QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY AT KINGSTON Department of Economics. ECONOMICS 332 Economic History of North America since 1865

Transcription

1 QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY AT KINGSTON Department of Economics ECONOMICS 332 Economic History of North America since 1865 Winter 2015 Frank D. Lewis Monday at 4:00 pm; Wednesday at 2:30 pm Dunning 303 Location - Dunning 12 lewisf@econ.queensu.ca Office Hours: Monday: 11:00 am - noon Wednesday: 10:00 am - noon or by appointment Grade Distribution: Mid-term Test - 20% Essay - 30% Final Exam - 50% There is no required text for the course. For background on Canadian economic history the suggested text: Kenneth H. Norrie, Douglas Owram and J.C. Herbert Emery, A History of the Canadian Economy, Fourth Edition (Scarborough, Ontario: Thomson, 2008). Richard Pomfret, The Economic Development of Canada, Second Edition (Scarborough, Ontario: Nelson Canada, 1993) provides a good overview. An excellent, but more traditional text is: W.T. Easterbrook and H.G.J. Aitken, Canadian Economic History (Macmillan, reprinted 1967). For background on U.S. economic history see Gary M. Walton and Hugh Rockoff, History of the American Economy, Eleventh Edition (Cengage Learning, 2010). These texts have been placed on Reserve in Stauffer Library. Required readings are available in a course package, which can be purchased from the Copy Center (P&CC) located in the JDUC. Journal articles can also be downloaded from the webbased journal archives, available through the Queen s library home page. Objectives of the Course: The central purpose of this course is to introduce students to the development of Canada and the United States from the 1860's. Throughout we draw on economic reasoning to help explain aspects of North America's past. The organization of the course is by topic rather than chronological, and is designed to illustrate how scholars combine evidence and theoretical frameworks to further the understanding of particular historical developments. Among the themes to be discussed are technological change with emphasis on the industrial structure of the economy; the building and financing railways; the settlement of the prairies; the exploitation of natural resources and the role of government policy; aspects of immigration; and the staples thesis and its relevance to North American economic development. Taken as a whole, the topics, although by no means exhaustive, include important historical changes that shaped the North American economy. Mid-Term Monday, March 2nd - in class

2 Term Paper A research paper is required of every student. Suggested topics plus some bibliographical material will be distributed. If a student wishes to write on a topic not on the list, permission should be obtained prior to beginning work on the essay. The paper should be about 13 to 15 pages in length (double spaced), and should include sources for all quotations, tables, charts and so on. Reading List (* indicates a required reading) Trade and the National Policy 1. J.H. Dales, The Protective Tariff in Canada s Economic Development (1966). 2. S. Easton, W. Gibson, and C. Reed, Tariffs and Growth: The Dales Hypothesis, E.E.H. 25 (1988), pp *3. R. Harris, I. Keay, and F. Lewis, Protecting Infant Industries: Canadian Manufacturing and the National Policy, , mimeo. Counterfactual Propositions and the New Economic History 1. C. Goldin, "Cliometrics and the Nobel," Journal of Economic Perspectives 9 (Spring, 1995), pp R.W. Fogel, Railroads and American Economic Growth: Essays in Econometric History, Chapters 1-3. *3. R.W. Fogel, Railroads and American Economic Growth, in R.W. Fogel and S.L. Engerman, The Reinterpretation of American Economic History (1971), pp Canadian Economic Growth and the Staples Thesis 1. Pomfret, chapter 2, pp and pp W.A. Mackintosh, "Economic Factors in Canadian History," in W.T. Easterbrook and M.H. Watkins, Approaches to Canadian Economic History, pp *3. M.H. Watkins, "A Staple Theory of Economic Growth," C.J.E.P.S. 29 (1963), pp ; also in Easterbrook and Watkins, pp *4. E.J. Chambers and D.F. Gordon, "Primary Products and Economic Growth: An Empirical Measurement," J.P.E. 74 (1966), pp *5. F. Lewis, "The Canadian Wheat Boom and Per-Capita Income: New Estimates," J.P.E. 84 (1975), pp *6. I. Keay, The Engine or the Caboose? Resource Industries and Twentieth-Century Canadian Economic Performance, J.E.H. 67 (2007), pp

