A CLIOMETRIC REVOLUTION IN THE ECONOMIC HISTORY OF KOREA: A CRITICAL REVIEW

Cliometric approaches to the economic history of Korea have emerged as a distinctive trend from the mid‐1990s. They have quickly made profound changes to our understanding of Korea's economic history from 1700 to 1945. The most remarkable include identifying the long‐term decline of agricultural productivity from around 1800, the subsequent upswing in economic development from the late nineteenth century, and the continuing growth during the Japanese colonial era, 1910–45. We survey primarily the Korean language literature that reports the achievements of this cliometric movement and speculate about the future research agenda.     

AUSTRALASIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY: RESEARCH CHALLENGES AND BIG QUESTIONS

This paper reports a debate on the 'big questions' and 'research challenges' facing economic history in Australia and New Zealand. Noting the changes in research direction that occurred in the discipline over the past 50 years, and the resource challenges it currently faces, it identifies many areas of potentially fruitful research. These include the environment, market regulation and industry development, the interaction of peoples and culture, and the examination of units other than the national economy. While there is potential for exciting and diverse research, an immediate challenge is the training of the next generation of economic historians.     

USING AUTOBIOGRAPHIES IN BUSINESS HISTORY: A NARRATOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF JULES JOUBERT'S SHAVINGS AND SCRAPES

Entrepreneur autobiographies provide business historians with the opportunity to connect storytelling and identity, topics that are now prominent in economic debate. Yet lingering concern about the subjectivity of life writing prevents wider use of autobiographies within business history. This article seeks to allay such concern by applying the narratological method to the colonial entrepreneur Jules Joubert's autobiography, Shavings and Scrapes. Joubert's narrative identity is as an ‘adventurer’. This identity shored up his self‐image and was used by him to enhance his reputation. Narratology shows that an autobiography can stabilise and publicise the colonial entrepreneur's narrative identity, thereby benefiting their business career.     

AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION ARCHIVES AS SOURCES FOR BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

The administration and control of immigration to Australian during the twentieth century produced a huge archive of records of individual migrants that have potential for innovative approaches to the business and economic history of ethnic minority groups. This article describes some of these records, which have mostly been used by amateur family historians, focused on those related to Chinese immigrants before the World War II and Southern Europeans immigrants after 1945. The article gives examples of how these records can be used, suggests potential research projects, and discusses briefly some of the guides available. Several images of these archival documents are reproduced.     

THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF HARVESTER

A century has elapsed since the ‘New Protection’ policy of the newly established Commonwealth government of Australia gave birth to the ‘basic wage’ principle following the ‘Harvester’ judgement. This paper re‐examines, with special reference to economic considerations – unemployment, the tariff, and the wage structure – the controversy surrounding the initial formulation of this principle and the evolution of its application under the federal wage fixing tribunals and the legislation under which they operated. It concludes that even the vestigial remains of the concept underlying Harvester have progressively disappeared from Australian wage fixing principles.     

CLIFFORD GEERTZ, 1926–2006: MEANING,METHOD AND INDONESIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY

Clifford Geertz was best known for his pioneering excursions into symbolic or in terpretive anthropology, especially in relation to Indonesia. Less well recognised are his stimulating explorations of the modern economic history of Indonesia. His thinking on the interplay of economics and culture was most fully and vigorously expounded in Agricultural Involution. That book deployed a succinctly packaged past in order to solve a pressing contemporary puzzle, Java's enduring rural poverty and apparent social immobility. Initially greeted with acclaim, later and ironically the book stimulated the deep and multi-layered research that in fact led to the eventual rejection of Geertz's central contentions. But the veracity or otherwise of Geertz's inventive characterisation of Indonesian economic development now seems irrelevant; what is profoundly important is the extraordinary stimulus he gave to a generation of scholars to explore Indonesia's modern economic history with a depth and intensity previously unimaginable.     

Time for a Nordic business history initiative?

The current state of Nordic business history is by certain estimates better than ever. Nordic business historians publish extensively in leading international journals and have a strong presence at international business history conferences. Still, in this discussion article we raise a yellow flag of warning for the future of Nordic business history. We argue that the subject field is challenged along three important dimensions: (i) lack of relevant teaching, (ii) continued reliance on commissioned history and (iii) limited recruitment. The article discusses these challenges and seeks to place them in a historical perspective. For each challenge, we develop a set of concrete proposals to address the problems identified. A common theme in our proposed solutions is to intensify Nordic collaboration, particularly through the establishment of common, externally funded Nordic research projects. To create meeting grounds for the development of such projects, The Scandinavian Society for Economic and Social History – the formal collaborative body for Nordic economic historians and the owner of Scandinavian Economic History Review – should be reinvigorated.     

