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Books > History > History of specific subjects > Economic history
Lombard Street is Walter Bagehot's famous explanation of the
England central banking system established during the 19th century.
At the time Bagehot wrote, the United Kingdom was at the peak of
its influence. The Bank of England in London, was one of the most
powerful institutions in the world. Working as an economist at the
time, Walter Bagehot sets about explaining how the British
government and the Bank of England interact. Leading on from this,
he explains how the Bank of England and other banks - the
Joint-Stock and Private banking companies - do the business of
finance. Bagehot is not afraid to admit that life at the bank is
usually quite boring, albeit punctuated by short periods of sudden
excitement. The sudden boom of a market, or sudden fluctuations in
the credit system, can create an excited demand for money. The
eruption of an economic depression, which Bagehot aptly notes is
rapidly contagious around different sectors of the economy, can
also make working in the bank a lot less tedious.
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Capital And Ideology
(Hardcover)
Thomas Piketty; Translated by Arthur Goldhammer
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The epic successor to one of the most important books of the century: at once a retelling of global history, a scathing critique of contemporary politics, and a bold proposal for a new and fairer economic system.
Thomas Piketty’s bestselling Capital in the Twenty-First Century galvanized global debate about inequality. In this audacious follow-up, Piketty challenges us to revolutionize how we think about politics, ideology, and history. He exposes the ideas that have sustained inequality for the past millennium, reveals why the shallow politics of right and left are failing us today, and outlines the structure of a fairer economic system.
Our economy, Piketty observes, is not a natural fact. Markets, profits, and capital are all historical constructs that depend on choices. Piketty explores the material and ideological interactions of conflicting social groups that have given us slavery, serfdom, colonialism, communism, and hypercapitalism, shaping the lives of billions. He concludes that the great driver of human progress over the centuries has been the struggle for equality and education and not, as often argued, the assertion of property rights or the pursuit of stability. The new era of extreme inequality that has derailed that progress since the 1980s, he shows, is partly a reaction against communism, but it is also the fruit of ignorance, intellectual specialization, and our drift toward the dead-end politics of identity.
Once we understand this, we can begin to envision a more balanced approach to economics and politics. Piketty argues for a new “participatory” socialism, a system founded on an ideology of equality, social property, education, and the sharing of knowledge and power. Capital and Ideology is destined to be one of the indispensable books of our time, a work that will not only help us understand the world, but that will change it.
Warren Samuels's second and concluding selection of essays focuses
on early 20th century economists who, while relatively well-known
in their times, have tended to be obscured by the more prominent
stars of the discipline. It illustrates that economics is more
diverse and complex than conventional histories of economic thought
tend to identify. In particular it includes contributions on those
economists who were not in the mainstream, or, if in the
mainstream, practised economics in a somewhat alternative manner.
Warren Samuels has assembled a collection of essays on thirteen
economists - six German and seven Italian - who remain noteworthy
of study to this day. The economists featured in the volume
represent a variety of ways of practising economics - theoretical,
methodological and policy-orientated - who all contributed to the
understanding of economic processes and institutions at the deepest
levels. European Economists of the Early 20th Century will appeal
to all those with an interest in the philosophy and evolution of
economics and to historians of economic thought.
Private bankers have been defined as owner-managers of their bank,
irrespective of their type of activity, which could be in any field
of banking, sometimes in conjunction with another one, especially
commerce in the earlier periods. Analysing the experiences of
European private bankers from the early modern period to the early
twenty-first century, this book starts by examining the slow
emergence of specialist private bankers, largely from amongst those
who provided commercial credit. This initial consideration
culminates in a focus upon the roles that they played, both during
the onset of the continent's industrialization, and in
orchestrating the finances of the emerging world economy. Its
second theme is private banking's waning importance with the rise
of joint-stock competitors, which became increasingly apparent in
Britain during the mid-nineteenth century, and elsewhere within
Europe some decades later. Lastly, attention is paid to the decline
of private bankers in the twentieth century -a protracted and
uneven decline, combined with the persistence and even the enduring
success of some segments of the profession. It concludes with the
revival of private banking in the late twentieth century as a
response to the development of a new market - the management of
personal wealth.
