The Lancashire Industrial District: its rise, prosperity and decline in the analysis of British economists.

At the peak of its success (prior to the First World War), the Lancashire industrial district was the site of the employment of more than 640,000 people and the production of about 25.6 per cent of the total value of Britain\u2019s exports. In the early 1960s, only 185,000 people were employed in the district and Britain had become a net importer of cotton cloth. Today, the district no longer exists. The Lancashire cotton industry had been for a long-time probably the most important industry for the British economy and its decline drew the attention of economists, politicians and historians. A really large literature flourished both on the reasons for its unquestioned success and on the causes of its decline. In the chapter, we deal with the reasons for success and, in addition, the causes of decline in order to underline the way in which some British economists tackle this topic