Economic history Books

Book SynopsisCritical theorists of economy tend to understand the history of market society as a succession of distinct stages. This vision of history rests on a chronological conception of time whereby each present slips into the past so that a future might take its place. This book argues that the linear mode of thinking misses something crucial about the dynamics of contemporary capitalism. Rather than each present leaving a set past behind it, the past continually circulates through and shapes the present, such that historical change emerges through a shifting panorama of historical associations, names, and dates. The result is a strange feedback loop between now and then, real and imaginary. Demonstrating how this idea can give us a better purchase on financial capitalism in the post-crisis era, History in Financial Times traces the diverse modes of history production at work in the spheres of financial journalism, policymaking, and popular culture. Paying particular attention to narrative and to notions of crisis, recurrence, and revelation, Amin Samman gives us a novel take on the relation between historical thinking and critique. Trade Review"In History in Financial Times, Amin Samman brilliantly exposes the intricate workings of the historical imagination in our present financialized times. Effortlessly weaving together political economy, philosophy, historiography, and cultural studies, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding financial life today."—Jacqueline Best, University of Ottawa"Amin Samman has written a strikingly original book that brings the theory of history to issues of finance and economics in ways that I have not seen. His approach pushes both disciplines into new and productive territory. It is exciting, fresh, and strange in the most provocative and productive way."—Ethan Kleinberg, Wesleyan University"Samman argues that the inescapable recursiveness of historical reasoning requires a new politics that eschews metahistorical cul-de-sacs for a more honest and flexible reckoning with the conditions of life. An interesting and provocative application of poststructural theory to a field that is normally the province of materialists, this book is best suited to scholars of historiography and theory. Recommended."—S. P. Harshner, CHOICE"History in Financial Times draws on and synthesizes an impressive array of concepts, theories, and disciplines only gestured at here. The book shows a great deal of range in its method....[The] insistence on history in financial times serves as a necessary corrective to narrow-minded theories of economic or financial subjectivity and the self-serving significations of economic elites."—John Macintosh, Los Angeles Review of Books"[History in Financial Times] offers means to analyse the minutiae of how historical narratives (for instance, analogies between the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Depression) become a shorthand to help explain what is happening in the present....Samman's emphasis on narrative throughout the book is hugely important at a moment of widespread narrative dysfunctionality in which the distinction between fact and fiction comes to be widely contested."—Emily Rosamond, Finance and Society"History in Financial Timesis a deeply original and impressive contribution to critical studies of finance, the history of capitalism, and historical theory."—Joel Isaac, The American Historical Review"In its many luminous moments, Samman's text pushes the reader to rethink history itself (as a field, as a discourse, as an imaginary) as embedded in and impacting the dynamics of late financial capitalism. In particular, he helps us see the intricate interweaving of immaterial financial operations and the factual and fictional representations of those phenomena."—C. N. Biltoft, History & TheoryTable of ContentsIntroduction: "We Live in Financial Times" 1. Crisis Thinking 2. Historical Imagination 3. Return and Recurrence 4. Repetition and Revelation 5. Names of History Afterword: Exits to the Future

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Mr Liu ranges widely in his carefully researched and well-crafted narrative. He is most concerned with the conduct and impact of the tea trade, but punctuates the story of profit and exploitation with fascinating cultural titbits.”—The Economist“Maritime historians interested in capitalism studies will find it rewarding to read Liu’s brilliant (re)interpretations of political-economy theories.”—Dan Du, International Journal of Maritime History“An impressive and insightful examination of the tea production competition between China and India in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. . . . Tea War is an important assessment of the significance of global trade and production via a refreshing pivot to the emerging industrial capitalist economies of China and Asia.”—Troy Bickham, Cultural and Social HistoryWinner of the 2022 Ralph Gomory Prize, sponsored by the Business History ConferenceLonglisted for the International Convention of Asia Scholars’ Prize for the Best Book in the Humanities, sponsored by the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS)“Tea War is not only a detailed comparative history of the transformation of tea production in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but it also intervenes in larger debates about the nature of capitalism, global modernity, and global history.”— Alexander F. Day, Occidental College“In Tea War, Andy Liu grapples with the question of how to write the history of capitalism beyond the North Atlantic. His comparative study of two Asian frontier regions presses us to rethink the conventional signposts around which the history of capitalism has conventionally been written. He shows how careful empirical inquiry and social theory can inform each other in innovative and exciting ways.”—Andrew Sartori, New York University“Andy Liu’s Tea War opens worlds by closing in on the processes of tea production in nineteenth-century India and China. Liu’s contentions about capitalism provoke; his meticulous empirical excavations persuade.”—Rebecca E. Karl, New York University

