Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T16:45:33.919Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Contextual History, Practitioner History, and Classic Status: Reading Jacob Viner’s The Customs Union Issue

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 November 2013

Paul Oslington
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Jacob Viner’s The Customs Union Issue, published in 1950, is the one undeniable classic in its field. The first part of this paper traces the development of Viner’s thinking on preferential trading arrangements, places his work in context, and clarifies his position on disputed issues. The second part considers the reception of his work, from the enthusiastic early reviewers to the international economists who further developed the theory of customs unions, to contemporary practitioners. While practitioners consistently misread Viner, these misreadings were scientifically fruitful, and there are reasons why fruitful science might flow from poor contextual history. Among contemporary international economists, the book has become a classic, marking off and justifying a field of enquiry.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of the History of Economic Thought , Volume 35 , Issue 4 , December 2013 , pp. 491 - 515
Copyright
Copyright © The History of Economics Society 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Backhouse, Roger E. 1992. “How Should We Approach the History of Economic Thought, Fact, Fiction or Moral Tale? ” Journal of the History of Economic Thought 14 (1): 18–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumol, William J., and Viner-Seiler, Ellen. 1979. “Jacob Viner.” In Sills, D., ed., International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, V18 Biographical Supplement. Macmillan, pp. 783–87.Google Scholar
Bayard, Pierre. 2007. How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Bhagwati, Jagdish. 1993. “Multilateralism and Regionalism: An Overview.” In De Melo, J. and Panagariya, A., eds., New Dimensions in Regional Integration. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Bhagwati, Jagdish. 2008. Termites in the Trading System: How Preferential Agreements Undermine Free Trade. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bhagwati, Jagdish, and Panagariya, Arvind. 1996. “Theory of Preferential Trade Agreements: Historical Evolution and Current Trends.” American Economic Review 86 (2): 82–87.Google Scholar
Blaug, Mark. 1990. “On the Historiography of Economics.” Journal of the History of Economic Thought 12 (1): 27–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blaug, Mark. 1991. Great Economists after Keynes. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.Google Scholar
Blaug, Mark. 2001. “No History of Ideas, Please, We’re Economists.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 15 (1): 145–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloomfield, Arthur I. 1992. “On the Centenary of Jacob Viner’s Birth: A Retrospective View of the Man and His Work.” Journal of Economic Literature 30 (4): 2052–2085.Google Scholar
Condren, Conal. 1985. The Status and Appraisal of Classic Texts: An Essay on Political Theory, Its Inheritance, and on the History of Ideas. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, C. A., and Massell, B. F.. 1965. “A New Look at Customs Union Theory.” Economic Journal 75 (Dec.): 742–777.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corden, W. Max. 1965. Recent Developments in the Theory of International Trade. Princeton: International Finance Section.Google Scholar
Corden, W. Max. 1972. “Economies of Scale and Customs Union Theory.” Journal of Political Economy 80 (3): 465–475.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freund, Caroline, and Ornelas, Emanuel. 2010. “Regional Trade Agreements.” Annual Review of Economics 2: 139–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Groenewegen, Peter D. 1994. “Jacob Viner and the History of Economic Thought.” Contributions to Political Economy 13: 69–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grossman, Gene M., and Helpman, Elhanan. 1995. “The Politics of Free-Trade Agreements.” American Economic Review 85 (4): 667–690.Google Scholar
Haberler, Gottfried. 1936. The Theory of International Trade with Its Applications to Commercial Policy. London: William Hodge & Company.Google Scholar
Haberler, Gottfried. 1943. “The Political Economy of Regional or Continental Blocs.” In Harris, S., ed., Postwar Economic Problems. New York: McGraw Hill, pp. 325–344.Google Scholar
Irwin, Douglas A. 1991. “Introduction.” In Jacob Viner: Essays on the Intellectual History of Economics. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Irwin, Douglas A. 1993. “Multilateral and Bilateral Trade Policies in the World Trading System: An Historical Perspective.” In De Melo, J. and Panagariya, A., eds., New Dimensions in Regional Integration. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 90–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Irwin, Douglas A, Mavroidis, Petros C., and Sykes, A. O.. 2008. The Genesis of the GATT. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krishna, Pravin. 2008. “Regional and Preferential Trade Agreements.” In Durlaf, S. and Blume, L., eds., New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Second edition. London: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Krauss, M. B. 1972. “Recent Developments in Customs Union Theory: An Interpretive Survey.” Journal of Economic Literature 10 (2): 413–436.Google Scholar
Lipsey, Richard G. 1957. “The Theory of Customs Unions: Trade Diversion and Welfare.” Economica New Series 24 (93): 40–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lipsey, Richard G. 1960. “The Theory of Customs Unions: A General Survey.” Economic Journal 70: 496–513.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lipsey, Richard G. 1970. The Theory of Customs Unions: A General Equilibrium Analysis. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.Google Scholar
Lipsey, Richard G, and Lancaster, Kelvin. 1956. “The General Theory of Second Best.” Review of Economic Studies 24: 11–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meade, J. E. 1951. “The Removal of Trade Barriers: The Regional Versus the Universal Approach.” Economica 18 (70): 184–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meade, J. E. 1955. The Theory of Customs Unions. Amsterdam: North Holland.Google Scholar
