Author: John P. Powelson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780472084265
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 500
Book Description
Why did the modern economy arise first in Northwestern Europe and Japan? And what distinguishes those few economies that have achieved sustained economic growth? These are the important puzzles that John P. Powelson answers in this original and important work. Building from an intriguing and neglected parallel between the histories of Japan and Northwestern Europe, he explores the paths of social and political development in those two regions to isolate a significant linkage between economic development and the distribution of political power. He then turns to other regions of the world, explaining why they have not experienced similar levels of economic success. Powelson offers a powerful theory that aids our understanding of many current issues, including the problems of the Third World and the long-term health of our own economy. "Extremely exciting. . . . Leverage . . . is a very important concept which I have never really seen stated in this way before." --The late Kenneth Boulding "A valuable piece of work, one which shows an immense breadth of reading. Very impressive!" --Douglass North, Nobel Laureate, 1993, Washington University, St. Louis "A major contribution . . . a big work done by an acknowledgedly careful scholar." --Mark Perlman, University of Pittsburgh John P. Powelson is Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Colorado.
Centuries of Economic Endeavor
Author: John P. Powelson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780472084265
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 500
Book Description
Why did the modern economy arise first in Northwestern Europe and Japan? And what distinguishes those few economies that have achieved sustained economic growth? These are the important puzzles that John P. Powelson answers in this original and important work. Building from an intriguing and neglected parallel between the histories of Japan and Northwestern Europe, he explores the paths of social and political development in those two regions to isolate a significant linkage between economic development and the distribution of political power. He then turns to other regions of the world, explaining why they have not experienced similar levels of economic success. Powelson offers a powerful theory that aids our understanding of many current issues, including the problems of the Third World and the long-term health of our own economy. "Extremely exciting. . . . Leverage . . . is a very important concept which I have never really seen stated in this way before." --The late Kenneth Boulding "A valuable piece of work, one which shows an immense breadth of reading. Very impressive!" --Douglass North, Nobel Laureate, 1993, Washington University, St. Louis "A major contribution . . . a big work done by an acknowledgedly careful scholar." --Mark Perlman, University of Pittsburgh John P. Powelson is Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Colorado.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780472084265
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 500
Book Description
Why did the modern economy arise first in Northwestern Europe and Japan? And what distinguishes those few economies that have achieved sustained economic growth? These are the important puzzles that John P. Powelson answers in this original and important work. Building from an intriguing and neglected parallel between the histories of Japan and Northwestern Europe, he explores the paths of social and political development in those two regions to isolate a significant linkage between economic development and the distribution of political power. He then turns to other regions of the world, explaining why they have not experienced similar levels of economic success. Powelson offers a powerful theory that aids our understanding of many current issues, including the problems of the Third World and the long-term health of our own economy. "Extremely exciting. . . . Leverage . . . is a very important concept which I have never really seen stated in this way before." --The late Kenneth Boulding "A valuable piece of work, one which shows an immense breadth of reading. Very impressive!" --Douglass North, Nobel Laureate, 1993, Washington University, St. Louis "A major contribution . . . a big work done by an acknowledgedly careful scholar." --Mark Perlman, University of Pittsburgh John P. Powelson is Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Colorado.
