One of Canada's contributions to the history of ideas has been a kind of historical
economics. Now a neglected
artifact within the history of economic thought, as economics has moved on to non-historical,
modeling approaches to understanding, the staples approach can serve to show
how economics can be enriched by a historical dimension.
What is the staples approach and what makes it especially suitable to an
investigation of how history informs economic understanding? The staple theory has
been Canada's original contribution to the world of economic ideas (along with the
notion of "effective protection" devised by Clarence Barber of the University of
Manitoba3). The observations of Harold Innis, and others, in the 1930s led to an
understanding that the nature of natural resource based industry differed from that of
other industrial sectors, so that a country heavily dependent on the export of natural
resources would tend to develop in ways shaped by the export staple.
In Canada the approach was for many years the leading one employed to explain
Canada's economic development (Phillips, 1985). The staples approach suggested that
the pattern, pace and nature of development of a natural resource exporting economy,
relying on one sort of commodity for a large part of its exports, would depend essentially
on the mode of production of the staple export - the staple being the name given to a
natural resource intensive export good (Neill, 1991, chap. 5).
By "mode of production" is meant the production function of neoclassical
economics and also an array of associated variables - the distribution of income, the
population and demographic effects of the staple, the institutions growing up around the
trade, the structure...
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...n those
currently in vogue in the metropolis. More radically, he was suggesting the need
for a global theory of imperialism to be built around painstaking concrete analysis
of the many levels of interaction of the centre/margin if empires. He was using the
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staple to focus attention on the cultural interaction of different peoples at the edge
of an expanding empire (Watson: 150, emphasis in original).
In this we see another role for history than historical specificity, and one closer to
the historical vision espoused by Marwick. A rounded understanding can come from an
immersion in the facts of a particular case, or historical situation. Such an understanding
is not readily incorporated in a model, though a modeller who is aware may hold it in
mind as a model is constructed, elaborated, tested and used for exposition. Better
economics would be the result.
In Kiese Laymon “How to Slowly Kill yourselves and others in America” and Brent Staples “Black Men and Public Spaces” both essays deal with being an African American man but the authors respond in a different ways. At one point in history being an African American wasn’t always the easiest but two Authors shared their stories about the experiences they had which were very different. Although the color of their skin is the same and how they treated was as well both authors take different precaution’s
stone. According to “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples and “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, this quote becomes relatable. Staples and Tan experience many internal and external factors that impeded their goals. For instance, Staples experience many racial and gender-based conflict on his road to success as Tam face many language-based and literacy-based barriers preventing triumph. Although Tan and Staples encounter various hardships on their journey toward success; instead of
1986. Nelson, Sheila. Crisis at Home and Abroad: the Great Depression, World War II, and beyond, 1929-1959. City: Mason Crest Publishers, 2005. Safarian, A.E. The Canadian Economy in the Great Depression. 1970. Taylor , Nick . "A Short History of the Great Depression." The New York Times. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/g/great_depression_1930s/index.html (accessed November 20, 2009). "The Great Depression." Current Events 105, no. 9 (November 4, 2005): 2
Hurston and her accomplished works illustrates as well as analyze her position as an African American female artist and anthropologist. Articles include: Zora Neale Hurston's Construction of Authenticity through Ethnographic Innovation by Jennifer Staple; Creating Ethnography: Zora Neale Hurston and Lydia Cabrera by Lynda Hoffman-Jeep; and Ethnics and Ethnographers: Zora Neale Hurston and Anzia Yezierska1 by Lori Jirousek. These articles demonstrate Hurston’s unique position of an artist as well
Every culture has its "staple" food. This is the food product that anchors each meal. For some cultures, it is meat and potatoes. However, for most of the world, regardless of region, rice is the staple that is served most often. . It is “A food staple of half the planet’s population” (Reynolds pg 1). But why rice? Why not bread or potatoes as is common in western countries? Within nutrisional basic food pyramid, rice is part of the breads, cereal, rice and pasta family. This family is the
to gain more sales. Finally, once the category has reached the decline stage, they will make available to low income customers who follow rather than lead fashions. The characteristics of variations on the categories life cycle can classifieds as staple, seasonal, fashion, and fad. The distinguishing characteristics between them are whether the category is last for many seasons or just one season, whether
are generally more frequently targeted than Caucasians regarding drug related crimes. Due to the nature of inexpensive forms of illegal substances more frequently used in inner-cities, African-Americans may be more easily and more often pursued (Staples, 2011, p. 34). Opposition shapes the notion that minorities make up the majority of drug related criminal offenders. There are more persons of the African-American race charged for drug related crimes but this can possibly be attributed to skewed
Till today rice, wheat, and corn, do not form the staple food for the vast majority of Papua New Guineans. Their carbohydrate needs are still fulfilled by sweet potato, taro, yams, sago and bananas. Agriculture began in Papua New Guinea (PNG) about 10,000 years ago as shown by archaeological research where starch was found on stone tools excavated in Kuk in western highlands. It suggested that taro was cultivated in Kuk at that time. A number of staple food crops such as banana, sago, taro, greater
Rice is the primary staple in the diets of over 50% of the globe’s population (Childs, 2012) with over two and a half billion mouths depending on the grain as their primary source of calories (Harriss-White, 2005). Rice is second only to wheat in terms of area harvested and is the most important grain in terms of calorie consumption (Khan & Rashid, 1986). Asia and Africa host the largest rates of consumption worldwide. For centuries developing nations have been dependent on rice’s high caloric value
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Trigger was one of those Archaeologists. Before his death in 2006, he published a great number of works that influenced professionals and students alike on an international stage (Fagan 1). His open-minded yet fact-based approach to archaeology changed the way many archaeologists approach their work in the modern era. Bruce Graham Trigger was born in 1937 in a small town called Preston in Ontario, Canada (Fagan 1). From a very young age, he showed a profound interest in acquiring knowledge, which gave
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A Little Common Sense for the Sensible Eater As a kid, I remember rushing out the door in the morning with one shoe on skipping while attempting to put the second one on with a flat tire. While I get in the car my mom says, “I’m late for work, we are going through the Burger King drive thru for breakfast.” Little did I know, there is not one good thing about the quality and nutrition of these foods, especially amongst kids who need all their essential food groups to grow. The next day I remember