This course introduces students to economic history. It takes students from the pre-industrial era via the first, second, and third industrial revolutions up to the present day. The course considers why some countries are poor and others rich; how this divergence happened; and what the barriers to economic development might be. Students will be made familiar with the major theories and evidence describing the long historical road to riches, as well as how globalisation and economic integration formed shifting economic regimes and leaderships. The course discusses the roles in this played by geography, culture, institutions, innovations, infrastructure, colonialism, inequality, epidemics, and economic policy. The focus is the European economy, but the course also considers Europe’s position vis-à-vis other world regions. Students will learn how economic growth first emerged; what its driving forces were; and how economic growth might be sustained also in the future. They will understand the sometimes long legacies of past developments and how to potentially break with these. They will see how historical data – even very distant ones – offer a laboratory for understanding central economic phenomena. This way students will get a sense of how economic history is able to inform contemporary economic debates and policy decisions.

Inspirational reading:
Robert C. Allen (2011), Global Economic History: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press (any edition).