This volume historicizes the use of the notion of self-interest that at least since Bernard de Mandeville and Adam Smith's theories is considered a central component of economic theory. Having in the twentieth century become one of the key-features of rational choice models, and thus is seen as an idealized trait of human behavior, self-interest has, despite Albert O. Hirschman's pivotal analysis of self-interest, only marginally been historicized. A historicization(s) of self-interest, however, offers new insights into the concept by asking why, when, for what reason and in which contexts the notion was discussed or referred to, how it was employed by contemporaries, and how the different usages developed and changed over time. This helps us to appreciate the various transformations in the perception of the notion, and also to explore how and in what ways different people at different times and in different regions reflected on or realized the act of considering what was in their best interest. The volume focuses on those different usages, knowledges, and practices concerned with self-interest in the modern Atlantic World from the seventeenth to twentieth centuries, by using different approaches, including political and economic theory, actuarial science, anthropology, or the history of emotions. Offering a new perspective on a key component of Western capitalism, this is the ideal resource for researches and scholars of intellectual, political and economic history in the modern Atlantic World.

This comprehensive and far-reaching book describes the growth and economic integration of the European economy from 1500 to 1913. The authors apply macroeconomic techniques to identify growth rates, inflation, product markets, trade networks and business cycles across a set of countries over the period. The book demonstrates that growth was the natural state for European economies throughout the period although, under the impetus of the industrial revolution, growth rates generally accelerated by the end of the nineteenth century. Similarly, business cycles in the modern sense seem to have been in evidence at the beginning of the period but by the eighteenth century there is no doubt that modern cycles affected these countries, sometimes simultaneously. Inflationary episodes are both distinct and shared in this long period, with the long inflation of the sixteenth century attesting to the integration of European markets. Finally, the authors find abundant quantitative evidence to support the argument that economies linked by international trade in 1500 came close to achieving global integration by 1913. The European Macroeconomy will be of interest to scholars of economic history, international economics and macroeconomics.

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.

Mining, Monies, and Culture in Early Modern Societies explores substantial and methodological issues in the early modern history of mining for monetary metals and monies of Japan, China, and Europe. The largest group in the thirteen articles presents empirical research on mining, metallurgy, and metals trade in the context of global trade systems. Another group focuses on the effects of money in government and everyday life. Several articles investigate scroll paintings and material remains as sources for the history of technology, or apply Geographic Information Systems to the analysis of spatial dimensions of mining areas.

Human Action - a treatise on laissez-faire capitalism by Ludwig von Mises is a historically important and classic publication on economics, and yet it can be an intimidating work due to its length and formal style. Choice: Cooperation, Enterprise, and Human Action, however, skillfully relays the main insights from Human Action in a style that will resonate with modern readers. The book assumes no prior knowledge in economics or other fields, and, when necessary, it provides the historical and scholarly context necessary to explain the contribution Mises makes on a particular issue. To faithfully reproduce the material in Human Action, this work mirrors its basic structure, providing readers with an enjoyable and educational introduction to the lifes work of one of history's most important economists.

Crossing Cultural Boundaries in East Asia and Beyond explores the personal complexities and ambiguities, and the successes and failures, of crossing borders and boundaries. While the focus is on East Asia, it universalizes cultural anxieties with comparative cases in Russia and the United States. The authors primarily engage the individual experiences of border-crossing, rather than more typically those of political or social groups located at territorial boundaries. Drawing on those individual experiences, this volume presents an array of attempts to negotiate the discomforts of crossing personal borders, and attends to the intimate experiences of border crossers, whether they are traveling to an unfamiliar cultural location or encountering the "other" in local settings such as the classroom or the coffee shop.

Colonial Latin America was famed for the precious metals plundered by the conquistadores and the gold and silver extracted from its mines. Historians and economists have attempted to determine the amount of bullion produced and its impact on the colonies themselves and the emerging early-modern world economy. Using official tax and mintage records, this book provides decade-by-decade and often annual data on the amount of gold and silver officially refined and coined in the treasury and mint districts of Spanish and Portuguese America. It also places American bullion output within the context of global production and addresses the issue of contraband production and bullion smuggling. The book is thus an invaluable source for evaluating the rise of the early-modern economy.

In recent years, due to the increasingly aggressive market competition, it is essential to evaluate the role of logistics and supply chain management skills and applications for the success of any organization or business. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the fragility of the sustainability of economic organization, production, and supply chains globally. Cases on Supply Chain Management and Lessons Learned From COVID-19 collects compelling case studies, theoretical and empirical research, experiences, and applications on numerous aspects of logistics and supply chain management. It not only focuses on industry and digital transformation and the critical nature of organizational agility, but also presents different methods, techniques, models, and competitive advantage prospects, providing an extremely relevant and current view of the subject matter. Covering topics such as green supply chain management, organizational performance, and supply chain disruptions, this book is the ideal reference source for managers, supply chain specialists, entrepreneurs, business professionals, consultants, researchers, academicians, educators, and students.

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.

