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

By:

Bogart, Dan

Contributor(s):

National Bureau of Economic Research

Material type: Text

TextSeries: Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) ; no. w21536.Publication details: Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2015.Description: 1 online resource: illustrations (black and white)Subject(s):

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Abstract: 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.

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Holdings
Item type	Home library	Collection	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Working Paper	Biblioteca Digital	Colección NBER	nber w21536 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Not For Loan

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September 2015.

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.