May 25, 2005 DRAFT ONLY A Reconsideration of the Political Economy of Canadian Trade Part I: Escape from the Staple-Trap Paper presented the annual meetings of the Canadian Political Science Association London, Ontario, 2005 by Paul Kellogg Comments to
[email protected] Introduction: staples, trade and Canadian political economy .... 2 Harold Innis and the Staple Approach ........................... 3 Empirical failure .............................................. 5 Chart 1 – Employment in manufacturing, Canada as a percent of U.S., 1911-1971 (selected years) .................... 7 Chart 2 – Employment in manufacturing, Canada as a percent of U.S., 1987-2004 ..................................... 8 Chart 3, Employment in manufacturing, Canada as a percent of U.S., 1911-2004 (selected years) .................... 9 Table 1 – Employment in manufacturing in Canada and the U.S., 1987-2004 ....................................... 10 Table 2: Average Number of Production Workers Per Manufacturing Establishment, U.S., Ontario, Canada, 1905-1967 (Selected Years) ............................ 11 The Home-Market Alternative ................................... 12 Paralyzed by Custom?......................................... 17 Conclusion – Political Economy Outside the Trap ............... 21 Notes ......................................................... 23 2 Introduction: staples, trade and Canadian political economy It is 42 years since the term “staple trap” first, tentatively, crept into the Canadian political economy literature.1 Tentatively,