**Economic Domain**  
Production

**Smith’s Original Wording**  
> “In many great works, almost the whole labour of this kind is committed to some principal clerk. His wages properly express the value of this labour of inspection and direction.”

**Modern Interpretation**  
The principal clerk is analogous to a senior manager or operations director who coordinates production activities, reflecting the modern role of middle‑management in organizational hierarchies.