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TREASURY PAPERS

Series One: Papers of the Economic Section, 1941-1961

(Public Record Office class T 230)

Part 1: T 230/1-36

Publisher's Note

"The Economic Section was the first group of professional economists to operate full-time as government advisers in Britain. From 1940 onwards they occupied a key role in the making of economic policy and their views carried great weight with successive governments. The papers of the Section are indispensable to an understanding of the thinking behind government policy, especially budgetary policy, and of the evolution of modern economic management."


Sir Alec Cairncross
Chancellor, University of Glasgow
and Supernumerary Fellow, St Antony's College, Oxford.
Co-Author of The Economic Section, 1939-1961 (London, 1989)

This microfilm edition of the Papers of the Economic Section (Public Record Office Class T230) provides scholars with an opportunity to see the first instance of Keynesian economic principles being applied to a real economy.

Starting in 1941, the British government employed professional economists to advise on economic policy in a group known as the Economic Section. The first four directors were:

  • John Jewkes (Jan-Sept 1941)
  • Lionel Robbins (Sept 1941-Autumn 1945)
  • James Meade (Autumn 1945-April 1947)
  • Robert Hall (Sept 1947-1961)

These directors were ably supported by a range of economists including Marcus Fleming, Bryan Hopkin, Russell Bretherton, A Pigou, Christopher Dow, Fred Atkinson and Jack Downie.

John Maynard Keynes was an important direct and indirect influence on the Economic Section. He commented regularly on Discussion Papers and proposals, helping to clarify the correct application of his ideas to real economic issues.

Part 1 of this project covers Treasury Class T230, pieces 1-36. In broad terms the files cover:

  • Postwar agricultural policy (T230/1-2)
  • Postwar civil aviation policy (T230/3)
  • UK postwar balance of payments (T230/4-11)(form of presentation, memoranda, forecasts, export & import policy, etc)
  • Discussion Papers (T230/12-28)(See below)
  • Reorganization of the coal Industry (T230/29)
  • Commodity Policy (T230/30-33)
  • Regulation of output, prices and labour absorption during transitional period from war to peace by economic controls (T230/34-35)
  • Long-term cotton problems (T230/36)

These papers cover the period from June 1940 to October 1948 (please note that T230 is arranged in broad chronological order only, so the dates for subsequent parts of the project will overlap to some extent).

The Discussion Papers form by far the largest section of this first part and are of the greatest importance. These are long, detailed analyses of particular problems, drawing upon the best available data at the time. Examples include:

  • Maintenance of full employment by Lionel Robbins
  • Criteria of operation of state enterprises by J M Fleming
  • Bilateral trading & British interests by J M Fleming
  • The iron & steel industry by S R Dennison
  • Employment & income prospects in the USA J E Meade covering A J Brown
  • Nationalization of the coal-mining industry J E Meade covering the Economic Section
  • International employment policy by J M Fleming
  • The possible magnitude of a future depression J E Meade covering J C R Dow
  • Fuel & Power shortages: Possible policies R S Sayers covering P Chantler
  • The Monnet Plan J E Meade covering D Butt
  • Estimation du Revenu National Français J E Meade covering G L S Shackle
  • Devaluation plus export taxes question R L Hall covering J M Fleming & E Rowe-Dutton
  • A customs union between all the countries of the Commonwealth ... by J M Forsyth
  • The balance of payments problem of Western Europe R L Hall covering T Swan.

Also included are the working papers and final versions of the Home and Overseas Economic Surveys, and discussions concerning postwar reparations, the emergence of the European Community, International Tariffs and Trade and bilateral negotiations with the USA.

Treasury Papers are an essential source for economists, economic historians and modern historians. They show the extent to which economic policy was driven by political ideology, and domestic policy was driven by economic ideology.

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