Peel’s Economic-Policy Regime Change in Britain During the Early Nineteenth Century

Charles Read ()
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Charles Read: University of Cambridge

Chapter Chapter 2 in Calming the Storms, 2023, pp 21-53 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: This chapter outlines Sir Robert Peel’s overall economic policies and their aim, to ensure low and stable food prices to both satisfy the labouring classes and preserve social stability for the benefit of the aristocracy. Peel attempted this using three macroeconomic policies, namely, (i) low tariffs and free capital mobility, (ii) a stable convertible paper currency with its value fixed to gold and (iii) low interest rates to keep down the cost of servicing the national debt. In addition, banknote issue was to be restricted according to the bullion reserve in the Bank of England by the Bank Charter Act 1844. The chapter also explains how the latter helped to provoke further controversy between the Banking School and the Currency School, particularly over whether Peel’s policies promoted financial stability or instability in the decades to follow.

Keywords: Robert Peel; Convertibility; Repeal of the Corn Laws; Bank Charter Act; 1846; Currency School (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palscp:978-3-031-11914-9_2

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-11914-9_2

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