This book is a work of contemporary economic history focusing primarily on the US and the UK. It shows that, historically, much of the wealth of the ultra-wealthy has been based on inheritance, tax evasion, political influence, or wage theft. Today, much of the wealth of the rentier class-the super-rich-is based on income from ownership or control of scarce assets, or assets artificially made scarce. As a result, the super-rich reap much of their wealth from patents, monopolies, and subsidies. Their banks retain the right to speculate on risky derivatives, and their credit-card companies are not limited by usury laws that reduce interest rates. The super-rich have lowered (or escaped) inheritance taxes, shifted much of their income to lower taxed capital gains, practiced wage theft, fought minimum wage laws, outsourced jobs, and resorted to temps and contract labor to avoid unions and decent wages. They use tax havens where trillions of dollars remain untaxed, transfer profits of their intellectual and financial property to subsidiaries in low-tax regimes, and defend for-profit health insurance that is unaffordable and inequitable for millions. This book states in qualitative and quantitative terms how expensive the super-rich have become, why they are unsustainable for the rest of us, and what the way forward to greater economic equality may be. In sum, the super-rich are unaffordable.

This is the first collection of essays dedicated to the topics of money and economics in the English literature of the late Middle Ages. These essays explore ways that late medieval economic thought informs contemporary English texts and apply modern modes of economic analysis to medieval literature. In so doing, they read the importance and influence of historical records of practices as aids to contextualizing these texts. They also apply recent modes of economic history as a means to understand the questions the texts ask about economics, trade, and money. Collectively, these papers argue that both medieval and modern economic thought are key to valuable historical contextualization of medieval literary texts, but that this criticism can be advanced only if we also recognize the specificity of the economic and social conditions of late-medieval England.

This book discusses the work of German economists Gustav von Schmoller and Adolph Wagner, its influence on the tradition of German and Austrian economic and social thought, and its implications for the discipline today. Schmoller and Wagner integrated philosophical, historical, sociological and political approaches into the science of economics, focusing specifically on economic development. Schmoller, who is considered the head of the second generation of the German Historical School, argued that general propositions of economic theory had to be based on historical-empirical studies. In contrast, Wagner was a systematologist who preferred to start his investigations into economic problems from abstract principles. Schmoller and Wagner share, however, a common focus on institutions and the role of the state; Wagner favored state policy initiatives, while Schmoller was concerned with the risks of state policy failure. One hundred years after their deaths, the contributions to this book look into their approach, trace the influence of their ideas, and explore the relevance of their thought in a global economy. This book will be useful for students and scholars interested in socio-economics, the history of economic thought, economic policy, and political science.

Why and how has the Business Corporation come to exert such a powerful influence on American Society? The essays here take up this question, offering a fresh perspective on the ways in which the business corporation has assumed as enduring place in the modern capitalist economy, and how it has affected American society, culture and politics over the past two centuries. The authors challenge standard assumptions about the business corporation's emergence and performance in the United States over the past two centuries. Reviewing in depth the different theoretical and historiographical traditions that have treated the corporation, the volume seeks a new departure that can more fully explain this crucial institution of capitalism. Rejecting assertions that the corporation is dead, the essays show that in fact it has survived and even thrived down to the present in part because of the ways in which it has related to its social, political and cultural environment. In doing so, the book breaks with older explanations ground in technology and economics, and treats the corporation for the first time as a fully social institution. Drawing on a variety of social theories and approaches, the essays help to point the way toward future studies of this powerful and enduring institution, offering a new periodization and a new set of questions for scholars to explore. The range of essays engages the legal and political position of the corporation, the ways in which the corporation has been shaped by and shaped American culture, the controversies over corporate regulation and corporate power, and the efforts of minority and disadvantaged groups to gain access to the resources and opportunities that corporations control.

Following the Brexit vote, this book offers a timely historical assessment of the different ways that Britain's economic future has been imagined and how British ideas have influenced global debates about market relationships over the past two centuries. The 2016 EU referendum hinged to a substantial degree on how competing visions of the UK should engage with foreign markets, which in turn were shaped by competing understandings of Britain's economic past. The book considers the following inter-related questions: - What roles does economic imagination play in shaping people's behaviour and how far can insights from behavioural economics be applied to historical issues of market selection? - How useful is the concept of the 'official mind' for explaining the development of market relationships? - What has been the relationship between expanding communications and the development of markets? - How and why have certain regions or groupings (e.g. the Commonwealth) been 'unimagined'- losing their status as promising markets for the future?

This first of three volumes starts with a short introduction to historical metrology as a scientific discipline and goes on with an anthology of acient and modern measurement systems of all kind, scientific measures, units of time, weights, currencies etc. It concludes with an exhaustive list of references. Units of measurement are of vital importance in every civilization through history. Since the early ages, man has through necessity devised various measures to assist him in everyday life. They have enabled and continue to enable us to trade in commonly and equitably understood amounts, and to investigate, understand, and control the chemical, physical, and biological processes of the natural world. The essence of the work is an alphabetically ordered, comprehensive list of measurement nomenclature, units and scales. It provides an understanding of almost all quantitative expressions observed in all imaginable situations, including spelling variants and the abbreviations and symbols for units, and various acronyms used in metrology. It will be of use not only to historians of science and technology, but also to economic and social historians and should be in every major academic and national library as standard reference work on the topic.

For Marxists, imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism. Critical analysis of imperialism has been a feature of Marxist throughout the twentieth century. The conceptualising and theorising of imperialism by Marxists has evolved over time in response to developments in the global capitalist economy and in international politics. Murray Noonan here provides the first complete analysis of Marxist theories of imperialism in over two decades. Presenting three phases of imperialist theories, he analyses and compares 'Classical', 'Neo' and 'Globalisation-era' Marxist theories of imperialism. The book moves chronologically, tracking the origins of imperialism theorised by J.A. Hobson at the beginning of the twentieth century up to the present day. He critically identifies and engages with a new 'Globalisation-era' phase of Marxist imperialism theory. Through a detailed scholarly analysis of the history and evolution of these theories, Noonan offers vital new perspectives on imperialist theory and its relevance and application in the twenty-first century.

There are two ways people coordinate their actions: through cooperation, exercised by economic power, and through control, exercised by political power. When economic and political power are held by the same people, the result is stagnation; when those who hold economic power are not the same people who hold political power, the result is progress. This book presents the ways in which economic power and political power can be separated, and how they can remain so, by analyzing the nature of power and the differences between economic and political power. The book then discusses the history of economic and political power, including hunter-gatherer societies, agrarian societies, and modern commercial and industrial societies. This background lends insight into why political and economic power were typically held by the same people, and why recently those without political power have been able to acquire economic power. Incentives play a key role in understanding how those two types of power can become separated, and why there is always a tendency for them to recombine. But ideas also play a crucial role, including the influence of the Enlightenment, on the progress that has occurred in the last several hundred years.

Reflecting the diverse and profound changes triggered by the latest wave of economic globalization, this book highlights various governance responses at national, regional and global levels. The topics covered are wide-ranging and include economic history and development, European integration, exchange rate arrangements, industrial and labor economics, international cooperation and multilateralism, and public choice. The book is divided into three parts: The first part, which contains contributions by Barry Eichengreen and Marc Flandreau, is devoted to economic history. The second part examines open economy macroeconomics with a focus on Europe, including contributions by Jurgen von Hagen and Paul Krugman. The third part presents contributions to international political economy, and related interdisciplinary topics. This Festschrift is written in honor of Jorge Braga de Macedo, Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Nova School of Business and Economics and a distinguished Portuguese academic whose work has an impressive global reach. The contributions, written by a selection of international authors, deal with his oeuvre covering the wide range of topics broached in this book, as his publication record amply attests.

Looking at women, business and finance in the long nineteenth century, this book challenges our traditional understanding of 'separate spheres'--whereby men operated in the public world of work and women in the private realm of the domestic. Drawing on case studies throughout Europe, the authors reveal that there was much greater diversity in women's economic experience across all social strata than has previously been understood. International contributors take a new look at women's roles in finance and investment, family-owned businesses, retailing, service activities, and the artisanal trades. They reveal that elite and middle-class women often manipulated financial resources in a highly sophisticated manner. Family-owned businesses and retail trade geared to women, such as grocery and fashion, also offered women opportunities. Throughout, the authors consider the impact of industrialization on women's economic agency. We learn about women in the accommodation business in London, female entrepreneurs in Italy, prostitutes in Germany, family businesses in Sweden, women in publishing in Spain and much more.