BIG QUESTIONS IN AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY: FROM THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN1

The conventional story of Australian economic history is worth challenging. Rather than just assuming a national economy with conventional turning points such as Federation, economic historians would do well to investigate more complex processes like the interplay between regions, races and development, and the changing patterns of interaction with the outside world. The big question for economic historians is whether in the future they can undertake economic research which informs history and so contributes to the national debate.     

URBAN HISTORY AND THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIAN CITIES

Urban growth is a major theme in economic development and a policy imperative for developed countries that seek to create sustainable cities. We argue that the past weighs heavily on the ability of societies to sustainably manage urban environments. The policy implications of urban history are revealed in comparisons of cities across times and between places. The special issue presents some of the best recent work on the economic and social history of Australian cities. We aim to encourage historians to incorporate urban variables into studies of historical processes and to persuade policymakers to consider historical trends in their analysis.     

Reflections on the Business History Tradition: Where has it Come from and Where is it Going to?

The question of what constitutes the discipline of business history has been the focus of ongoing debate for several decades. The output of business history researchers is diverse ranging from company histories to the application of theoretical frameworks used to interpret the many facets of business development. This article, in introducing this special edition of the Australian Economic History Review, provides an overview of the development of the business history discipline and the contribution it has made to understanding the operation of business enterprises and the markets in which they operate.     

Visualising defence and war in economic history journals (1989–2018)

ABSTRACT

Economics usually takes for granted a peaceful world with peaceful market transactions, where war and conflict are anomalies to the current state of business life. However, as History shows violence is a pervasive phenomenon. How is the current state of the art of research on war and defence in economic history journals? This paper provides an overview of research published on this topic by a selection of economic history journals since the fall of Berlin wall. By means of bibliometric and cluster analysis, and using visualising analytical tools, we show the production, main topics, authors, sources, etc. on this research area, and compare with the treatment received in economic journals. The main findings are that publications in economic history journals have increased in the last decades; cover a list of themes broader than that in economic journals; give an increasing importance to quantitative techniques; cite sources from the same area as well as from the top economic journals; and show a relative lack of appeal to neighbouring disciplines. Although economics and economic history influence each other, the direction of the scientific knowledge is going mostly from economics towards economic history rather than the opposite.     

HIDDEN DISCIPLINES IN MALAYSIA: THE ROLE OF BUSINESS HISTORY IN A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY FRAMEWORK

Business history plays a crucial role in the understanding of the history and socioeconomic development of Malaysia. This paper analyses that role through an assessment of the most relevant colonial, post-colonial, and contemporary literature. Malaysian business history adopts a multidisciplinary approach, which has the potential to propel the discipline to address potentially sensitive political issues in Malaysia, though in the past business history's assimilation into other disciplines has discouraged, with notable exceptions, its potential to explore sensitive topics. In conclusion, the paper outlines the challenges faced by Malaysian business history academics and argues for extending the discipline's boundaries.     

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND THE STRUCTURE OF TAXES IN SOUTH AFRICA: 1960–2002*

One tenet of taxation is its distorting effect on economic behaviour. Despite the economic inefficiencies resulting from taxation, it is widely believed that taxes impact minimally on the economy's growth rate. Evidence in developing countries generally supports this view. In this paper, we present evidence that tax distortions in South Africa may be much more severe. Using tax and economic data from 1960 to 2002 and a two‐stage modelling technique to control for unobservable business cycle variables, we examine the relationship between total taxation, the mix of taxation and economic growth. We find that decreased tax burdens are strongly associated with increased economic growth potential; in addition, contrary to most theoretical research, decreased indirect taxation relative to direct taxation is strongly correlated with increased economic growth potential.     

Introduction: Anthropology and Business in Asia

Abstract

The theme of this volume is “Culture, Corporation, and Economy in Asia.” It introduces seven articles written by leading business anthropologists. Anthropology is the study of humans, past and present. The central concern of anthropologists is the application of anthropological knowledge to the solution of human problems. This introductory article briefly summarizes the history of anthropology and business studies in Japan, Korea, and China, and examines the intertwined relationship of this branch of anthropology with the history of East Asian colonialism. The author then introduces anthropology’s methodology and perspective that emphasize holistic, comparative, empirical, inductive, and ethno-historically oriented mode of inquiry. Anthropology regards the economic organization not only as an entity dealing with financial issues, but also as a cultural-emitter that operates in a nexus of multiple stakeholder-agencies. To study companies and economic activities in Asia anthropologically is to explore organizationally mediated, symbol-producing practices, schemes, actions, and consequences, that interact with politico-economic forces and institutional assemblage, both locally and globally. The author argues for combining the critical ethnography of Asian business on the ground, with the macro-level analyses of economic conditions and socio-political movements.     

