Economic History

Module: EC2034

This module covers the main themes of the Economic History of the world of the last 1000 years.  The aim is to explain how the world economy achieved the current state and to analyse the reasons why some areas and countries have been more or less successful in terms of economic and social development, measured in long-term changes in income and population.  We will identify and study three key moments in the last 1000 years: the black death of the 14th century; the 'discovery' of the Americas in the 16th century ; and the industrial revolution at the turn of the 19th century.

We will not just look at economic outcomes, but also at social and political evolutions and we will look at culture, institutions, military power as the main determinants of these outcomes.  You will use recent research in economics that will enable you to find causal relationships between features like the quality of institutions and economic development.