Global Economic History
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 cha...
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.
作者 羅伯特?C.艾倫
牛津大學(xué)經(jīng)濟(jì)史教授，英國(guó)社會(huì)科學(xué)院院士。致力于經(jīng)濟(jì)史、技術(shù)革新和公共管理策略等方面的研究。著有《近代英國(guó)工業(yè)革命揭秘：放眼全球的深度透視》等。
序言作者 蕭國(guó)亮
經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)博士，北京大學(xué)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)院教授，博士生導(dǎo)師，北京大學(xué)工學(xué)院教授，博士生導(dǎo)師，北京大學(xué)社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)史研究所名譽(yù)所長(zhǎng)。兼任國(guó)家清史編纂委員會(huì)典志組副組長(zhǎng)，清華大學(xué)華商研究所學(xué)術(shù)委員。自1980年以來(lái)，出版專(zhuān)著十部，發(fā)表論文一百余篇。主要著作有《皇權(quán)與中國(guó)社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)》、《獨(dú)特的“食貨”之路——中國(guó)社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)史研究》、《世界經(jīng)濟(jì)史》、《中華人民共和國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)史》、《家庭金融知識(shí)大全》等。