British Economic Growth 1270-1870

Steve Broadberry, Theme 1 leader from "The Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy" will be launching his book “British Economic Growth 1270-1870” Cambridge University Press, co authored with Campbell, Klein, Overton and van Leeuwen.

British Academy, London
15th May 2015, 10:00 - 5:00

This is an important new book on economic history and a definitive new account of Britain's economic evolution from a backwater of Europe in 1270 to the hub of the global economy in 1870. The team reconstruct Britain's national accounts for the first time right back into the thirteenth century to show what really happened quantitatively during the centuries leading up to the Industrial Revolution. Contrary to traditional views of the earlier period as one of Malthusian stagnation, they reveal how the transition to modern economic growth built on the earlier foundations of a persistent upward trend in GDP per capita which doubled between 1270 and 1700. Featuring comprehensive estimates of population, land use, agricultural production, industrial and service-sector production and GDP per capita, as well as analysis of their implications, this will be an essential reference for anyone interested in British economic history and the origins of modern economic growth more generally.

Programme

10.00-11.00: Registration and coffee
11.00-13.00: Session 1 (Chair: Jane Humphries)
11.00-11.30: Stephen Broadberry: "Long-term trends in Britain, 1270-1870"
11.30-12.00: Mark Overton: "Agriculture, food and raw material supplies and nutrition"
12.00-12.30: Bruce Campbell: "Britain in international perspective"
12.30-13.00: General discussion
13.00-14.00: Buffet lunch in the Gallery
14.00-16.00: Session 2 (Chair: Nicholas Crafts)
14.00-14.30: Gunnar Persson: "Growth or stagnation in pre-industrial Britain?"
14.30-15.00: Knick Harley: "The uses (and abuses) of very long term historical GDP estimates"
15.00-15.30: Giovanni Federico: "The Holy Grail of Economic History: long-run economic growth and the industrial revolution in Britain"
15.30-16.00: General discussion
16.00-17.00: Wine reception