This landmark book offers important new insights that will significantly advance our understanding of the national and global economic consequences of the Panama Canal. It will have a profound and lasting impact on the history of U.S. imperialism in Latin America and represents a contribution to the emergent literature on the new political economy of empire. -- Alan Dye, Barnard College, Columbia University This dynamic and entertaining book provides the first modern and quantitative interpretation of the economic and political history of the Panama Canal, one of the largest infrastructure works ever connected to the creation of a new country, the prevention of malaria and yellow fever, the reduction of transport prices, the promotion of international trade, and the redistribution of wealth in the United States. -- Xavier Duran, London School of Economics and Political Science and Northwestern University
List of Illustrations vii List of Tables ix Preface xiii Chapter One: Introduction to the Ditch 1 Chapter Two: Before the Ditch 13 Chapter Three: Preparing the Ditch 55 Chapter Four: Digging the Ditch 97 Chapter Five: Crossing the Ditch 139 Chapter Six: Passed by the Ditch 189 Chapter Seven: Sliding into Irrelevancy 212 Chapter Eight: Ditching the Ditch 264 Chapter Nine: Concluding the Ditch 313 Notes 333 Index 401
Noel Maurer is associate professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. His books include "The Power and the Money, The Politics of Property Rights", and "Mexico since 1980". Carlos Yu is an economic historian and private consultant based in New York City.
"The history of the Panama Canal's construction, operation, and eventual transfer to the Panamanian government offers a fascinating window on US imperialism in the 20th century. Maurer and Yu provide a deeply researched and highly readable economic history of the canal."--Choice "[T]his book teaches us important lessons on the global consequences of imperial ventures with particular insights on institutional development, economic and political constraints and power."--Leticia Arroyo Abad, EH.Net "[T]he authors' sophisticated and persuasive analysis helps illuminate the economic history--and consequences--of the Panama Canal. This book brings new questions and answers to the study of U.S. imperialism and simultaneously demonstrates the usefulness of economic history for a field often dominated by cultural and social methodologies."--Julie Greene, Journal of American History "The Big Ditch strikes an interesting balance in addressing both the political and economic dimensions of imperialism and the practices of empire, and fills a gap by providing a comprehensive analysis of the Panama Canal through a century of its history."--Joseph Michael Gratale, European Journal of American Studies
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