The East Indian Monopoly and the Transition from Limited Access in England, 1600-1813 / Dan Bogart.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bogart, Dan.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w21536.

NBER working paper series no. w21536

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2015.

Summary:

Many markets are limited by laws and customs enforced by political and religious authorities. North, Wallis, and Weingast (2009) argue that the transition from limited access requires a series of steps like rule of law for elites and the creation of perpetually lived organizations. This paper studies how these steps were taken in England in the case of the East Indian market. The East India Company had a legal monopoly over all trade between England and modern day India and China, but its privileges and property were far from secure. The king and parliament authorized interlopers to enter the Company's market and forced the Company to make loans to retain its monopoly. A secure monopoly only emerged in the mid-eighteenth century when political stability and fiscal capacity increased. However, liberalization of the market had to wait several more decades. A fiscal and political partnership between the government and the Company kept its monopoly stable until a confluence of events in 1813 brought it to an end.

Notes:

Print version record

September 2015.