Meade, J. E. 1956. Trade and Welfare (with Mathematical Supplement). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Meardon, Stephen. 2011. “On the Evolution of U.S. Trade Agreements: Evidence from Taussig’s Tariff Commission.” Journal of Economic Issues 45 (2): 475–483.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michaely, Michael. 1976. “The Assumptions of Jacob Viner’s Theory of Customs Unions.” Journal of International Economics 6 (1): 75–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, G. C. 2010. “Placing Donald Winch’s ‘Wealth and Life’ in Context.” History of Economics Review 52 (Summer): 77–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Brien, Denis P. 1976. “Customs Unions: Trade Creation and Trade Diversion in Historical Perspective.” History of Political Economy 8 (4): 540–563.Google Scholar
O’Brien, Denis P. 2004. The Classical Economists Revisited. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Oslington, Paul. 2008. “Jacob Viner on Religion and Intellectual History.” Paper presented at History of Economics Society Conference, Washington, DC, July 2008.Google Scholar
Oslington, Paul. 2009. “Jacob Viner, Bertil Ohlin and Gottfried Haberler on Real vs Opportunity Cost: Clash of the Titans, Sterile Controversy, or What?” Paper presented at History of Economic Thought Society of Australia Conference, Fremantle, July 2009.Google Scholar
Oslington, Paul. 2012. “Jacob Viner, the Cost of Protection and Customs Unions: New Light from a Manitoba Consulting Assignment.” History of Economics Review 55 (Winter): 73–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Panagariya, Arvind. 2000. “Preferential Trade Liberalization: The Traditional Theory and New Developments.” Journal of Economic Literature 38 (2): 287–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pomfret, Richard. 2001. The Economics of Regional Trading Arrangements. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robbins, Lionel. 1937. Economic Planning and International Order. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Robbins, Lionel. 1970. Jacob Viner: A Tribute. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Sainte-Beuve, Charles Augustin. [1837] 2006. What Is a Classic? Raleigh, NC: Hayes Barton Press.Google Scholar
Salera, Virgil. 1951. “Review of Jacob Viner The Customs Union Issue.” Journal of Political Economy 59 (1): 84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sally, Razeen. 1998. Classical Liberalism and International Economic Order: Studies in Theory and Intellectual History. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Samuelson, P. A. 1987. “Out of the Closet: A Program for the Whig History of Economic Science.” History of Economics Society Bulletin 9: 51–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sapir, A. (2011). “European Integration at the Crossroads: Review Essay on the 50th Anniversary of Bela Balassa’s Theory of Economic Integration” Journal of Economic Literature 49 (4):1200–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schumpeter, J. A. 1954. A History of Economic Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Skinner, Quentin. 1969. “Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas.” History and Theory 8: 3–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stolper, W. 1951. “Review of Jacob Viner The Customs Union Issue.” American Economic Review 41 (5): 989–991.Google Scholar
Taussig, Frank W. 1892. “Reciprocity.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 7: 26–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taussig, Frank W. 1910. The Tariff History of the United States. Fifth edition. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.Google Scholar
United States Tariff Commission. 1919. Reciprocity and Commercial Treaties. Report. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Viner, Jacob. 1924a. Canada’s Balance of International Indebtedness: 1900–1913. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Viner, Jacob. 1924b. “The Most-Favored-Nation Clause in American Commercial Treaties.” Journal of Political Economy 32 (1): 101–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Viner, Jacob. 1927. “Adam Smith and Laissez Faire.” Journal of Political Economy 35 (April): 198–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Viner, Jacob. 1931a. “Cost Curves and Supply Curves.” Zeitchrift fur Nationalokonomie 3: 23–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Viner, Jacob. 1931b. “The Most-Favored-Nation Clause.” Index 61: 2–17.Google Scholar
Viner, Jacob. 1937. Studies in the Theory of International Trade. London: Allen and Unwin.Google Scholar
Viner, Jacob. 1938. Manitoba’s Argument with Respect to the Burden on the Prairie Provinces as a Result of Dominion Tariff Policy—A Supplementary Statement. Printed at Ottawa, 19 November 1938.Google Scholar
Viner, Jacob. 1946. “International Finance in the Postwar World.” Lloyds Bank Review. Reprinted in Journal of Political Economy 1947 (55, 2): 97–107.Google Scholar
Viner, Jacob. 1947. “International Economic Cooperation.” In Wilcox, W. and Hall, R. B., eds., The United States in the Post-War World. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, pp.15–36.Google Scholar
Viner, Jacob. 1950. The Customs Union Issue. New York: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.Google Scholar
Viner, Jacob. 1951. International Economics. Glencoe: Free Press.Google Scholar
Viner, Jacob. 1953. A Modest Proposal for Some Stress on Scholarship in Graduate Training. Address before the Graduate Convocation, Brown University, 3 June 1950. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Viner, Jacob. 1955. “International Trade Theory and Its Present Day Relevance.” In Smithies, A., ed., Economics and Public Policy. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, pp. 100–130.Google Scholar
Viner, Jacob. 1965. “Why Study the History of Economic Thought?” Unpublished lecture at Harvard University. Jacob Viner Papers at Princeton University.Google Scholar
Winch, Donald. 1962. “What Price the History of Economic Thought?” Scottish Journal of Political Economy 9 (4): 193–204.Google Scholar
Winch, Donald. 1981. “Jacob Viner.” American Scholar 50: 519–525.Google Scholar
Winch, Donald. 1983. “Jacob Viner as Intellectual Historian.” Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology 1: 1–17.Google Scholar
Winch, Donald. 2009. “Intellectual History and the History of Economic Thought: A Personal View.” History of Economics Review 50 (Summer): 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar