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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Anatomy of Business-Government Relations: Fiscal Policy and Mercantile Pressure Group Activity in Nigeria,1916-1933
Author:Olukoju, AyodejiISNI
Year:1995
Periodical:African Studies Review
Volume:38
Issue:1
Period:April
Pages:23-50
Language:English
Geographic term:Nigeria
Subjects:colonial history
interest groups
fiscal policy
mercantile history
traders
Economics and Trade
Politics and Government
History and Exploration
colonialism
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/525472
Abstract:This essay fills a gap in Nigerian economic history by examining an aspect of business-government relations during the critical period of World War I and the interwar years. It examines the differential and often contradictory interests of the British colonial government and the expatriate business community, and the means by which the latter projected its views in Nigeria and Britain. The study centres specifically on the contradiction between government fiscal policy and mercantile interest in the context of the exigencies of the First World War and its aftermath. By focusing on the controversy surrounding export duties in the period between 1916 and 1933, the essay assesses the effectiveness of business pressure group activity in colonial Nigeria and provides commentary on the dynamics of business-government relations in the colonies. The study shows that given the prevailing circumstances, European merchants were an effective pressure group in the colonies, for they secured all practicable concessions from an apparently financially hamstrung government. The success achieved varied with the platform adopted, such as the Legislative Council, banquets, deputations, resolutions of Chambers of Commerce and press campaigns, and within the changing contexts of trade boom and slump. Bibliogr., notes.
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