The book analyses the role of private bankers who were pivotal in modernizing the economic and financial system of Italy in the XIX century. To achieve this they needed to interact with the international haute banque to organize and place the public loans and the large investments associated with the joint-stock companies. The theme of reputation, which is currently at the centre of the historiographical debate, is fundamental for the study of the private banker figures, whose professional success is linked to the limitless trust accorded to them by their circle of personal contacts. Historiography has studied the role of Italian bankers in the trade, credit and international finance during the modern age (XVI-XVIII centuries), but it has not analysed the banking system in the XIX century and its national and international relations. The case study of Banca Parodi of Genova fills the historiographical gap concerning the role of private bankers and banking institutions in Italy, highlighting the network between the Parodi family and the international haute banque; one of the most emblematic cases is the Rothschild family. The book presents a re-elaborates series of unpublished data, placing them at the disposal of the scientific community and analyses the role of private bankers in the development of Italian banking institutions in the XIX century to launch a scientific debate.

The fascinating story of a man struggling to reach his dream, his small toy company's fabulous toys, and an explanation of the folklore connecting the company's wooden mouse "MICKY" with Walt Disney. The book highlights never before assembled documentation.

An examination of East-Central European history, this book looks to the past for the roots of the cleavage between the eastern and western regions of Europe and the reasons for the east-central countries' backward, reactionary nature; their slide into fascism and war; and the ultimate destruction of the region within the Stalinist orbit. East-Central Europe emerged as a distinct region as early as the 15th century, when, in sharp contrast to an expanding urban economy and a loosening of serfdom in the West, it pursued a brutal Second Serfdom. This development would determine much of its future course, as 19th century attempts to modernize society included revolutions from above and the abolishment of serfdom, while stubbornly retaining decisive feudal structures. After World War I, industrial developments created a semi-feudal, distorted capitalism, and the region soon saw the emergence of ultra-nationalist, fascist-style regimes whose actions would eventually lead to catastrophe.

In the post-war era, the region found itself in the Soviet sphere. The short People's Democracy period attempted to purge its structure of feudal, reactionary and fascist remnants, but soon got destroyed as a distinct region by brutal Stalinization. The collapse of Communism did not restore its separate existence reintegration into the West requires a painful transition period with a yet uncertain outcome. Hodos produces a comprehensive, comparative overview of the centuries-old division, along with the resulting social, political, and economic consequences. Chapters on anti-Semitism and the Holocaust illustrate the stark differences between the regions.

'Englishmen Transplanted' challenges the widely accepted view of seventeenth-century Barbados planters as reckless fortune seekers who failed to create a viable society in the tropics. Rather, it argues they were settlers eager to transplant what was familiar to them: political and religious institutions, the nuclear family, and traditional views about social order, housing, and apparel.

Histories of economics tend to portray attitudes towards commerce in the era of Adam Smith as celebrating what is termed doux commerce, that is, sweet or gentle commerce. Commerce and Its Discontents in Eighteenth-Century French Political Thought proposes that reliance on this doux commerce thesis has obscured our comprehension of the theory and experience of commerce in Enlightenment Europe. Instead, it uncovers ambivalence towards commerce in eighteenth-century France, distinguished by an awareness of its limits - slavery, piracy and monopoly. Through a careful analysis of the Histoire des deux Indes (1780), the Enlightenment's best-selling history of comparative empires, Anoush Fraser Terjanian offers a new perspective on the connections between political economy, imperialism and the Enlightenment. In discussing how a 'politics of definition' governed the early debates about global commerce and its impact, this book enriches our understanding of the prehistory of globalisation.

The book summarizes the 60 year development of economic theories, explaining in detail the features and development of economic theories from 1949 to 1976 and in the reform and opening-up period. The author has made a systematic theoretical analysis on the economic situation from two different stages - before and after China's reform and opening-up, which put forward many unconventional point of view, and it has contributed visionary ideas for the research on China's economy. It provide the readers with a general understanding of the economic trend and development of contemporary China, with many pertinent answer to the practical and concrete problems about China's economy.

