The big ditch
Subtitle: how America took, built, ran, and ultimately gave away the Panama Canal
By: Noel Maurer & Carlos Yu
Contributors: Yu, Carlos, 1970-
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Princeton, N.J
Language: eng
Number of pages: 420
ISBN-13: 9780691147383
Subjects: Imperialism; Economic aspects; Foreign relations; History
Description: Overview: On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal officially opened for business, forever changing the face of global trade and military power, as well as the role of the United States on the world stage. The Canal's creation is often seen as an example of U.S. triumphalism, but Noel Maurer and Carlos Yu reveal a more complex story. Examining the Canal's influence on Panama, the United States, and the world, The Big Ditch deftly chronicles the economic and political history of the Canal, from Spain's earliest proposals in 1529 through the final handover of the Canal to Panama on December 31, 1999, to the present day. The authors show that the Canal produced great economic dividends for the first quarter-century following its opening, despite massive cost overruns and delays. Relying on geographical advantage and military might, the United States captured most of these benefits. By the 1970s, however, when the Carter administration negotiated the eventual turnover of the Canal back to Panama, the strategic and economic value of the Canal had disappeared. And yet, contrary to skeptics who believed it was impossible for a fledgling nation plagued by corruption to manage the Canal, when the Panamanians finally had control, they switched the Canal from a public utility to a for-profit corporation, ultimately running it better than their northern patrons. A remarkable tale, The Big Ditch offers vital lessons about the impact of large-scale infrastructure projects, American overseas interventions on institutional development, and the ability of governments to run companies effectively.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [333]-399) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction to the ditch; title: Before the ditch; title: Preparing the ditch; title: Digging the ditch; title: Crossing the ditch; title: Passed by the ditch; title: Sliding into irrelevancy; title: Ditching the ditch; title: Concluding the ditch.