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Book SynopsisThe Golden Constant is a unique examination of how gold's purchasing power has remained consistent over the centuries. First published in 1977, this new edition has additional material to bring it up to date. The book is the only in-depth examination of how the purchasing power of gold has performed over the centuries in both England and the USA. It contains a thorough explanation of how the gold market evolved and how this is related to economic and political developments, from 1560 in England, and from 1800 in the USA, up to 2007. The book also contains detailed historical statistics on gold, wholesale and consumer prices and the real price of gold.This important book will be an essential resource for institutional and individual investors in the gold industry. Academics, economic historians and economists interested in monetary and financial history will find this book to be a fascinating read.Trade Review'A timely update of Roy Jastram's 1977 book, The Golden Constant, with updated material from Jill Leyland, latterly of the Gold Council, provides a fascinating insight into the price and purchasing power of gold over the past close to 450 years. . . Jill Leyland has done sterling work in expanding the geographical coverage to France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland, as well as bringing the book up-to-date.' -- Gabriel Stein, The Business Economist'Roy Jastram's classic book has been updated, to the delight of all students of gold.' -- Lord William Rees-Mogg, former Editor of The Times'As gold holds its value over the long run, so, I predict, will this superb book. Must reading for the investor and scholar alike.' -- James Grant, Editor, Grant's Interest Rate ObserverTable of ContentsContents: About the New Edition Preface Previously Written by Roy W. Jastram Foreword to the New Edition by Pierre Lassonde Introduction Part I: The English Experience 1. The Price of Gold 2. Historical Fluctuations in the Price of Gold 3. Commodity Prices and the Construction of Index Numbers 4. The Purchasing Power of Gold 5. The Purchasing Power of Gold in Inflation and Deflation Part II: The American Experience 6. The Evolution of the Gold Standard and Historical Fluctuations in Gold Prices 7. The Purchasing Power of Gold 8. Reflections on the Golden Constant Part III: After the Gold Price was Freed, 1971–2007 9. The Gold Market and the Purchasing Power of Gold, 1971–2007 10. Further Explorations into the Gold Price and its Purchasing Power Appendices Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Grubb has written a splendid book that explains a great deal about the financing of the Revolution that we did not know. It will be a cornerstone of future research." * EH.Net *"Grubb’s analysis brings together new evidence on the amount and timing of Continental emissions and an insightful theoretical model of what determined their value. . . .This masterful work brings together decades of research and explains its insights in a clear, convincing manner." * Choice *"Economists and historians have been telling us the wrong story about Continental currency for two centuries. . .Farley Grubb [sets] the record straight on Continental currency. . .an interesting and valuable contribution to our understanding the Revolutionary War." * Journal of the American Revolution *“Well written and convincing, The Continental Dollar proposes a new view of the early American monetary system, representing an impressive scholarly effort that advances our understanding of how money works.” -- Christopher M. Meissner, University of California, Davis“Bringing together the author’s important, and even controversial, work, future generations of financial historians will benefit from this book—yet one need not be a monetary historian to follow The Continental Dollar because it makes this material clear and accessible.” -- Jane Knodell, University of Vermont"The Continental Dollar provides an innovative, painstakingly thorough study of how the Americans used paper money to finance their War of Independence. While these events happened long ago under very different economic conditions, Grubb demonstrates valuable information about the flexible nature of the boundary between money and government debt and how money and debt influence the economy. All future studies of the financing of the Revolution, and many studies of other macroeconomic events, will lean heavily on this masterful analysis." -- Hugh Rockoff, Rutgers University"In this arresting account, Farley Grubb overturns existing interpretations of the Continental dollar. Unmatched in his erudition on early American money, Grubb adds immeasurably to our knowledge about how Americans financed the Revolution and how they redesigned money in its aftermath. This book is a game-changer." -- Christine A. Desan, Harvard University"Understanding how and why the continentals circulated and were valued lies at core of the early American experience and how the nation won its independence nearly 250 years ago. Professor Grubb’s new treatise and career achievement is an authoritative account of Revolutionary War finance that distills the essence of the continental dollars as money and the rationale for and risks of holding them. A result of in-depth archival research and analysis over many years, the work will be of great interest to historians and others seeking a comprehensive guide to and fresh perspective on this classic tale." -- Peter Rousseau, Vanderbilt University"Farley Grubb has performed a massive historical reconstruction of the dollar and its history. In the process, he has overturned myths and misconceptions about the financing of the American Revolution and cast new light on how the fourteen governments of the new republic attempted to finance a war with the world's greatest military power. This is an enormous achievement, one that historians, economic historians, and economists will want on their shelves." -- John Joseph Wallis, University of MarylandTable of ContentsList of Tables List of Figures A Note on Citation Format Preface Introduction Part I What Was the Continental Dollar? The Intended Structural Design Chapter 1 Emitting Continental Dollars Chapter 2 Richard Smith and New Jersey’s Influence Chapter 3 Denominational Spacing and Value Size Chapter 4 Informing the Public Chapter 5 Descriptions by Contemporary Leaders Chapter 6 Congressional Spending Chapter 7 Legal Tender Chapter 8 Loan Office Certificates Part II Value and Performance Chapter 9 Modeling Value Chapter 10 Rational Bond Pricing Chapter 11 The Current Market Exchange Value Chapter 12 Time-Discounting versus Depreciation Chapter 13 1779: The Turning Point Chapter 14 1780–1781: The Road to Abandonment Part III Epilogue Chapter 15 State Redemption of Continental Dollars Chapter 16 The 1790 Funding Act and Final Default on the Continental Dollar Chapter 17 The Constitutional Transformation of the US Monetary System Acknowledgments Appendices Getting the Numbers Right Appendix A Reconciling the Disparate Statements in the Secondary Literature Regarding Continental Dollar Emissions Appendix B The Denominational Structure of American Paper Monies, 1755–1781 Appendix C The Cumulative Value of Continental Dollars Emitted, 1775–1780: Face Value versus Present Value Appendix D The Redemption of Continental Dollars by Individual States over Time Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Finalist for the PROSE Award in Economics, Association of American Publishers""A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year""[Blinder is] an engaging writer."---Geoff Mann, London Review of Books"Blinder has given us a very nice read. His book lets us ride shotgun along the extremely rocky road that US policymakers have traveled in their quest for price stability, full employment, financial resilience, and robust investment. Each episode produced by the Wheel of Fortuna is strikingly and—I believe—almost completely accurately described. Read and absorb Blinder’s account, and you will be qualified to present yourself as a respected elder statesmen who has seen much macroeconomic policymaking up close, and whose advice warrants attention."---J. Bradford DeLong, Project Syndicate"Blinder writes with the verve for which he is justly famous. . . . A book of history written for our time."---Peter Conti-Brown, Finance & Development"As America’s go-to economics whisperer and explainer, Blinder faithfully translates the esoteric language of Federal Reserve monetary macroeconomics into a popular vernacular that is consistently illuminating and broadly accessible to both policy-makers and students in lecture halls. . . . A splendid and thrilling read. . . . A work that is breathtakingly comprehensive in its scope and nuanced in its analysis."---Sarah Bloom Raskin, Central Banking"Alan Blinder’s sparkling writing is always insightful, entertaining, and persuasive. I would read his grocery shopping list."---Eric M. Leeper, Journal of Economic Literature"Alan Blinder is an economist’s economist, the go-to for informed, level-headed analysis and advice on macroeconomic policy. . . . Did I mention Blinder writes like the wind? . . . [A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States, 1961–2021] is both an invitation to think and a pleasure to read."---Peter Passell, Milken Institute Review"A very good introduction."---Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution"Essential." * Choice *"Enjoyable. . . .Full of both well-known facts and little-known facts whilst placing all the developments in context and helping debunking a few myths along the way."---Maximilian Magnacca, The Society of Professional Economists

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Book SynopsisA thousand-year history of how China’s obsession with silver influenced the country’s financial well-being, global standing, and political stabilityTrade Review“Makes a good case for how monetary choices can have wider political implications...Its message that China's development has been hampered by weak rule of law and a lack of accountability could not be timelier.”—Matthew Partridge, Money Week"Empire of Silver is superbly written and a great joy to read. Ingeniously blending literary evidence from materials as diverse as Chinese classical novels with serious academic research, the book gives extraordinary theoretical and historical insights on big questions about politics, money, finance, and the Great Divergence. It is a wonderful book for understanding one thousand years of Chinese monetary history."--Debin Ma, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, Japan "Empire of Silver is a fascinating, in-depth and scholarly work. It traces China's obsession with the precious metal for better and for worse over the centuries. Particularly interesting is the relationship between silver and the decline of the Qing dynasty in the 19th century - a passage of history that maintains crucial relevance to the China of today."--James Kynge, author of China Shakes the World

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Book SynopsisIndia's caravan trade with central Asia was at the heart of the complex web of routes making up the Silk Roads. But what was the fate of these overland connections in the ages of sail and steam? Jagjeet Lally sets out to answer this question by bringing the world of caravan trade to life--a world of merchants, mercenaries, pastoralists and pilgrims, but also of kings, bureaucrats and their subjects in the countryside and towns. The livelihoods of these figures did not become obsolete with the advent of 'modern' technologies and the consequent emergence of new global networks. Terrestrial routes remained critically important, not only handling flows of goods and money, but also fostering networks of trade in credit, secret intelligence and fighting power. With the waning of the Mughal Empire during the eighteenth century, new Indian kingdoms and their rulers came to the fore, drawing their power and prosperity from resources brought by caravan trade. The encroachment of British and Russian imperialism into this commercial arena in the nineteenth century gave new significance to some people and flows, while steadily undermining others. India and the Silk Roads is a global history of a continental interior, the first to comprehensively examine the textual and material traces of caravan trade in the 'age of empires'. By showing how no single ruler could control the nebulous yet durable networks of this trading world, which had its own internal dynamics even as it evolved in step with global transformations, Lally forces us to rethink the history of globalisation and re-evaluate our fixation with empires and states as the building blocks of historical analysis. It is a narrative resonating with our own times, as China's Belt and Road Initiative brings terrestrial forms of connectivity back to the fore--transforming life across Eurasia once again.Trade Review'India and the Silk Roads takes the reader on a tour de force through a two-century history of trade, technology and geopolitics straddling India, Afghanistan and Central Asia. Important and outstanding--it will gain much attention and praise.' -- T.C.A. Raghavan, former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan and Singapore, and author of 'The People Next Door: The Curious History of India’s Relations with Pakistan''India and the Silk Roads goes much beyond trade and looks at the geopolitical, economic and technological environment of the Silk Road. Careful and with a wealth of detail, it is a balance and corrective to existing literature on the silk route.' -- Benjamin D. Hopkins, Associate Professor of History and International Affairs at the George Washington University, Washington DC, and author of 'The Making of Modern Afghanistan''India’s overland interactions with Afghanistan and Central Asia have largely been sidelined by recent decades of sea-facing scholarship. In this astute, holistic analysis, Lally makes a compelling case for the continued impact of the caravan trade on Indian economic and cultural life well into the twentieth century.' -- Nile Green, Ibn Khaldun Endowed Chair in World History, UCLA, and author of 'Bombay Islam: The Religious Economy of the West Indian Ocean, 1840-1915''India and the Silk Roads is a scholarly exposition of the Trans-Eurasian caravan trade, providing a fresh look at India's historical overland trade routes to Afghanistan and Central Asia. Riveting and refreshing--a breath of fresh air amongst existing literature on the Silk Routes.' -- Nasir Raza Khan, Associate Professor, India Arab Cultural Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia (Central University), New Delhi

