Riello, Giorgio (2012) Boundless competition : subcontracting and the London economy in the late nineteenth century. Enterprise and Society, Volume 13 (Number 3). pp. 504-537. doi:10.1093/es/khs002 ISSN 1467-2227.

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Abstract

Why did subcontracting remain, well until the end of the nineteenth century, a viable way to organize metropolitan manufacturing? This article addresses historically and theoretically the reasons for the permanence of subcontracting as a viable alternative to centralized forms of production in London. It also questions the literature that equates the decline of subcontracting with the rise of sweating and argues for a reinterpretation of traditional explanations that saw the "sweater" as a central figure in the "degeneration" of the metropolitan productive system. The article concludes by proposing a reinterpretation of the "decline of subcontracting" and argues that the logic of flexibility of subcontracting was challenged by the increasing power of London wholesalers and retailers and the demands of fin-de-siecle mass consumption.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts > History
Journal or Publication Title:	Enterprise and Society
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	1467-2227
Official Date:	2012
Dates:	Date Event 2012 Published
Volume:	Volume 13
Number:	Number 3
Page Range:	pp. 504-537
DOI:	10.1093/es/khs002
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access

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