3 Technological Change A. Overview 1. Norrie and Owram, chapters 12 and 13; Pomfret, chapter M. Abramovitz and P. David, "Reinterpreting Economic Growth: Parables and Realities," A.E.R., Papers and Proc. 63 (1973), pp *3. M. Abramovitz, "The Search for Economic Growth: Areas of Ignorance, Old and New," J.E.H. 53 (1993), pp *4. C. Goldin and L. Katz, The Race between Education and Technology, chapters 1 and 8. B. Technological Change in Manufacturing: Canada-U.S. Comparisons *1. S. Ahmad, "On the Theory of Induced Innovation," Economic Journal 76 (1966), pp *2. P. Wylie, "Technological Adaptation in Canadian Manufacturing, ," J.E.H. 49 (1989), pp I. Keay, "Canadian Manufacturer's Relative Productivity Performance, ," C.J.E. 33 (2000), pp I. Keay, "Scapegoats or Responsive Entrepreneurs: Canadian Manufacturers, ," E.E.H. 37 (2000), pp Canadian Immigration and Settlement A. Canadian Prairie Settlement 1. Norrie et al., chapter C. Studness, "Economic Opportunity and the Westward Migration of Canadians During the Late Nineteenth Century," C.J.E.P.S. 30 (1964), pp *3. K. Norrie, "The Rate of Settlement of the Canadian Prairies, ," J.E.H. 35 (1975), pp Also K.G. Grant, "...: A Comment," J.E.H. 38 (1978), pp *4. F. Lewis, "Farm Settlement on the Canadian Prairies: ," J.E.H. 41 (1981), pp *5. T. Ward, Origins of the Canadian Wheat Boom, , C.J.E. 27 (1994), pp F. Lewis and D. Robinson, "The Timing of Railway Construction on the Canadian Prairies," C.J.E. 17 (1984), pp

4 B. Immigration and Immigration Policy 1. T.J. Hatton and J.G. Williamson, "International Migration : An Economic Survey," in T.J. Hatton and J.G. Williamson, eds., Migration and the International Labor Market, (New York, 1994). 2. T.J. Hatton, "The Immigrant Assimilation Puzzle in the Late Nineteenth Century, J.E.H. 57 (1997), pp M.J. Greenwood, Modelling the Age and Age Composition of Late 19th Century U.S. Migrants from Europe, E.E.H. 44 (2007), pp A. Armstrong and F. Lewis, Capital Constraints and European Migration to Canada: Evidence from the 1920s Passenger Lists, C.J.E. 45 (2012), pp *5. A. Armstrong and F. Lewis, Transatlantic Wages and the Migration Decision: Europe- Canada in the 1920s, mimeo. *6. A.G. Green and D.A. Green, "Canadian Immigration Policy: The Effectiveness of the Point System and other Instruments," C.J.E. 28 (1995), pp *7. L.P. Boustan, Were Jews Political or Economic Migrants? Assessing the Persecution, Theory of Jewish Emigration, , in T.J. Hatton et al., eds., The New Comparative Economic History: Essays in Honor of Jeffrey G. Williamson (Cambridge, Mass., 2007), pp Historical Aspects of Labour Markets A. Education *1. W. Landes and L. Solmon, Compulsory Schooling Legislation: An Economic Analysis of Law and Social Change in the Nineteenth Century, J.E.H. 32 (1972), pp P. Oreopoulos, The Compelling Effects of Compulsory Schooling: Evidence from Canada, C.J.E. 39 (2006), pp C. Goldin and L. Katz, Why the United States Led in Education: Lessons from Secondary School Expansion, in D. Eltis, F. Lewis, and K. Sokoloff, eds., Human Capital and Institutions: A Long-Run View (2009), pp B. Women and Discrimination in the Workforce *1. G. Becker, The Economics of Discrimination, 2nd edition (1971), chapters 1 and 4. *2. C. Goldin, Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American Women (1990), chapters 3 and C. Goldin and C. Rouse, Orchestrating Impartiality: The Impact of Blind Auditions on Female Musicians, A.E.R. 90 (2000), pp

5 Aspects of Government Policy A. Railroads 1. Pomfret, chapter 6, pp *2. P.J. George, "Rates of Return to Railway Investment in Canada and Implications for Government Subsidization of the C.P.R.: Some Preliminary Results," C.J.E. 1 (1968), pp *3. L. Mercer, "Rates of Return and Government Subsidization of the Canadian Pacific Railway: An Alternative View," C.J.E. 6 (1973), pp *4. J.C. Herbert Emery and K.J. McKenzie, "Damned if you do, damned if you don't: An Option Value Approach to evaluating the Subsidy of the CPR Mainline," C.J.E. 29 (1996), pp *5. F. Lewis and M. Mackinnon, "Government Loan Guarantees and the Failure of the Canadian Northern Railway," J.E.H. 47 (1987), pp T.D. Regehr, The Canadian Northern Railway: Pioneer Road of the Northern Prairies, , passim. B. Natural Resources *1. D. Paterson and J. Wilen, "Depletion and Diplomacy: The North Pacific Seal Hunt, ," Research in Economic History 2 (1977), pp M. S. Taylor, Buffalo Hunt: International Trade and the Virtual Extinction of the North American Bison, A.E.R. 101 (2011), pp R. Allen and I. Keay, Saving the Whales: Lessons from the Extinction of the Eastern Arctic Bowhead, J.E.H. 64 (2004), pp

6 Abbreviations of Periodicals A.E.R. - C.J.E. - E.E.H. - J.E.H. - J.P.E. - American Economic Review Canadian Journal of Economics Explorations in Economic History Journal of Economic History Journal of Political Economy This material is copyrighted and is for the sole use of students registered in ECON 331. This material shall not be distributed or disseminated to anyone other than students registered in ECON 331. Failure to abide by these conditions is a breach of copyright, and may also constitute a breach of academic integrity under the University Senate s Academic Integrity Policy Statement. 6