Global Economic History: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Robert C. Allen
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 019162053X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 192
Book Description
Why are some countries rich and others poor? In 1500, the income differences were small, but they have grown dramatically since Columbus reached America. Since then, the interplay between geography, globalization, technological change, and economic policy has determined the wealth and poverty of nations. The industrial revolution was Britain's path breaking response to the challenge of globalization. Western Europe and North America joined Britain to form a club of rich nations by pursuing four polices-creating a national market by abolishing internal tariffs and investing in transportation, erecting an external tariff to protect their fledgling industries from British competition, banks to stabilize the currency and mobilize domestic savings for investment, and mass education to prepare people for industrial work. Together these countries pioneered new technologies that have made them ever richer. Before the Industrial Revolution, most of the world's manufacturing was done in Asia, but industries from Casablanca to Canton were destroyed by western competition in the nineteenth century, and Asia was transformed into 'underdeveloped countries' specializing in agriculture. The spread of economic development has been slow since modern technology was invented to fit the needs of rich countries and is ill adapted to the economic and geographical conditions of poor countries. A few countries - Japan, Soviet Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, and perhaps China - have, nonetheless, caught up with the West through creative responses to the technological challenge and with Big Push industrialization that has achieved rapid growth through investment coordination. Whether other countries can emulate the success of East Asia is a challenge for the future. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 019162053X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 192
Book Description
Why are some countries rich and others poor? In 1500, the income differences were small, but they have grown dramatically since Columbus reached America. Since then, the interplay between geography, globalization, technological change, and economic policy has determined the wealth and poverty of nations. The industrial revolution was Britain's path breaking response to the challenge of globalization. Western Europe and North America joined Britain to form a club of rich nations by pursuing four polices-creating a national market by abolishing internal tariffs and investing in transportation, erecting an external tariff to protect their fledgling industries from British competition, banks to stabilize the currency and mobilize domestic savings for investment, and mass education to prepare people for industrial work. Together these countries pioneered new technologies that have made them ever richer. Before the Industrial Revolution, most of the world's manufacturing was done in Asia, but industries from Casablanca to Canton were destroyed by western competition in the nineteenth century, and Asia was transformed into 'underdeveloped countries' specializing in agriculture. The spread of economic development has been slow since modern technology was invented to fit the needs of rich countries and is ill adapted to the economic and geographical conditions of poor countries. A few countries - Japan, Soviet Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, and perhaps China - have, nonetheless, caught up with the West through creative responses to the technological challenge and with Big Push industrialization that has achieved rapid growth through investment coordination. Whether other countries can emulate the success of East Asia is a challenge for the future. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
A Century of Economic Development of Russia and Japan
Labour, Coercion, and Economic Growth in Eurasia, 17th-20th Centuries
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004236457
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
This book shows that in Asia and Europe, 17th- early 20th century, the history of “free” labour is linked to that of coerced labour. Circulation of models, peoples, goods and institutions, and long-term growth contributed to increase coercion.
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004236457
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
This book shows that in Asia and Europe, 17th- early 20th century, the history of “free” labour is linked to that of coerced labour. Circulation of models, peoples, goods and institutions, and long-term growth contributed to increase coercion.
States and Economic Development
Author: Linda Weiss
Publisher: Polity
ISBN: 9780745614571
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 312
Book Description
This book addresses the role of political institutions in economic performance, examining the changing state-economy relationships through a comparative history of political and economic development in Britain, USA, Russia, Japan, Taiwan and Korea.
Publisher: Polity
ISBN: 9780745614571
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 312
Book Description
This book addresses the role of political institutions in economic performance, examining the changing state-economy relationships through a comparative history of political and economic development in Britain, USA, Russia, Japan, Taiwan and Korea.
Mixed Fortunes
Author: Vladimir Popov
Publisher:
ISBN: 0198703635
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 206
Book Description
The rise of the West is often attributed the presence of certain features in Western countries from the 16th century that were absent in more traditional societies: the abolition of serfdom and Protestant ethics, the protection of property rights, and free universities. The problem with this reasoning is that, before the 16th century, there were many countries with social structures that possessed these same features that didn't experience rapid productivity growth. This book offers a new interpretation of the 'Great Divergence' and 'Great Convergence' stories. It explores how Western countries grew rich and why parts of the developing world (South and East Asia and the Middle East) did not catch up with the West from 1500 to 1950 but began to narrow the gap after 1950. It also examines why others (Latin America, South Africa, and Russia) were more successful at catching up from 1500 to 1950, but then experienced a slowdown in economic growth compared to other developing countries. Mixed Fortunes offers a novel interpretation of the rise of the West and of the subsequent development of 'the rest' and China and Russia, important examples of two groups of developing countries, are examined in greater detail.
Publisher:
ISBN: 0198703635
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 206
Book Description
The rise of the West is often attributed the presence of certain features in Western countries from the 16th century that were absent in more traditional societies: the abolition of serfdom and Protestant ethics, the protection of property rights, and free universities. The problem with this reasoning is that, before the 16th century, there were many countries with social structures that possessed these same features that didn't experience rapid productivity growth. This book offers a new interpretation of the 'Great Divergence' and 'Great Convergence' stories. It explores how Western countries grew rich and why parts of the developing world (South and East Asia and the Middle East) did not catch up with the West from 1500 to 1950 but began to narrow the gap after 1950. It also examines why others (Latin America, South Africa, and Russia) were more successful at catching up from 1500 to 1950, but then experienced a slowdown in economic growth compared to other developing countries. Mixed Fortunes offers a novel interpretation of the rise of the West and of the subsequent development of 'the rest' and China and Russia, important examples of two groups of developing countries, are examined in greater detail.
