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Wirtschaftskrisen: Geschichte und Gegenwart
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128 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
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April 21, 2020
Concise book on the history of economic crises. Loads heavier on (post-)industrial-age financial crises. Very light on citations with good glossary and bibliography for further readings.
His main viewpoint is that modern capitalist crisis are just a natural, and to some extent necessary phenomenon for economies. He takes side with Marx in saying that the reason for crisis is not be found in the ruthlessness of single individuals.
Up until 1800 every crisis was always agricultural in its nature. Bad harvests due to worsened climatic conditions induce a shortage of food and thus a contraction of population and livestock. A usual feature of depression years in pre-industrial periods was the so-called cerealization of consumer baskets (cf. Abel), referring to the fact that people substituted animal proteins with cheaper cereals. This lead to declining human health (cf. e.g. Fogel, Livi-Bacci, among others). Every now and then such a cycle was also induced by pathogens that infected humans, livestock or crops.
In good harvest years - induced by good climatic conditions - income per capita was rising and population expanding until a point were the carrying capacity of the land was reached. In the absence of (agricultural) technological progress this eventually lead to a decrease in population. These elements constitute the so-called Malthusian cycle.
Throughout the 19th century (abstracting from the Irish potato famine, some events in India etc.) these phenomena vanished. Increasing agricultural productivity, and, most importantly, the advent of railroads that made large-scale transportation of high weight, low value goods like grains viable ensured that deaths from hunger became a thing from the past.
Early failures of banks or local depressions never had a global effect because the economic system was not as intertwined as today. The advent of large-scale financial markets changed the situation dramatically. The first really global crisis occurred in 1857/58 with the USA and Britain being the main protagonists. Prussia (Germany) managed to shield itself from this first crisis but was at the epicenter of the second global crisis in 1873, which, in addition to railroads and steel, was now also fueled by construction and the growing electrical and chemical industries. Prussia then was the first state to introduce a social security net for its populace and also tried to help the economy by providing liquidity. Something which was not seen in the US where the state did not act.
As a byproduct the author also illustrates the evolution of economic thought. From the early "classics" like Jean-Baptiste Say through Marx, the fall of "liberalism", the advent of Keynes, the answer of Friedman and his monetarists during the stagflation, and the eventual re-birth of Keynesianism in recent decades.
His main viewpoint is that modern capitalist crisis are just a natural, and to some extent necessary phenomenon for economies. He takes side with Marx in saying that the reason for crisis is not be found in the ruthlessness of single individuals.
Up until 1800 every crisis was always agricultural in its nature. Bad harvests due to worsened climatic conditions induce a shortage of food and thus a contraction of population and livestock. A usual feature of depression years in pre-industrial periods was the so-called cerealization of consumer baskets (cf. Abel), referring to the fact that people substituted animal proteins with cheaper cereals. This lead to declining human health (cf. e.g. Fogel, Livi-Bacci, among others). Every now and then such a cycle was also induced by pathogens that infected humans, livestock or crops.
In good harvest years - induced by good climatic conditions - income per capita was rising and population expanding until a point were the carrying capacity of the land was reached. In the absence of (agricultural) technological progress this eventually lead to a decrease in population. These elements constitute the so-called Malthusian cycle.
Throughout the 19th century (abstracting from the Irish potato famine, some events in India etc.) these phenomena vanished. Increasing agricultural productivity, and, most importantly, the advent of railroads that made large-scale transportation of high weight, low value goods like grains viable ensured that deaths from hunger became a thing from the past.
Early failures of banks or local depressions never had a global effect because the economic system was not as intertwined as today. The advent of large-scale financial markets changed the situation dramatically. The first really global crisis occurred in 1857/58 with the USA and Britain being the main protagonists. Prussia (Germany) managed to shield itself from this first crisis but was at the epicenter of the second global crisis in 1873, which, in addition to railroads and steel, was now also fueled by construction and the growing electrical and chemical industries. Prussia then was the first state to introduce a social security net for its populace and also tried to help the economy by providing liquidity. Something which was not seen in the US where the state did not act.
As a byproduct the author also illustrates the evolution of economic thought. From the early "classics" like Jean-Baptiste Say through Marx, the fall of "liberalism", the advent of Keynes, the answer of Friedman and his monetarists during the stagflation, and the eventual re-birth of Keynesianism in recent decades.
Displaying 1 of 1 review