Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through: The surprising story of Britain's economy from boom to bust and back again

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Eisenhardt, K.M. 1989. Making fast strategic decisions in high-velocity environments. Academy of Management Journal 32: 543–576. Globalisation ebbs and flows. The world of 1914 was much more globalised in relative terms that the world economy of 1979. Britain was the premier financial centre of the world in the late Victorian world, declined during the war years (1914 – 1970), and them boomed again between 1980 and the 2008. The ideas of influential economists such as Smith, Keynes and Friedman are highlighted. The influence of these ideas on government policy and thinking is also discussed.

200 years of muddling through - Player FM Duncan Weldon on 200 years of muddling through - Player FM

In war, do not think that trade did not continue. In 1809-1810 Britain continue to buy grain from France to feed its troops. The money France received helped fund their war, while France also needed clothing from the UK, which helped fund the UK war. French troops where often killed by the British wearing coats made in Northampton and Leeds. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.This book is an extremely well written, clear and concise summary of British economic and political history covering the period from the period just prior to the Industrial Revolution to 2021. An in-depth historical analysis of British economic policies. As someone who is totally new to the subject, this felt far too detailed and a lot of it went over my head. My eyes glazed over throughout many chunks of this book. However, for such a detailed book, the author mentioned the British Empire maybe twice, and given what a massive impact the Empire had on the British economy, I expected at least a chapter, or even half a chapter dedicated to it. I felt like large chunks of history (1990s to today) were also rushed.

Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through | Book reviews | SPE

For the latest CapX Podcast, Duncan joined our editor John Ashmore and Tom Clougherty, Head of Tax at our parent organisation, the Centre for Policy Studies, to chat about the book and analyse where the British economy may be heading as we recover from the Covid cataclysm. Get more from CapX

The book shows how the Industrial Revolution essentially set the UK off on a path which has taken other countries in Europe the best part of c150 years to catch up with and how, more recently, the UK has struggled to work out what economic a coherent economic approach looks like (the Brexit debate is highlighted as typical of this incoherent approach). A terrific achievement, covering clearly but with subtlety everything from the spinning jenny to Covid-19’ Then came Brexit. This damaged economic confidence, sterling fell and the well-documented problems ensued. The global pandemic followed leading to falling economic growth and structural shifts in the heavily indebted economy. Economic rent has always been a factor in developed economies. Economic rents are a way of enriching oneself without producing anything extra, such as renting out a property, the rent of which is a product of demand and supply more than producing economic value. Open societies do not rely on economic rents for growth. Britain during the late 1600s- mid 1700s had an open internal market within the UK where goods could be sold across the country. Spain and France did not, which enabled landowners to make a lot of money, but not actually contribute to economic growth. Britain was therefore able to win the wars with countries by having a more tax producing economy. Again, the parallels to today jump out. movement of people within the UK is being hampered by high rents/social liquidity, keeping poor people and poor areas poor. Post revolution Britain was much better than the pre-version, where land/rents took nearly 24% of national income, compared to 11% after. All the major points and figures from the past 200 years are contextualised and explained - the Industrial Revolution, (the repeal of) the Corn Laws, the Attlee reforms and ‘new Jerusalem’, and the Thatcher response (and reversal?) to this.