Economic Resilience, Foreign Ownership, and the Legacy of Plantation Economies: A Personal Journey

This podcast episode delves into a range of economic topics through the lens of the speaker's personal and professional experiences. It begins with an analysis of the effects of strategic bombing during WWII, citing studies by Professor Condor and John Kenneth Galbraith, which surprisingly found that German war production increased under bombing pressure due to improved efficiency and national resolve. This observation leads to a broader reflection on the inability to break a people's spirit through brute force, a lesson the speaker carried forward.

The narrative then shifts to the speaker's early career in Canada, including work with trade unions and an accidental entry into Caribbean economic studies. A significant part of the discussion revolves around foreign ownership and direct investment in Canada, culminating in the speaker's involvement in a study that contributed to the famous Watkins Report. This period highlights the intersection of economics and political science, as the speaker's work, initially deemed a "political tract" rather than economics, underscored the political dimensions of economic issues like foreign control over national industries.

The episode further explores the speaker's deep engagement with the economies of the British West Indies, particularly the former English colonies. This involvement began with a study on inter-island shipping and evolved into a collaboration with Lloyd Best, leading to the concept of the slave plantation as the "original economic institution" with profound historical effects. The discussion extends to the role of multinational corporations, their subsidiaries, and branch plants in these economies, particularly in extractive industries like bauxite, petroleum, and sugar, drawing parallels to the effects of foreign ownership observed in Canada.

Ultimately, the episode offers insights into the historical development of economic thought, the challenges of interdisciplinary research, and the enduring impact of colonial structures and foreign capital on national and regional economies. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the historical context of economic institutions and the political economy of development, while also reflecting on the personal journey of an economist navigating academic and activist roles, often challenging conventional economic perspectives.

both of the studies found that the German war economy increased with a bombing with the pressure which was put on the resources and the population by bombing the result was an increase in production

the Germans made huge improvements in the efficiency of the organization of the war production so whereas previously there were inefficiencies whereby certain big shots in the party had control of certain areas of the economy they rationalized and they improved the organization

the more the enemy attacks the more you're determined to show them otherwise

you really cannot break the spirit of a people just by brute force whether it's you German side of the British side as far as embalming is concerned

I had to teach whatever I was given to teach which was money and banking first year about which I knew nothing and was not interested either

that was not economics that was a political tract and the publisher meanwhile who was a Macmillan of Canada came and said you know we like your book can you think of somebody else to send it to give us more favourable report

Watkins report is a study commissioned by the Minister of Finance of the day precisely on the effects of foreign direct investment on the Canadian economy

the slave plantation having been so to speak the original economic institution of those countries whose historic effects on the further development of the countries was very important

the representative firm using Marcia's term which nobody remembers anymore because they don't teach history of economic thought anymore

these large enterprises were so obviously predominating the economies of those countries particularly at that time perhaps less soon today that I would see the similarities really has to do with he effects of being lead a subsidiary of some foreign company