Senior Project Advisor
Brandon Dupont
Document Type
Project
Publication Date
Spring 2022
Keywords
Mercantilism, Trade, Protectionism
Abstract
Mercantilism was an effective system for expanding state power and prosperity in early Modern Europe when three specific conditions existed: weak states, expensive trade, and zero-sum competition. These conditions combined to create a prisoner’s dilemma where all nations engaging in mercantilism was both individually rational and mutually destructive. The significant changes in these three conditions in the late 18th to early 19th century removed the prisoner’s dilemma, making it both individually and mutually rational to engage in a general policy of free trade.
Department
Economics
Recommended Citation
Golliver, Calvin, "Terribly Timely Tariffs" (2022). WWU Honors College Senior Projects. 593.
https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwu_honors/593
Subjects - Topical (LCSH)
Mercantile system--Europe--History; Europe--Economic conditions; Civilization, Modern
Geographic Coverage
Europe
Genre/Form
essays
Type
Text
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.
Language
English
Format
application/pdf