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPreface xvii Acknowledgements xxi About the Author xxv Chapter 1: An Introduction to Cycles and Secular Trends 1 Repeating Cycles 3 The Social and Political Cycle 4 The Business Cycle 8 Super Cycles in Financial Markets 9 Psychology and Financial Market Super Cycles 11 Part I: Structural Trends and Market Super Cycles 19 Chapter 2: Equity Cycles and Their Drivers 21 The Four Phases of the Equity Cycle 22 1. Despair 23 2. Hope 23 3. Growth 24 4. Optimism 24 The Drivers of the Four Phases 24 The Cycle and Bear Markets 28 Identifying the Transition from Bear Market to Bull Market 30 Valuations and the Market Inflection 30 Growth and the Market Inflection 32 Combining Growth and Valuation as a Signal 36 Inflation, Interest Rates and the Market Inflection 37 Combining Growth and Interest Rates 39 Chapter 3: Super Cycles and Their Drivers 41 Super Cycles in Economic Activity 42 The Modern Era: Growth from the 1820s 47 Super Cycles in Inflation 50 Super Cycles in Interest Rates 53 Super Cycles and Government Debt 55 Super Cycles in Inequality 56 Super Cycles in Financial Markets 59 Super Cycles in Equities 63 Structural upswings 1. 1949–1968: Post-World War II Boom 66 2. 1982–2000: The Modern Cycle 66 3. 2009–2020: The Post-Financial-Crisis Cycle and Zero Interest Rates 67 ‘Fat and Flat’ super cycles 1. 1968–1982: Inflation and Low Returns 68 2. 2000–2009: Bubbles and Troubles 68 Part II: Analysing Post-war Super Cycles 71 Chapter 4: 1949–1968: Post-World War II Boom 73 International Agreements and Falling Risk Premia 75 Strong Economic Growth 76 Technological Innovation 79 Low and Stable Real Interest Rates 81 A Boom in World Trade 83 A Baby Boom 83 The Consumer and Credit Boom 85 All-Consuming Consumerism 87 Chapter 5: 1968–1982: Inflation and Low Returns 91 A Lost Decade for Investors 92 The Bubble Before the Bust 93 High Interest Rates and Low Growth 95 The Collapse of Bretton Woods 96 Social Unrest and Strikes 100 Collapsing Trade, Increased Protectionism and Regulation 104 Increased Public Spending, Lower Margins 105 The End of the Downturn 107 Chapter 6: 1982–2000: The Modern Cycle 109 1. The Great Moderation 110 2. Disinflation and a Lower Cost of Capital 112 European Interest Rate Convergence 112 Monetary Policy and the ‘Fed Put’ 114 3. Supply-Side Reforms (Including Deregulation and Privatisation) 117 Tax Reforms 118 Deregulation and Privatisation 121 4. The End of the Soviet Union (Lower Geopolitical Risk) 123 5. Globalisation and Cooperation 124 Technology and the Labour Market 128 6. The Impact of China and India 128 7. Bubbles and Financial Innovation 129 The Japan Bubble and the Tech Bubble 130 Chapter 7: 2000–2009: Bubbles and Troubles 133 The Bursting of the Technology Bubble 135 The Financial Crisis of 2007–2009 138 Leverage and Financial Innovation 140 The Decline in Long-Term Growth Expectations 147 The Rise in the Equity Risk Premium 148 The Negative Correlation Between Bonds and Equities 150 Chapter 8: 2009–2020: The Post- Financial- Crisis Cycle and Zero Interest Rates 153 1. Weak Growth but High Equity Returns 154 The Aftershock of the Financial Crisis 157 2. The Era of Free Money 160 The Collapse in Government Bond Yields 162 3. Low Volatility 166 4. Rising Equity Valuations 168 5. Technology and the Outperformance of Growth versus Value 171 The Extraordinary Gap between Growth and Value 172 6. The Outperformance of the United States Over the Rest of the World 176 Zero Rates and the Demand for Risk Assets 179 Chapter 9: The Pandemic and the Return of ‘Fat and Flat’ 183 Pandemic Pandemonium 183 The Pandemic Shock 184 Another Tech Bubble 189 The Medicine Worked 193 The Pandemic and Inflation 196 From Disinflation to Reflation 197 Getting Real – The Shift Higher in the Real Cost of Capital 200 The Golden Rules Resurface 202 Sector Leadership and the Rotation Towards Value 202 Part III: the Post-modern Cycle 207 Chapter 10: The Post-Modern Cycle 209 Structural Shifts and Opportunities 210 Differences from the Modern Cycle 212 1. A Rise in the Cost of Capital 213 The Re-emergence of Inflation 215 2. A Slowdown in Trend Growth 218 3. A Shift from Globalisation to Regionalisation 220 4. A Rise in the Cost of Labour and Commodities 225 Post-Pandemic Reversal 229 The Consequences and Investment Implications 230 AI and the Labour Market 232 5. An Increase in Government Spending and Debt 234 The Rise in Regulation and Industrial Policy 237 Energy Transition Spending to Increase 239 6. A Rise in Capital and Infrastructure Spending 242 7. Changing Demographics 245 Ageing Populations and Deficits 246 Ageing Populations and New Markets 247 8. An Increase in Geopolitical Tensions and the Multipolar World 249 Chapter 11: The Post-Modern Cycle and Technology 251 Why Technology Wins 254 Characteristics of Technology Revolutions 255 Exuberance, Speculation and Bubbles 256 The Dominance Effects 259 The Emergence of Secondary Technologies 260 Can Technology Remain the Biggest Sector? 262 Can the Current Group of Dominant Technology Companies Remain Leaders? 264 Why Newer Technologies May Enhance Productivity 268 Weak Productivity in the Internet World 271 From ‘Nice to Have’ to ‘Need to Have’ 271 Productivity and the Impact of AI 272 The PEARLs Framework for AI and Technology 274 The Pioneers 275 The Enablers 275 The Adaptors 277 The Reformers 278 The Laggards 279 Chapter 12: The Post- Modern Cycle: Opportunities in the ‘Old Economy’ 285 Opportunities in the ‘Old Economy’ 286 Defence Spending 289 Infrastructure Spending 291 Green Spending 292 Government Policy and Spending 294 Commodities Spending 298 How Investment Markets Can Help Fund the Capex Boom 300 The Future of Jobs 301 Don’t Forget the Power of Nostalgia 303 On Your Bike 305 Chapter 13: Summary and Conclusions 309 Cycles 309 Super Cycles 311 The Post-Modern Cycle 313 References 315 Suggested Reading 335 Index 343

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the nature of money and banking throughout their history, and applies this to the study of financial crises. The first part of the book covers the evolution of monetary arrangements, money creation and the business of banking since their earliest manifestations to the present day, showing how changes in the business of banking led to a transformation in the money we use. The second part of the book applies the understanding acquired during the first part to the study of financial crises, showing that money is taken out of circulation when bank loans are paid back. This key insight is at the core of the mechanism that explains financial crises, since an economy that sees its money supply diminish is also an economy that cannot generate enough demand for its own goods and services. Financial crises result when bank lending slows down or comes to a halt – while outstanding bank loans are still due for repayment. The mechanism is discussed in detail, and the crucial role of banks highlighted. Adequate policy measures to prevent crises, or to mitigate their effects, are then put forward in light of this mechanism. The book will be of interest to researchers and students of economic and financial history, as well as those working in finance, banking and economics more widely. Table of ContentsIntroduction.- 1 What is money?.- A History of Money and Banking.- 2 Money from the very beginning.- 3 Banks enter the scene.- 4 The dawn of modern banking.- 5 The creation of a paper currency.- 6 Modern banking comes of age.- 7 The role of banks in a modern economy.- II An Analysis of Financial Crises.- 8 The role of money and the logic of recessions.- 9 Describing financial crises.- 10 The mechanics of financial crises - part one.- 11 The mechanics of financial crises - part two.- 12 Fighting off financial crises.- 13 Preventing financial crises.- Further Reading.- References.