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE SYNCHRONISATION OF BUSINESS CYCLES FOR DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING ECONOMIES WITH THE WORLD BUSINESS CYCLE

Globalisation brought about worldwide changes, including economic and financial integration between countries. The objective of this paper is to establish if there is synchronisation between developed and developing countries with the world cycle. Research results show that business cycles have become less volatile after globalisation, but there is not much consensus on whether business cycles have become less or more synchronised since globalisation. Little research has been done on co‐movement between emerging markets, such as South Africa, and the world business cycle. This paper derives common factors for developed and developing countries by applying principal component analysis (PCA) to output, consumption and investment data, which represents the countries' business cycles. The empirical analysis shows co‐movement between some countries and the world business cycle (G7 countries as proxy). The results suggest that there are idiosyncratic and globally common shocks, which play different roles over time in different countries. The paper goes on to suggest that there are clear differences in how developed and emerging markets co‐move with the world business cycle. A key finding is that the co‐movement between developing economies and the world business cycle has increased since globalisation. This research also confirms previous research that most economies follow the world business cycle when large shocks – such as the recent economic downturn – occur. This has implications for forecasting the business cycle, especially in times of economic turmoil.     

马来西亚经济转型计划的实施与成效

国际经济环境的持续动荡和自身经济发展的瓶颈,促使马来西亚政府于2010年10月推出经济转型计划。2011年,随着启动计划等一系列具体措施的落实,马来西亚的经济转型计划全面展开并初见成效。可以预见,未来几年内,经济转型计划将是决定马来西亚经济走势的主导力量。     

东南亚华人企业集团与"彭罗斯效应":基于委托-代理的解释

本文以委托—代理理论为依据,分析东南亚华人企业集团中的"彭罗斯效应"问题。结果表明,东南亚华人企业集团特殊的家族式治理模式与人情至上的文化理念,使得这些企业在获得管理资源时能够一定程度地缓解"彭罗斯效应"所谓的管理约束,给企业带来稳定和成长;但也正是这些特征,使得东南亚华人企业集团的管理能力受到一定限制,并使企业成长面临瓶颈问题。     

IDEAS FROM AUSTRALIAN CITIES: RELOCATING URBAN AND SUBURBAN HISTORY

This article draws on preliminary research into the social history of Melbourne, on the ways that suburban life in the post-World War II era provides both explanation and counterweight to persistently negative stereotypes of suburbia. Over recent decades, suburban histories have been eschewed in favour of historical reconsiderations of the inner city or the bush. The history of the Australian suburb, particularly since 1945, is yet to be written. Oral history and municipal archives will be crucial to the writing of such histories. The article suggests several research pathways, including intergenerational life stories, a wider scale of geographical analysis, and a subtler reading of cultural conformity and social differentiation.     

Why geography matters to the economic history of India

That geography shapes long-run economic change is almost an axiom in economic history, but there is neither adequate understanding nor much agreement about how this influence works. This article is an attempt to contextualise Indian economic history against what we now know of this influence. It is also an attempt to define the geographical condition of the South Asia region in a manner compatible with the purpose of economic history, which is to explain the deep roots of economic growth and inequality.     

ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF THE PROPOSED ROAD BETWEEN GOBABIS AND GROOTFONTEIN,NAMIBIA

First, a cost‐benefit analysis is presented of reconstructing the existing road section between Gobabis and Otjinene in Namibia. Second, a cost‐benefit analysis is presented of constructing a new direct road link between Otjinene and Grootfontein, coupled with the above‐mentioned road upgrading between Gobabis and Otjinene as one project. The proposed link will shorten the existing route from Gobabis via Windhoek to Grootfontein by approximately 300 km. The following economic indicators are shown in the two cost‐benefit analyses: (i) Net Present Value, (ii) Benefit/Cost Ratio, and (iii) Internal Rate of Return. Third, the general economic impact that construction and operation of the entire road will have on non‐road users within Namibia is evaluated. This analysis is divided into two parts: The first part deals with the once‐off income‐multiplier effect triggered by the initial investment in the road, while the second part addresses the recurring income accelerator effect that usage of the road is expected to have within Namibia.