An Introduction to Economic and Business History

• Competing views of pre-industrial growth: Malthus vs. Smith.
• Population, economic growth and resource constraints.
• The demographic transition.
• Measurement issues. 

• Institutions and efficiency.
• Market performance in history.
• The evolution of labour markets.
• Co-operatives.
• Contracts. 

• The industrial revolution.
• Technology transfer and catch-up. 

• The origins of money.
• The emergence of paper money.
• The impact of banks on economic growth. 

• The comparative advantage argument for free trade.
• Trade patterns in history.
• Trade policy and growth. 

• Why is an international monetary regime necessary?
• Lessons from history for today. 

• The long farewell to economic orthodoxy.
• Successes and failures of macroeconomic management in the second half of the twentieth century.
• Socialist economies.
• The welfare state. 

• Why is there inequality?
• Measuring inequality.
• Gender inequality.
• World income distribution. 

• Globalization and the law of one price.
• What drives globalization?
• Globalization backlash! 

• The company between the preindustrial era and the First Industrial Revolution.
• The birth and consolidation of big business.
• State and market in the interwar period.
• From World War Two to the Third Industrial Revolution. 

• Where to find online and other published databases.
• Where to find archival and other historical sources.
• Using historical data and sources. 

• Identify, explain, and reflect upon the main topics within economic and business history
• Explain and reflect upon different explanations for pre-industrial and modern growth, including demography, institutions,
• nowledge, and technology
• Explain and reflect upon the economic history of money
• Describe and identify the main developments in the history of trade
• Describe and identify the main international monetary regimes in history
• Describe the changes in inequality over time, and explain how to measure this
• Describe and reflect upon the history of globalization and the challenges it presents
• Describe and reflect upon the evolution of the firm

• Use simple data methods to analyse historical data
• Apply economic theory as it relates to economic and business history
• Present and summarize academic work (for example journal articles) relating to economic history

• Independently apply models and theories related to economic and business history
• Identify a need for further development of the models and theories related to economic and business history 

• Persson, K.G. and P. Sharp (2015), “An Economic History of Europe: Knowledge, Institutions and Growth, 600 to the Present”, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press [and online material on the book’s website]. 
• F. Amatori and A. Colli (2011), “Business History: Complexities and Comparisons”, Routledge. Selected sections.

There will be 30 lectures of 2 hours each. 2 of these hours per week will be devoted to going through the required reading. Students are expected to have read the reading material before they come to class. The other 2 hours will focus on student presentations of relevant articles and books related to the curriculum, as well as preparation for writing bachelor and master’s theses incorporating economic history. In relation to the presentations, the students will write a short one page summary of the paper they have been allocated, which will form the basis of class discussion.

Scheduled classes: 

4 lectures weekly for 15 weeks. 

2 exercise classes weekly for 14 weeks

Workload:

The students' workload is expected to be distributed as follows: