Today's globalization debates pit neoliberals, who favour even deeper integration into the global economy, against neo-mercantilists, who call for a relatively selective approach to globalization and the return to more interventionist industrial policies. Both sides claim to have the facts on their side.

Inspired by the work of economists Ha-Joon Chang and Dani Rodrik, editors Andrew Smith and Dimitry Anastakis bring together essays from both historians and economists in this collection to test claims that wealth comes from either protectionism or free trade.

With empirical research that spans more than a century of Canadian history, Smart Globalization demonstrates that Canada’s success stemmed neither from complete openness to globalization or policies of isolation and self-sufficiency.

Andrew Smith is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool and author of British Businessmen and Canadian Confederation: Constitution Making in an Era of Anglo-Globalization. Recently, he has published on the co-evolution of political institutions and organizational cultures in other regions of the British Empire, such as Hong Kong, India, and the Caribbean.

Andrew Smith's profile page

Dimitry Anastakis teaches history at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. A scholar of postwar Canada, his primary research examines Canada's role in the North American auto industry. He is the author of Auto Pact: Creating a Borderless North American Auto Industry, 1960-1971 (University of Toronto Press, 2005) and edited The Sixties: Passion, Politics and Style (McGill-Queens University Press, 2008. His work has appeared in various academic journals and magazines such as The Walrus.

Dimitry Anastakis' profile page

"Smart Globalization offers an important starting point for Canadian historians to account for the steady march of openness rather than protectionism over the last century and half in Canada."

Canadian Business History Association Newlsetter, April 2018

‘This is a fascinating study of the approach taken to the international economy by decision makers in Canada …By bringing together essays from both historians and economists, editors Smith and Anastakis have given readers a set of studies that puts the Canadian case most instructively in the context of intelligent globalization… Highly recommended.’

Choice vol 52:02:2014

‘This collection will be of interest to anyone interested in better understanding the historical complexities and contingencies of economic life in a globalizing world… Many scholars will find this book to be well worth a read.’

Labour/Le Travail, vol 76: Fall 2015

‘The editors and authors of Smart Globalization should be congratulated on a real contribution to the fields of both Canadian economics and history.’

Canadian Historical Review vol 97:02:2016