Working Paper: NBER ID: w17242
Authors: David S. Jacks
Abstract: In the wake of the Great Depression, the Canadian government embarked on a stunning reversal in its commercial policy. A key element of its response was the promotion of intra-imperial trade at the Imperial Economic Conference of 1932. This paper addresses whether or not Canadian trade was able to defy gravity and divert trade flows towards other signatories at Ottawa. The results strongly suggest that the conference was a failure from the Canadian perspective. Potential sources of this failure include unreasonable expectations about the likely reductions in trade costs and a neglect of key considerations related to certainty and credibility.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: F1; N7
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Ottawa Conference (N42) | Canadian trade flows (F10) |
| Ottawa Conference (N42) | bilateral trade costs (F10) |
| bilateral trade costs (F10) | Canadian trade flows (F10) |
| status of being a signatory at the Ottawa Conference (F53) | Canadian trade flows (F10) |
| Canadian trade flows with the Empire (N71) | Canadian trade flows (F10) |