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British Imperialism and Portfolio Choice in the Currency Boards of Palestine, East Africa, and West Africa

Author

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  • Boger, Tal

    (The Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise)

Abstract

Did British colonial policy primarily benefit Britain, or its colonies? Wadan Narsey, in British Imperialism and the Makings of Colonial Currency Systems (2016), claims that Britain established currency boards to help itself at the expense of the colonies. Examining the history of several currency boards and their assets for select years, Narsey finds that under British influence, they held lower-yielding, shorter-maturity British assets than they need have done, costing colonial governments revenue. We explore this idea by analyzing full annual data on the securities and assets of the currency boards of Palestine, East Africa, and West Africa. An accompanying spreadsheet workbook shows the details of the analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Boger, Tal, 2017. "British Imperialism and Portfolio Choice in the Currency Boards of Palestine, East Africa, and West Africa," Studies in Applied Economics 86, The Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:jhisae:0086
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    File URL: https://sites.krieger.jhu.edu/iae/files/2020/01/Tal_Boger_British_Imperialism-1.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. P. J. Cain, 1996. "Gentlemanly imperialism at work: the Bank of England, Canada, and the sterling area, 1932-1936," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 49(2), pages 336-357, May.
    2. Holger C. Wolf & Atish R. Ghosh & Helge Berger & Anne-Marie Gulde, 2008. "Currency Boards in Retrospect and Prospect," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262232650, December.
    3. Ofonagoro, Walter I., 1979. "From Traditional to British Currency in Southern Nigeria: Analysis of a Currency Revolution, 1880–1948," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 39(3), pages 623-654, September.
    4. D. C. Rowan, 1954. "The Origins Of The West African Currency Board," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 22(4), pages 421-438, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tammaro, David, 2018. "Evaluating the Fijian Board of Commissioners of Currency," Studies in Applied Economics 116, The Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    British colonialism; British imperialism; Palestine Currency Board; East African Currency Board; West African Currency Board;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N15 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Asia including Middle East
    • N17 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Africa; Oceania

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