OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

User login

Charting the Economy: Early 20th Century Malaya and Contemporary Malaysian Contrasts

Author: 
Sultan Nazrin Shah
0
(0)
(incl.tax)

Charting the Economy assesses the course of Malayas commodity-dependent economy during the first 40 years of the 20th century under British colonial control, contrasting it with economic growth and development in contemporary Malaysia.

Drawing on archival documents to derive estimates of Malayas GDP and analysing trends, it breaks new ground in understanding the dynamics of economic performance.

In the first half of the 20th century, the Malay Peninsula, like much of Southeast Asia, was under colonial rule. Colonialism facilitated the control of lands, institutions and peoples, as well as the exploitation of natural resources.

Malayas economy was largely agrarian, supported by two primary commodity pillarstin and rubberproduced to meet the needs of the industries and people in Europe and North America.

Sultan Nazrin Shah eloquently articulates how the economy rode a commodity roller-coaster. Being small and open, it was exceedingly vulnerable to external cyclical shocksWorld War I (19141918), the Roaring Twenties (19201929), and the Great Depression (19291932)which were the main causes of economic booms and busts.

This book makes a compelling case that the colonial laissez-faire economic system worked well for the agency houses that repatriated huge profits but paid small dividends to the masses. Development was highly uneven, with growth and prosperity concentrated in and benefiting the Peninsulas west coast states, where most of the tin mines and rubber plantations were located.

After independence, national control over economic management was accompanied by a long-term vision for a socially just nation. Real GDP growth in post-independence Malaysia brought rapid advances in standards of living.

Index: 

Foreword; Preface; Boxes; Figures; Tables; Maps; Abbreviations; Overview; Chapter 1 - Introduction; Malaya at the dawn of the 20th century; Purpose, organisation and coverage; Purpose; Organisation; Coverage; National income accounting in historical perspective; Income accounting in Malaya and Malaysia; Beyond GDP; Chapter 2 - The Malayan Economy and Its People; British Malaya; The Straits Settlements; Federated Malay States: The Pangkor Treaty; Unfederated Malay States; Sabah and Sarawak; Towards Malaysia; Malaya's economy; Tin; Rubber; Transport, communications and electrification; Health and education; People; Population distribution and urbanisation; Chapter 3- Estimating Historical GDP and Its Components; Deriving GDP estimates; Private final consumption expenditure; Concepts and definitions; Data sources; Computing PFCE at current prices; Direct approach; Indirect approach; Estimating miscellaneous items of expenditure; Government final consumption expenditure; Concepts and definitions; Data sources; Computing GFCE at current prices; Computing GFCE at constant prices; Gross fixed capital formation; Concepts and definitions; Data sources; Computing GFCF at current prices; Computing GFCF at constant prices; Exports and imports of goods and services; Concepts and definitions; Data sources; Computing exports and imports at current prices; Computing exports and imports at constant prices; Chapter 4 - Growth and Volatility of Malaya's Economy; Long-run trends and relationship between components of GDP; Trends in GDP; Consumption; Role of net exports with respect to national savings and investment; Role of savings and investment; Major role of exports; Rubber and tin; Imports; Short-run fluctuations in GDP and its components; Decomposition of export variations; Cyclical fluctuations from external shocks; World War I 1914-1918; Roaring Twenties 1920-1929; Great Depression 1929-1932; Other periods; International comparisons; GDP growth rates; Consumption expenditure; Gross exports; Chapter 5- Volatility and Sources of Growth in Historical and Contemporary GDP; Volatility and growth; Trend growth, residual growth and economic volatility; Economic volatility: Malaya 1900-1939 compared with Malaysia 1970-2009; Assessment of volatility on development and growth; Volatility in consumption trends; Impact of volatility on growth; Variations in export and GDP volatility - Decadal means; Cross-country studies - Dawe's model; Cross-country studies - Ramey and Ramey's model; Concluding observations; Sources of growth; Chapter 6- From Colonial Control to National Economic Management; Forty years of roller-coaster economic growth; Colonial support for British business; Inequality and unbalanced development; Development disparities; Changing demographics; Similarities and divergences in historical and contemporary GDP; Similarities in per capita GDP growth; Divergence in per capita consumption growth; Broadening knowledge; A century of GDP estimates; Remittance flows, financial leakages and international comparisons; Inequality; Appendices; Appendix 1 Data sources for estimating GDP components and limitations; Appendix 2 Appendix tables of GDP and its components, Malaya, 1900-1939; References; Index

About the author: 

Sultan Nazrin Shah is the ruler of the state of Perak, Malaysia. He is Chancellor of the University of Malaya. He is also an Honorary Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford, and Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Product details

Author: 
Sultan Nazrin Shah
Pub date
Sep 2017
Customer reviews
0
(0)

You may also like

Customer reviews

0
0
0件

まだレビューはありません

The price listed on this page is the recommended retail price for Japan. When a discount is applied, the discounted price is indicated as “Discount price”. Prices are subject to change without notice.

Charting the Economy: Early 20th Century Malaya and Contemporary Malaysian Contrasts