Early State Economics

Author : Henri Claessen
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351316583
Total Pages : 266 pages
Book Rating : 4.83/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Early State Economics written by Henri Claessen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The central theme of this volume is the political economy of early state societies: the ways in which the income of the central government of such systems was collected and spent. The work contains descriptive as well as narrative and commemorative essays. Contributions present data on early states as diverse as the Interlacustrine states of East Africa, the Sudanic states of West Africa, prehistoric Cahokia in the Mississippi Valley, Aztec Mexico, the Classical Maya, eighteenth-century Nepal, and Polynesian, Tahitian, and Mayan case studies. At the theoretical end of the spectrum, the book offers a general discussion of the concept of political economy; modes of production in antiquity, and the editors themselves offer an overview of early state organizational forms. With the data of the contributions to this volume, such theoretical viewpoints are evaluated. The conclusion is that inherited approaches fall far short of explaining the political economies of early states. The editors of this volume maintain that much thinking on this issue of the early state is off-base because it is confined to the study of redistribution. They hold that a prestige goods system is probably as important, while in some cases, the key factor to look at is tribute or taxation. Likewise, the system of gift giving, often viewed as ancillary, should be considered central to the performance of the ancient states. In short, political economy is rooted in the stages of social growth. Nearly all contributors agree that simple evolutionary generalizations can no longer be applied to specific cases without considerable modification, and in this undertaking formalist and Marxist canons alike need to be invoked for a deeper understanding of the actual operations of the state in earlier societies.

Author : Birsen Filip
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1000755509
Total Pages : 285 pages
Book Rating : 4.03/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Early History of Economics in the United States written by Birsen Filip and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-10-24 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the latter half of the 20th century, the economics departments of American universities were internationally renowned for providing competitive and advanced levels of education. However, from the 1870s up until the beginning of WWI, German universities held international supremacy when it came to the quality of teaching, the enrollment of foreign students, and scholarly publications. This book examines the role of the German Historical School of Economics (GHSE) in the development of the discipline of economics in the US during this period. The chapters explain that, prior to the influence of the GHSE, political economy was in a dismal state in the US, both as a profession and an academic discipline. As a result, many Americans elected to go to Germany in pursuit of an advanced education in political economy, having been inspired by the unmatched international reputations of theorists of the GHSE. After they returned home, these German-trained Americans challenged the dominant status of classical orthodoxy and revolutionized the discipline of economics in the US by importing the ideas, methods, and approaches of the GHSE. In doing so, they established the first dedicated political economy departments, graduate programs, and chairs at American universities and colleges. Although the precise magnitude and value of the influence of the GHSE is impossible to quantify, there is no doubt that Americans are deeply indebted to this school of thought for its contributions to the early development of the discipline of economics in the US. The chapters also examine what has been lost since: the current mainstream in economics has eliminated many of the features that were once so important to the discipline that it has effectively limited contemporary economics to a small fraction of the complex organism defined by the German Historical School. This situation has facilitated the poverty of the leading economic school of thought, as well as the discipline of economics in general. This book represents a significant contribution to the literature on the history of economic thought and economic education in the US. It will be of particular interest to students and scholars of economics, political science, sociology, and the philosophy of economics.

Author : Christopher W. Calvo
Publisher : University Press of Florida
ISBN 13 : 0813057442
Total Pages : 309 pages
Book Rating : 4.46/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Emergence of Capitalism in Early America written by Christopher W. Calvo and published by University Press of Florida. This book was released on 2020-02-03 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Due to the enormous influence of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations on Western liberal economics, a tradition closely linked to the United States, many scholars assume that early American economists were committed to Smith’s ideas of free trade and small government. Debunking this belief, Christopher W. Calvo provides a comprehensive history of the nation’s economic thought from 1790 to 1860, tracing the development of a uniquely American understanding of capitalism. The Emergence of Capitalism in Early America shows how American economists challenged, adjusted, and adopted the ideas of European thinkers such as Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and Thomas Malthus to suit their particular interests. Calvo not only explains the divisions between American free trade and the version put forward by Smith, but he also discusses the sharp differences between northern and southern liberal economists. Emergent capitalism fostered a dynamic discourse in early America, including a homegrown version of socialism burgeoning in antebellum industrial quarters, as well as a reactionary brand of conservative economic thought circulating on slave plantations across the Old South. This volume also traces the origins and rise of nineteenth-century protectionism, a system that Calvo views as the most authentic expression of American political economy. Finally, Calvo examines early Americans’ awkward relationship with capitalism’s most complex institution—finance. Grounded in the economic debates, Atlantic conversations, political milieu, and material realities of the antebellum era, this book demonstrates that American thinkers fused different economic models, assumptions, and interests into a unique hybrid-capitalist system that shaped the trajectory of the nation’s economy.

