ECONOMIC HISTORY
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Full programme
- Bibliography
- Delivery method
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
Knowledge of the general features and of the major processes of European and international political history from the late Middle Age to the present.
Assessment: Written exam, lasting 30 minutes. The exam consists in a test made of several sections: 1) true/false questions, 2) multiple choice questions, 3) questions on graphs/tables discussed in class, 4) fill-in missing words in short text passages, choosing alternatives from a drop-down menu. Details on the number and score of each section and question will be published on the course webpage (Moodle).
Objective of the course is to provide students with knowledge about the economic and socio-political processes and the determinants of European economic growth in the long run, as tools for the understanding of contemporary economic phenomena and policies, especially as development issues and inequality are concerned.
The course explores the economic and socio-political processes and the determinants of European economic growth in the long run.
EXPECTED LEARNING RESULTS
At the end of the course students will be able to:
1. understand and use economic terms and few simple economic tools;
2. identify and distinguish economic actors, understand their roles and functions, as well as describe their evolution in time;
3. describe the main events of European economic history as related to the interplay between the development of institutions and the generation and diffusion of knowledge-based technologies;
4. describe the main institutional, technological, productive, organizational and social changes that characterized structural changes occurred in the European economic system in the long run;
5. describe the economic role of the State;
6. describe the main issues concerning economic growth and inequality in the long run.
• The making of Europe; advantages and limits of the division of labour
• Population, economic growth and resource constraints
• Institutions and growth
• Early modern economic systems; the nature and extent of economic growth in the pre-industrial era
• Industrial revolutions and modern economic growth; knowledge, technology transfer and convergence
• The evolution of money; the emergence of credit and banking systems
• Trade, tariffs and economic growth
• The evolution of international monetary regimes
• The economic role of the state; from laissez-faire to the welfare state
• Inequality among and within nations
• The globalization processes
The course analyses the economic and socio-political processes and the determinants of European economic growth in the long run, as tools for the understanding of contemporary economic phenomena and policies, especially as development issues and inequality are concerned.
1) K.G. Persson and P. Sharp, An Economic History of Europe. Knowledge, Institutions and Growth, 600 to the Present, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2015.
2) C.P. Kindleberger, Economic Law and Economic History, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1989, ch. 3 and 4, pp. 43-92.
3) C.M. Cipolla, Before the Industrial Revolution: European Society and Economy, 1000-1700, London, Routledge, 1993, ch. 9, ch. 10 pp. 182-84 and 194-214.
4) Lectures' slides
Lectures’ slides and other (optional) materials (articles, data, video-clips) are available to students on the e-learning platform (Moodle).
The course consists of in class lectures (20 hrs.) and of online classes (20 hrs.) through the e-learning platform Moodle. The lecturer provides the projection of slides.
Students are encouraged to actively participate to classes, by asking questions and/or making comments.
"Exercise" sessions (8 hours, in class) complement classes in order to deepen some relevant issues, to help students focussing on the most relevant subjects, and to favor interaction between students and lecturer; in particular 2 sessions will be devoted to revise the exam program, before the exam itself.
Due to the still ongoing sanitary emergence and in order to apply all safety, prevention and protection measures, in class lectures will be held in video streaming, too, through the MS Teams platform. Please refer to the course webpage on the e-learning platform for further information.
Office hours: see lecturer's personal webpage