This open access handbook, Ten Crises systematically traces the economic historyof China from 1949 to 2020, unravelling the complex domestic and global factorsleading to the cyclical crises identified by WEN and his research team, andexamining the corresponding counteracting policies and measures by thegovernment to resolve or defer the crises. The book offers profound insights intoChina's endeavours and predicaments on the path of modernization, andcontemplates opportunities and lessons for the forging of alternative trajectoriesnot only for China but also for the global south: to reconstruct rural communitiesfor integrated cooperation and governance, and to revitalize ecological civilization.

The world is a veritable stage for superpowers. Major historical events are best viewed as the outcomes of games played by superpowers for their own economic interests. The objective of this book is to explore the primary cause of global historical events. A global economic disparity (GED) motivates superpowers to pursue their interests and results in the corresponding global historical event (GHE). This book explores the causal relationships between GEDs and GHEs that stand out in recent global history since the first Industrial Revolution, taking a geoeconomic approach which encompasses economics, international political affairs, history, and geography. The book confirms the causalities between GEDs and GHEs. It is a pioneering work that provides a unique but powerful policy implication: in order to alleviate international conflicts and tensions between superpowers, it is necessary to reduce GEDs. And since it is virtually impossible for a few superpowers to reduce the GEDs, the world economy needs a multipolar economic system for global stability through competition. The book was written shortly after the world economy was trapped within downward spirals caused by the US financial crisis and its contagion. As a collective representation of GEDs in various areas, the financial disparity is a central part of GEDs. The book rigorously examines the financial crisis (2008-2014) in the United States and the Fed's response, a program of quantitative easing (QE) implemented in three phases, while bearing in mind that the origin of the current crisis is not solely the financial sector or stock markets, but worldwide economic disequilibrium. This book also focuses on the details for the causal relationships prevailing in several major areas: human resources, raw materials, energy, environment, and poverty.

The History of Corporate Law by the Foremost Legal Historian, James Willard HurstThis study, which is based on a series of lectures delivered at the University of Virginia Law School, explores the development of corporate law from the 1780s, a time when the special charter was the only form of incorporation, to the 1960s, a time when corporations were established exclusively through general incorporation statutes. More than a chronicle, Hurst emphasizes how legal institutions actively shaped the central traits of American capitalism. CONTENTSAnalytical Table of ContentsIntroduction: Time, Place and SubjectI.From Special Privilege to General Utility, 1780-1890II.Legitimacy: Utility and Responsibility, 1890-1970III.Institutional Contributions to PolicyConclusion: The Social Impact of Corporation LawBibliographyIndexJames Willard Hurst 1910-1997] revitalized the field of American legal history with The Growth of American Law (1950) and helped establish the study of law and American society in Law and Social Process in United States History (1960). He had a particular interest in the ways society and law influenced one another. He was a professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

This ambitious book provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative assessment of Jamaica's ties to the International Monetary Fund, focusing on Jamaica's historical relationship with the IMF and reflecting on the domestic and international discourse surrounding the evolution of this relationship. Notably, this volume presents a critical analysis of Jamaica's first engagement with and departure from the IMF and interrogates the political economy of the period. Jamaica's economic experiences are assessed in the context of major global events, including the food price crises of 2007 and the global economic crises of 2008 and 2009. This book also looks at policy implications, and its well-researched analysis will be of great value to practitioners and policymakers as well as academics.

This book examines the political and social impact of English overseas merchants during the upheavals of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. It explores the merchant societies of London, York, and Liverpool, and illuminates the growing prominence of the overseas trader in the press and in Parliament.

Relying on new statistical and archival material, this book tells the story of the operation of the international monetary system of the mid-nineteenth century. It seeks to explain how this system was able to weather the impact of the California and Australia gold discoveries. It shows how France contributed to global financial stability by standing ready to exchange silver from gold at a fixed rate - a consequence of its bimetallic system. This book also shows how France's decision to change its domestic monetary rules caused the emergence of the gold standard in 1873, and thus offers a new interpretation of the global monetary history of the nineteenth century.