A concise economic history of the world
Subtitle: from Paleolithic times to the present
By: Rondo Cameron.
Edition: 3rd ed.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 454
Subjects: Economic history
Description: The third edition of this highly successful text takes a broad look at the world's economic history from pre-historic times to the present. Placing contemporary world economy in historical perspective, it explores the critical reasons why some nations have become rich while others failed. The author expands coverage of the EEC, now the European Union, and extensively restructures his work on the non-Western world in light of recent scholarship.

He also gives special attention to developments in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Now available in 11 languages, including Spanish (second edition), French, German (2 volumes), Polish, and Chinese, this uniquely comprehensive text remains an invaluable, lively, and accessible text for both undergraduate and graduate students of European economic history and world development.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 405-433) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: economic history and economic development. Development and underdevelopment -- Growth, development, and progress -- Determinants of economic development -- Production and productivity -- Economic structure and structural change -- The logistics of economic growth -- Appendix -- Economic development in ancient times. Economics and the emergence of civilization -- The economic foundations of empire -- Trade and development in the Mediterranean world -- Economic achievements and limits of ancient civilization -- Economic development in medieval Europe. The agrarian basis -- Rural society -- Patterns of stability -- Forces of change -- Europe expands -- The revival of urban life -- Commercial currents and techniques -- Industrial technology and the origins of mechanical power -- The crisis of the medieval economy -- Non-western economies on the eve of western expansion. The world of Islam -- The Ottoman Empire -- East Asia -- South Asia -- Africa -- The Americas -- Europe's second logistic. Population and levels of living -- Exploration and discovery -- Overseas expansion and the feedback to Europe -- The price revolution -- Agricultural technology and productivity -- Industrial technology and productivity -- Trade, trade routes, and commercial organization -- Economic nationalism and imperialism. Mercantilism: a misnomer -- The common elements -- Spain and Spanish America -- Portugal -- Central, eastern, and northern Europe -- Colbertism in France -- The prodigious increase of the Netherlands -- "Parliamentary Colbertism" in Britain -- The dawn of modern industry. Characteristics of modern industry -- The industrial revolution : a misnomer -- Prerequisites and concomitants of industrialization -- Industrial technology and innovation -- Regional variation -- Social aspects of early industrialization -- Economic development in the Nineteenth Century : basic determinants. Population -- Resources -- The development and diffusion of technology -- The institutional framework -- Patterns of development : the early industrializers. Great Britain -- The United States -- Belgium -- France -- Germany -- Patterns of development : latecomers and no-shows. Switzerland -- The Netherlands and Scandinavia -- The Austro-Hungarian Empire -- Southern and eastern Europe -- Imperial Russia -- Japan -- Strategic sectors. Agriculture -- Finance and banking -- The role of the state -- The growth of the world economy. Britain opts for free trade -- The free trade era -- The "Great Depression" and the return to protection -- The international gold standard -- International migration and investment -- The revival of western imperialism -- Overview of the world economy in the Twentieth Century. Population -- Resources -- Technology -- Institutions -- International economic disintegration. The economic consequences of World War I -- Economic consequences of the peace -- The great contraction, 1929-33 -- Rival attempts at reconstruction -- The Russian revolutions and the Soviet Union -- Economic aspects of World War II -- Rebuilding the world economy. Planning for the postwar economy -- The Marshall Plan and economic "miracles" -- The era of high growth -- The emergence of the Soviet Bloc -- The economics of decolonization -- The origins of the European Union -- The world economy at the end of the Twentieth Century. The collapse of the Soviet Bloc -- The evolution of the European Union -- Limits to growth?