In this revised and updated edition, An Economic History of Europe re-establishes itself as the leading textbook on European economic history. With an expanded scope, from prehistory to the present, it will be invaluable source for students, educators and researchers seeking to better understand Europe's long-run economic development. The authors cover key themes including the rise of institutions, technological advancements, globalization, and the Industrial Revolution, with a fresh empha...

How and why does Denmark have one of the richest, most equal, and happiest societies in the world today? Historians have often pointed to developments from the late nineteenth century, when small peasant farmers worked together through agricultural cooperatives, whose exports of butter and bacon rapidly gained a strong foothold on the British market.This book presents a radical retelling of this story, placing (largely German-speaking) landed elites—rather than the Danish peasantry...

For over forty years, David Harvey has been one of the world's most trenchant and critical analysts of capitalist development. In The Enigma of Capital, he delivers an impassioned account of how unchecked neoliberalism produced the system-wide crisis that now engulfs the world. Beginning in the 1970s, profitability pressures led the capitalist class in advanced countries to shift away from investment in industrial production at home toward the higher returns that financial products promise...

The book covers some of the most exciting concepts in world politics – how to connect the production of goods and services in one region to the markets for those goods, and how this can lead to conflicts among states that try to create, enhance or subdue these markets. Fundamentally, it seeks to answer an enduring question in world politics – which has more power, states or markets?This fifth edition examines globalization as a recurrent process by which markets have periodically r...

What is capitalism? Is capitalism the same everywhere? Is there an alternative? The word 'capitalism' is one that is heard and used frequently, but what is capitalism really all about, and what does it mean? The book begins by addressing basic issues such as 'what is capital?' before discussing the history and development of capitalism through three detailed and absorbing case studies ranging from the tulipomania of seventeenth-century Holland to the recent Enron crisis in America. Fulcher...

From the internationally bestselling author and prizewinning economist--a highly original guide to the global economy.In his bestselling 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism,Cambridge economist Ha-Joon Chang brilliantly debunked many of the predominant myths of neoclassical economics. Now, in an entertaining and accessible primer, he explains how the global economy actually works-in real-world terms. Writing with irreverent wit, a deep knowledge ...

A timely exploration of the life and work of twelve world-changing thinkers and how their ideas would solve the great economic problems we face today.A Newsweek "Best 50 Books of the Year (So Far)" Pick"A highly accessible and acute guide to thinking and learning from the men and woman whose work can inform and ultimately aid us in understanding the great national and global crises we're ...

Explore the key milestones in the field of economics broken down clearly and simply with The Economics Book.Learn about economics in this overview guide to the subject, which is brilliant for novices looking to learn more and experts wishing to refresh their knowledge.Part of the fascinating Big Ideas series, this book tackles tricky topics and themes in a simple and easy-to-follow format. The Economics Book brings a fresh, vibrant take on the topi...

The years since World War II have seen rapid shifts in the relative positions of different countries and regions. Leading political economist Mancur Olson offers a new and compelling theory to explain these shifts in fortune and then tests his theory against evidence from many periods of history and many parts of the world.[T]his elegant, readable book. . . sets out to explain why economies succumb to the British disease,’ the kind of stagnation and demoralization that is now ...

The effects of economic decision making are far-reaching. Economics is more than just business—the course of government, society, and more has been determined, to a large degree, by economic players. This comprehensive volume takes a three-pronged approach to introduce readers to the essentials of economics: after providing an overview of basic economic concepts, it chronicles the development of economics as a discipline and then launches into an examination of the various economic systems...

The old discussion of 'Market or State' is obsolete. There will always have to be a mix of market and state. The only relevant question is what that mix should look like. How far do we have to let the market go its own way in order to create as much welfare as possible for everyone? What is the responsibility of the government in creating welfare? These are difficult questions. But they are also interesting questions and Paul De Grauwe analyses them in this book. The desired mix of market ...