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  • Global Electrification: Multinational Enterprise and International Finance in the History of Light and Power, 1878–2007
  • Christopher Jones (bio)
Global Electrification: Multinational Enterprise and International Finance in the History of Light and Power, 1878–2007. By William J. Hausman, Peter Hertner, and Mira Wilkins. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Pp. xxiv+487. £48.

Global Electrification is an impressively researched history of international finance and multinational companies in the development of the electric utility industry. In particular, the authors are interested in the extent to which utilities were owned and controlled by foreign companies and how these investment patterns shifted over time. With its rich empirical base, this work will be an important resource for those working on the history of international business, global finance, and electrification.

A major strength of this work is that it is coauthored, not coedited. Rather than collecting case studies loosely gathered around a theme, the authors worked together to present a single narrative covering a long time period and several parts of the globe. The comprehensive picture that emerges from this collaboration makes this a better book.

Multinational finance has played an important role in the development of the electrical utility industry. The authors identify four major periods of global financing between 1878 and 1978, each heavily influenced by global politics and generally resulting in a diminished importance of foreign investment. From 1878 to 1914, international finance helped establish electrical utilities in several parts of the globe, with the main actors being banks and large electrical manufacturers such as General Electric and Westinghouse. The financial landscape shifted between 1914 and 1929, when governments increasingly saw electrification as a national need and took active roles in establishing electrical networks. Holding companies such as American & Foreign Power Company and Sofina replaced banks and manufacturing firms as the main agents of international financing.

The period from 1929 to 1945 saw a continued scaling back of foreign investment, largely due to disruptions of the financial system triggered by the Great Depression and then World War II. Even though electrification [End Page 698] was expanded all around the globe, it was largely the result of government investment and domestic capital. From 1945 to 1978, a process the authors term “domestication” led to further decline in the role of international finance. In the context of growing nationalism and decolonization, governments sought to gain control of utilities and oust foreign investors. By 1978, there was virtually no direct foreign investment in the electric light and power industry.

Over the last couple of decades there has been a resurgence in foreign investment, largely due to widespread deregulation and privatization. In their conclusion, the authors caution that these new patterns are not inevitable. Wars, financial crises, and nationalist policies have deterred global investments in the past. Whether this resurgence in international financing will continue remains to be seen.

One of the greatest strengths of this work is its presentation of large amounts of data. The authors describe the activities of hundreds of manufacturers, banks, utilities, holding companies, and financiers, all of this evidencing the extensive research that went into their book. The emphasis on data seems to come at a cost, however, as important social implications are addressed only briefly. Consider the question of whether foreign-owned utilities provided a different level of service to consumers than utilities financed domestically. If money was raised abroad but the utility was managed locally, did the foreign financing influence the course of electrification? Did international capital flows contribute to the oligopolistic structure of the electrical supply industry, and did this affect access to electricity? Exploration of such matters would have made this work relevant to an even wider range of audiences.

Overall, Global Electrification is a significant contribution that will be highly valuable to historians with many specialties, including historians of technology.

Christopher Jones

Christopher Jones is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania. His research is concerned with the development of energy and transportation infrastructure in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

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