Vol. 67, No. 2

Ayumu BANZAWA
On the role of 'exceptional employment' in the establishment of the German-Prussian state railway bureaucracy in the nineteenth century: a social-historical approach to the employment of railway civil servants (Staatseisenbahnbeamten) 1840-1870

The aim of this paper is to investigate the employment relationships of the civil servants (Beamte) in the Prussian State railway during the period from 1840 to 1870 when the German-Prussian railway system was under construction. Jürgen KOCKA's point about the close relationship between the 'pre-modern' bureaucracy and the 'modern' traffic sector in Germany deserves a thorough investigation. In this paper, the aim is therefore to investigate in detail the employment relationships of middle- and low-ranking civil servants in the Prussian State railways. The results of my social-historical examination of the 'exceptional' appointment of State railway civil servants indicate that the traditional systems of employment in the Prussian bureaucracy could not have been accepted by the railway sector without self-adjustment to a system that was more suitable to the introduction of the new technologies of the time. Contrary to KOCKA's view, the institutional problems of the early Prussian State railway could not be solved in the short term or without considerable friction; in addition it was necessary to seek assistance from outside the traditional bureaucratic system.

Jun SATO
The role of the Bank of England in creating central banks during the1930s: an examination of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic

The purpose of this paper is to reassess the role of the Bank of England in creating central banks during the 1930s. The Bank of England dispatched advisors who were familiar with central banking such as Sir Otto Niemeyer and Frederick Leith-Ross not only to members of the 'formal empire' such as India and the Dominions, but also to members of the 'informal empire', including China, Egypt, and countries in Latin America. The mission of these advisors was to encourage governments to create central banks. With regard to the 'informal empire', this action by the Bank of England has been seen as a manifestation of economic imperialism prompted by the interests of the City. In this paper we will examine the creation of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic in 1935. While most studies up to now have focused only the intentions of the Bank of England, we will concentrate on the internal interests of the Argentine Republic. This new point of view will provide a fresh interpretation of the movement to create central banks.

Shigeki SHIBATA
U.S. foreign assistance to Japan (MSA) and the Japanese aircraft industry after the Korean War (1950-53)

The purpose of this article is to examine the relations between the Mutual Security Act (MSA) assistance to Japan and the revival of the Japanese aircraft industry. Japan received various forms of assistance from the U.S. and other countries or organizations after World War II. The MSA is noteworthy for establishing a link between Japanese rearmament and the U.S. agricultural disposal program. Section 550, which required MSA aid recipients to take U.S. agricultural surpluses, was added to the MSA in 1953. As a result, Japan was required to sell surplus U.S. agricultural products on the domestic market and use the proceeds to finance its defense industry. The funds were mainly invested in equipment and technology for the aircraft industry.

This type of aid was called 'defense support' economic assistance, being a form of assistance to countries that had military agreements with the U.S. but were unable to meet their military obligations. Since funds were created by selling U.S. agricultural surpluses in Japan, the MSA was beneficial to both U.S. agricultural exports and to the Japanese aircraft industry.

<Special lecture>
Eric L. JONES
Environment, state and economic development in the history of Europe and Asia

This paper considers why Europe was the first continent to achieve sustained economic growth. Society's responses were more important than environmental endowments. Culture was not fixed but responsive to exogenous economic change, though capable of reinforcing it. Technological change was less fundamental than the emergence of societies that did not discourage it. Objections that, without technological advance, market growth would have remained 'Smithian' (allocative) are countered by noting that such growth still had ample scope in the eighteenth century. As to politics, the bonding of Europe's political units in a stable way, offering competition and a single market, was highly important. Nevertheless, two modern groups converge on the view that Europe's growth came late and did not depend on internal European circumstances. The 'world historians' see the advance as accidental. The 'quantifiers' see change before 1820 as insignificant. The present paper urges that early Europe's institutions were vital for generating and sustaining growth. Europe's political and legal institutions, although originally intended to promote elite interests, were particularly 'open' and generalisable to other social groups as well as, eventually, to non-Europeans.

<Conference report>
Hisashi WATANABE and Takafumi KUROSAWA
Types of regional integration in historical perspectivepecial

The 68th annual meeting of the Socio-Economic History Society took place on May 29th and 30th 1999, at Kyoto University. WATANABE Hisashi organized the symposium, with YAMAMOTO Yuzo and SUGIHARA Kaoru as moderators. Four reports on modern and recent European history were presented, to which HASHIMOTO Juro and HAMASHITA Takeshi provided comments from the viewpoint of Asian historical studies.

Watanabe's report discussed the characteristics and types of region defined as 'historical space with individuality', and analyzed various forms and aspects of integration by those regions. The following four reports were presented in response to the questions he raised: 'Origins of the integrated Europe: the dual system in the Habsburg monarchy' by SATO Masanori, 'The post-war reconstruction of Belgium and the integration of the European economy' by KOJIMA Takeshi, 'Economic regional integration and the process of system integration in Switzerland' by KUROSAWA Takafumi, 'Business activities of German electrical enterprises in Europe and regional integration during the inter war period' by IMAKUBO Sachio. The discussion mostly centered on the following three points: (1) regional integration in general and the positioning of nation and region, (2) issues regarding the interpretation of individual cases, and (3) comparisons with Asian history.