This groundbreaking book provides the first comprehensive account of the "juridiction consulaire," ""or Merchant Court, of eighteenth-century Paris. Drawing on extensive archival research, Amalia D. Kessler reconstructs the workings of the court and the commercial law that it applied and uses these to shed new light on questions about the relationship between commerce and modernity that are of deep and abiding interest to lawyers, historians, and social scientists alike. Kessler shows how the merchants who were associated with the court--and not just elite thinkers and royal reformers--played a key role in reconceptualizing commerce as the credit-fueled private exchange necessary to sustain the social order. Deploying this modern conception of commerce in a variety of contexts, ranging from litigation over negotiable instruments to corporatist battles for status and jurisdiction, these merchants contributed (largely inadvertently and to their ultimate regret) to the demise of corporatism as both conceptual framework and institutional practice. In so doing, they helped bring about the social and political revolution of 1789. Highly readable and engaging, "A Revolution in Commerce" provides important new insights into the rise of commercial modernity by demonstrating the remarkable role played by the law in ideological and institutional transformation.

This important textbook offers a comprehensive look into the two main traditions in contemporary macroeconomics ? New Classical and Keynesian ? and examines the work of economists who have drawn on principles from both traditions to form a new, integrated approach known as New Neoclassical Synthesis. Importantly, this provides the theoretical foundation for much of current mainstream economics and the work done by central banks around the world. With a dual focus on research methods and policy applications, this book bridges the gap between intermediate macroeconomic and advanced graduate-level texts, making it an ideal resource for senior undergraduate and Masters students in applied economics programs. Key topics include:? a concise summary of intermediate macroeconomics, including the foundational ideas of both the New Classical and Keynesian traditions? the Lucas critique of standard methods for evaluating policy design? debt sustainability and austerity vs. stimulation debate? optimal inflation rates? tax reform and growth analysis? alternative monetary policies for pursuing price stability? theories of unemployment.Students and instructors will find additional useful resources on the book?s companion website, including practice questions for each chapter.

The people who run our government are affected by money just like the rest of us. Over the years, many of these officials have worried about meeting mortgage payments, holding off creditors, and avoiding bankruptcy. Others made fortunes by devoting their time to supervising their business interests. Either way, these distractions affected the lives of everyday citizens--from the price of shirts to the decisions for war or peace. In school, students are taught about governmental principles underlying political controversies, but instructors seldom talk about money that presidents and cabinet members stood to gain or lose, depending on who prevailed in a political dispute. This book will help fill the gaps in that knowledge. To ignore the business activities of our leaders is to ignore most of their adult lives. Having such awareness allows voters to see motivations in government decisions that may otherwise be obscure. Concentrating on presidents and cabinet members, from the birth of the U.S. through the Carter administration, this book tells how they and their associates gained and lost wealth, and how this affected their nation's well-being.

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

"Exploiting the Sea" offers new perspectives on Britain's vital but changing relationship with the sea since the late nineteenth century. It assesses the significance to the British economy of sea-reliant industries such as shipping, shipbuilding, fishing, coastal trading and seaside tourism. It also seeks to explain why the clear pre-eminence that Britain established in the maritime world during the Victorian era has not been sustained in the twentieth century. "Exploiting the Sea" is a new volume in the highly successful EXETER MARITIME STUDIES series, and brings together contributions from experts writing in their own specialist fields to give a wide-ranging but structured analytical approach to a misunderstood subject.

China has undergone a remarkable transition over the past thirty years from a centrally-planned economy to a more market oriented one. The transformation of business in China has been correspondingly evident. This book gives an interdisciplinary analysis of the evolution of business development in China and the 'marketization' of industry during this period within a complex framework of legal, political, and economic reform aims.
The book includes twelve original business case studies to provide industry-specific analysis of the overarching macroeconomic and legal developments. It examines both domestic enterprise reform in China and the evolving treatment of foreign firms in the context of both corporate laws and economic policies, and how business is likely to evolve as economic and legal reforms rapidly increase during the twenty-first century, notably with regard to China's increasing global integration.

In Navigating History: Economy, Society, Knowledge, and Nature the contributors present new research that touches on the core themes developed in Karel Davids's work. Major themes include resources of knowledge, cultures of learning, and humans and their natural environment. Together, these fourteen essays provide a fascinating panorama of social, economic, and environmental history of the past millennium.

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.

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.

Britain and the United States share a common language, a liberal and cultural heritage, and a democratic political system. They also have pronounced differences, for their economic, political, and social structures have developed in distinctive ways. This book compares and contrasts the historical course of the two countries and explores the significance of their similarities and differences over a period of two centuries. The book offers wide ranging and up-to-date analyses of such issues as industrialization and urbanization, democracy and politics, class and gender, and citizenship and welfare. With contributions from leading scholars in both countries, it will be an invaluable resource for classrooms and seminar study, appealing to students of both history and social science. Some of the essays are classic expositions of debates that resonate on both sides of the Atlantic. Others are exemplary pieces that signal new agendas for research. Contributors: Anthony Badger, Mark Clapson, J.C.D. Clark, Clive Emsley, Mary K. Geiter, H.J. Habakkuk, Jeffrey Haydu, Ira Katznelson, Leon S. Marshall, David Morgan, Ann Shola Orloff, Gretchen Ritter, S.B. Saul, Theda Skocpol, W.A. Speck, and David Ward.