The Theory of Economic Growth compares the main theories of growth
from Adam Smith to the present day in order to isolate their
logical structures, theoretical domains and methodological
underpinnings. The book provides original solutions to theoretical
questions still debated in contemporary literature and points out
new directions for further research.The authors carry out a
'vertical' or in-depth analysis of the three main schools of
thought; classical, Keynesian and neo-classical. They perform a
'horizontal' analysis of a wide range of items connected with
growth theory, such as competition, technical change, division of
labour, business cycles, the impact on environment, and the
financial intermediation. Attention is also given to the
evolutionary approach to economic growth. This book will be of
great interest to scholars of economic growth, macroeconomics, and
historians of economic thought.
In Rethinking the Industrial Revolution: Five Centuries of
Transition from Agrarian to Industrial Capitalism in England,
Michael Andrew Zmolek offers the first in-depth study of the
evolution of English manufacturing from the feudal and early modern
periods within the context of the development of agrarian
capitalism. With an emphasis on the relationship between Parliament
and working Britons, this work challenges readers to 'rethink' the
common perception of the role of the state in the first industrial
revolution as essentially passive. The work chronicles how a long
train of struggles led by artisans resisting efforts by employers
to transform production along capitalist lines, prompted employers
to appeal to the state to suppress this resistance by coercion.
Providing an exceptional overview and analysis of the global
economy, from the origins of Homo sapiens to the present day, Colin
White explores our past to help understand our economic future. He
veers away from traditional Eurocentric approaches, providing a
truly global scope for readers. A History of the Global Economy
takes a holistic, interdisciplinary approach, beyond the narrow
application of economic theory, to include the impact of climate
change, genetics and culture. The main themes include the creative
innovativeness of humans and how this generates economic
progression, the common economic pathway trodden by all societies
and the complementary relationship between government and the
market. The book moves through the four key economic stages of
human history - foraging, agriculture, industry and services - to
finally examine where the direction of our future may lie. This
comprehensive and ambitious book is a must-read for economists,
particularly economic historians, as well as anthropology and
political history scholars. It not only explores the history and
origins of the global economy but also provides a valuable analysis
of the current state of economic affairs, making it an ideal book
for those wishing to understand more about our ever-evolving global
society.
This book reveals changing management paradigms with new normal in
the maritime sector. Thus, maritime business has once again
justified that it's one of the leading and ceaseless sectors of all
times during hard times. Amidst the pandemic, employees of the
maritime and logistics sector have continued their activities both
on shore and on board in order to complete operations and supply
continuity of logistics management in hard times. While
organizations work on giving the best services to customers, the
shipping industry has been affected by the work life changes of the
pandemic. Remote work opportunities for employees of onshore
maritime organizations has led to sustainable changes for the
future of global maritime business. Therefore, changes have been
felt in talent management in new shipping, changing maritime ethics
and affected maritime industry psychology during Covid19 pandemic,
employees' motivation, importance of seafarers, employee rights and
responsibilities. The book addresses the future state of maritime
organizations, the future of work in the maritime industry,
seafarers, onshore employees, employers, definition of remote work
amidst changes and new regulations in the new world normal to
reveal how such change effected the global maritime industry. This
book will shed light on the Leaders and Managers from maritime and
logistics industries by sharing experiences, new paradigms,
practices and strategies. This provides practical ideas and ways to
cope with the consequences of the New Normal in the wake of the
pandemic crisis worldwide. Furthermore, the book inspires other
people, particularly in the maritime industry as well
administrators, employees, leaders and those in senior management
positions on how to survive during this period of uncertainties and
challenges in operating their business and their human resources
management activities.
This fully revised and updated edition of a seminal reference work
provides a detailed chronological account of the development of
European integration. The history of Economic and Monetary Union
(EMU), which began immediately after World War II, is recounted in
the form of a descriptive summary of the most significant events,
measures, arrangements and conferences. The chronology concludes at
the end of 2001 with what is arguably one of the most important
events in European history; the introduction of the euro notes and
coins in twelve nation states. Throughout, Wim Vanthoor offers a
detailed yet concise account of the evolution of the economic and
political ideas which have culminated in this defining moment. The
book is interspersed with quotations from the addresses, orations
and comments of politicians and those closely involved with the
process of European integration. This accessible book will be
essential reading for anyone with an interest in the history of
European integration.
This book examines the Westernization Movement in modern Chinese
History, in the latter 19th century and the economic impact on
manufacturing and enterprise evolution. It examines the rise,
development, and performance of this movement on both the micro and
macro-levels. This book reveals achievements in technology transfer
without political changes, which set the limits for the
westernization movement. It evaluates the link between the
Westernization Movement and China's economic reforms after 1978,
and the factors that may have constrained the development of
economic thought in China. The book provides valuable insights into
how Chinese economic thought transitioned, and is a valuable
contribution to the debate on how the early Westernization Movement
in China caused a change in consumer thought. It will be of
interest to academics in economic history and those interested in
the development of modern China and the emergence of manufacturing
and entrepreneurship in China.
In "Religion, Technology, and the Great and Little Divergences"
Karel Davids offers a new perspective on technological change in
China and Europe before the Industrial Revolution. This book makes
an innovative contribution to current debates on the origins of the
'Great Divergence' between China and Europe and the ' Little
Divergence' within Europe by analysing the relationship between the
evolution of technical knowledge and religious contexts. It deals
with the question to what extent disparities in the evolution of
technical knowledge can be explained by differences in religious
environment. It takes a comparative look at the relation between
technology and religion in China and Europe between c.700 and 1800
from four angles: visions on the uses of nature, the formation of
human capital, the circulation of technical knowledge and technical
innovation.
This book traces the evolution of the highly integrated global
financial system from 1750 to the present. It examines the
corporate form of business organization in the eighteenth century
that saw an explosion of growth in the nineteenth, which
facilitated the international movement of capital. The author also
deals with the parallel growth of financial markets and explains
how the need to finance public debts paved the way for stock
markets as well as outlining the role of private merchant bankers,
who originated as international bankers with family-run offices
across Europe. He charts the development of banks into public
corporations and follows the evolution of modern paper money,
explaining the emergence of institutions such as the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank. While tracing the development of
foreign-exchange markets and the history of trading blocs, the book
also examines how economic powers such as Britain and France used
access to capital to wield power in less-developed parts of the
world. Finally, an history of financial crises is presented,
revealing how economic shocks reverberate from one country to
another today through the global financial network.
Taiwan's economic development experience represents a unique case
study especially in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. Taiwan
has performed outstandingly in terms of macroeconomic and
industrial development, particularly during recent democratic and
social change. This book aims to provide a broad picture of these
institutional reforms and policy evolutions. The expert
contributors detail and examine the interactive relationship
between Taiwan's economic liberalization, political democratization
and social pluralization. Taking 1980 as a watershed, the book
highlights the impact these economic and cultural changes have
exerted on SMEs, foreign trade and investment, technological
progress, industrial development and policy, and the reform of
financial and fiscal systems. They investigate the contentious
issue of whether political democratization is beneficial for
economic development and go on to discuss the creation of an
efficient Taiwanese economy and the resolution of conflicts created
by social pluralization. The book analyses the comparative
advantage of Taiwan over comparable countries, paying particular
attention to the Asian financial crisis. The authors offer a fresh
approach by observing Taiwanese development post 1980 and
integrating economic, political and social analysis. As such,
development economists and scholars of Asian economics will find
this unique book both useful and enlightening.
It has often been assumed that the subjects of the Ottoman sultans
were unable to travel beyond their localities - since peasants
needed the permission of their local administrators before they
could leave their villages. According to this view, only soldiers
and members of the governing elite would have been free to travel.
However, Suraiya Faroqhi's extensive archival research shows that
this was not the case; pious men from all walks of life went on
pilgrimage to Mecca, slaves fled from their masters and
craftspeople travelled in search of work. Most travellers in the
Ottoman era headed for Istanbul in search of better prospects and
even in peacetime the Ottoman administration recruited artisans to
repair fortresses and sent them far away from their home towns. In
this book, Suraiya Faroqhi provides a revisionist study of those
artisans who chose - or were obliged - to travel and those who
stayed predominantly in their home localities. She considers the
occasions and conditions which triggered travel among the artisans,
and the knowledge that they had of the capital as a spatial entity.
She shows that even those craftsmen who did not travel extensively
had some level of mobility and that the Ottoman sultans and
viziers, who spent so much effort in attempting to control the
movements of their subjects, could often only do so within very
narrow limits. Challenging existing historiography and providing an
important new revisionist perspective, this book will be essential
reading for students and scholars of Ottoman history.
Pitting fascists and communists in a showdown for supremacy, the
Spanish Civil War has long been seen as a grim dress rehearsal for
World War II. Francisco Franco's Nationalists prevailed with German
and Italian military assistance-a clear instance, it seemed, of
like-minded regimes joining forces in the fight against global
Bolshevism. In Hitler's Shadow Empire Pierpaolo Barbieri revises
this standard account of Axis intervention in the Spanish Civil
War, arguing that economic ambitions-not ideology-drove Hitler's
Iberian intervention. The Nazis hoped to establish an economic
empire in Europe, and in Spain they tested the tactics intended for
future subject territories. "The Spanish Civil War is among the
20th-century military conflicts about which the most continues to
be published...Hitler's Shadow Empire is one of few recent studies
offering fresh information, specifically describing German trade in
the Franco-controlled zone. While it is typically assumed that Nazi
Germany, like Stalinist Russia, became involved in the Spanish
Civil War for ideological reasons, Pierpaolo Barbieri, an economic
analyst, shows that the motives of the two main powers were quite
different. -Stephen Schwartz, Weekly Standard
This volume of new, original essays reflects the lifelong concerns
and writings of the person they honor, Professor Howard Sherman.
Sherman wrote on a wide range of topics - the causes of recessions,
depressions and mass unemployment under capitalism; the
difficulties and challenges of establishing viable democratic
planning systems under socialism; the down-to-earth realities of
economic life in the United States, the Soviet Union and elsewhere;
and the theoretical traditions he drew upon to inform these
empirical studies, i.e. Keynesianism, institutionalism and, most
especially, Marxism. The contributors follow in Sherman's tradition
through their careful analysis of topics such as the long-term
trends in contemporary global capitalism; the relationship between
Marxism and institutionalism; debates over the usefulness of class
analysis; the political economy of financial liberalization;
lessons from the demise of socialism in the Soviet Union and China;
and the possibilities for advancing a workable egalitarian economic
agenda. This book demonstrates the continued vibrancy and relevance
of radical political economy as a mode of social scientific
analysis. Scholars and students in economics, sociology, history,
philosophy and political science will find the essays
thought-provoking and informative.
The book Southwest China in Regional and Global Perspectives (c.
1600-1911) is dedicated to important issues in society, trade, and
local policy in the southwestern provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and
Sichuan during the late phase of the Qing period. It combines the
methods of various disciplines to bring more light into the
neglected history of a region that witnessed a faster population
growth than any other region in China during that age. The
contributions to the volume analyse conflicts and arrangements in
immigrant societies, problems of environmental change, the economic
significance of copper as the most important "export" product,
topographical and legal obstacles in trade and transport, specific
problems in inter-regional trade, and the roots of modern
transnational enterprise.
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