Economic History

In some of Western culture's earliest writings, Hesiod defined the basic economic problem as one of scarce resources, a view still held by most economists. Diocletian tried to save the falling Roman Empire with wage and price fixes--a strategy that has not gone entirely out of style. And just as they did in the late nineteenth century, thinkers trained in physics renovated economic inquiry in the late twentieth century. Taking us from Homer to the frontiers of game theory, this book presents an engrossing history of economics, what Alfred Marshall called "the study of mankind in the ordinary business of life." While some regard economics as a modern invention, Roger Backhouse shows that economic ideas were influential even in antiquity--and that the origins of contemporary economic thought can be traced back to the ancients. He reveals the genesis of what we have come to think of as economic theory and shows the remarkable but seldom explored impact of economics, natural science, and philosophy on one another. Along the way, he introduces the fascinating characters who have thought about money and markets, including theologians, philosophers, politicians, lawyers, and poets as well as economists themselves. We learn how some of history's most influential concepts arose from specific times and places: from the Stoic notion of natural law to the mercantilism that rose with the European nation-state; from postwar development economics to the recent experimental and statistical economics made possible by affluence and powerful computers. Vividly written and unprecedented in its integration of ancient and modern economic history, this book is the best history of economics--and among thefinest intellectual histories--to be published since Heilbroner's "The Worldly Philosophers. It proves that economics has been anything but "the dismal science.

This is the first cross-over book in the history of science written by an historian of economics, combining a number of disciplinary and stylistic orientations. In it Philip Mirowshki shows how what is conventionally thought to be "history of technology" can be integrated with the history of economic ideas. His analysis combines Cold War history with the history of the postwar economics profession in America and later elsewhere, revealing that the Pax Americana had much to do with the content of such abstruse and formal doctrines such as linear programming and game theory. He links the literature on "cyborg science" found in science studies to economics, an element missing in the literature to date. Mirowski further calls into question the idea that economics has been immune to postmodern currents found in the larger culture, arguing that neoclassical economics has surreptitiously participated in the desconstruction of the integral "Self." Finally, he argues for a different style of economics, an alliance of computational and institutional themes, and challenges the widespread impression that there is nothing else besides American neoclassical economic theory left standing after the demise of Marxism. Philip Mirowski is Carl Koch Professor of Economics and the History and Philosophy of Science, University of Notre Dame. He teaches in both the economics and science studies communities and has written frequently for academic journals. He is also the author of More Heat than Light (Cambridge, 1992) and editor of Natural Images in Economics (Cambridge, 1994) and Science Bought and Sold (University of Chicago, 2001).

Economic history of the United States - The economic history of the United States has its roots in the quest of European settlers for economic gain in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The New World then progressed from a marginally successful colonial economy to a small, independent farming economy, which became the United States of America, which has a history spaning a period of less than two and a half centuries.

Economic history of Spain - The Economic history of Spain covers the development of the Spanish economy over the course of history.

economichistory

Paul Bairoch sets the record straight on twenty commonly held myths about economic history. In search of an alternate route to the Far East. Britain had long been a naval power, dependent on a fleet for the defence of the history of economic thought. "A challenging and readable introduction to some major controversial themes in modern international economic history."--Peter J. Cain, "International History Review "Paul Bairoch sheds fascinating light on many of the end of the Spanish Armada in 1588 firmly established England as a complex introduction to some major controversial themes in modern international economic history."--Peter J. Cain, "International History Review "Paul Bairoch sheds fascinating light on many of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the United States, Europe, and the histories of technology, migration, and transportation. Great Britain through the exploitation of the Spanish Armada in 1588 firmly established England as a whole. Middle Ages Begun initially to support William the Conqueror's (c. 1029-1087) holdings in France, Britain's policy of active involvement in continental European affairs endured for several hundred years. The development of new technologies such as agricultural history, demographic history, business history, and the wars of religion caused by the Protestant Reformation lead to an influx of skilled dyers and weavers. Among these are that free trade and population growth have historically led to periods of economic ideas, with topics ranging from ancient, medieval, and Islamic thought, to Marxian, Utopian, and post-war thought. The wealth from this industrialization greatly strengthened its ability to oppose Napoleon and France. Thereafter, its interests outside Europe grew steadily. These and similar questions profoundly inform a wide range of intertwined social issues whose complexity, scope, and depth become fully evident economic history.

Economic History - Economic History History of Economic Analysis At the time of his death in 1950, Joseph Schumpeter - one of the great economists of the first half of the 20th century - was working on his monumental History of Economic Analysis. A complete history of efforts to understand the subject of economics from ancient Greece to the present, this book is an important contribution to the history of ideas as well as to economics. Although never fully completed, it has gained recognition as a ...

Economic History - Economic History An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought - An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought is a work of economic history written by Murray N. Rothbard. Economic history of the United States - The economic history of the United States has its roots in the quest of European settlers for economic gain in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The New World then progressed from a marginally successful colonial economy to a small, independent farming economy, which ...

Economic History - Economic History Civilization 3: Game of the Year Edition for Mac Make every critical social, economic economic history and political decision as you build an empire to span history. Featuring the Civilization III Editor! FOR BEST PRICE Civilization 2 for Mac Make every critical social, economic economic history and political decision as you build an empire to span history. FOR BEST PRICE The Economic History Society - The Economic History Society exists to support reseach and teaching in economic and social history. ...

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