イングランド銀行と「産業合理化」

―戦間期における綿業への介入の再検討―

抄録

This paper revisits the Bank of England’s industrial intervention in the interwar years, focusing on its involvement in the British cotton industry, which can be regarded as a ‘natural experiment’ in the Bank’s engagement with the comprehensive reorganisation of an industry. It examines the formation of the Lancashire Cotton Corporation, the most radical reorganisation scheme in the American section of the British cotton industry during this period. Furthermore, this study explores the influence of contemporary debates on ‘rationalisation’ in shaping the Bank’s industrial intervention. These debates distinguished between ‘technical rationalisation’, whose aimed at improving production technology and management, and ‘economic or industrial rationalisation’, which sought to restructure the industry as a whole.

This study reveals that the Bank of England was unable to devise an effective reorganisation scheme based on the competitiveness and profitability of individual small cotton mills.

Moreover, its reconstruction strategies were heavily influenced by contemporary discussions on ‘economic or industrial rationalisation,’ which sought to reduce competition and redundancy by amalgamating numerous small firms into a single entity.

Finally, the Bank lacked effective strategies for implementing ‘technical rationalisation’ due to insufficient knowledge of the British cotton industry’s structure.

These findings shed new light on the Bank of England’s involvement in industrial affairs and its activities as a central bank.