World Economic History Resources

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Overview

While trade between distance partners dates back to the beginnings of civilization, the importance and volume of trade grew rapidly in the 19th century, largely due to advances in transportation technology, which allowed trade and commerce to take place over greater distances and at faster rates.¹ The world economy, which is what is often referred to as the global economy, encompasses the international movement of goods, people and capital and all of the actors, institutions, and sovereigns, (etc.) that participate in this process. Looking at the history of international trade during the last two hundred years, we see increasing market integration, accompanied by rapid growth in international trade, finance, and mass labor migration.

In this section you will find Internet and print resources dedicated to the study of the history of the world economy, economic thought and the origins of various economic theories. These links provide access to numerous economic history sources, as well as access to important collections of texts and works of influential economists throughout the world. Also included are links to publications in economic history that are available online.

Selected Print Resources

Cameron, Rondo E. A Concise Economic History of the World: From Paleolithic Times to the Present. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. 463 p.
LC Call Number: HC21 .C33 2003
LC Catalog Record: 2001051380
Table of Contents
Publisher's Description

Issue 7/8: Winter 2006/Spring 2007

International Economics & Trade

Table of Contents

Introduction
World Economic History
International Trade & Global Commerce
International Finance
Foreign Exchange Market
Trends in International Trade
Trade Policy, Treaties, & Law
International Organizations & Economic Development
Country Data
Economic Trade Data & Statistics
U.S. Government Resources
Online Periodicals
Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

This classic book offers a broad sweep of economic history from prehistoric times to the present, and explores the disparity of wealth among nations. Now in its fourth edition, A Concise Economic History of the World includes expanded coverage of recent developments in the European Union, transition economies, and East Asia. Synopsis by Global Books In Print.

Eli Heckscher, International Trade, and Economic History, edited by Ronald Findlay. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, c2006. 560 p.
LC Call Number: HF1379 .E4 2006 (Not yet available at LC as of March 2007)
LC Catalog Record: 2005056285

In this volume, leading international economists assess the importance of Heckscher's work and its relevance to the contemporary practice of economic history. Synopsis by Global Books In Print.

McCarthy, Dennis M.P. International Economic Integration in Historical Perspective. New York: Routledge, 2006. 256 p.
LC Call Number: HF1418.5 .M42 2006 (Not yet available at LC as of March 2007)
LC Catalog Record: 2005029141
Table of Contents
Publisher's Description

This volume takes a long-term view of economic integration and examines seven types of organisations that exemplify it: colonial empires; merchant associations; religious empires; criminal empires; free trade areas; custom unions and common markets. Annotation by Global Books in Print

Maddison, Angus. The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective. Paris: Development Centre of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, c2001. 383 p.
LC Call Number: HC21 .M285 2001
LC Catalog Record: 2001438142

Publisher's Summary: This study quantifies the long term changes in world income and population in a comprehensive way; identifies the forces which explain the success of wealthy countries; explore the obstacles which hindered development in regions which lagged behind; scrutinize the interaction between wealthy countries and the rest of the world.

Nation, State, and the Economy in History, edited by Ronald Findlay. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. 450 p.
LC Call Number: HC21 .N2926 2003
LC Catalog Record: 2003273131
Table of Contents
Publisher's Description

This book addresses the rarely-explored subject of the reciprocal relationships between nationalism, nation and state-building, and economic change. Annotation by Global Book In Print.

O'Brien, Robert. Global Political Economy: Evolution and Dynamics. Hampshire, UK; New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. 370 p.
LC Call Number: HF1359 .O26 2004
LC Catalog Record: 2003060891
Table of Contents
Publisher's Description
Publisher-supplied Biographical Information

This new text on global political economy provides a uniquely ranging historical account of the emergence of a worldwide economy since the 15th century combined with a systematic analysis of international political economy today. Synopsis by Global Books In Print.

The Origins of International Economics, edited by Robert W. Dimand. London: New York: Routledge. 10 volumes.
LC Call Number: HF1379.O75 2004
LC Catalog Record: 2003060550

A ten-volume collection of key works in the emergence of international economics up to the mid-1960's. The collection covers both international trade theory (the real or microeconomic side of international economics) and open-economy macroeconomics (balance of payments adjustment and the determination of exchange rates). Synopsis by Global Books In Print.

Seavoy, Ronald E. Origins and Growth of the Global Economy: From the Fifteenth Century Onward. Westport, CT: Praeger, c2003. 301 p.
LC Call Number: HF352 .S357 2003
LC Catalog Record: 2002029898

Seavoy traces out the evolution of the global market from its foundations in imperial commercial rivalries of the mid-15th century to the present. The publication also analyzes the origins and evolution of trade and economic development that resulted in the creation of a global market. Synopsis by Book News, Inc.

Thompson, William R. The Emergence of the Global Political Economy. London; New York: Routledge, 2000. 252 p.
LC Call Number: HF1359 .T464 2000
LC Catalog Record: 00687352
Publisher's Description

This volume presents a global survey of how politics and economics have interacted to shape international relations and the world in which we live. Annotation by Global Books In Print.

The World Economy that Trade Created: Society, Culture, and the World Economy, edited by Kenneth Pomeranz and Steven Topik. 2nd ed. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, c2006. 285 p.
LC Call Number: HF352 .P58 W67 2006
LC Catalog Record: 2005018044
Table of Contents

This new edition of The World That Trade Created reveals the answers to dozens of tantalizing questions like these. In a series of brief, highly readable vignettes the authors bring to life international trade and its actors-including migrants and merchants, pirates and privateers, sailors and slaves, traders and tree-tappers. In the process they make clear that the seemingly modern concept of economic globalization has deep historical roots. Annotation by Global Books In Print.

