Abstract
Mercantilism is economic nationalism that seeks to limit the competition faced by domestic producers. It refers to the economic thought and policies that were characteristic of the dominant Western European trading nations during the transition from feudalism to modern capitalism from the 16th to the late 18th century. It is often depicted as the school of thought that confused money with wealth, promoting a favourable balance of trade as the best method to increase the wealth of a nation that did not possess gold or silver mines.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Coleman, D. 1969. Revisions in mercantilism. London: Methuen.
Davis, R. 1966. The rise of protection in England, 1689–1786. The Economic History Review 19: 306–317.
Ekelund, R., and R. Tollison. 1997. Politicized economies: Monarch, monopoly and mercantilism. College Station: Texas A & M University Press.
Heckscher, E. 1935. Mercantilism. London: Allen & Unwin.2 vols
LaHaye, L. 2007. Mercantilism. In The concise encyclopedia of economics, ed. D. Henderson. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund.
Magnusson, L. 1993. Mercantilist economics. Boston: Kluwer.
Magnusson, L. 1994. Mercantilism, the shaping of an economic language. London: Routledge.
Minchinton, W. 1969. Mercantilism, system or expediency? Lexington: Raytheon.
Mun, T. 1664. England’s treasure by foreign trade or the balance of our foreign trade is the rule of our treasure. London. Reprints of Economic Classics, New York: Kelley, 1968.
Smith, A. 1776. In The wealth of nations, ed. Edwin Cannan. New York: Random House. 1937.
Viner, J. 1937. Studies in the theory of international trade. New York: Harper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Copyright information
© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
LaHaye, L. (2018). Mercantilism. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_838
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_838
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-95188-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95189-5
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences