An insightful collection of essays focused on American men, women, and children from a range of economic classes and ethnic backgrounds during the Great Depression. Who were the people waiting in the bread lines and living in Hoovervilles? Who were the migrants heading North and West? Did anyone survive the Depression relatively unscathed? Giving a voice to stories often untold, Great Depression: People and Perspectives covers the full spectrum of American life, portraying the experiences of ordinary citizens during the worst economic crisis in the nation's history. Great Depression shows how specific groups coped with the traumatic upheaval of the times, including rural Americans, women, children, African Americans, and immigrants. In addition, it offers revealing chapters on the conflict between social scientists and policymakers responding to the crisis, the impact of the Depression on the health of U.S. citizens, and the roles that American technology and Hollywood movies played in helping the nation survive. 11 expert contributors, including well-established scholars who bring new perspectives to the study of the Great Depression A wide range of primary sources such as news articles, photographs, diaries, and letters that provide a deeper understanding of daily life during the Depression

What were the consequences of the German occupation for the economy of occupied Europe? After Germany conquered major parts of the European continent, it was faced with a choice between plundering the suppressed countries and using their economies to produce what it needed. The decision made not only differed from country to country but also changed over the course of the war. Individual leaders; the economic needs of the Reich; the military situation; struggles between governors of occupied countries and Berlin officials, and finally racism all had an impact on the outcome. In the end, in Western Europe and the Czech Protectorate, emphasis was placed on production for German warfare, which kept these economies functioning. New research, presented for the first time in this book, shows that as a consequence the economic setback in these areas was limited, and therefore post-war recovery was relatively easy. However, plundering was characteristic in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, resulting in partisan activity, a collapse of normal society and a dramatic destruction not only of the economy but in some countries of a substantial proportion of the labour force. In these countries, post-war recovery was almost impossible.

The Austrian Theory of Value and Capital provides a meticulous account of Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk's life, his theory of value, capital and interest within the context of 19th century German economic thought and the development of neoclassical economic theory.This book provides an insight into Bohm-Bawerk's intellectual development, his political leanings and personal background, including a wealth of previously unknown facts. The study also considers the development of economic thought in the 19th century in Germany and Austria. It critically analyses the work and contribution of Bohm-Bawerk and concludes that his analysis belongs to traditional 19th century German economic thought. Closely related to this is the clarification made by the author of what is genuinely 'Austrian' in the 'Austrian theory of value and distribution'. To complement the study of Bohm-Bawerk, the book also contains the first English translation of his letters to Knut Wicksell. This book will be of interest to economic theorists, those interested in Austrian economics and the history of economic thought and economic historians.

Globalization and the Politics of Institutional Reform in Japan illuminates Japan's contemporary and historical struggle to adjust policy and the institutional architecture of government to an evolving global order. This focused and scholarly study identifies that key to this difficulty is a structural tendency towards central political command, which reduces the country's capacity to follow a more subtle allocation of authority that ensures political leadership remains robust and non-dictatorial. Thus, Motoshi Suzuki argues that it is essential for a globalizing state to incorporate opposition parties and transgovernmental networks into policy-making processes. Providing an in-depth analysis of the theories of institutional change, this book introduces readers to a wealth of perspectives and counterarguments concerning analysis of political decision-making and policy adjustment on both the national and international scale. Placing Japanese policy reform in the global context and relating policy reform to leadership's political strategies, the author gives a detailed chronological and analytical overview of Japan's challenging institutional, political and bureaucratic transformations since the Meiji Restoration of the late nineteenth century. Analysis of globalization and policy reform in a non-liberal state, and the relationship between politicians and bureaucrats from an international perspective is included. For those interested in historical and contemporary Japanese politics from a theoretical perspective, particularly the implications of globalization and the politician-bureaucrat relationship, this is an indispensable resource.

In light of weak economic performances and rising income disparities across the developed world during the past decades, this book provides a comprehensive overview of secular stagnation theories in the history of economic thought and examines the role of income distribution in various stagnation hypotheses. By offering a historical perspective, from the classical economists to the most recent stagnation debate of the early twenty-first century, the author shows that most stagnation theories were developed in periods of high and/or rising income disparities. Eventually, it was Josef Steindl, one of the least recognized stagnationists in the history of economic thought, who put the distribution of income at the heart of his stagnation theory. While Josef Steindl focused on the nexus between the functional distribution of income and economic growth, this book includes the personal distribution of income in a Kaleckian-Steindlian model of economic growth and stagnation. In the model presented, the nexus between economic growth and the distribution of income is a priori uncertain, depending on the type of economic shock and the specific economic circumstances. The author also discusses various empirically oriented policy implications aimed at fostering both economic growth and a more equal distribution of income. This book appeals to scholars in economics and the history of economic thought interested in economic growth, secular stagnation, and income distribution.

This volume presents interviews that have been conducted from the 1980s to the present with important scholars of social choice and welfare theory. Starting with a brief history of social choice and welfare theory written by the book editors, it features 15 conversations with four Nobel Laureates and other key scholars in the discipline. The volume is divided into two parts. The first part presents four conversations with the founding fathers of modern social choice and welfare theory: Kenneth Arrow, John Harsanyi, Paul Samuelson, and Amartya Sen. The second part includes conversations with scholars who made important contributions to the discipline from the early 1970s onwards. This book will appeal to anyone interested in the history of economics, and the history of social choice and welfare theory in particular.

This book presents an unusual view on one of the most influential periods in world economic history: the Early Globalization. By this term, the notion that a process of genuine globalization took place in the Early Modern Era is defended. The authors propose that the canonical globalization-that of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries-was preceded by a century-long increasing economic integration between continents that were non-existent before 1492. The economic aspects of the Early Globalization, like market integration, price co-movements and international silver circulation, were very important. Notwithstanding, other dimensions of human life, which were affected by unprecedented intercontinental contacts, including free and forced migrations, changes in tastes and consumption, etc. The Fruits of Globalisation deals with some of the most important issues among the former and the latter. The book combines approaches from different disciplines, including quantitative and non-quantitative economic history, econometrics, international trade and demography. Overall, the vision of the Early Globalisation offered in this book is less pessimistic than in mainstream literature on the period.

This book provides substantial background on what Adam Smith did during his stay in Toulouse and the Languedoc region of France during the 18th century. This is a crucial period in Smith's life for at least two reasons: i) it is during this time that Smith began to work on The Wealth of Nations; and ii) it is generally understood that although some of his ideas about political economy were already formed before his trip, his encounters with many French political economists during his time in France helped him to further develop them. As such, this book provides a rich resource to further understanding Smith's world, his travel experiences and the people he met during this time and situates these within the broader context of Smith's life as a whole, and within the British aristocracy. This work will be of value to students and researchers in the history of economic thought, travel studies and Scottish studies.

This major new book contains contributions by many of the leading historians of technology. The contributors argue that culture, institutions and learning either made the way for, or blocked technological and industrial transformation. Their essays include broad comparative frameworks between Europe and Asia, and Europe and America, and examine the specific experiences of Britain, France, Holland, Germany and Scandinavia. Themes addressed include cultures of invention and the learning economy, technological inertia and path dependence, patents and product innovation, and technology, institutions and boundaries.

This book, the second of two volumes, is inspired by the famous philosopher of India, Kautilya, author of the first book on economics in the world, Arthashashtra. It analyzes the influence of ethical values from ancient societies on modern systems of management and economics. While this book deals with the "global sages" like Aristotle, Buddha, Jesus, the scope is also expanded to incorporate other notable modern thinkers like Karl Marx, Adam Smith, and Rabindranath Tagore. This book aims to highlight the interrelationships between ethics and management, both from a micro and macroeconomics, as well as organizational and national, perspective. It will be useful for those interested in history, economics, development studies, international relations, and global politics.

You Spend It. You Save It. You Never Have Enough of It. But how does it actually work? Understanding cash, currencies and the financial system is vital for making sense of what is going on in our world, especially now. Since the 2008 financial crisis, money has rarely been out of the headlines. Central banks have launched extraordinary policies, like quantitative easing or negative interest rates. New means of payment, like Bitcoin and Apple Pay, are changing how we interact with money and how governments and corporations keep track of our spending. Radical politicians in the US and UK are urging us to transform our financial system and make it the servant of social justice. And yet, if you stopped for a moment and asked yourself whether you really understand how it works, would you honestly be able to say 'yes'? In Money in One Lesson, Gavin Jackson, a lead writer for the Financial Times, specialising in economics, business and public policy, answers the most important questions to clarify for the reader what money is and how it shapes our societies. With brilliant storytelling, Jackson provides a basic understanding of the most important element of our everyday lives. Drawing on stories like the 1970s Irish Banking Strike to show what money actually is, and the Great Inflation of West Africa's cowrie shell money to explain how it keeps its value, Money in One Lesson demystifies the world of finance and explains how societies, both past and present, are forever entwined with monetary matters.

This book provides a systematic explanation of a remarkable policy innovation in an emerging economy in the modern world. In doing so, it highlights the nature of the Japanese economy during the interwar period. It offers a canonical case study for an international macroeconomic policy of a small and open economy. Readers can draw lessons from the Japanese experience in the 1930s, recalling what kinds of challenges policymakers faced in a crisis situation, what they can do, and what they should not do. As a whole, it is a novel reference both for scholars in economic history and international economics and for policymakers all over the world. A comprehensive and clear-cut picture of the Japanese economy during the Great Depression in the 1930s is presented, including the policy innovations brought about by an iconoclastic finance minister, Korekiyo Takahashi, at that time. To this end, the book integrates the narrative analysis based on newly available archival documents and the quantitative analysis based on newly constructed macroeconomic data and contemporary econometric methodologies. This work shows how Japan escaped from the depression in its early stage. It illustrates a transmission mechanism of the macroeconomic stimulus package of currency depreciation, easy money, and fiscal expansion. As well, it argues that the key for economic recovery was currency depreciation and that expectations played a pivotal role in ending deflation and kick-starting economic recovery. Also contained here is an exploration of politico-economic interaction in the shaping of economic policy and the long-term consequences of policy actions such as departure from the gold standard and initiation of the government debt finance by the central bank. It is shown that the collapse of the international gold standard and the lack of governance of military spending resulted in a loss of fiscal discipline in the long run.

The second volume of the Handbook describes different extractive economies in the world regions that have been outlined in the first volume. A wide range of economic actors - from kings and armies to cities and producers - are discussed within different imperial settings as well as the tools, which enabled and constrained economic outcomes. A central focus are nodes of consumption that are visible in the archaeological and textual records of royal capitals, cities, religious centers, and armies that were stationed, in some cases permanently, in imperial frontier zones. Complementary to the multipolar concentrations of consumption are the fiscal-tributary structures of the empires vis-a-vis other institutions that had the capacity to extract, mobilize, and concentrate resources and wealth. Larger volumes of state-issued coinage in various metals show the new role of coinage in taxation, local economic activities, and social practices, even where textual evidence is absent. Given the overwhelming importance of agriculture, the volume also analyses forms of agrarian development, especially around cities and in imperial frontier zones. Special consideration is given to road- and water-management systems for which there is now sufficient archaeological and documentary evidence to enable cross-disciplinary comparative research.

This book is an edited collection by leading insurance historians, examining the historical role of reinsurance (the insurance of insurers) in the insurance markets of eight countries: USA, Netherlands, Sweden, France, Spain, Italy, Mexico and Japan. All the contributors are experts in their field and have widely published in insurance history, providing the reader with new insights into the insurance and economic history of these countries. In particular, this is the first book to explore the reinsurance markets in the USA, Netherlands, France, Italy and Mexico. This book will be of interest to economic and business historians, as well as insurance practitioners with an interest in the history of their industry.

Japan and South Korea are two of the most important success stories in recent economic history. Both countries have succeeded in achieving remarkably high growth rates to transform themselves from isolated agricultural societies to major industrial powers.In The Economics of Rapid Growth, Dirk Pilat uses catch-up theory to explain why countries with lower levels of income can use the technology of more advanced economies to foster growth and industrialization. His analysis emphasizes the importance of pre-existing education levels, financial and commercial institutions and infrastructure to explain the rapid economic growth of Japan and Korea. A growth accounting framework is used to show the contribution of capital, labour and land to the rapid economic growth from the early 1950s. This growth is put in an international perspective by detailed sectoral productivity comparisons which include discussion of some of the measurement problems implicit in international comparisons. The final parts of the book look at the links between productivity and competitiveness, as well as the role of trade policy and exports in productivity growth. This acclaimed book will be widely read by researchers, students and policymakers concerned with growth, development and the emergence of two of the most powerful economies in the modern world.

This unique troika of Handbooks provide indispensable coverage of the history of economic analysis. Edited by two of the foremost academics in the field, they gather together insightful and original contributions from scholars across the world. The encyclopaedic breadth and scope of the original entries will make these Handbooks an invaluable source of knowledge for all serious students and scholars of the history of economic thought. Each Handbook can be read individually and acts as a self-contained volume in its own right. They can be purchased separately or as part of a three-volume set. Volume III contains entries on the development of major fields in economics from the inception of systematic analysis until modern times. The reader is provided with succinct summary accounts of the main problems, the methods used and the results obtained across time. The emphasis is on both the continuity and major changes that have occurred in the economic analysis of problematic issues such as economic growth, income distribution, employment, inflation, business cycles and financial instability. Contributors: M. Assous, A. Baccini, Jr., A. Baujard, E. Bertrand, M. Boumans, J.L. Cardoso, M. Dal Pont-Legrand, J. De Boyer Des Roches, M. De Vroey, S. Di Rizzello, S. Diatkine, K. Dopfer, A.K. Dutt, R. Ege, G. Erreygers, D. Foley, R. Gomez Betancourt, D. Haas, H. Hagemann, E. Hosoda, H. Igersheim, A. Kirman, J. Kleinert, H. Kliemt, H.D. Kurz, R. Leonard, P. Malgrange, A. Maneschi, P. Mehrling, S. Mohun, M. Mosca, S. Noto, A. Opocher, N. Palan, F. Petri, A. Rainer, S. Rizzello, J.B. Rosser, M. Salles, N. Salvadori, M. Schutz, R. Signorino, A. Spada, P. Steiner, A. Stirati, R. Strohmaier, R. Sturn, C. Sunna, J.-F. Thisse, P. Tubaro, K. Watarai

In April 1947, a group of right-leaning intellectuals met in the Swiss Alps for a ten-day conference with the aim of establishing a permanent organization. Named "an army of fighters for freedom" by Friedrich Hayek, they would at times use "neoliberalism" as a description of the philosophy they were developing. Later, many of them would opt for "classical liberalism" or other monikers. Was their liberalism classical or was it new? All new creeds build on previous ones, but the intellectuals in question were involved in an explicit attempt to change liberalism and move beyond both past laissez-faire ideals and the social liberalism popular at the time. This book provides a contextual, historical understanding of the development of neoliberal ideas, by studying its evolution from the first socialist calculation debates in Red Vienna to the founding meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society in 1947. The author examines key neoliberal conceptions of totalitarianism, market mechanisms and states, and presents a detailed study of the discussions during the first meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society. Offering a new perspective on the ideas that have influenced economics and politics since the 1970s, this study appeals to scholars interested in modern and political history, political theory and the history of economic thought. "What is neoliberalism? In search of an answer, Innset's innovativeintellectual history takes us to a grand hotel overlooking Lake Geneva, and inside the first meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society. Our journey leaves us with a deeper understanding of the new form of liberalism that is the legacy of this closed society." Edward Nik-Khah, Professor of Economics, Roanoke College "Reinventing Liberalism will put an end to endless debates around whether neoliberalism exists or not. Ola Morris Innset clearly shows that it does and presents a definitive argument for what neoliberalism is. This book is a must read for all those who want to have a solid understanding of the ideology that is framing and increasingly visibly endangering our world...." Marie Laure Salles-Djelic, Sciences Po Paris

A crisis is a period of uncertainty that may or may not lead to disaster, depending in part on the capacity of actors to make sense of what is happening and respond effectively. Disasters in different spheres occur and recur at different speeds and in idiosyncratic ways, but in essence they follow the same pattern. In the wake of the Global Financial Crisis and Eurozone upheavals this timely book argues that the disaster cycle - a framework normally used in the context of natural disasters - is equally applicable to the analysis of other types of catastrophe.Employing a modified version of the disaster cycle framework to compare and analyse a range of catastrophes in different spheres, the author draws on ideas from a variety of disciplines including economics and economic history, disaster studies, management, and political science. This unique comparative approach presents case studies of several important disasters: Hurricane Katrina, the First World War, the depression of the early 1930s, Welsh coal mining accidents, the deadly effects of smoking tobacco, and the Global Financial Crisis and Eurozone catastrophe of the early twenty first century. The author argues that economists and economic policy makers routinely misuse the term crisis to describe episodes that ought to be called disasters. This accessible and fascinating exploration will appeal to students and scholars in economic history, disaster studies, management, public policy, and related disciplines. The comparison of crisis and disaster management is also essential reading for policy makers.

This book examines the political connections and trade relations between Italy and China, with particular emphasis on the second half of the 19th century and the period following the Second World War. In recent years, economic relations between the two countries have intensified as a result of increasing exchange and trade agreements, with positive impacts on their political and diplomatic relations. By studying original public sources such as the Archives of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Bank of Italy and the Central State Archives in Rome, the author offers a historical perspective on the evolution of the two countries' economic and political ties. The respective chapters address e.g. the role of international governmental authorities, the role of the Italian Bank of China, the impact of trade agreements and foreign investment projects, etc. Given its scope, the book will appeal to scholars of economic history and international economics, as well as political scientists and legal scholars with an interest in international diplomacy and trade agreements.

Questioning Ayn Rand: Subjectivity, Political Economy, and the Arts offers a sustained academic critique of Ayn Rand's works and her wider Objectivist philosophy. While Rand's texts are often dismissed out of hand by those hostile to the ideology promoted within them, these essays argue instead that they need to be taken seriously and analysed in detail. Rand's influential worldview does not tolerate uncertainty, relying as it does upon a notion of truth untroubled by doubt. In contrast, the contributors to this volume argue that any progressive response to Rand should resist the dubious comforts of a position of ethical or aesthetic purity, even as they challenge the reductive individualistic ideology promoted within her writing. Drawing on a range of sources and approaches from Psychoanalysis to The Gold Standard and from Hannah Arendt to Spiderman, these essays consider Rand's works in the context of wider political, economic, and philosophical debates.

This book illustrates the complexity and variety of victualling systems in early modern Italy. For a long time, the historiography of urban provisioning systems in late medieval and early modern times featured a conceptual opposition between victualling administration and the market. In this book, on the contrary, the term 'victualling system' (sistema annonario) is employed according to its historical meaning, designating an organised set of public and private channels, evolved typically in urban contexts, for the procurement and distribution of the goods essential for the daily life of common people. According to this definition, specifically, a victualling system included also the market, as one of the different channels for the procurement and distribution of goods. What characterises the Italian case in the European context are both the earliness of these institutions and the long-lasting political and economic fragmentation of the peninsula: these factors determined the great variety and complexity of the solutions adopted. In order to show these features, the analysis focuses on four central issues: the configuration of systems, institutional pragmatism and variety, articulation of circuits, and plurality of actors. The seven relevant case-studies included in this book, all based on direct archival research, cover a wide range of geographical contexts and institutional arrangements, from the North to the South of the peninsula, and include both large-sized cities (Milan and Rome), medium-sized cities (Bergamo, Vicenza, and Ferrara), and entire regions (the March of Ancona, and Sicily). This allows the reader to appreciate regional and local differences in detail, making this book of interest for academics and scholars in economic, social, and urban history.

Early Modern Debts: 1550-1700 makes an important contribution to the history of debt and credit in Europe, creating new transnational and interdisciplinary perspectives on problems of debt, credit, trust, interest, and investment in early modern societies. The collection includes essays by leading international scholars and early career researchers in the fields of economic and social history, legal history, literary criticism, and philosophy on such subjects as trust and belief; risk; institutional history; colonialism; personhood; interiority; rhetorical invention; amicable language; ethnicity and credit; household economics; service; and the history of comedy. Across the collection, the book reveals debt's ubiquity in life and literature. It considers debt's function as a tie between the individual and the larger group and the ways in which debts structured the home, urban life, legal systems, and linguistic and literary forms.