The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Economy

Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World

by Walter Scheidel (Editor)

The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Economy offers readers a comprehensive and innovative introduction to the economy of the Roman Empire. Focusing on the principal determinants, features, and consequences of Roman economic development and integrating additional web-based materials, it is designed as an up-to-date survey that is accessible to all audiences. Five main sections discuss theoretical approaches drawn from Economics, labor regimes, the production of power and goods, various means of distribution from markets to predation, and the success and ultimate failure of the Roman economy. The book not only covers traditionally prominent features such as slavery, food production, and monetization but also highlights the importance of previously neglected aspects such as the role of human capital, energy generation, rent-taking, logistics, and human wellbeing, and convenes a group of five experts to debate the nature of Roman trade.

Genres: History, Economics, Ancient History, Roman, Nonfiction

458 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2012

About the author

Dickason Professor in the Humanities
Professor of Classics and History
Catherine R. Kennedy and Daniel L. Grossman Fellow in Human Biology

Walter Scheidel is the Dickason Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Classics and History, and a Kennedy-Grossman Fellow in Human Biology at Stanford University. The author or editor of sixteen previous books, he has published widely on premodern social and economic history, demography, and comparative history. He lives in Palo Alto, California.

Scheidel's research ranges from ancient social and economic history and premodern historical demography to the comparative and transdisciplinary world history of inequality, state formation, and human welfare. He is particularly interested in connecting the humanities, the social sciences, and the life sciences.

Reviews

[Laphirax Helminen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manual de cajón sobre la economía romana, escrito por especialistas en cada uno de los temas que toca el libro. No puedo calificarlo mejor por la excesiva transversalidad en los capítulos, lo que le resta historicidad, sin embargo es algo que se puede suplir con otra obra editada por Walter Scheidel junto con Ian Morris y Richard Saller "The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World". Ambos libros quizá no son de agrado para todos los historiadores de la economía debido a las perspectivas de algunos autores, las cuales no cuentan con mucho consenso, pero esto no les resta utilidad.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great volume of essays covering the major areas of debate and research in the Roman economy. It effortlessly distils decades' worth of research into easily manageable chapters and sub-chapters. The range of scholars is also top-notch, with Hawkins, Saller, and Scheidel the most relevant to my own interests and writing. I can imagine myself going back to this book over and over again as I continue my studying.
4/5

[ErnstG · Rating 4 out of 5]

An authoratative book that sets out, in thematic chapters, what is known about this subject, written for historians rather than economists. There are many gaps in the knowledge although in some ways it is surprising that a reasonable picture can be constructed by means of detective work. Of course the picture changed in the course of this long-lasting empire.

[Sander Boek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting collection of essays concerning the Roman economy. The intellectual level of the essays is diverse -some are very thought-provoking, others are mere summaries of earlier points of view. The bibliography is very useful for further reading/studying the interesting subject of the Roman economy.