具体描述
"An Economic History of Europe" provides students with a comprehensive introduction to European economic history from the fifteenth century to the present day. Individual chapters offer brief references to previous historical periods and events, with special attention given to core themes concerning economic development, and an analysis of their change through time and space. Core themes examined in each period include: the increasing prominence of industry; international trade; demand and supply dynamics; and agriculture. The unique structure of this text enables students not only to gain a firm grounding in the long-term evolution of the European economy, but also provides an historical overview of the economic development of individual countries. Individual contributors analyze the shift from the modern to the contemporary period and offer a broad explanation of the historical roots of the problems that face today's economic development. This key new text will prove indispensable reading for students in economics, economic history, development economics and history.
作者简介
Giuseppe Bracco is Professor of Economic History at the University of Turin.
Albert Carreras is Professor of Economic History at Universitat Pompeu Fabra
of Barcelona.
John A. Davis is Professor of History at the University of Connecticut, Storrs
CT.
Antonio Di Vittorio is Professor of Economic History at the University of Bari
and President of the Italian Association of Economic Historians.
Giovanni Luigi Fontana is Professor of Economic History at the University of
Padua.
Alberto Guenzi is Professor of Economic History and Dean of the Economics
Faculty at the University of Parma.
Paola Massa is Professor of Economic History and Dean of the Economics
Faculty at the University of Genoa.
目录信息
List of tables x
List of contributors xiii
Introduction xv
1 The economy in the fifteenth century: preconditions for
European expansion 1
PAOLO MASSA
An integrated economic system: Europe in the fifteenth century 1
The supply of and demand for goods: agricultural and manufactured goods 7
Work organization and techniques 14
Geographical and economic expansion 19
2 European expansion in the sixteenth century 26
GIUSEPPE BRACCO
Population 26
Agriculture 30
Anticipating the new science 33
International exchanges 37
Finance 40
Different roles in Europe 43
3 European expansion in the seventeenth century 54
ALBERTO GUENZI
General trends 54
Demography: crisis and recovery 54
Agriculture and land ownership 58
Cities, manufacturing, commerce and finance 62
New powers 67
Mercantilism and the formation of the modern state 67
Holland 68
France 75
England 82
An overall view 89
4 The European economies in the eighteenth century 92
JOHN A. DAVIS
New perspectives on economic modernization and Europe’s many paths to
the twentieth century 92
European economic development in the eighteenth century: the central themes 96
Agrarian Europe, 1700–1800 100
The enigma of the eighteenth century: the demographic revolution 106
The growth of trade 108
Industries and manufactures 114
The role of the state 125
The Napoleonic era 129
5 The economic development of Europe in the nineteenth
century (I): growth and transformation of the economy 135
GIOVANNI LUIGI FONTANA
A century of continuous growth 135
Economic growth and national accounts 137
Structural changes 138
Rates, phases and models of growth: theories and interpretations 140
6 The economic development of Europe in the nineteenth
century (II): demographic dynamics and social change;
the role of agriculture 154
GIOVANNI LUIGI FONTANA
The European demographic revolution 154
The ‘new demographic model’ 158
Urbanization, migration and colonization 162
Changes in the agricultural sector 168
7 The economic development of Europe in the nineteenth
century (III): the process of industrialization 176
GIOVANNI LUIGI FONTANA
Great Britain and continental Europe 176
The age of machines, coal and steam 179
vi Contents
The ‘second industrial revolution’: the Age of Steel, Chemicals and Electricity 186
