The Global Export of British Capital

Great Britain was the preeminent capital exporter between 1865 and 1914 not only in the volume of investment but also in the industrial and geographical diversity of its capital outflows. This study furnishes comprehensive annual data on the magnitude, destination and composition of British capital exports. Individual country data as well as global, regional and Empire aggregates are provided. Supplemental analyses examine the security composition of the capital exports, the changing ranking of recipients, the use of government interest guarantees on loans and the distribution of interest rates on debentures by industry.