Making Of An Economic Superpower, The: Unlocking China's Secret Of Rapid Industrialization
Author: Yi Wen
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814733741
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
The rise of China is no doubt one of the most important events in world economic history since the Industrial Revolution. Mainstream economics, especially the institutional theory of economic development based on a dichotomy of extractive vs. inclusive political institutions, is highly inadequate in explaining China's rise. This book argues that only a radical reinterpretation of the history of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the West (as incorrectly portrayed by the institutional theory) can fully explain China's growth miracle and why the determined rise of China is unstoppable despite its current 'backward' financial system and political institutions. Conversely, China's spectacular and rapid transformation from an impoverished agrarian society to a formidable industrial superpower sheds considerable light on the fundamental shortcomings of the institutional theory and mainstream 'blackboard' economic models, and provides more-accurate reevaluations of historical episodes such as Africa's enduring poverty trap despite radical political and economic reforms, Latin America's lost decades and frequent debt crises, 19th century Europe's great escape from the Malthusian trap, and the Industrial Revolution itself.
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814733741
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
The rise of China is no doubt one of the most important events in world economic history since the Industrial Revolution. Mainstream economics, especially the institutional theory of economic development based on a dichotomy of extractive vs. inclusive political institutions, is highly inadequate in explaining China's rise. This book argues that only a radical reinterpretation of the history of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the West (as incorrectly portrayed by the institutional theory) can fully explain China's growth miracle and why the determined rise of China is unstoppable despite its current 'backward' financial system and political institutions. Conversely, China's spectacular and rapid transformation from an impoverished agrarian society to a formidable industrial superpower sheds considerable light on the fundamental shortcomings of the institutional theory and mainstream 'blackboard' economic models, and provides more-accurate reevaluations of historical episodes such as Africa's enduring poverty trap despite radical political and economic reforms, Latin America's lost decades and frequent debt crises, 19th century Europe's great escape from the Malthusian trap, and the Industrial Revolution itself.
The Oxford Handbook of the Russian Economy
Author: Michael Alexeev
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199344132
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 864
Book Description
By 1999, Russia's economy was growing at almost 7% per year, and by 2008 reached 11th place in the world GDP rankings. Russia is now the world's second largest producer and exporter of oil, the largest producer and exporter of natural gas, and as a result has the third largest stock of foreign exchange reserves in the world, behind only China and Japan. But while this impressive economic growth has raised the average standard of living and put a number of wealthy Russians on the Forbes billionaires list, it has failed to solve the country's deep economic and social problems inherited from the Soviet times. Russia continues to suffer from a distorted economic structure, with its low labor productivity, heavy reliance on natural resource extraction, low life expectancy, high income inequality, and weak institutions. While a voluminous amount of literature has studied various individual aspects of the Russian economy, in the West there has been no comprehensive and systematic analysis of the socialist legacies, the current state, and future prospects of the Russian economy gathered in one book. The Oxford Handbook of the Russian Economy fills this gap by offering a broad range of topics written by the best Western and Russian scholars of the Russian economy. While the book's focus is the current state of the Russian economy, the first part of the book also addresses the legacy of the Soviet command economy and offers an analysis of institutional aspects of Russia's economic development over the last decade. The second part covers the most important sectors of the economy. The third part examines the economic challenges created by the gigantic magnitude of regional, geographic, ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity of Russia. The fourth part covers various social issues, including health, education, and demographic challenges. It will also examine broad policy challenges, including the tax system, rule of law, as well as corruption and the underground economy. Michael Alexeev and Shlomo Weber provide for the first time in one volume a complete, well-rounded, and essential look at the complex, emerging Russian economy.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199344132
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 864
Book Description