Selected Internet Resources

The centre promotes research and education in fields of importance for historians and economists. Its aim is to provide a forum in which scholars address various concerns or topics, whether through the application of economic concepts to historical problems, through the history of economic and social thought, or through economic history. The web site provides links to current centre research projects, publications information, and papers published by scholars from the centre.

A Biz/ed web site that presents a chronology of economic history of the UK, and the international economy. Information on the web site includes economic and key facts from the 1990's, 1980's, 1970's, an analysis of economic history since 1945 period, in addition to economic history information dating back two centuries. Also available are links to other economic resources.

A WebEc web page that provides access to information resources on economic history. The content includes links to Collections in Economic History, Institutions in Economic History, Publications in Economic History, Communication in Economic History, and searching options on related subject matter.

This web page provides information about the International Economic History Association (IEHA) and unites economic historians from almost 40 countries in Europe, America, Asia, and Oceania. Every four years the IEHA organizes a World Economic History Congress. The web site provides access to organizational and membership information, projects, and association newsletter.

The Economic History Society's homepage allow access to Essay Collections: Living Economic and Social History, publications, The Economic History Review (Quarterly publication), and other articles on economic history. Information on annual workshops, conferences, seminars, information on submitting research papers, grants and awards, as well as links to related topics are also available on the web page.

A web site intended to assist research and teaching in the history of economic activity and economic thought. The Economic History Services web site includes electronic discussion lists that provide resources and promote communication among scholars in economic history. There are links to abstracts, an electronic question board for economic professors, book reviews, encyclopedias, databases, and bibliographies.

A non-profit organization headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, which promotes teaching and research in the history of economic thought in Europe, taking into account different European traditions and languages. The web sites provides information about the society's publications, access to links for historians of economic thought, list of other societies for the history of economic thought, journals of the history of economic thought, an electronic text archive and other useful links.

This web page presents a bibliography on the topic of economic history. The web page also provides information resources on microeconomics, macroeconomics, finance, and other topics. Other resources include an online encyclopedia, and a link to economic articles.

A web page developed under the auspices of the New School for Social Research, which provides an alphabetical index of economists; information on and access to Economic Schools of Thought; Essays and surveys covering the theory of value ; Macroeconomics; Microeconomics; Methodology and History of Economics; References to Source Material; links to other web sites; and a web site search engine.

An online library presented by the company Questia which has dozens of books and journal articles on the history of economics. The web page allows users to click on a book or article title to preview that publication. However, the web site does require a subscription in order to read the entire work, and the over 70,000 books and articles available on the web site. The web site also provides other helpful resources for researchers.

This web site contains a chronology, written by Glyn Davies and Roy Davies, and a collection of essays written by Roy Davies on various themes using information based on books on monetary history. Includes links to web pages such as, "Money - Past, Present and Future." And other related sources on monetary and economic history.

Another useful resource from the EH.Net web site providing links to discussions and calculators showing the value of money over time, including exchange rates, relative value, purchasing power, inflation rates, and the price of gold. The web page also provides information on growth rates, GDP and earnings, as well as financial indicators including interest rate series for the US and the UK from 1790-2001 and the daily closing values of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).

An economics research guide created by Iowa State University Library which consist of Electronic Journals, (e-news, e-books & e-journals, e-Proceedings), and Other Resources which include Internet access to directories, statistics, indexes, & abstracts, e-reference sources, catalogs to library catalogs, and an Internet search engine.

The university's Economic History Department homepage provides links to economic research performed by department faculty, working papers written by members of staff of the Economic History department, academic fellows, and research students. Subject matters are wide ranging and diverse. The web page allows access to papers dating back to 1992, as well as links to other economic history resources.

A web page created by McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. This archive is an attempt to collect in one place a large number of significant texts in the history of economic thought. Efforts are intended to include representative texts of all of the major thinkers and schools of thought; and most of the sub-fields of economics.

A web page created by Oxford University that presents discussion papers in economic and social history. The web page allows access to full-texts or the abstracts of research papers. Other useful links to organizations, and academic societies on economic history are also available on the web page.

Links researchers to an index of authors and publications on economic history. The web site views title/authors of all papers in this section, and allows users to click on a year to see title/authors for that particular year. The announcement also lists new entries in BibEc for Economic History. Papers are hard copy, and are only available from the authors or institutions.

This web site presented by Research Papers in Economics (RePEc), provides a database of working papers, journal articles on various subjects and sub-fields under economic history. There is access to numerous full-texts research papers under each subject matter listed.

Library of Congress Catalog Searches

Additional works on economic history in the Library of Congress may be identified by searching the Online Catalog under appropriate Library of Congress subject headings. Choose the topics you wish to search from the following list of Library of Congress subject headings to link directly to the Catalog and automatically execute a search for the subject selected. Please be aware that during periods of heavy use you may encounter delays in accessing the catalog. Please see the individual sections of this guide for catalog searches relating to those topics. For assistance in locating the many other subject headings which relate to this subject, please consult a reference librarian.

• Economics--History
• International economic relations--History
• International trade--History

 1. Cameron, Rondo and Neal, Larry. A Concise Economic History of the World: From Paleolithic
Times to the Present. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, c2003, p. 290.