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When Britain turned inward: Protection and the shift towards Empire in interwar Britain

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  • O'Rourke, Kevin
  • de Bromhead, Alan
  • Fernihough, Alan
  • Lampe, Markus

Abstract

International trade became much less multilateral during the 1930s. Previous studies, looking at aggregate trade flows, have argued that discriminatory trade policies had comparatively little to do with this. Using highly disaggregated information on the UK’s imports and trade policies, we find that policy can explain the majority of Britain’s shift towards Imperial imports in the 1930s. Trade policy mattered, a lot.

Suggested Citation

  • O'Rourke, Kevin & de Bromhead, Alan & Fernihough, Alan & Lampe, Markus, 2017. "When Britain turned inward: Protection and the shift towards Empire in interwar Britain," CEPR Discussion Papers 11835, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11835
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Little Britain? Empire and the rise of protectionism in interwar Britain.
      by crowleymarkj in NEP-HIS blog on 2017-04-04 15:00:17

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    Cited by:

    1. Jason Lennard, 2020. "Uncertainty and the Great Slump," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 73(3), pages 844-867, August.
    2. Kevin Hjortshøj O'Rourke, 2017. "Two Great Trade Collapses: The Interwar Period & Great Recession Compared," NBER Working Papers 23825, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Kevin Hjortshøj O’Rourke, 2018. "Two Great Trade Collapses: The Interwar Period and Great Recession Compared," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 66(3), pages 418-439, September.
    4. Timothy Nussbaumer, 2017. "A study case on the caveats in the measurement of FTAs effect on trade: Switzerland's free trade agreements," Aussenwirtschaft, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science, Swiss Institute for International Economics and Applied Economics Research, vol. 68(01), pages 139-167, December.
    5. Simon P. Lloyd & Solomos Solomou, 2020. "The impact of the 1932 General Tariff: a difference-in-difference approach," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 14(1), pages 41-60, January.
    6. Rodolfo Campos & Jacopo Timini, 2019. "An estimation of the effects of Brexit on trade and migration," Occasional Papers 1912, Banco de España.
    7. Maylis Avaro, 2020. "Zombie International Currency: The Pound Sterling 1945-1973," IHEID Working Papers 03-2020, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies, revised 27 Apr 2021.
    8. J., Julio, 2019. "Brexit trade impacts' and Mercosur's negotiations with Europe," MPRA Paper 94885, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Olivier ACCOMINOTTI & Marie BRIERE & Aurore BURIETZ & Kim OOSTERLINCK & Ariane SZAFARZ, 2020. "Did Globalization Kill Contagion?," Working Papers 2020-ACF-01, IESEG School of Management.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • N74 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - Europe: 1913-

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