Staples Theory and the Canadian Economy

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how, as a basic framework, Melville Watkins' staples theory explains Canadian economic development and the importance of both domestic and external commodity-oriented linkages. The paper further looks at how Watkins' paper first appeared in 1963 as an effort to explain how Canada's economy had developed into a post-World War II era in first flight, unpredictable in its promise of growth.

From the Paper:

"If one is able to imagine the early 1960s Canada of which Watkins wrote, one perceives how much did seem built upon patterns established long before, as in the preeminence of Montreal as opposed to Toronto as the principal finance and business centre, and with much business continuing to involve not just Britain but British colonies in the Caribbean region or part of arrangements involving Britain and continental European powers that were engaged in post-World War II reconstruction efforts. Similarly, there were domestic linkages involving commodities and development that were parts of greater linkages involving the United States. Indeed, a helpful aspect of Watkins' paper referred to here is its reminder of how Canada has been shaped by two principal powers, the United Kingdom gradually replaced by the United States and just as it began its post-1945 ascent to world leadership taking the place of Britain. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Carlos, A. and F. Lewis. "Indians, the River and the Bay - the Economics of Depletion in the Lands of the Hudson's Bay Company, 1700-1763." Journal of Economic History. 53. (1993): 465-494.
• Innis, H.A. The Fur Trade in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1930.
• Watkins, M. "A Staples Theory of Economic Growth" in J.T. Easterbrook and M. Watkins. Eds. Approaches to Economic History. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1967.

More papers on Staples Theory and the Canadian Economy:

• Research Paper # 31537 : "The Staple Theory and Canada's Economy"
• Analytical Essay # 131243 : "Staples Theory and Canadian Economic Development"
• Essay # 38037 : "Canadian Economics History"

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