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The economics of Edwardian imperial preference: what can New Zealand reveal?

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  • Varian, Brian

Abstract

In the Edwardian era, the British Dominions adopted policies of imperial preference, amid a period of rising imports from the United States and industrial Continental Europe. Hitherto, there has been no econometric assessment of whether these policies produced an intra-Empire trade diversion, as intended. This paper focuses on New Zealand’s initial policy of imperial preference, codified in the Preferential and Reciprocal Trade Act of 1903. New Zealand’s policy was unique insofar as it extended preference to only certain commodities. Using a commodity panel regression, this paper exploits the cross-commodity variation in the extension of preference, but finds no statistically significant effect of preference on either the Empire share or, specifically, the British share of New Zealand’s imports. This finding is corroborated by an alternative empirical approach involving propensity-score matching.

Suggested Citation

  • Varian, Brian, 2018. "The economics of Edwardian imperial preference: what can New Zealand reveal?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 88298, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:88298
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/88298/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Varian, Brian, 2016. "The revealed comparative advantages of late-Victorian Britain," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 66488, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. repec:ehl:wpaper:66488 is not listed on IDEAS
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    4. Allen, Robert C., 1979. "International Competition in Iron and Steel, 1850–1913," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 39(4), pages 911-937, December.
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    JEL classification:

    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • N25 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Asia including Middle East
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies

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