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Understanding the Gains to Capitalists from Colonization: Lessons from Robert E. Lucas, Jr., Karl Marx and Edward Gibbon Wakefield

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  • Edwyna Harris

    (Monash University)

  • Sumner La Croix

    (University of Hawai‘i)

Abstract

Britain after the Napoleonic wars saw the rise of colonial reformers, such as Edward Wakefield, who had extensive influence on British colonial policy. A version of Wakefield’s “System of Colonization” became the basis for legislation establishing the South Australia colony in 1834 and the New Zealand colony in 1840. We use extended versions of Robert Lucas’s 1990 model of coordinated colonial investment to show how Wakefield’s institutions were designed to work. We also show that the critique of Wakefield’s system by Karl Marx in Das Kapital closely follows Lucas’s analysis of colonial institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Edwyna Harris & Sumner La Croix, 2020. "Understanding the Gains to Capitalists from Colonization: Lessons from Robert E. Lucas, Jr., Karl Marx and Edward Gibbon Wakefield," Working Papers 202023, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hai:wpaper:202023
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Robert Lucas; Karl Marx; Edward Gibbon Wakefield; emigration; settler colonization; South Australia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N47 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Africa; Oceania
    • N57 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - Africa; Oceania
    • N97 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - Africa; Oceania
    • R30 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - General
    • D44 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Auctions

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