Free Trade Essay
Did free trade help or hinder British economic growth in the period down to 1914?
Despite the highly favourable views that many neo-classical economistshold on the concept of free trade and its contribution towards economic growth, the backlash against free trade’s effect on economic growth during the British Victorian period continues unabated. The term ‘free trade’ can be defined as “the unrestricted purchase and sale of goods and services between countries without the imposition of constraints such as tariffs, duties and quotas”. (investopedia.com, 2014)
The eminentlate 19th/early 20thcentury debate as to whether free trade was in fact advantageous in terms of economic growth for Britain is one which has many striking resonances for economists and political scientists. Perhaps the most unconcealed was the Repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 which established an earlier movement towards free trade as it reflected a growing belief that cheap imports were key to prosperity as they would benefit the consumer as well as reduce business costs - therefore maintaining industrial supremacy which would theoretically lead towards long run economic growth. (Cain, Refresh 29, 1999)Whether this was in fact true, is a controversial debate. However, as economists we can argue that it was the repeal of the Corn Laws which provided a basis for the disarray of the British Tories during the early 20th century ultimately leading towards a freer trading Britain as the century progressed.Tory leaderArthur Balfour - struggled to maintain party unanimity as far as trade policy was concerned. Many Tories argued in favour of free trade whereas politicianJoseph Chamberlain was adamant on limited protectionist policies(Schonhardt-Bailey, The rise of free trade Volume 3, 1997).
While globalisation in the 19th century was primarily a result of transport cost declines, the early 20th century also allowed us to see how trade liberalisation could lead towards the phenomenon of increasing
Despite the highly favourable views that many neo-classical economistshold on the concept of free trade and its contribution towards economic growth, the backlash against free trade’s effect on economic growth during the British Victorian period continues unabated. The term ‘free trade’ can be defined as “the unrestricted purchase and sale of goods and services between countries without the imposition of constraints such as tariffs, duties and quotas”. (investopedia.com, 2014)
The eminentlate 19th/early 20thcentury debate as to whether free trade was in fact advantageous in terms of economic growth for Britain is one which has many striking resonances for economists and political scientists. Perhaps the most unconcealed was the Repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 which established an earlier movement towards free trade as it reflected a growing belief that cheap imports were key to prosperity as they would benefit the consumer as well as reduce business costs - therefore maintaining industrial supremacy which would theoretically lead towards long run economic growth. (Cain, Refresh 29, 1999)Whether this was in fact true, is a controversial debate. However, as economists we can argue that it was the repeal of the Corn Laws which provided a basis for the disarray of the British Tories during the early 20th century ultimately leading towards a freer trading Britain as the century progressed.Tory leaderArthur Balfour - struggled to maintain party unanimity as far as trade policy was concerned. Many Tories argued in favour of free trade whereas politicianJoseph Chamberlain was adamant on limited protectionist policies(Schonhardt-Bailey, The rise of free trade Volume 3, 1997).
While globalisation in the 19th century was primarily a result of transport cost declines, the early 20th century also allowed us to see how trade liberalisation could lead towards the phenomenon of increasing
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