Module leader

Nick Crafts

Information on Restrictions and Pre- and co-requisites, Teaching Format, Academic Aims, and Learning Objectives can be found in the module thumbprint.

Context

30 CATS. See your degree course regulations.

Teaching format

40 lectures plus 8 classes.

Assessment

3–hour examination in June.

Academic aims

This module explains how the world economy got to be where it is today, focusing on the transformation to modern economic growth and the divergence between rich and poor nations. The long term changes in world income and population are explained and quantified. The key factors and theories that explain the success of rich countries and the obstacles that have hindered economic advance in lagging regions are identified and explored.

Syllabus

Term 1

• Long run trends in population and per capita income
• The Great Divergence
• Transition to modern economic growth
• The rise of the USA to pre-eminence
• The Demographic Transition

Term 2

• Globalisation: then and now
• The interwar globalisation backlash
• Catching up and falling behind
• Overtaking and staying ahead
• East Asian miracle, African atrophy

Illustrative reading

• Allen, R. (2009), The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective, Cambridge: Cambridge university Press.
• Cameron, R. and Neal, L.(2003), A Concise Economic History of the World: From Paleolithic Times to the Present, (4^th edition), New York: Oxford University Press.
• Eichengreen, B. (1996), Globalizing Capital, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Kenwood, A.G. and Lougheed, A.L. (1999), The Growth of the International Economy, 1820-1990: An Introductory Text, (4^th edition), London: Routledge.
• Landes, D. (1998), The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, London: Little, Brown.
• Maddison, A. (2001), The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective, Paris: OECD.