Agents of industrialization 189
National pathways 195
The economic development of Europe in the nineteenth
century (IV): the revolution in transport and
communications 208
GIOVANNI LUIGI FONTANA
Roads and canals 208
The advent and development of the railways 210
Maritime transport 215
The economic consequences 217
The telegraph and the globalization of information 219
The economic development of Europe in the nineteenth
century (V): international exchanges and monetary systems 222
GIOVANNI LUIGI FONTANA
Europe and the world economy 222
The triumph of free trade and the development of international trade 223
Return to protectionism 226
Colonialism 228
The international economy 229
The balance of payments and the gold standard 234
The twentieth century – from break with the past to
prosperity (I): growth and transformation of the economy 239
ALBERT CARRERAS
Introduction to Chapters 10–12: the starting point 239
Century-long growth 240
The demographic evolution 241
Economic potential 245
Per capita income 247
Societies with a high level of consumption 249
The driving role of technological progress 254
Structural change: the decline of agriculture 258
Structural change: industrialization and deindustrialization 261
Inter-industrial composition: from textiles to electronics 263
The rise of large-scale enterprise 265
Diversification of services 269
National growth models 271
Contents vii
11 The twentieth century – from break with the past to
prosperity (II): the great stages 289
ALBERT CARRERAS
Fluctuations in the economy 289
The Great War and tentative peace 293
The ‘roaring twenties’ and the crisis of the 1930s 296
The Second World War and plans for the new international economic order 304
Preparing for reconstruction 307
Post-war reconstruction, division into blocs and regional integration 309
The emergence of the Third World; the Golden Age 314
Oil crises, stagflation and challenges from outside Europe 320
Fall of the Soviet bloc, resumption of European integration and globalization 325
Globalization 332
12 The twentieth century – from break with the past to
prosperity (III): economic and social policies 335
ALBERT CARRERAS
Property rights policies 335
State interventionism 339
Expenditure policies 341
Trade policies 345
Stabilization policies 347
Co-operation policies 351
Bibliography 354
Index 366
· · · · · · (收起)
读后感
用户评价
这本书带我走进了一个全新的视角，去理解欧洲社会是如何一步步走向现代的。它不仅仅罗列了历史事件，而是将经济因素置于核心位置，展示了经济力量如何深刻地影响着政治格局、社会阶层乃至文化思想的演进。我尤其对书中关于工业革命前后经济结构的剧烈变化感到震撼。从手工劳动到工厂生产，从乡村农业到城市工业，这种转型所带来的社会动荡、阶级分化以及新的经济理论的诞生，都被描绘得淋漓尽致。书中对资本主义的兴起、市场经济的形成、以及随之而来的周期性危机和经济政策的调整，进行了细致的梳理。阅读过程中，我仿佛能感受到蒸汽机的轰鸣，闻到煤炭燃烧的气味，甚至能体会到普通劳动者在巨变中所经历的挣扎与希望。这是一部需要细细品味的著作，它要求读者投入时间和精力去理解那些错综复杂的经济逻辑和历史因果。
一本宏大的史诗，却也如同一面清晰的镜子，映照出欧洲经济变迁的曲折历程。从漫长的史前时期，经济的萌芽与初步发展，到古罗马帝国时期，商品流通的繁荣与古典经济的精髓，再到中世纪的庄园经济、行会制度，以及随后地理大发现带来的全球贸易扩张，每一个节点都充满了令人着迷的细节。书中对农业技术的进步、手工业的分工、商业网络的形成，乃至货币和信贷体系的演变，都进行了深入的剖析。作者并没有停留在简单的叙述，而是试图挖掘这些经济活动背后的驱动力，分析社会结构、政治制度、技术创新乃至地理环境是如何相互作用，共同塑造了欧洲经济的独特轨迹。读来不禁让人思考，那些看似遥远的古代经济模式，与我们今天所处的全球化经济体系，究竟有着怎样的基因联系。它不仅是一部经济史，更是一部关于人类勤劳、智慧、合作与冲突的宏大画卷。
这本书的价值在于它提供了一个俯瞰欧洲经济发展全貌的绝佳平台。它跨越了漫长的时间尺度，从早期人类的交换行为，到封建经济的演变，再到资本主义的崛起和全球化的形成，几乎涵盖了欧洲经济史上最重要的里程碑。作者在分析过程中，巧妙地引入了不同学派的经济思想，并对它们在历史进程中的作用进行了评价。我印象深刻的是书中对两次世界大战前后欧洲经济格局的重塑，以及战后经济一体化的进程。这些分析不仅揭示了历史的逻辑，也为我们理解当今世界经济秩序提供了深刻的洞见。它提醒我们，经济的历史并非线性的进步，而是充满了反复、挑战与适应。阅读这本书，就像是穿越了数个世纪的欧洲，亲眼见证了经济力量如何塑造文明，又如何被文明所塑造。
这是一次令人意想不到的阅读体验。原本以为经济史会是枯燥乏味的数字和理论堆砌，但这本书却以其生动的笔触和宏观的视野，颠覆了我的认知。作者仿佛是一位技艺精湛的织匠，将散落在历史长河中的经济碎片，精心编织成一幅色彩斑斓的图景。从古希腊城邦的贸易网络，到中世纪欧洲的宗教改革对经济思想的影响，再到近代欧洲各国争霸背后隐藏的经济动机，每一个章节都像是一个独立而又相互关联的故事。书中对人口增长、资源开发、技术传播以及殖民扩张等因素与经济发展之间的互动关系，进行了深入的探讨。我特别欣赏作者在分析经济现象时，并没有忽略人文精神和社会伦理的维度。它让我明白，经济发展并非孤立的存在，而是深深地植根于人类社会的情感、价值观和集体选择之中。
读完这本书，我感觉自己仿佛经历了一场思想的洗礼。它不仅仅是一部关于“钱”的历史，更是一部关于人类如何组织生产、分配资源、创造财富，以及在此过程中所面临的机遇与挑战的史诗。书中对不同时期欧洲社会经济结构的分析，尤其引人入胜。从等级森严的封建社会，到充满活力的商业资本主义，再到日益复杂的现代工业经济，每一个阶段都展现了独特的经济逻辑和运作方式。作者在探讨技术创新如何推动经济增长的同时，也审视了经济发展带来的社会不平等和环境问题。它让我意识到，经济的历史是一个不断博弈、不断调整的过程，它受到政治、文化、科技以及无数个体选择的共同影响。这本书的深度和广度，都远远超出了我的预期，它让我对欧洲的过去有了更深刻的理解，也对当下的经济现实有了更清晰的认识。
