{"product_id":"the-european-economy-since-1945-9780691138480","title":"The European Economy since 1945","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOver the second half of the twentieth century, the average European's buying power tripled, while working hours fell by a third. This work offers an account of the extraordinary development of Europe's economy since the end of World War II.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In The European Economy Since 1945, Barry Eichengreen ... presents not only a comprehensive account of Europe's postwar economic experience but also an important analysis of capitalist development more generally... [B]y demonstrating how institutions helpful in one era can be counterproductive in another, Eichengreen has important lessons about the future to teach both policy makers and publics.\"--Sheri Berman, New York Times Book Review \"Eichengreen, even as he presents a lot of evidence, proves himself to be a master of exposition of the big story. And none could be bigger than the one contained in this book. History will judge it one of the most amazing achievements of the 20th century.\"--Huw Dixon, Times Higher Education Supplement \"This is a superb overview of a half century of European economic development.\"--Choice \"An excellent book... I have never read a better [book] on what the European economies have done right and subsequently did wrong... Eichengreen ... believes that Europe can turn things around, without chucking the basic model, but he doesn't for a moment deny that Europe faces an economic crisis relative to the American model.\"--Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution \"A characteristic of the best histories is not just a good narrative but a compelling thread that runs through it. Barry Eichengreen's tour de force of postwar European history is that kind of book... His thesis is that Europe's much maligned corporatist institutions played a significant role in achieving the postwar economic miracle, but that these institutions are insufficiently flexible to meet the 21st century's demands... While there can be no such thing as a definitive history of Europe's postwar economy, Eichengreen at least comes close to providing a definitive history of European economic performance, a subject in which he excels. This is in itself no mean achievement.\"--Wolfgang Munchau, Financial Times \"For both Americans who want to understand Europe's successes and failures, and for Europeans who want to know where their continent was right and where it has gone wrong, Mr. Eichengreen has provided an excellent summary.\"--Daniel Pudles, The Economist \"This is a splendidly delivered analysis that helps us make sense of the reversal of growth fortunes experienced by the United States and Europe since the mid-1990s... The European Economy is beautifully written and will be widely read.\"--Nicholas Crafts, Finance \u0026amp; Development \"It is rare indeed for an academic book on the fundamentals of European economic growth to be widely read and circulated outside of academic circles, but if any book deserves to be, it surely is Barry Eichengreen's The European Economy Since 1945. The book is an eloquently written analysis of how the economic and governmental institutions that formerly undergirded European economic growth have become, since the early 1970s, severe impediments to its growth. It is a must-read.\"--Jurgen Reinhoudt, American.com \"Many Eastern states have now joined the EU and made economic progress. Ambitions are high, but the author questions whether Europe can maintain its traditional communitarian ideals as global competition intensifies. Useful notes and bibliography.\"--Choice \"This book sets a new standard for surveys of the period, outclassing the essay collections that have concentrated on Western European experience and single-author narratives that have tended to make dreary reading. Eichengreen has produced an invigorating blend of synthesis and analysis that poses major questions about the nature and evolution of European economic growth, surveys economic arguments, and delivers sharp analysis and clear explanation for the major phases of economic growth and integration... This is a landmark volume, by far the best available synthesis explaining European economic history since 1945, one ring pertinent comparison to U. S. experience that respect institutional differences and cultural preferences between countries. Its explanations and analysis are clear, concise, and engaging. Readers wishing more detail on the economic debates and national economic experiences red will appreciate the state-of-the-art bibliography. Don't miss it.\"--Kenneth Moure, American Historical Review \"Barry Eichengreen's book The European Economy since 1945 presents a detailed introduction to the economic history of western Europe since World War II, plus a chapter on the history of central planning in eastern Europe and another on the process of transition from the economic environment typical of the Soviet Empire to a free-market environment and the European Union. Those who read it all will not be disappointed. They will find comprehensive information on the postwar situation and the reconstruction, as well as a thorough description of the integration process led to the Treaty of Rome (1957) and the European Union, with particular emphasis on the monetary aspects. The hurried reader will be satisfied, too, because each of Eichengreen's chapters can also be approached as a self-contained, well-researched, and thought-provoking essay in its own right, dealing clearly yet comprehensively with periods and episodes in recent western European history.