Fall 2019 WIP Presents:

“Grown from War: The Great War Origins of Global Economic Governance“

Paul Poast

University of Chicago

There is no reading material for this presentation

Abstract of presentation

This book project unpacks the legacy of allied economic cooperation during World War I.  We contend that core features of prominent international institutions operating in the modern global economy — from the European Union, to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and even the World Trade Organization — were first devised during World War I.  The strain of war compelled the allied powers to experiment with various forms of institutionalized economic cooperation, including the creation of international organizations possessing supranational authority. Most notably, critical food shortages were addressed by creating the “Wheat Executive” in late 1916. This body then served as the template for subsequent allied economic organizations, which were then reconstituted at the onset of World War II.  Following the second World War, these economic institutions served as the blueprints for designing the international institutions that governed the global economy after 1945.

Thursday, November 14th: 3:30pm-5:30pm

Pick Hall, Room 506

5828 South University Avenue

Persons who believe they may need assistance to attend the session should contact Elsy Gonzalez in advance to make arrangements.

The WIP Speakers Series is supported by grants from Council on Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences and The University of Chicago Division of the Social Sciences.