Author : Timothy Earle
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429970544
Total Pages : 465 pages
Book Rating : 4.42/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Bronze Age Economics written by Timothy Earle and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-02-13 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Timothy Earle has set out to offer the most comprehensive view now available of the economic foundations of early societies, and it may well be that he has succeeded. Bronze Age Economics is a pioneering contribution to archaeological theory." —Colin Renfrew, University of Cambridge

Author : Roger E Backhouse
Publisher : Penguin UK
ISBN 13 : 0141937432
Total Pages : 311 pages
Book Rating : 4.34/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Penguin History of Economics written by Roger E Backhouse and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2002-01-31 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive guide to the history of economic thought, fully revised twenty years after first publication Roger Backhouse's definitive guide takes the story of economic thinking from the ancient world to the present day, with a brand-new chapter on the twenty-first century and updates throughout to reflect the latest scholarship. Covering topics including globalisation, inequality, financial crises and the environment, Backhouse brings his breadth of expertise and a contemporary lens to this original and insightful exploration of economics, revealing how we got to where we are today.

Author : Marshall Sahlins
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134362072
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.73/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Stone Age Economics written by Marshall Sahlins and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-04-03 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stone Age Economics is a classic of economic anthropology, ambitiously tackling the nature of economic life and how to study it comparatively. This collection of six influential essays is one of Marshall Sahlins' most important and enduring works, claiming that stone age economies formed the original affluent society. The book examines notions of production, distribution and exchange in early communities and examines the link between economics and cultural and social factors. This edition includes a new foreword by the author.

Author : John Kenneth Galbraith
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400889073
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.75/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Economics in Perspective written by John Kenneth Galbraith and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-08-29 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Economics in Perspective, renowned economist John Kenneth Galbraith presents a compelling and accessible history of economic ideas, from Aristotle through the twentieth century. Examining theories of the past that have a continuing modern resonance, he shows that economics is not a timeless, objective science, but is continually evolving as it is shaped by specific times and places. From Adam Smith's theories during the Industrial Revolution to those of John Maynard Keynes after the Great Depression, Galbraith demonstrates that if economic ideas are to remain relevant, they must continually adapt to the world they inhabit. A lively examination of economic thought in historical context, Economics in Perspective shows how the field has evolved across the centuries.

Author : Masayuki Tanimoto
Publisher : University of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520303652
Total Pages : 348 pages
Book Rating : 4.52/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Public Goods Provision in the Early Modern Economy written by Masayuki Tanimoto and published by University of California Press. This book was released on 2018-12-04 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At publication date, a free ebook version of this title will be available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Scholarly discussions on economic development in history, specifically those linked to industrialization or modern economic growth, have paid great attention to the formation and development of the market economy as a set of institutions able to augment people’s welfare. The role of specific nonmarket practices for promoting the economic development and welfare has been a distinct concern, typically involving discussion of the state’s economic policies. How have societies tackled those issues that the market did not? To what extent did those solutions reflect the structure of an economy? Public Goods Provision in the Early Modern Economy explores these questions by investigating efforts made for the provision of "public goods" in early modern economies from the perspective of Japanese socioeconomic history during Tokugawa era (1603–1868), and by comparing those cases with others from Europe and China’s economic history. The contributors focus on three areas of inquiry—early modern era welfare policies for the poor, infrastructure, and forest management—to provide both a unique perspective on Japanese public finance at local levels and a vantage point outside of Europe to encourage a more global view of early modern political economies that shaped subsequent modern transformations.

Author : Paul Bairoch
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226034631
Total Pages : 200 pages
Book Rating : 4.38/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Economics and World History written by Paul Bairoch and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1995-09 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paul Bairoch deflates twenty commonly held myths about economic history. Among these myths are that free trade and population growth have historically led to periods of economic growth, and that colonial powers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries became rich through the exploitation of the Third World. Bairoch shows that these beliefs are based on insufficient knowledge and wrong interpretations of the history of economies of the United States, Europe, and the Third World, and he re-examines the facts to set the record straight. Bairoch argues that until the early 1960s, the history of international trade of the developed countries was almost entirely one of protectionism rather than a "Golden Era" of free trade, and he reveals that, in fact, past periods of economic growth in the Western World correlated strongly with protectionist policy. He also demonstrates that developed countries did not exploit the Third World for raw materials during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as some economists and many politicians have held. Among the many other myths that Bairoch debunks are beliefs about whether colonization triggered the Industrial Revolution, the effects of the economic development of the West on the Third World, and beliefs about the 1929 crash and the Great Depression. Bairoch's lucid prose makes the book equally accessible to economists of every stripe, as well as to historians, political scientists, and other social scientists.

Author : Marshall Sahlins
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000159876
Total Pages : 252 pages
Book Rating : 4.75/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Stone Age Economics written by Marshall Sahlins and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-10-28 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stone Age Economics is a classic study of anthropological economics, first published in 1974. Ambitiously tackling the nature of economic life and how to study it comparatively, the book includes six studies which reflect the author's ideas on revising traditional views of the hunter-gatherer and so-called primitive societies, revealing them to be the original affluent society. The book examines notions of production, distribution and exchange in early communities and examines the link between economics and cultural and social factors. It consists of a set of detailed and closely related studies of tribal economies, of domestic production for livelihood, and of the submission of domestic production to the material and political demands of society at large.