A Study in Trade-Cycle History: Economic Fluctuations in Great Britain 1833-1842Originally published in 1954, this volume describes and analyses the course of short-period fluctuations in the British economy between 1833 and 1842. Through concentrating on a relatively short space of time, the text is able to provide a rigorous examination of the evidence and also avoids the over-simplification inherent in comparing the history of fluctuations in different periods. A variety of sources are put under scrutiny, both 'literary' and statistical, reflecting a relative lack of surviving economic material from the period. This, in turn, reflects a generally broad approach which is described by the author as 'quantitative-historical'. Concise and highly informative, this book will remain of value to anyone with an interest in nineteenth century and economic history. |
Contents
INTRODUCTION 1 The problem to be studied | 1 |
An outline of the cycle | 2 |
The structure of the economy | 3 |
SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 1 The effect of balanceofpayments movements on the level of incomes | 5 |
The overall balance of payments and the income balance | 6 |
Imports and prices | 7 |
IMPORTS OF COMMODITIES OTHER THAN CORN 1 Introduction 2 The statistical material | 9 |
Factors affecting the behaviour of imports 4 Behaviour of imports 18331836 | 15 |
The theory of the income balance | 99 |
The working of the income balance | 101 |
RAILWAYS BUILDING AND SHIPBUILDING page 70 | 106 |
Railways | 111 |
Building | 116 |
Shipbuilding | 118 |
Statistics of the railway boom | 120 |
THE COTTON INDUSTRY 1 Volume and value of output | 127 |
HARVESTS AND CORN IMPORTS 1 Harvest fluctuations and the level of effective demand | 28 |
The record of the harvests | 30 |
The effects of the Corn Laws | 35 |
The relation between stocks and imports | 37 |
Conclusions 35 37 | 41 |
THE AMERICAN MARKET AND ITS FLUCTUATIONS 1 Introduction | 43 |
Fluctuations in American business before 1835 | 45 |
Andrew Jackson and the banks | 46 |
Territorial expansion and internal improvements | 49 |
Imports from Britain during the boom | 50 |
Domestic and international antecedents of the American boom | 51 |
The turningpoint and the panic of 1837 | 55 |
Resumption of cash payments | 60 |
Policy of the Bank of the United States in 18371838 | 61 |
Contrast between the boom of 1836 and the recovery of 18381839 | 63 |
The last days of the Bank of the United States | 65 |
Conclusion | 68 |
Alternative hypotheses regarding the behaviour of exports to other markets | 72 |
The relationship between other exports and imports | 75 |
Some difficulties | 78 |
The nature of the relationship postulated | 80 |
Implications for the cyclical process | 82 |
introduction | 84 |
The balance of trade 3 Capital movements and economic fluctuations on the Continent of Europe | 87 |
The course and causes of international bullion movements | 91 |
Stability and instability in the balance of payments | 95 |
growing output and falling profits | 129 |
prosperity and high investment | 134 |
conflicting trends | 137 |
depression | 141 |
Summary and conclusions | 143 |
The impact on labour | 144 |
Statistics of value of production in the cotton industry | 148 |
CYCLICAL MOVEMENTS IN OTHER INDUSTRIES 1 Introduction | 152 |
45 | 153 |
The woollen and worsted industries | 154 |
The coal industry | 155 |
The iron industry | 157 |
The jointstock company boom | 159 |
Other sectors of the economy | 163 |
MONEY AND BANKING 1 Introduction 2 The Bank of England and the Palmer rule | 165 |
The Banks reserve and the market rate of discount | 175 |
The country noteissue | 176 |
cont | 180 |
46 | 192 |
THE PATTERN OF THE CYCLE | 202 |
49 | 213 |
127 | 221 |
| 225 | |
| 226 | |
| 227 | |
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Common terms and phrases
activity agricultural American amount balance of payments balance of trade Bank of England behaviour bills boom brick production Britain British exports bullion business cycles capacity cash cause Chapter Chart Circular to Bankers circulation commodities consumption corn imports Corn Laws cotton industry country banks Currency School cycle cyclical decline demand deposits depression discount rates drain Economic effect estimates evidence extent factors fall in prices favourable figures finance fluctuations foreign exchanges Gilbart gold growth harvest income balance increase interest investment joint-stock banks Lancashire less Liverpool London mania manufacturing market rate million northern Europe Official value output peak period piece-goods probably profits quantity railway building rate of discount reason recession recovery rediscounting reduce relatively reserve ratios result rise securities Select Committee Specie Circular speculation statistics Stockport stocks supply tendency tion took United value of imports volume W. W. Rostow