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Book SynopsisAnalysis of Latin America's economy focusing on development, covering the colonial roots of inequality, boom and bust cycles, labor markets, and fiscal and monetary policy.Latin America is richly endowed with natural resources, fertile land, and vibrant cultures. Yet the region remains much poorer than its neighbors to the north. Most Latin American countries have not achieved standards of living and stable institutions comparable to those found in developed countries, have experienced repeated boom-bust cycles, and remain heavily reliant on primary commodities. This book studies the historical roots of Latin America's contemporary economic and social development, focusing on poverty and income inequality dating back to colonial times. It addresses today's legacies of the market-friendly reforms that took hold in the 1980s and 1990s by examining successful stabilizations and homemade monetary and fiscal institutional reforms. It offers a detailed analysis of trade and

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"No sooner had we got used to thinking of ourselves as living in the 'Asian century' than it might be all over. . . . The book is a crash course on the risks in Asia."—Lucy Hornby, Financial Times"[Auslin] argues persuasively that most predictions for Asia are unrealistically rosy."—Tony Abbott, Wall Street Journal"Informative, thoughtful, and wide-ranging . . . well-researched, insightful . . . a wake-up call."—Publishers Weekly"Informative, thoughtful, and wide-ranging . . . well-researched, insightful . . . a wake-up call."—Publishers Weekly“If America’s pivot to Asia is to mature into a meaningful long-term strategy . . . it will require more books like this.”—John Bew, New Statesman“A worthwhile read for those interested in Asia and its future.”—Aron Shai, Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs"Michael Auslin combines an historian's perspective with the art of diagnosis to map Asia's possible futures. The surprising result is anticipatory, cautionary, and contrarian. Written with verve and a readable style, Auslin urges us to weigh the wide-ranging implications of these risks for America and the rest of the world."—Robert B. Zoellick, former President of the World Bank, US Trade Representative, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State"The End of the Asian Century is the essential user’s guide to the gathering risks in the dynamic Indo-Pacific crescent. Not since Robert D. Kaplan’s The Coming Anarchy and Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations has a study so originally and presciently captured the risks to the emerging international order."—James Kraska, Howard S. Levie Professor of International Law, U.S. Naval War College"Michael Auslin has built a reputation as an astute and forward-looking observer. In his new book, Auslin paints a vivid picture of a region waiting to see the full extent of Beijing's ambitions while wondering how the United States will ultimately respond. Those wishing to understand the scale of the challenge posed by China's destabilizing behavior would be well-served by this timely book."—Congressman J. Randy Forbes (R-Va), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower & Projection Forces and Co-Chairman of the Congressional China Caucus"For years, many Americans have seen a rising Asia as a region of opportunity. But Asia scholar Michael Auslin has come to see it as a region of risks—military, economic, demographic. In The End of the Asian Century, he provides a 'risk map' of a region of great promise and great problems."—Michael Barone, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and Washington Examiner senior political analyst"Auslin argues powerfully for a dose of reality when assessing the current situation in Asia and its future problems and prospects."—George P. Shultz, former U.S. Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury, and Distinguished Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

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Book SynopsisThe unlikely beginnings of the East India Company—from Tudor origins and rivalry with the superior Dutch—to laying the groundwork for future British expansionTrade Review“Howarth tells some hair-raising tales from the maiden voyage of the Company ship Peppercorn. . . . Packed with tales, as well as gruesome accounts of clashes between rival traders in the east.”—Dan Jones, Times (UK) “Adventurers is essential reading.”—Dan Jones, Times (UK)“[Adventurers] details the early years of what would become the world’s biggest corporation…By no means a defence of the empire, this dizzying work makes its emergence all the more remarkable.”—Daniel Brooks, Sunday Telegraph“Howarth’s study [is] quite different from its rivals, and overflowing with surprises.”—William Dalrymple, The Spectator“This is a book [Howarth] has wanted to write for 50 years. . . . The frequent exuberance of his prose echo[es] the voices of larger-than-life venturers and seafarers who fill his pages.”—Alan Mallinson, Country Life“Adventurers is an important counterpoint to received knowledge of Anglo-Indian history, and the foundations of what was perhaps the world’s first and most controversial corporation.”—Lubaaba Al-Azami, BBC History Magazine“I’m keeping my fingers crossed that there might be a further volume. . . . Perhaps Howarth, like those first Adventurers, will have the right amount of intrepid bravery and insanity to attempt it.”—Debbie Kilroy, Get History“Howarth’s book is a joy of revelation, page by page… beautifully written” —Robert Lyman, The Critic“The history of the East India Company is so often read backwards. This wonderfully well-written book restores its early development to its true context—it is, like cold water in a desert, the picture for which we’ve gasped.”—James Evans, author of Merchant Adventurers“Fascinating and authoritative. David Howarth weaves a rich and rewarding tapestry of the uncertain, often chaotic development of the company, moving with style from London to Southeast Asia, and amassing a colourful cast list of princes, merchants and politicians. Adventurers will become the standard book on the subject, and deservedly so.”—Jerry Brotton, author of This Orient Isle“Howarth’s keen eye for intrigue weaves together a tale of commercial competition and imperial ambition that carries us from the Tudor court to the coasts of Japan. Adventurers is a quick-paced romp through the chaotic early history of Britain’s most infamous corporation.”—Edmond Smith, author of Merchants

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Book SynopsisLudwig von Mises, the author of such classics as ''Socialism and Human Action'' is universally acknowledged as one of the most important classical liberals and economists of the twentieth century. In 1934, he left his native Austria in fear of the Nazis, who seized all his papers in 1938 in Vienna and Mises thought, destroyed them. But the papers were not destroyed. In 1996, Richard and Anna Ebeling discovered the papers in an archive in Moscow. This is the second volume in the Selected Writing of Ludwig von Mises series.

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Book SynopsisBenjamin A Rogge''s ability to speak and write about serious economic topics with humour, humility, and wit, but without difficult jargon, math, or diagrams, places him in a category all his own. This new collection of fifty-three essays, many of which have never before been published, gathers some of Rogge''s most interesting talks and writings spanning the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. This volume encompasses a vast array of topics including the case for individual liberty and responsibility in maintaining the free-market economy, the nature of economics, the business system, labour markets, money and inflation, and education. By organising the volume thematically, the editor, Dwight R Lee, has been able to highlight and place in context the many different areas of economics that compose Professor Rogge''s extensive output.

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Book SynopsisA regional mining community that won a national reputation, Wonthaggi came to be admired by many, and disliked by others. For sixty years the town's highly unionised miners successfully worked the thin, broken seams of a state coal mine that would have been regarded as insufficiently profitable by most Australian mine owners. At times, through the national Miner's Federation, they exerted a powerful influence within the Australian coal industry and beyond. For the residents of Wonthaggi, their mine and their union helped them understand and define who they were, these things playing a role in their everyday lives, understandings and imaginations that thoroughly transcended the workplace. In an age of private accumulation and social fragmentation, Up from the Underworld brings to light this important history.

