Growth of the International Economy, 1820-2015

by Michael Graff

Kenwood and Lougheed’s classic book has been the benchmark introduction to the development of the global economy for decades. For this fifth edition, Michael Graff has brought the story up to date to include events from the early part of the twenty first century – continued globalization, the emergence of Asia as an economic power and the greater role played by business on the international scene.

Beginning with the industrial revolution, the book charts the long nineteenth century, the impact of colonialism, the fast pace of technology growth and the impact of global wars. New features to this edition include:

a prologue explaining the initial conditions faced by the world economy in 1820, detailing the beginnings of international trade and the influence of slavery

greater coverage of developing countries

increased coverage of World Wars I and II and of the twentieth century

a number of appendices outlining the economic concepts and theories underlying the text

This new edition of Growth of the International Economy provides the reader with a clear understanding of the factors which have been instrumental in creating the economic environment we face two hundred years after the industrial revolution.

Genres: Economics

394 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 25, 2011

Reviews

[Yngve Skogstad]

Rigorous work, giving a pretty detailed account of the development of the world economy during the last 200 years. Conspicuously West-centric, though. Props for lots of interesting tables, but poorly written and dry with the exception of the last two chapters.

Also found the font to be annoyingly small for an A4-size book, making it difficult to read without constantly losing track.

[Diego]

Michael Graff se incorpora al trabajo previamente realizado por A.G Kenwood y A.L Lougheed para la quinta edición de "Growth of the International Economy"

El libro es sumamente bueno, comienza con un repaso histórico del desarrollo de la economía en el mundo desde la prehistoria, pasando por los tiempos de la liga Hansiatica y hasta el amanecer de la revolución industrial en el siglo XVIII.

Desde este punto comienza a analizar los distintos factores que le dieron forma a la revolución industrial en distintos países, la forma en que el Reino Unido logro ser el primer país industrializado y como otros países comenzaron a igualarlo produciendo la era de gran comercio internacional en el siglo XIXI. El libro sigue fundamentalmente las perspectivas de Estados Unidos y del Reino Unido y sus colonias pero no sin considerar los sucesos en Europa continental y en algunos países en vías de desarrollo durante el siglo XX.

Los capítulos dedicados a la gran depresión, al comercio internacional y la migración en el siglo XIX, así como el sistema financiero internacional en el siglo XIX y XX son entre los mejores.

Muy recomendado para las personas interesadas en historia económica y macroeconomía en general.