The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Europe: Volume 2, 1870 to the Present

Description

Unlike most existing textbooks on the economic history of modern Europe, which offer a country-by-country approach, The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Europe rethinks Europe's economic history since 1700 as unified and pan-European, with the material organized by topic rather than by country. This second volume tracks Europe's economic history through three major phases since 1870. The first phase was an age of globalization and of European economic and political dominance that lasted until the First World War. The second, from 1914 to 1945, was one of war, deglobalization, and depression and the third was one of growing integration not only within Europe but also between Europe and the global economy. Leading authors offer comprehensive and accessible introductions to these patterns of globalization and deglobalization as well as to key themes in modern economic history such as economic growth, business cycles, sectoral developments, and population and living standards.

Stephen Broadberry is Professor of Economic History at the University of Warwick and a co-ordinator of the Economic History Initiative at the Centre for Economic and Policy Research. His recent publications include The Economics of World War I (2005, as co-editor) and Market Services and the Productivity Race, 1850-2000: Britain in International Perspective (2006). Kevin O'Rourke is Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin and a co-organiser of the Centre for Economic and Policy Research's Economic History Initiative. His recent publications include The International Trading System, Globalization and History, 2 volumes, (as editor, 2005) and Power and Plenty: Trade, War, and the World Economy in the Second Millennium (2007, with Ronald Findlay).

'This ambitious and timely book is something quite new: a multi-authored undergraduate economic history text that is resolutely pan-European in its approach. The promiscuous presence of so many nation-states in virtually every chapter is very exciting. The outcome - an explicitly comparative and interdisciplinary analysis (with lots of elementary and intermediate economics) by three dozen of the best practitioners in the field - is a resounding success.' Cormac O Grada, University College Dublin 'Earlier economic histories of Europe were organized by country, which left the reader unable to see linkages between national economies or to appreciate how the several national economies differed or were similar. This very fine treatment is thus long overdue. The editors have organized a large, talented team of specialist scholars to create a coherent, up-to-date treatment. This work will quickly find a place in both teaching and research.' Timothy W. Guinnane, Yale University 'The first unified economic history of Modern Europe provides a wide-angle perspective on an epic process of development that transcends national boundaries. Academics, students, policymakers and interested readers will turn to the essays by leading experts in the field for many years to come.' Alan M. Taylor, University of California, Davis