By 1999, Russia's economy was growing at almost 7% per year, and by 2008 reached 11th place in the world GDP rankings. Russia is now the world's second largest producer and exporter of oil, the largest producer and exporter of natural gas, and as a result has the third largest stock of foreign exchange reserves in the world, behind only China and Japan. But while this impressive economic growth has raised the average standard of living and put a number of wealthy Russians on the Forbes billionaires list, it has failed to solve the country's deep economic and social problems inherited from the Soviet times. Russia continues to suffer from a distorted economic structure, with its low labor productivity, heavy reliance on natural resource extraction, low life expectancy, high income inequality, and weak institutions. While a voluminous amount of literature has studied various individual aspects of the Russian economy, in the West there has been no comprehensive and systematic analysis of the socialist legacies, the current state, and future prospects of the Russian economy gathered in one book. The Oxford Handbook of the Russian Economy fills this gap by offering a broad range of topics written by the best Western and Russian scholars of the Russian economy. While the book's focus is the current state of the Russian economy, the first part of the book also addresses the legacy of the Soviet command economy and offers an analysis of institutional aspects of Russia's economic development over the last decade. The second part covers the most important sectors of the economy. The third part examines the economic challenges created by the gigantic magnitude of regional, geographic, ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity of Russia. The fourth part covers various social issues, including health, education, and demographic challenges. It will also examine broad policy challenges, including the tax system, rule of law, as well as corruption and the underground economy. Michael Alexeev and Shlomo Weber provide for the first time in one volume a complete, well-rounded, and essential look at the complex, emerging Russian economy.
Japan, China, and the Modern World Economy
Author: Frances V. Moulder
Publisher: CUP Archive
ISBN: 9780521211741
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
Publisher: CUP Archive
ISBN: 9780521211741
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
Japan’s Decision For War In 1941: Some Enduring Lessons
Author: Dr. Jeffrey Record
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1786252961
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 105
Book Description
Japan’s decision to attack the United States in 1941 is widely regarded as irrational to the point of suicidal. How could Japan hope to survive a war with, much less defeat, an enemy possessing an invulnerable homeland and an industrial base 10 times that of Japan? The Pacific War was one that Japan was always going to lose, so how does one explain Tokyo’s decision? Did the Japanese recognize the odds against them? Did they have a concept of victory, or at least of avoiding defeat? Or did the Japanese prefer a lost war to an unacceptable peace? Dr. Jeffrey Record takes a fresh look at Japan’s decision for war, and concludes that it was dictated by Japanese pride and the threatened economic destruction of Japan by the United States. He believes that Japanese aggression in East Asia was the root cause of the Pacific War, but argues that the road to war in 1941 was built on American as well as Japanese miscalculations and that both sides suffered from cultural ignorance and racial arrogance. Record finds that the Americans underestimated the role of fear and honor in Japanese calculations and overestimated the effectiveness of economic sanctions as a deterrent to war, whereas the Japanese underestimated the cohesion and resolve of an aroused American society and overestimated their own martial prowess as a means of defeating U.S. material superiority. He believes that the failure of deterrence was mutual, and that the descent of the United States and Japan into war contains lessons of great and continuing relevance to American foreign policy and defense decision-makers.
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1786252961
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 105
Book Description
Japan’s decision to attack the United States in 1941 is widely regarded as irrational to the point of suicidal. How could Japan hope to survive a war with, much less defeat, an enemy possessing an invulnerable homeland and an industrial base 10 times that of Japan? The Pacific War was one that Japan was always going to lose, so how does one explain Tokyo’s decision? Did the Japanese recognize the odds against them? Did they have a concept of victory, or at least of avoiding defeat? Or did the Japanese prefer a lost war to an unacceptable peace? Dr. Jeffrey Record takes a fresh look at Japan’s decision for war, and concludes that it was dictated by Japanese pride and the threatened economic destruction of Japan by the United States. He believes that Japanese aggression in East Asia was the root cause of the Pacific War, but argues that the road to war in 1941 was built on American as well as Japanese miscalculations and that both sides suffered from cultural ignorance and racial arrogance. Record finds that the Americans underestimated the role of fear and honor in Japanese calculations and overestimated the effectiveness of economic sanctions as a deterrent to war, whereas the Japanese underestimated the cohesion and resolve of an aroused American society and overestimated their own martial prowess as a means of defeating U.S. material superiority. He believes that the failure of deterrence was mutual, and that the descent of the United States and Japan into war contains lessons of great and continuing relevance to American foreign policy and defense decision-makers.