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The Terms of Trade between the United Kingdom and British India, 1858-1947

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  • Appleyard, Dennis R

Abstract

The commodity terms of trade of the United Kingdom with British India for 1858-1947 are calculated. Unit value indexes for a sample containing over three-quarters of UK/India trade indicate a slight improvement for the United Kingdom from 1858 to 1917. This improvement was likely attributable to falling transport costs for British imports and was therefore not associated with a decline in India's terms of trade with Britain. For 1917-47, there was substantial UK terms-of-trade improvement, a rise not due solely to declining transport costs and which, ceteris paribus, thus implied that India's terms of trade with the United Kingdom deteriorated. The 1917-47 UK improvement brought the amount of increase for the whole 1858-1947 period to an annual average of almost 1%.

Suggested Citation

  • Appleyard, Dennis R, 2006. "The Terms of Trade between the United Kingdom and British India, 1858-1947," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(3), pages 635-654, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:ecdecc:y:2006:v:54:i:3:p:635-54
    DOI: 10.1086/500031
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    Cited by:

    1. Dennis Appleyard & Shyam Gouri Suresh, 2014. "Crown Rule, Home Charges, and U.K.-India Terms of Trade," Working Papers 14-12, Davidson College, Department of Economics.
    2. Ghoshray, Atanu, 2015. "A robust estimation of the terms of trade between the United Kingdom and British India, 1858–1947," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 53-57.

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