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Book SynopsisIn the aftermath of the French Revolution, advocates of protection against foreign competition prevailed in a fierce controversy over international trade. They succeeded by portraying free trade as a British ideology and French free traders as traitors. This groundbreaking study is the first to examine this 'protectionist turn' in full.Trade Review'Reading David Todd's excellent well-researched monograph, I found it simply impossible not to think of the astonishing parallels between Anglo-French debates on free trade in the early decades of the nineteenth century and today's increasingly pressing arguments about possible British exit from the EU and France's parlous recent economic performance … Todd's concluding remarks give us much to think about. Protectionism after 1870, he suggests, contributed to the enduring stability of the Third Republic and arguably remained a force of stability in French society until its abandonment in the 1980s. Todd's contribution to the 'intellectual history of globalization' makes us realize that these issues are not about to go away.' Jeremy Jennings, H-France Forum'This is not a book of economic history but rather a history of economic ideas and political economy, namely, the debates that took place in France on international trade between 1814 and 1851 … This book is important insofar it shows a return to political economy in historical context without the abstractions and a-historical analyses of mainstream economic history.' Alessandro Stanziani, H-France Forum'Using a wide range of archival and printed primary sources in English, French and German, Todd provides the reader with an exhaustive analysis of the economic debates within France and stresses their connection with the globalizing economy of the nineteenth century.' Christopher Guyver, European History QuarterlyTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. The reactionary political economy of the Bourbon Restoration; 2. Economists, winegrowers and the dissemination of commercial liberalism; 3. Completing the revolution: political and commercial liberty after 1830; 4. Inventing economic nationalism; 5. The contours of the national economy; 6. The Englishness of free trade and the consolidation of protectionist dominance; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisAgainst the backdrop of England''s emergence as a major economic power, the development of early modern capitalism in general and the transformation of the Mediterranean, Maria Fusaro presents a new perspective on the onset of Venetian decline. Examining the significant commercial relationship between these two European empires during the period 14501700, Fusaro demonstrates how Venice''s social, political and economic circumstances shaped the English mercantile community in unique ways. By focusing on the commercial interaction between Venice and England, she also re-establishes the analysis of the maritime political economy as an essential constituent of the Venetian state political economy. This challenging interpretation of some classic issues of early modern history will be of profound interest to economic, social and legal historians, and provides a stimulating addition to current debates in imperial history, especially on the economic relationship between different empires and tTrade Review'Two empires, Venice already old and past its peak, England adolescent and ambitious, met in mingled rivalry and co-operation in the early modern Eastern Mediterranean. English-speaking historians have long regarded the Venetian Empire as a maritime empire prefiguring the British Empire, but their view of Venice and its transactions with England has generally been based on English sources. For the first time Maria Fusaro gives us the English among the creeks and islands of the Venetian empire, as seen by the Venetians themselves. Using archives hitherto little-known or wholly unknown, she paints a lively picture of Anglo-Venetian commerce, diplomacy and war.' Nicholas Rodger, University of Oxford'This is an innovative work of comparative history that makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the early modern world. By considering the rise of England and the decline of Venice in tandem, Fusaro is able to cast fascinating new light onto these familiar historical questions, and to show their importance to broader issues, such as the rise of capitalism, globalization and empire.' Eric Dursteler, Brigham Young University, Utah'Fusaro is determined to remind her readers, contrary to mainstream historiography, that Venice was indeed an empire and one whose imperial glories, preoccupations and costs acted as a model to those capitalist successors which have lasted into the twentieth century and beyond.' Richard Bosworth, History Today'Every scholar interested in imperial history and the English mercantile community should read Political Economies of Empire in the Early Modern Mediterranean as Maria Fusaro proposes a stimulating re-interpretation of the role of Venice and the English within the early modern Mediterranean. This book is an excellent response to the quantitative-econometric approach now unfortunately too common among economic historians that, by overlooking the social aspect of commerce, fail to grasp fully the early modern maritime world. Instead, Fusaro's work enriches recent literature on social history of trade … Fusaro presents a novel view on imperialism and a different narrative on trade that I hope economic historians will develop in future scholarship.' Giada Pizzoni, Global Intellectual History'Fusaro explores this complex of issues through a dense, source-rich analysis of the commercial, diplomatic, and social links between Venice and England from the late Middle Ages through the seventeenth century.' Dennis Romano, The Journal of Modern History'Political Economies offers much to a broad range of readers. Those interested only in Venice will garner a new understanding of her political and economic history, especially for those to whom Italian historiography has been inaccessible. Scholars interested in the rise of England will also find much that is new in this book (although its primary research into English sources is much less rich than the evidence of Italian archives). For economic and political historians, Fusaro has revealed a concrete example of the interplay between politics, trade, economics and warfare. Of course readers in any of those camps may well be maritime historians, all of whom will find this book a valuable contribution to our expanding range of interest. As its title implies, Political economies of empire in the early modern Mediterranean is very much a maritime history, too.' Adrian Leonard, The International Journal of Maritime History'The volume of research initiated for the production of this book is impressive, and has enabled Fusaro to create an imposing study that will prove vital for the early modern maritime historian. … The book is a valuable and authoritative contribution to the fields of early modern state formation, maritime studies, and economic history.' Benjamin W. D. Redding, The Mariner's MirrorTable of ContentsIntroduction: political economies of empire; 1. The medieval background; 2. The reversal of the balance; 3. The Ottoman Levant; 4. Genoa, Venice and Livorno (a tale of three cities); 5. Trade, violence and diplomacy; 6. Diplomacy, trade and religion; 7. The Venetian peculiarities; 8. The English mercantile community in Venice; 9. The English and other mercantile communities; 10. The goods of the trade; 11. Empires and governance in the Mediterranean; 12. Coda and conclusions; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisAlthough the economy has always been changing, ever more innovations now seem to accelerate the transformation process. Are there any laws governing the incessant global change? Does it accord with our intentions and desires and make us happier? Do our institutions and our democracies cope with the challenges? How does economic theory explain what is going on? In this volume, experts in the field discuss the advances that evolutionary economics has made in exploring questions like these. The broad range of topics include a review of the development of the field: its conceptual and methodological characteristics are outlined; problems posed by macroeconomic evolution and the institutional challenges are highlighted; and, last but not least, the implications of the evolution of the economy for wellbeing and sustainability are addressed. Taken together, the contributions demonstrate the potential of an evolutionary paradigm for making sense of economic change and for assessing its consequTrade Review'This welcome collection of essays offers a rich perspective on the history and philosophy of evolutionary economics. It delves deep into core themes such as generalized Darwinism, institutions and bounded rationality, long-run economic development and evolutionary welfare theory, while also offering original applications to land use conflicts and unsustainable consumption.' Jeroen van den Bergh, ICREA Research Professor, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona'As Ulrich Witt and Andreas Chai put it in their introduction, it is time for some stocktaking concerning progress in evolutionary economics. This excellent collection of essays performs that task admirably: a number of leading authors review developments in the field with erudition and careful criticism. This is a milestone volume.' Geoffrey M. Hodgson, University of Hertfordshire'Evolutionary economics is in transition following a very productive and enlightening era when Nelson and Winter's 'replicator dynamics' perspective was its reference point. The past decade has witnessed the rise of competing perspectives such as: rule based complex systems; game theoretical micro-foundations; general Darwinian theory; socio-biological models, where biology is not just used as an analogy. Although there is general agreement that economic evolution should be modelled, explicitly, as a historical process, methodological differences have become more marked. In this volume a very prominent set of contributors explain their different positions. The result is a very interesting and stimulating set of essays that are well-written and accessible to both evolutionary and mainstream economists and their students. Anyone who wishes to know what the key issues and debates are in evolutionary economics today need look no further than this excellent volume.' John Foster, University of Queensland'More than one century after Thorsten Veblen coined the label evolutionary economics there is still no consensus on what constitutes the core of an evolutionary approach in economics. This volume will be welcome by readers interested in learning about the current state of the field and its prospective development. The essays collected represent the principal versions of evolutionary thinking in contemporary economics, covering methodological, theoretical and normative issues. The editors' Introduction provides helpful guidance in tracing the history of the field, placing the collected essays into a broader context and pointing to prospects for theoretical convergence and integration.' Viktor J. Vanberg, University of Freiburg, GermanyTable of ContentsPart I. Introduction: 1. Evolutionary economics: taking stock of its progress and emerging challenges Ulrich Witt and Andreas Chai; Part II. Conceptual and Methodological Problems: 2. Missed connections and opportunities foregone: a counterfactual history of twentieth century economics Brian J. Loasby; 3. Science, technology, and knowledge: what historians can learn from an evolutionary approach Joel Mokyr; 4. Generalized Darwinism in evolutionary economics: the devil is in the details Jack Vromen; Part III. Perspectives on Evolutionary Macroeconomics: 5. Macroeconomic evolution: long run development and short run policies Richard H. Day; 6. Evolutionary micro-founded technical change and the Kaldor-Verdoorn law: estimates from an artificial world André Lorentz; Part IV. Advances in Explaining and Assessing Institutional Evolution: 7. Democracy, rationality and religion Dennis C. Mueller; 8. On the evolution of organizational governance: divided governance and survival in the long run Roger D. Congleton; 9. Strategic interaction and externalities: FD-games and pollution Reinoud Joosten; 10. Fairness in urban land use: an evolutionary contribution to law and economics Christian Schubert; Part V. Evolutionary Perspectives on Welfare and Sustainability: 11. As innovations drive economic change, do they also improve our welfare? Martin Binder and Ulrich Witt; 12. Sustainable consumption patterns and the malleability of consumer preferences: an evolutionary perspective Andreas Chai.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides the first edition with an extensive introduction and full commentary of a unique land survey written on papyrus in Greek which derives from that area of southern (Upper) Egypt known as the Apollonopolite (or Edfu) nome and is now preserved in Copenhagen. Dating from the late second century BC, this survey provides a new picture of both landholding and taxation in the area which differs significantly from that currently accepted. The introduction sets this new evidence in its contemporary context, drawing particular attention to what it reveals about the nature of the relations of the Ptolemaic royal administration with local grandees, Egyptian temples and the army. No student of Hellenistic Egypt can afford to ignore this text, which importantly extends our knowledge of Upper Egypt under the Ptolemaic kings and involves some modification to the prevailing picture of landholding in Hellenistic Egypt.Table of ContentsPart I. Introduction to the Edfu Land Survey: 1. The Edfu land survey in context; 2. Acquisition and physical description; 3. Date and nature of the survey; 4. Survey operations and the officials involved; 5. Fiscal land categories; 6. Taxes; 7. Condition and use of the land; 8. Historical discussion; 9. Overview of the Edfu land survey; Part II. Text and Translation: Part III. Commentary.

