Edited Collections and Books

The Economics of the Second World War: 75 Years On

Edited by Stephen Broadberry and Mark Harrison

May 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe, a defining moment in modern history which signalled the beginning of the end of years of bloody conflict that left a world fragmented. The scale of mobilisation of all sectors of the economy and society had redefined the concept of ‘total war’. This eBook brings together recent research on a range of aspects of the war including the extensive war preparations of the great powers; the conduct of the war (including the management of economic mobilisation, economic warfare, economic exploitation, and the role of economists); and the war’s consequences for demography, inequality, economic recovery and political attitudes. Overall this eBook provides a unique insight into the importance of economics and the sometimes overlooked role that economists played in shaping the war and its outcomes.

A New Economic History of Colonial India

Edited by Latika Chaudhary, Bishnupriya Gupta, Tirthankar Roy, Anand V. Swamy

A New Economic History of Colonial India provides a new perspective on Indian economic history. Using economic theory and quantitative methods, it shows how the discipline is being redefined and how new scholarship on India is beginning to embrace and make use of concepts from the larger field of global economic history and economics. The book discusses the impact of property rights, the standard of living, the labour market and the aftermath of the Partition. It also addresses how education and work changed, and provides a rethinking of traditional topics including de-industrialization, industrialization, railways, balance of payments, and the East India Company. Written in an accessible way, the contributors – all leading experts in their fields – firmly place Indian history in the context of world history. An up-to-date critical survey and novel resource on Indian Economic History, this book will be useful for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on Economic History, Indian and South Asian Studies, Economics and Comparative and Global History.

Forging Ahead, Falling Behind and Fighting Back: British Economic Growth from the Industrial Revolution to the Financial Crisis

by Professor Nicholas Crafts

In this new book, Nicholas Crafts develops a new interpretation of the growth performance of the British economy over the long run. The focal point is to understand how the world leader of the early 19th century became an also ran in the recent past. The explanation is based on the role of institutional legacies interacting with badly designed economic policy to undermine productivity growth after World War II. The underlying theme is that ‘history matters’ and that the seeds of relative economic decline during the 20th century were sown much earlier. The book is based on the author’s Macarthur Lectures delivered at the University of Cambridge.

The Great Depression of the 1930s: Lessons for Today

Edited by Professor Nicholas Crafts and Professor Peter Fearon

Understanding the Great Depression has never been more relevant than in today's economic crisis. This edited collection provides an authoritative introduction to the Great Depression as it affected the advanced countries in the 1930s. The contributions are by acknowledged experts in the field and cover in detail the experiences of Britain, Germany, and, the United States, while also seeing the depression as an international disaster. The crisis entailed the collapse of the international monetary system, sovereign default, and banking crises in many countries in the context of the most severe downturn in western economic history. The responses included protectionism, regulation, fiscal and monetary stimulus, and the New Deal. The relevance to current problems facing Europe and the United States is apparent.

The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Europe Volumes 1 & 2

Edited by Stephen Broadberry and Kevin O'Rourke

Unlike existing textbooks on the economic history of modern Europe, which offer a country-by-country approach, The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Europe rethinks Europe's economic history since 1700 as unified and pan-European, with material organised by topic rather than by country. The first volume is centred on the transition to modern economic growth, which first occurred in Britain before spreading to other parts of western Europe by 1870, whilst the second tracks Europe's economic history through three major phases since 1870. Each chapter is written by an international team of authors who cover the three major regions of northern Europe, southern Europe, and central and eastern Europe. The two volumes together provide a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the key themes in modern economic history from trade, urbanisation, economic growth and business cycles to sectoral developments, and population and living standards.