Free Trade and Liberal England 1846–1946

Politics remains prominently absent in the literature showing that higher levels of trade integration lead to a larger public sector. As openness increases, the state, acting as a social planner, adopts a salient role to minimize the risks of economic integration and secure social peace. Given the highly redistributive nature of both trade and fiscal policies, we claim, however, that the interaction of the international economy and domestic politics leads to three distinct political-economic equilibria. First, nations may embrace protectionist policies to shore up the welfare of key domestic sectors—without engaging, therefore, in substantial public spending. Second, to maintain trade openness in democracies, policymakers develop compensation policies to muster the support of the losers of openness. Finally, given the tax burden of public compensation, pro-free trade sectors may impose an authoritarian regime to exclude (instead of buying off) their opponents. After formally stating the conditions under which each regime emerges, we test the model on a panel data of around sixty-five developing and developed nations in the period 1950–1990 and explore its implications through a set of key historical cases drawn from the last two centuries.

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“…As late as 1931, 93 percent of Labour candidates supported free trade in their manifestos. Howe 1997, 285. 48.…”

Section: From Laissez-faire To Compensatory Policies In Democratizingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trade, Democracy, and the Size of the Public Sector: The Political Underpinnings of Openness

Adserà¹,

Boix²

2002

Int Org

292

162

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“…In the middle of the nineteenth century, the HBC faced a new set of strategic threats. Many historians regard 1846 as marking the effective end of the epoch of British mercantilism and the beginning of a period of 'liberal imperialism' (Howe 1997;Trentmann 2008, 31-46), was also a watershed year for the HBC. This period was crucial as the political culture in both Britain and Canada became increasingly committed to the free-market ideology of classical liberalism and many actors came to regard statutory monopolies as anathema (Ducharme and Constant 2009;Fecteau 2004;Searle 1998).…”

Section: Evolution Of the Hbc's Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning to use the past: the development of a rhetorical history strategy by the London headquarters of the Hudson’s Bay Company

Smith

Simeone

2017

Management & Organizational History

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Organization studies scholars are increasingly interested in how managers use the past to obtain competitive advantage. Little research has been done on the history of the corporate use of history which means that we know little about the circumstances in which the corporate use of rhetorical history was pioneered. This paper historicizes rhetorical history. It uses the experience of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) to develop understanding of how companies used the past to advance interests in the face of political threats. Founded in 1670, the HBC is one of the oldest firms in the Western world. For much of its history, its senior managers invested few resources in the firm's 'heritage infrastructure' and rarely used history in its communication with outside stakeholders. This paper shows how it learned to use history as a strategic asset gradually and by observing other firms. At the end of World War I, it began to make substantial investments in heritage infrastructure. This allowed the firm to turn its long history into an asset. This paper stresses the politicized nature of the corporate use of the past.

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“…Trade and Protection -both of which (Howe 1997;Trentmann 2009) generated their own political cultures of publications, pressure groups, political meetings and even early political use of films -served to re-energise Liberalism in the aftermath of the Boer War.…”

Section: Beyond Scotlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Political Histories of Modern Scotland

Cameron¹

2013

Scottish Affairs

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Free Trade and Liberal England 1846–1946

Cited by 83 publications

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Trade, Democracy, and the Size of the Public Sector: The Political Underpinnings of Openness

Trade, Democracy, and the Size of the Public Sector: The Political Underpinnings of Openness

Learning to use the past: the development of a rhetorical history strategy by the London headquarters of the Hudson’s Bay Company

The Political Histories of Modern Scotland

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