Traditional narratives of capitalist change often rely on the myth of the willful entrepreneur from the global North who transforms the economy and delivers modernity-for good or ill-to the rest of the world.
In recent decades game theory-the mathematics of rational decision-making by interacting individuals-has assumed a central place in our understanding of capitalist markets, the evolution of social behavior in animals, and even the ethics of altruism and fairness in human beings.
America's expansion to one of the richest nations in the world was partly due to a steady increase in labor productivity, which in turn depends upon the invention and deployment of new technologies and on investments in both human and physical capital.
From the end of the nineteenth century until the onset of the Great Depression, Wall Street embarked on a stunning, unprecedented, and often bloody period of international expansion in the Caribbean.
The definitive history of pawnbroking in the United States from the nation's founding through the Great Depression, In Hock demonstrates that the pawnshop was essential to the rise of capitalism.
A riveting history of raw capitalism that exposes the unscrupulousness at its heart Vice is endemic to Western capitalism, according to this fascinating, wildly entertaining, often startling history of modern finance.
With global demand for energy poised to increase by more than half in the next three decades, the supply of safe, reliable, and reasonably priced gas and oil will continue to be of fundamental importance to modern economies.
The clearest explanation yet of how the financial crisis of 2008 developed and why it could happen againIn the wake of the financial meltdown in 2008, many claimed that it had been inevitable, that no one saw it coming, and that subprime borrowers were to blame.
A wide-ranging exploration of the diverse historical connections between Chile and California This groundbreaking history explores the many unrecognized, enduring linkages between the state of California and the country of Chile.
A history of capitalism in nineteenth' and twentieth'century China and India that explores the competition between their tea industries Tea remains the world’s most popular commercial drink today, and at the turn of the twentieth century, it represented the largest export industry of both China and colonial India.
An exploration of life in the early medieval West, using pigs as a lens to investigate agriculture, ecology, economy, and philosophy In the early medieval West, from North Africa to the British Isles, pigs were a crucial part of agriculture and culture.
A controversial look at the end of globalization and what it means for prosperity, peace, and the global economic order Globalization, long considered the best route to economic prosperity, is not inevitable.
A magisterial account of how the cultural and maritime relationships between the British, Dutch and American territories changed the existing world order – and made the Industrial Revolution possible Between 1500 and 1800, the North Sea region overtook the Mediterranean as the most dynamic part of the world.
A group history of the Austrian School of Economics, from the coffeehouses of imperial Vienna to the modern-day Tea Party The Austrian School of Economics—a movement that has had a vast impact on economics, politics, and society, especially among the American right—is poorly understood by supporters and detractors alike.
A timely and provocative account of why the euro has failed and why, as a result, the Union will unravel Examining key economic indicators and assessing the situation across Europe, two British journalists assess why the euro has failed—and what will happen when the European Union completely unravels.
This timely book holds up for scrutiny a great paradox at the core of the American Dream: a passionate belief in the principle of democracy combined with an equally passionate celebration of the creation of wealth.
The Great Recession, institutional dysfunction, a growing divide between urban and rural prospects, and failed efforts to effectively address immigration have paved the way for a populist backlash that disrupts the postwar bargain between political elites and citizens.
Nineteenth-century Brazil’s constitutional monarchy credibly committed to repay sovereign debt, borrowing repeatedly in international and domestic capital markets without default.
During the first decades of America’s existence as a nation, private citizens, voluntary associations, and government officials encouraged the smuggling of European inventions and artisans to the New World.
As Moscow bureau chief for Business Week magazine, Rose Brady was on the scene during the fall of the Soviet Union and the key early years of Russia’s transformation from a socialist state to a market economy.
It has become commonplace to think that globalization has produced a race to the bottom in terms of labor standards and quality of life: the cheaper the labor and the lower the benefits afforded workers, the more competitively a country can participate on the global stage.
A passionate and informed critique of mainstream economics from one of the leading economic thinkers of our time This insightful book looks at how mainstream economics' quest for scientific certainty has led to a narrowing of vision and a convergence on an orthodoxy that is unhealthy for the field, not to mention the societies which base policy decisions on the advice of flawed economic models.
A microhistory of eighteenth-century systemic change that places ordinary French lives alongside global advances Provincializing Global History explores the subtle transformation of the coastal province of the Languedoc in the eighteenth century.
A penetrating look into the extreme plutocracy Vladimir Putin has created and its implications for Russia’s future This insightful study explores how the economic system Vladimir Putin has developed in Russia works to consolidate control over the country.
An urgently needed “risk map” of the many dangers that could derail Asia’s growth and stability Since Marco Polo, the West has waited for the “Asian Century.
Timely, compelling, and certain to be controversial—a deeply researched study that reveals how companies and policy makers are hindering innovation-led growth Conventional wisdom holds that Western economies are on the threshold of fast-and-furious technological development.
An illuminating study of America’s agricultural society during the Colonial, Revolutionary, and Founding eras In the eighteenth century, three-quarters of Americans made their living from farms.
