Focusing mainly on the staple theory, this collection of essays clearly shows the impact the great staple trades from cod and fur to newsprint and oil had upon Canadian history. Other significant frames of reference-the role of government, the development of commercial agriculture, the climate of enterprise and capital formation-are also represented.
This seminal collection contains formative articles on Canadian economic history by W.A. Mackintosh, Mel Watkins, and Harold Innis as well as thirteen more current contributions. These essays frame the classic staples thesis in terms of its significance and applications for the field while drawing on newer approaches that both challenge and reinforce aspects of this theory.
Harold A. Innis helped to found the field of Canadian economic history. He is best known for the "staples thesis" which dominated the discourse of Canadian economic history for decades. This volume collects Innis’ published and unpublished essays on economic history, from 1929 to 1952, thereby charting the development of the arguments and ideas found in his books The Fur Trade in Canada and The Cod Fisheries. These essays capture Innis’ ever evolving views on the practices and uses of economic history as well as Canadian economic history. The new introduction written by prominent historian Matthew Evenden provides a fresh take on Innis life’s work and situates the essays in the context of his scholarship as well as recent studies on Canadian economic history. This volume offers invaluable insight into one of Canada’s most original thinkers and his interpretation of our nation’s history.
First Published in 2005. The aim of this book is to provide an introduction to and interpretation of the development of the Canadian economy since European settlement. The main contrast between the book’s view and previous interpretations of Canada’s economic past is that, instead of emphasizing the continuity of Canadian economic development (with staple exports playing the leading role), the focus is on the transition from the sparsely populated colonial economy of the early nineteenth century to the modern economy ranking among the seven largest market economies whose leaders now meet for economic summits.
Contemporary methodologies include the "cliometric" style of historical analysis, econometrics, labour and regional study, and the changing parameters of government spending and public finance. The juxtaposition of classic theoretical statements with works by "outsiders" such as G.S. Kealey, B.D. Palmer, R.T. Naylor, R.E Ommer, among others, makes this a solid yet innovative record of the progress in economics over the last forty years. Canadian Economic History remains an essential classroom text.
"In these two volumes, which replace the Reader's Guide to Canadian History, experts provide a select and critical guide to historical writing about pre- and post-Confederation Canada, with an emphasis on the most recent scholarship" -- Cover.
In Canadian Political Economy, experts from a number of disciplinary backgrounds come together to explore Canada’s empirical political economy and the field's contributions to theory and debate. Considering both historical and contemporary approaches to CPE, the contributors pay particular attention to key actors and institutions, as well as developments in Canadian political-economic policies and practices, explored through themes of changes, crises, and conflicts in CPE. Offering up-to-date interpretations, analyses, and descriptions, Canadian Political Economy is accessibly written and suitable for students and scholars. In 17 chapters, the book’s topics include theory, history, inequality, work, free trade and fair trade, co-operatives, banking and finance, the environment, indigeneity, and the gendered politics of political economy. Linking longstanding debates with current developments, this volume represents both a state-of-the-discipline and a state-of-the-art contribution to scholarship.
The Industrial Revolution is central to the teaching of economic history. It has also been key to historical research on the commercial expansion of Western Europe, the rise of factories, coal and iron production, the proletarianization of labour, and the birth and worldwide spread of industrial capitalism. However, perspectives on the Industrial Revolution have changed significantly in recent years. The interdisciplinary approach of Reinventing the Economic History of Industrialisation - with contributions on the history of consumption, material culture, and cultural histories of science and technology - offers a more global perspective, arguing for an interpretation of the industrial revolution based on global interactions that made technological innovation and the spread of knowledge possible. Through this new lens, it becomes clear that industrialising processes started earlier and lasted longer than previously understood. Reflecting on the major topics of concern for economic historians over the past generation, Reinventing the Economic History of Industrialisation brings this area of study up to date and points the way forward.
Studies in political economy are now at a crossroads. The revival of political economy as an important area of research in Canada began in the early 1970s with the publication of Kari Levitt's Silent Surrender. In 1976 it was launched in earnest by the fi
As corporations are restructured, governments cut back, and the international economy transformed, there is an increasing need to understand the economic and political forces involved, evaluate their implications, and develop strategies to modify them to meet society's interests. In light of the current situation, the study of political economy is more relevant than ever. Understanding Canada examines a variety of topics from viewpoints ranging from the established to the interdisciplinary. Issues such as gender, Native peoples, race, ethnicity and migration, globalization, foreign policy, the welfare state, regulation, communications, popular culture, and space and the environment are examined, as are the more traditional subjects of economic growth, resources and The new Canadian political economy has emerged from its infancy and is now regarded as a respected and innovative field of scholarship. Understanding Canada furthers this tradition by focusing on current issues in an accessible and informative way. Contents Introduction: Whither the New Canadian Political Economy? - Wallace Clement - Economic Growth and Economic Crisis: Canadian Capitalism Through the Ages - Mel Watkins (Toronto) - Resources and Manufacturing in Canada's Political Economy - Wallace Clement and Glen Williams (Carleton) - Labour in the New Canadian Political Economy - Paul Philips (Manitoba) - Gender at Work: Canadian Feminist Political Economy after 1988 - Meg Luxton (York) and Heather Jon Maroney (Carleton) - Understanding What Happened Here: The Political Economy of Indigenous Peoples - Frances Abele (Carleton) - The Political Economy of Race, Ethnicity, and Migration - Daiva Stasiulis (Carleton) - Going Global: The Politics of Canada's Foreign Policy - Mark Neufeld (Trent) and Sandy Whitworth (York) - Re-mapping Canada: The State in the Era of Globalism - Greg Albo (York) and Jane Jenson (Montréal) - The New Political Economy of Regions - Janine Brodie (York) - The Challenges of the Quebec Question: Paradigm and Counter-Paradigm - Daniel Salée (Concordia) and William Coleman (McMaster) - From the Post-War to the Post-Liberal Keynesian Welfare State - Isabella Bakker (York) and Katherine Scott (?) - Displacing the Welfare State - Liora Salter (York) and Rick Salter (?) - Public Discourse and the Structures of Communication - Ted Magder (York) - The (Real) Integrated Circus: Political Economy, Popular Culture, and Major League Sport - David Whitson (Alberta) and Richard Gruneau (affil?) - Contested Terrains: Social Space and the Canadian Environment - Iain Wallace (Carleton) and Rob Shields (Carleton).