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Book SynopsisIn this accessible new study, Toby Lincoln offers the first history of Chinese cities from their origins to the present. Despite being an agricultural society for thousands of years, China had an imperial urban civilization. Over the last century, this urban civilization has been transformed into the world''s largest modern urban society. Throughout their long history, Chinese cities have been shaped by interactions with those around the world, and the story of urban China is a crucial part of the history of how the world has become an urban society. Exploring the global connections of Chinese cities, the urban system, urban governance, and daily life alongside introductions to major historical debates and extracts from primary sources, this is essential reading for all those interested in China and in urban history.Trade Review'A well-written and much-needed overview of China's 2000-year urban history connecting local developments and international influences. Exploring the complex intersection of urban system, form and governance, urban culture and daily life, Toby Lincoln's comprehensive study of Chinese cities is an important addition to the growing field of global urban history.' Carola Hein, Delft University of Technology'Lincoln captures China's urban history in rich detail, including changes in conceptions of cities, urban form, and urban life over the centuries. Enlivened with excerpts from fiction and memoirs, this book is both a sweeping historical overview and a great introduction to scholarship on Chinese cities past and present.' Kristin Stapleton, University at Buffalo, SUNY'A good teaching text both reviews and engages with the literature … the author whets the reader's appetite for more, which is exactly what an introductory academic text should do.' Michael Hebbert, The China Quarterly'It is a fascinating read, entertaining a new perspective on the course of Chinese history … Highly recommended.' Q. E. Wang, Choice Connect'Lincoln's textbook is an extremely useful tool … I admire how Lincoln foregrounds the historical legacies of administrative central-ization, economic interconnection, and cultural production in China today while still conveying the many transformations of Chinese urban forms.' Chuck Wooldridge, Journal of Chinese HistoryTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. The emergence of China's imperial urban civilization (antiquity to 220 CE); 3. Expansion of China's imperial urban civilization to the south (220–755); 4. The Tang-Song transition and its effects on China's imperial urban civilization (907–1402); 5. The flowering of Chinese imperial urban civilization (1402–1799); 6. The seeds of urban modernity (1800–1895); 7. Urban modernity in Republican China (1895–1949); 8. The Maoist period (1949–1976); 9. The Reform Era and the present; 10. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisIndonesia is often viewed as a country with substantial natural resources which has achieved solid economic growth since the 1960s, but which still faces serious economic challenges. In 2010, its per capita GDP was only nineteen per cent of that of the Netherlands, and twenty-two per cent of that of Japan. In recent decades, per capita GDP has fallen behind that of neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Thailand, and behind China. In this accessible but thorough new study, Anne Booth explains the long-term factors which have influenced Indonesian economic performance, taking into account the Dutch colonial legacy and the reaction to it after the transfer of power in 1949. The first part of the book offers a chronological study of economic development from the late nineteenth to the early twenty-first century, while the second part explores topics including the persistence of economic nationalism and the ongoing tensions between Indonesia''s diverse regions.Trade Review'Booth deploys her deep and sustained knowledge to trace Indonesia's seventy year transition, from colonization and conflict to middle-income and membership in the G-20 group of leading world economies. She combines narrative economic history with rigorous yet accessible analysis of major economic and development challenges, including nation-building, poverty alleviation, democratization, and interactions with volatile world markets. This masterful account should become the go-to source on the development of the modern Indonesian economy.' Ian Coxhead, University of Wisconsin, Madison'Anne Booth is an eminent economic historian with a profound understanding of the complexity of economic and social challenges in Indonesia. This book contains her carefully professional assessment of Indonesia's economic progress over more than a century. The book offers valuable lessons from history for anyone who is interested in learning about key development challenges and the changing role of government in Indonesia.' Siwage Dharma Negara, Indonesian Institute of Sciences'Anne Booth has written an authoritative and penetrating account of how Indonesia's economy has undergone dramatic change in recent decades. With her superior knowledge of Indonesian economic history both in colonial times and since independence, she provides a compelling and insightful analysis of Indonesia's great economic potentials and its long-term resilience to short-run economic failure. Compulsory reading for students of Indonesian economic history and the Indonesian economy today.' Thomas Lindblad, Leiden University'Anne Booth writes with great authority across a broad canvas in this magisterial work on Indonesian economic history. The volume will certainly come to be regarded as the seminal work on the subject, combining rigorous analysis, careful empirics and insightful 'big picture' judgements.' Hal Hill, Australian National University, Canberra'Anne Booth has once again written an authoritative, comprehensive economic history of Indonesia. … there is much to recommend here. Scholars of Indonesia will greatly appreciate Booth's balanced and commanding evaluation of key economic debates in Indonesia to which the book's second half is devoted. For those with less prior knowledge of the country and who are looking for an incisive introduction, a careful reading of Economic Change in Modern Indonesia will be richly rewarding.' James S. Davidson, Journal of Southeast Asian EconomiesTable of Contents1. Introduction: Indonesia's three watersheds; 2. The colonial legacy; 3. Occupation, liberation and the challenges facing the new republic, 1942–66; 4. Suharto's economic record: successes and failures; 5. The 1997/98 crisis and its legacy: dropping out again?; 6. The SBY years: building a new Indonesia?; 7. Economic nationalism, economic rationalism and the development of private business after 1950; 8. Trends in poverty and income distribution: the Suharto era and beyond; 9. The changing role of government from the colonial era to the post-Suharto years; 10. Conclusions; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisBetween the end of the Middle Ages and the early nineteenth century, the long-established structures and practices of European trade, agriculture, and industry were disparately but profoundly transformed. Revised, updated, and expanded, this second edition of Transitions to Capitalism in Early Modern Europe narrates and analyses the diverse trends that greatly enlarged European commerce, permanently modified rural and urban production, gave birth to new social classes, remade consumer habits, and altered global economic geographies, culminating in capitalist industrial revolution. Broad in chronological and geographical scope and explicitly comparative, Robert S. DuPlessis'' book introduces readers to a wealth of information drawn from throughout Eastern, Western and Mediterranean Europe, as well as to classic interpretations, current debates, new scholarship, and suggestions for further reading.Trade Review'A sweeping and compelling account of the changing contours of Europe's economy from the mid-fifteenth century to the early-nineteenth century. With a deep and abiding interest in a broad interpretation of capitalism, Robert DuPlessis weaves together with exceptional clarity and fairness debates and polities both well-known and obscure. This book will become a focus of debate and a prod to research.' David Hancock, University of Michigan'This is considerably more than a survey of the economic history of early modern Europe. Based on sure control of the relevant scholarly literature, it is a lucid analysis of Europe's agricultural, industrial and commercial sectors and how the changes they underwent from the fifteenth century to the nineteenth made modern capitalism possible.' Martha Howell, Miriam Champion Professor of History, Columbia University'A state-of-the-art survey of the fundamental changes that European economies and societies experienced in the centuries before the Industrial Revolution. Its sensitivity to regional and temporal variations, and to historians' conflicting interpretations of these variations, makes this book an ideal introduction to this fascinating topic.' Maarten Prak, Utrecht University'With this second addition DuPlessis raises his already fine analysis to a higher level. Extended bibliographies reflect the proliferation of recent research on global trade networks (including slavery), patterns of consumption, and women's work. DuPlessis gives full weight to regional variations in economic development. Altogether, this is an outstanding account, lucidly and fluently written.' Tom Scott, University of St AndrewsTable of ContentsPreface; Part I: 1. Issues and interpretations; 2. European economies on the eve of globalization; Part II: Introduction: the long sixteenth century; 3. Goods and people on the move; 4. The limits of agricultural growth; 5. Industrial tradition and innovation; Part III: Introduction: from seventeenth-century crisis to long eighteenth century; 6. Commerce, capital, consumption; 7. Agriculture: divergence, development, disappointment; 8. Proto-industry to early Industrial Revolution; 9. Transitions; Appendices.