\"--Enrico Colombatto, Independent Review \"Eichengreen's elegant history shows that Europe's economic performance in the second half of the twentieth century was a success because labour, capital and government committed to achieving both economic growth and stability.\"--Adam Fleisher, International Affairs \"Eichengreen has produced a readable and informative account of Europe's post-1945 economy. Drawing on a lengthy and up-to-date bibliography, he embeds a wealth of economic theories into a political and social context in a way that an intelligent layperson can understand. These strengths should enable the book to find its way into graduate courses on economic history.\"--Michael H. Creswell, The Historian \"The book's strength lies in its ability to create an economic macro-history based on an excellent processing of well-selected statistical data chosen with good reason that is often represented in carefully constructed diagrams. It is in this fusion of 'narrating' with 'showing', consisting of documentation processed on the basis of economic theory that the book, is uncommonly effective... There is a lot to read and to think about in this ambitious book, which is constructed with precision and a notable ability for synthesis. To encourage the reader, it should be added that an excellent bibliography, a series of statistical data that is convincingly treated and adequately explained in the Appendix, and a very wide-ranging and carefully constructed index of subjects and authors quoted, facilitate his labours.\"--Piero Barucci, Journal of European Economic History\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLIST OF FIGURES ix  LIST OF TABLES xi  PREFACE xv  LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xix      CHAPTER ONE: Introduction 1      CHAPTER TWO: Mainsprings of Growth 15  Probing Deeper 20  Institutional Foundations of the Golden Age 31  Institutions and History 40  The End of the Golden Age 47      CHAPTER THREE: The Postwar Situation 52  Reconstruction 54  The Transition to Sustained Growth 59  Normalization and the Political Economy of the Marshall Plan 64  German Economic and Monetary Reform 70  Obstacles to Integration 73  The 1949 Devaluations 77  The European Payments Union 79      CHAPTER FOUR: Dawn of the Golden Age 86  Understanding Growth in the 1950s 89  Germany as Pacesetter 93  Next in Line 97  The Laggards 118  Toward the Golden Age 129      CHAPTER FIVE: Eastern Europe and the Planned Economy 131  The Strategy of Central Planning 133  Problems of Central Planning 142  Partial Reforms 146  Planning Innovation 154  Regional Integration 155  The End of Reform 160      CHAPTER SIX: The Integration of Western Europe 163  Initial Steps 167  EFTA and the British Dilemma 176  Economic Effects 178  The Common Agricultural Policy 182  The Luxembourg Compromise 185  Inklings of Monetary Integration 187  The Common Market as an Established Fact 195      CHAPTER SEVEN: The Apex of the Golden Age 198  The Heyday of Extensive Growth 199  The Incorporation of the European Periphery 204  Wage Explosion and Labor Conflict 216  The End of the Golden Age 223      CHAPTER EIGHT: Mounting Payments Problems 225  Italy's Crisis 226  Britain's Problems 229  The French Crisis and the German Response 238  The Collapse of Bretton Woods 242  The European Response 246      CHAPTER NINE: Declining Growth, Rising Rigidities 252  The Productivity Slowdown 253  Innovation 257  Unemployment 263  Stabilization in Britain 277  The EMS Initiative 282  The EMS in Operation 286  The Legacy 290      CHAPTER TEN: The Collapse of Central Planning 294  The Survival of Central Planning 296  The Collapse of Communism 301  Recession and Adjustment 303  Dilemmas of Transition 308  Economic Response 310  German Reunification 318  Normalization and Integration 328      CHAPTER ELEVEN: Integration and Adjustment 335  The Single Market 336  Integration in Practice 341  From the Delors Report to the Maastricht Treaty 346  The EMS Crisis 357  The Transition to Monetary Union 366  EMU and Its Implications 370  Adjustment and Growth 377      CHAPTER TWELVE: Europe at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century 379  Employment and Growth 381  Reducing Unemployment 388  Implications for European Unemployment 393  Productivity Growth 398  Eastern European Prospects and Western European Implications 406  Economic Prospects 412      CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The Future of the European Model 414  Battle of the Systems 419  The Shadow of History 423      APPENDIX: Sources of Growth 427      REFERENCES 433  INDEX 461","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49403763163479,"sku":"9780691138480","price":31.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780691138480.jpg?v=1730484469","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-european-economy-since-1945-9780691138480","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}