1992 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ECONOMIC PROPOSALS IN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY SCOTLAND AND IRELAND.
| Project/Area Number |
02630007
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
一般理論
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| Research Institution | KYUSHU UNIVERSITY |
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Principal Investigator |
SEKI Gentaro KYUSHU UNIVERSITY,DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS,ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, 経済学部, 助教授 (60117140)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1990 – 1992
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| Keywords | Scotland and Ireland / Scotland and England / Ireland and Britain / Economic Proposal / Industry and Idleness / Union and Colony / Economic Development / Shaping of Economic Theory |
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| Research Abstract |
Faced with their failure of the economic development in late 1720s,a few decades after the Union of 1707 with England,Scottish economic pamphleteers found their countrymen too self-interested,dishonest and lazy to realize and make good use of the advantages of British mercantile system which the Union had allowed them to enjoy. Therefore,most of them requested the public authorities to put into strict execution the British laws and regulations in order to transform the character of their countrymen. However,though agreeing with this request,an anonymous author went to point out that it was also not dispensable for the public authorities to give the producers and merchants "the help of such other proper encouragements,as the circumstances of the business from time to time required."It is remarkable that on the basis of his distinction of the transforming persons from the transformed,he made clear the importance of policy-makers' inquiring into"the circumstances of the business",because
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this suggested his followers that their most important task would be to give the policy-makers the exact information of what"the circumstances of the business". They,in fact,did it,and in so doing they highly improved their own economic insight and theories and changed their view of human nature to identify "the circumstances of the business"precisely. On the other hand,Irish economic pamphleteers still insisted,just like some of Scottish pamphleteers had done during the period of the Union-controversy,that both Ireland and Britain would be benefited, if Irish people were allowed to join the British mercantile system thoroughly: They were thinking Irish economic development by means of their use of Britain. Thus the Irish were behind the Scottish. This resulted in the birth of Smithian economic theory in 1776 and the Scottish economic growth from late 18th century in Scotland. Therefore,we should put a higher value on the significance of the development of the Scottish economic pamphlets. Less
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