Economists are unable to run large scale experiments.
Their only source of data is history. This course will examine major events in the world economy of the last 150 years through critical evaluation of economists' papers. Such events will include international currency crises, the transmission of the Great Depression across national boundaries, and the post World War II boom. In addition, we will read papers that use economic history to draw conclusions about the current economy. We will then study under what circumstance history can be used to validate economic theories or predict future economic developments.