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Book SynopsisThe first comprehensive synthesis of Chinese economic history, past and present, in English. Volume II covers the period from 1800 to the present in twenty-one thematically and chronologically organized chapters, charting the development of the institutions, ideas, technologies, and social and political forces that shaped China's modern economy.Trade Review'I greatly enjoyed this work, as much as the first volume. The research is incisive, clearly presented, and the volume is very cogently organized.' Jamin Andreas Hübner, EH.net (Economic History Association)Table of ContentsIntroduction to Volume II Debin Ma and Richard von Glahn; Part I. 1800–1950: 1. Ideology and the contours of economic change Debin Ma; 2. Economic transition in the nineteenth century William Rowe; 3. Agriculture Debin Ma and Kaixiang Peng; 4. Handicraft and modern industries Linda Grove and Toru Kubo; 5. The state and enterprises in late Qing China Chi-kong Lai; 6. State enterprises during the first half of the twentieth century Morris L. Bian; 7. Money and macro-economy Dan Li, Hongzhong Yan; 8. Public finance Elisabeth Kaske and May-li Lin; 9. Financial institutions and financial markets Bret Sheehan and Yingui Zhu; 10. Chinese business organization Madeleine Zelin; 11. The economic impact of the West: A reappraisal James Kung; 12. Foreign trade and investment Carol Shiue and Wolfgang Keller; 13. Transport and communication infrastructure Elisabeth Köll; 14. Education and human capital Pei Gao, Bas van Leeuwen, Meimei Wang; Part II. 1950–Present: 15. The origin of China's communist institutions Chenggang Xu; 16. China under the command economy in 1950–1977 Dwight H. Perkins; 17. Living standards in Maoist China Chris Bramall; 18. The political economy of China's Great Leap Famine James Kung; 19. China's external economic relations during the Mao era Amy King; 20. Chinese economy in the reform era Barry Naughton; 21. China's great boom as a historical process Loren Brandt and Thomas G. Rawski.

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Book SynopsisThe First World War left a legacy of chaos that is still with us a century later. Why did European leaders resort to war and why did they not end it sooner? Roger L. Ransom sheds new light on this enduring puzzle by employing insights from prospect theory and notions of risk and uncertainty. He reveals how the interplay of confidence, fear, and a propensity to gamble encouraged aggressive behavior by leaders who pursued risky military strategies in hopes of winning the war. The result was a series of military disasters and a war of attrition which gradually exhausted the belligerents without producing any hope of ending the war. Ultimately, he shows that the outcome of the war rested as much on the ability of the Allied powers to muster their superior economic resources to continue the fight as it did on success on the battlefield.Trade Review'World War I became a tragedy when victory became an end in itself rather than a means of achieving some prewar objective. In his lucid and insightful Gambling on War, Roger L. Ransom draws on history and economics to explain why that happened, why World War I upended the world's institutions, and why its tragic effects persist even today.' Philip T. Hoffman, author of Why Did Europe Conquer the World?'The First World War remains with us. Ransom, an economic historian, places it within an age of extremes that ran from Bismarck to Clemenceau. The war resolved no rivalries. It led to no new normalcy. The book jars the reader into that reality. It shocks. It angers. It is a must-read.' Holger H. Herwig, author of The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914–1918'Economists think of people as rational but this is belied by experience. From that perspective, economic historian Roger L. Ransom shows persuasively how over-confidence, fear and reckless gambles make sense of a sequence of bad decisions that led to the First World War, and to catastrophic outcomes that nobody planned for.' Avner Offer, author of The First World War: An Agrarian Interpretation'The general interest reader learns a lot, and about many things. … a great read for general interest readers with a standard background in economics … It should also have its place as a core reading for an undergraduate course on the economics of war.' Victor Gay, EH.Net'The great strength of the book is the application of behavioral economic theories to decision-making in the First World War. It offers a variation on the argument that the war swept away the restrained political mores of the late nineteenth century. Once one power 'speculated' by initiating aggression, others had to react, and this changed expectations of future behavior, creating a path dependency toward the Second World War.' William Mulligan, H-DiploTable of ContentsPrologue; 1. Confidence, fear, and a propensity to gamble; 2. Otto von Bismarck and the changing paradigm of war; 3. Schlieffen's gamble; 4. A war of attrition; 5. Economies at war; 6. War and revolution; 7. The last gamble; 8. The chaos of victory; Epilogue: the tragedy of a world war.

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Book SynopsisSince 1960, Brazil has become a major producer of agricultural products and one of the most important agricultural exporters in the world. Feeding the World provides a detailed account of this transformation, drawing heavily on historical and economic social science research.Trade Review'This is a superb study about the emergence of Brazil as a global leader in the agri-business. Based on careful empirical research, Klein's and Luna's book provides a comprehensive and balanced analyses of the social-economic and environmental impacts of an extraordinary transformation that led Brazil to rank among the top-3 exporters of various grains and animal proteins. A transformation that dates back to the final quarter of the last century and is still in motion, in a country of continental scale.' Boris Fausto, Brazilian Academy of Sciences'Not only do Klein and Luna chart Brazil's stunning emergence as an agricultural giant with global reach, they also explain how it happened. Richly detailed, and drawing from an extraordinary array of data, the book blends aggregate analyses and enlightening case studies to uncover the factors accounting for sustained advance in agriculture and agri-business in Brazil s southern and western regions. Klein and Luna provide the definitive study of Brazil's dramatic agricultural modernization over the last sixty years.' William R. Summerhill, University of California, Los AngelesTable of ContentsList of maps; List of graphs; List of tables; Introduction; 1. Antecedents; 2. The new agricultural economy post 1960; 3. Causes for the modernization of Brazilian agriculture; 4. Productivity, technology, and sustainability; 5. Regional pattern of agriculture; 6. The case of Mato Grosso; 7. Rio Grande do Sul; 8. São Paulo; 9. The Agrarian question; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis book showcases the history of commodity production in the British Empire and its impact on the natural and human worlds. Focused on the tea plantation economy of east India, it highlights the ecological consequences, legal workings, and labor conditions of this early form of global capital and monopoly trade.Trade ReviewAdvance praise: 'This book breaks new ground by interleaving the human history of tea plantation in colonial Assam with the natural history of the plant and its pathogens. The result is a fresh and original perspective that emphasizes the role of the nonhuman in the making of modern South Asia.' Dipesh Chakrabarty, University of ChicagoAdvance praise: 'Arnab Dey writes a new kind of history of tea plantations in Assam by focusing on the tea plant, its ecological environments, and their entanglements with science, policy, politics, and labor in British colonial tropics. The materiality of plantation ecology takes center stage here in the imperial drama of agrarian capitalism.' David Ludden, New York UniversityAdvance praise: 'The plantation is a critical subject in imperial and world history, but only rarely have scholars provided such a thorough and nimble history of the entangled human and environmental complexities and instabilities of a specific plantation culture as Arnab Dey does in his important new book. Tea Environments and Plantation Culture is a masterful agro-ecological history.' Paul S. Sutter, University of Colorado, Boulder'… Dey has produced an excellent, century-long, agroecological history of tea production in India's hilly northeast province of Assam.' Michael H. Fisher, Journal of Interdisciplinary History'Arnab Dey's Tea Environments and Plantation Culture offers a compelling way to rethink the place of the peripheral figure of the indigene in tea's expansive career in Assam … an important contribution to the emerging body of environmental histories on South Asia.' Abhilash Medhi, Environmental History'Arnab Dey's Tea Environments and Plantation Culture adds a new, empirically rich account to [the] global plantation studies conversation.' Sarah Besky, Agricultural HistoryTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Planting empires; 2. Agriculture or manufacture?; 3. Bugs in the garden; 4. Death in the fields; 5. Conservation or commerce?; 6. Plant and politics; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisAt times of Western crisis, such as the 2007–8 financial crisis, there has been a sudden growth of Afro-optimism, seemingly predicting Africa's 'rise'. Gabay examines British imperial attitudes towards Africa and shows that this phenomenon of positive coverage of Africa is neither unique, unexpected nor unpredictable.Trade Review'Clive Gabay employs a wide-angled lens to focus on the ways in which Euro-American idealisations of 'Africa' - its past, present and future - have continued to underpin the white-dominated racial order over the past hundred years. This painstakingly researched book will help to jolt contemporary conceptualisations of whiteness out of the narrow confines of identity politics (in which it is so often enmired).' Vron Ware, Kingston University'Is it possible to be optimistic about Africa? In this beautifully sculpted book, Clive Gabay argues that whiteness frames both negative and positive impressions of the continent. Via a set of empirically rich historical and contemporary investigations, Gabay comprehensively reveals the extent to which whiteness, in international relations, is a narcissism of the highest order.' Robbie Shilliam, The John Hopkins University'From black and savage Dark Continent to dynamic rising consumerist titan of the future, Africa has long occupied a special place in the Western imaginary. What Clive Gabay's boldly revisionist and impressively original text demonstrates is that the psychic interplay between maps and mapmakers has always been more complex and subtle than assumed - a dialectic reflecting the ongoing evolution of Whiteness itself from exclusionary phenotypical and eugenicist racial supremacy to putatively colourless institutional placeholder that even blacks (the right kind, of course) can now occupy.' Charles Mills, City University of New YorkTable of ContentsAcknowledgements; 1. Whiteness, the Western gaze and Africa; 2. Finding anti-civilisation in Africa; 3. Native rights in colonial Kenya: the symbolism of Harry Thuku; 4. 'Exploding Africa': Of post-war modernisers and travellers; 5. The Age of Capricorn: bridging the past to the present; 6. Afropolitanism, and the White-Western incorporation of Africa; 7. Africa rising, whiteness falling; 8. Making whiteness strange; References; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis book studies pitfalls in value added accounting of sectoral growth in real terms in the context of liberalisation of the Indian economy. Growth of sectoral gross value added can systematically deviate from that of final expenditure (and gross output), even maintaining the broad national accounting identity between the aggregates. For an investigation along these lines, input-output transactions tables provide invaluable information. The book discusses at length tricky questions of data handling and issues in interpretation of data. As the growth rate of the economy accelerated, economists observed that growth of value added came mostly from the service sector. Can the service sector maintain the momentum if manufacturing fails to get charged up in spite of all reforms aimed at this objective? The book studies this question in depth and addresses an audience interested in studying the Indian economy.Table of ContentsList of tables and figures; 1. The take-off; 2. Growth and structural change since 1978–9: issues in measurement; 3. Sectoral shares in Indian GDP: how to regard it?; 4. Sectoral growth: GVA – output dichotomy; 5. Manufacturing sector in the Indian economy: paradox of growth and stagnation; 6. Growth and sectoral GVA adjustments; 7. Growth of intermediate services; 8. Linkages and key sectors in the Indian economy; 9. Conclusion: a perspective of Indian economic growth; References; Index.

