The Growth of the International Economy, 1820-1960: An Introductory Text

Here is an introduction to the study of the international economy as a mechanism for diffusing modern economic growth between nations. It is divided into three parts, of which the first examines the workings of the system in the years before 1914. This includes an analysis of the conditions favorable to the growth of international economic relations during the period, examines the changing character of the international flows of labor, capital and trade, and surveys contemporary commercial and international monetary policies. This first part concludes with a chapter analyzing the international economy as a mechanism for diffusing economic growth, and another chapter examining the nature of the economic trends and fluctuations associated with this phase in the growth of the international economic system. The second part gives an account of the collapse of the international economy during the interwar years, and traces the causes of collapse to changes in the structure and functioning of the system brought about by World War I and the depression of the 1930s. The final part takes the story beyond World War II. It describes the wartime and post-war efforts to reconstruct the international economic system, and examines the working of the new system in the period after 1945, bringing out both its strengths and its weaknesses.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Part I: The International Economy, 1820-1913 1. The causes of the growth of the international economy in the nineteenth century Technological progress: industry and agriculture Technological progress: transport and communications The accumulation of capital The growth of world population The supply of natural resources The growth of real incomes The spread of economic freedom 2. International long-term capital movements, 1820-1913 The growth of foreign investment The direction of foreign investment Determinants of capital outflow The use of foreign funds in borrowing countries Economic consequences of foreign investment 3. International migration, 1820-1913 European migration, 1821-1913 Migration and its causes Aids to mass emigration Economic consequences of migration Intracontinental migration Asiatic migration and tropical development 4. Commercial policy in the nineteenth century Britain adopts free trade The spread of free trade The consequences of free trade The return to protection The economic consequences of protection 5. Foreign trade in the nineteenth century The growth of world trade before 1913 The direction of world trade before 1913 The composition of world trade before 1913 Conclusion 6. The growth of a multilateral payments network Introduction Development of the system Foreign investment and the multilateral settlements network Concluding remarks 7. The growth of an international monetary system: the gold standard before 1913 Bimetallic and monometallic standards Britain adopts the gold standard International monetary standards up to 1870 The spread of the gold standard The role of sterling as an international currency and the importance of the London capital market The working of the gold standard Divergence between classical theory and empirical evidence Other features of the adjustment mechanism Conclusion 8. International aspects of economic growth in the nineteenth century: the spread of industrialization Introduction The spread of industrialization The contribution of the international economy Causes of the limited spread of industrialization Conclusion 9. International aspects of economic growth in the nineteenth century: the export economies Introduction Regions of recent settlement The export economies Economic imperialism and colonialism 10. Trends and fluctuations in the international economy before 1913 The international transmission of business cycles Long swings and the international economy Long-run trends in the terms of trade Part II: The Interwar Years 11. The international economy in the interwar years Primary production Population growth and migration Manufacturing production The intensification of protectionism 12. The restoration of the gold standard and the economic recovery of the twenties Post-war inflation and the restoration of the gold standard Weaknesses in the post-war gold standard:international investment Institutional weaknesses of the restored gold standard The economic boom of the late twenties 13. The collapse of the gold standard and the disintegration of the international economy Crisis in agriculture Financial crisis in Europe The end of the gold standard Growth of restrictions on finance and trade International financial co-operation Regional economic co-operation International commodity control schemes Conclusion 14. International trade during the interwar period The growth of world trade in the interwar years The direction of world trade between the wars The changing composition of world trade Diminishing trade hypothesis Part III: The Post-1945 International Economy 15. Wartime preparations for the future international economy and post-war reconstruction The International Monetary Fund The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Post-war reconstruction 16. The international economy in the 1950s Population growth and migration International capital flows: private investment International capital flows: foreign aid and official long-term loans Technological change and world trade Conclusion 17. The international monetary system, 1945-60 Performance of the system, 1945-52 Performance of the system, 1953-60 18. International commercial policy, 1945-60 The International Trade Organization The inauguration of GATT Discrimination in trade relations Regional trading blocs International commodity agreements Conclusion 19. Trade and growth in the international economy, 1945-60: the developed economies Trends in trade Economic growth in the developed economies, 1945-60 20. Trade and growth in the international economy, 1945-60: the developing and centrally-planned economies The developing economies The centrally-planned economies 21. Epilogue Index