Victorian Railway Networks, 1860–1900† ∗ by SHIMA AMINI and STEVEN TOMS
Economic History Review, 0, 0 (2020), pp. 1–26 Elite directors, London finance, and British overseas expansion: Victorian railway networks, 1860–1900† ∗ By SHIMA AMINI and STEVEN TOMS This article considers how international economic expansion impacts on the composition of elite groups on boards of companies. We examine, why, at the height of the British Empire, boards of national, imperial, and international railway companies, financed from London, were dominated by elites drawn differentially from the aristocracy, the military, finance, and politics. To investigate the reasons for these differences, we conduct a social network analysis of railway company boards in three countries during the second half of the nineteenth century. Results reveal that aristocratic directors were dominant in Britain, military directors in India, and financier directors in Argentina, suggesting that their influence drew on local knowledge, resource access, and network connections. They did not serve on boards for merely ornamental purposes. he role of the British elite in the expansion of the international economy T before 1914 has attracted significant research interest.1 Several reasons for the prominence of elite groups on company boards have been suggested, including accessing finance, and enhancing the value of businesses on capital markets. 2 Empirical results are mixed, with some suggestion that aristocrats, in particular, performed only an ‘ornamental’ function to attract investors to otherwise low- quality issues, without full participation in their firms’ administration.3 In this article, we examine whether the presence of elite directors reflected the expertise required by the international location of investment, including their ability to access resources, such as connections to human, social, and financial capital, and their ability to influence governments through political access and lobbying.
[Show full text]