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Book SynopsisTrading floors are a thing of the past. Thanks to a combination of computers, high-speed networks and algorithms, millions of financial transactions now happen in fractions of a second. This book studies the automation of stock markets in the United Kingdom and the United States of America, identifying the invisible actors, devices, and politics that were central to the creation of electronic trading. In addition to offering a detailed account of how stock exchanges wrestled with technology, the book also invites readers to rethink the nature of markets in modern societies. Markets, it argues, are sites for the creation of relations, and in studying how these relations changed through technology, the book highlights the sources, dynamics, and consequences of automation. In this respect, the book is both a history of automation in finance and a sociological analysis of the way in which automation gradually changed the lives and work of key financial actors.Trade Review'Automating Finance is relevant for researchers and students of economic sociology, but its contributions travel beyond this with tremendous implications for other fields, including management,organisational sociology, public administration and public policy. Finance professionals would also enjoy the book, as they could learn how technical entrepreneurs manoeuvred through institutional,structural and organisational dynamics in automating finance.' M. Kerem Coban, LSE Review of Books'… the book is wide-ranging in both its theoretical inspirations and the empirical details it develops. What the book conveys extremely well is precisely how modern markets are produced by multiple moral, political, and organizational struggles.' Nahoko Kameo, American Journal of SociologyTable of ContentsPreface; 1. Markets in milliseconds; 2. Infrastructures of kinship; 3. The power of invisibility; 4. The hubris of platforms; 5. The wizards of king street; 6. Making moral markets; 7. Rabbits guarding the lettuce; 8. Infrastructures, kinship, and queues.

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Book SynopsisThis first comprehensive account of revolutionary and socialist thought after France's nineteenth-century revolution with new interpretations of the French revolutionary tradition. Drawing together material from around the world, Nicholls pieces together the nature and content of French revolutionary thought in this often overlooked era.Trade Review'Revolutionary Thought after the Paris Commune is an excellent contribution to the scholarship on revolutionary ideas and our understanding of 1871 … the book is well written, based upon a command of primary and secondary sources, and fairly balances both the successes and failures of the post-1871 revolutionary movement.' Casey Harison, European History Quarterly'This is an important contribution to intellectual and modern French history collections.' G. P. Cox, ChoiceTable of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. The Paris Commune and Accounting for Failure: 1. The commune as Quotidian event; 2. The commune as violent trauma; Part II. Revolution and the Republic: 3. The French revolutionary tradition; 4. Rehabilitating revolution; Part III. Marx, Marxism, and International Socialism: 5. Texts in translation; 6. The origins of Marxism in modern France; Part IV. Empire and Internationalism: 7. Deportation, imperialism, and the Republican State; 8. Exile and universal solidarity; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisIn this major new study, Margherita Zanasi argues that basic notions of a free market economy emerged in China a century and half earlier than in Europe. In response to the commercial revolutions of the late 1500s, Chinese intellectuals and officials called for the end of state intervention in the market, recognizing its power to self-regulate. They also noted the elasticity of domestic demand and production, arguing in favour of ending long-standing rules against luxury consumption, an idea that emerged in Europe in the late seventeenth and early nineteenth centuries. Zanasi challenges Eurocentric theories of economic modernization as well as the assumption that European Enlightenment thought was unique in its ability to produce innovative economic ideas. She instead establishes a direct connection between observations of local economic conditions and the formulation of new theories, revealing the unexpected flexibility of the Confucian tradition and its accommodation of seemingly unoTrade Review'Economic Thought in Modern China is an ambitious exploration of the evolution of indigenous Chinese economic thought, rooted in a critical re-evaluation the foundations of imperial political economy and extending into the ideas that shaped Chinese attempts at economic improvement in the twentieth century. Zanasi mines a wide range of sources rarely used by economic historians, and reads them with an iconoclastic sensibility and a thorough grounding in the social and political contexts in which they were written.' Madeleine Zelin, Columbia University'Bold and combative, this study of the history of Chinese political economy in general and ideas about luxury consumption in particular will be of interest to historians of economic thought who are curious about the intellectual pathways followed outside Europe and open to the possibility that it was for good reason that these pathways were often anything but parallel with their European counterparts.' Helen Dunstan, University of Sydney'Zanasi demonstrates that China in the early modern period possessed pro-market ideas and the belief that luxury consumption promotes economic development. Furthermore, her timely book offers the best explanation yet for why China in the past one hundred years turned to state intervention in the market to encourage thriftiness.' Wu jen-shu, Academia Sinica, Taipei'This fascinating title is suitable for students interested in political economy and economic thought … Highly recommended.' D. Li, ChoiceTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. The political and intellectual framework: the Minsheng mandate and China's economy of scarcity; 2. Efficient markets and productive consumption (1500–1800); 3. Scarcity revisited: population growth, frugality, and self-strengthening (1800–1911); 4. Nation-building, strategic markets, and frugal modernity: the early decades of the Republic of China (1912–1930s); Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThe global financial crisis in 2008 brought central banking to the centre stage, prompting questions about the role of national central banks and - in Europe - of the multi-country European Central Bank. What can central banks do, and what are their limitations? How have they performed? Currency, Credit and Crisis seeks to provide a coherent perspective on the functions of a central bank in a small country by assessing the way in which Ireland''s financial crisis from 2010 to 2013 was handled. Drawing on his experiences as Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland and in research and policy work at the World Bank, Patrick Honohan offers a detailed analytical narrative of the origins of the crisis and of policy makers'' conduct during its most fraught moments.Trade Review'A fine account of these extraordinary events.' Colm McCarthy, Sunday Independent'A valuable and very readable insight into the work of an institution so important that its independence is protected by law …' Irish Times'Honohan's perspective as a policy-maker in one of the worst-affected countries would be valuable in any case. But this book is especially valuable for the unfailingly analytical approach Honohan brings to what he witnessed. It will be required reading for all who wish to understand what happened in the global financial crisis, and how that crisis did not become a calamity.' Dan Hardie, Central Banking Journal'Ireland has overcome its financial crisis with exemplary success, and Professor Honohan's account is readable, clear and fascinating. He clearly believes that the euro area's troubles are not yet over, and it is impossible not to agree.' William A. Allen, Society of Professional EconomistsTable of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. Currency: 1. Fixed or floating; 2. Toward the euro; 3. The euro area crisis; Part II. Credit: 4. Safe and sound banking; 5. Faults in financial services; 6. The role of the central bank; Part III. Crisis: 7. The guarantee; 8. The race to stabilize the banks; 9. The bailout; 10. Cleaning-up; Part IV. Taking Stock: 11. The European decade of bank failure; 12. The Irish economy in boom and bust; 13. Lessons learnt.

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