Early State Economics

Early State Economics PDF Author: Henri J. M. Claessen
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
ISBN: 141282205X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
This volume focuses on the political economy of early state societies and the ways in which the income of the central government of such systems was collected and spent. At the theoretical end of the spectrum, this book offers a general discussion of the concept of political economy; modes of production in antiquity; and an overview of early state organizational forms. With the data represented in this volume, such theoretical viewpoints are evaluated and it is concluded that inherited approaches fall far short of explaining the political economies of early states.

Early State Economics

Early State Economics PDF Author: Henri Claessen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351316583
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
The central theme of this volume is the political economy of early state societies: the ways in which the income of the central government of such systems was collected and spent. The work contains descriptive as well as narrative and commemorative essays. Contributions present data on early states as diverse as the Interlacustrine states of East Africa, the Sudanic states of West Africa, prehistoric Cahokia in the Mississippi Valley, Aztec Mexico, the Classical Maya, eighteenth-century Nepal, and Polynesian, Tahitian, and Mayan case studies. At the theoretical end of the spectrum, the book offers a general discussion of the concept of political economy; modes of production in antiquity, and the editors themselves offer an overview of early state organizational forms. With the data of the contributions to this volume, such theoretical viewpoints are evaluated. The conclusion is that inherited approaches fall far short of explaining the political economies of early states. The editors of this volume maintain that much thinking on this issue of the early state is off-base because it is confined to the study of redistribution. They hold that a prestige goods system is probably as important, while in some cases, the key factor to look at is tribute or taxation. Likewise, the system of gift giving, often viewed as ancillary, should be considered central to the performance of the ancient states. In short, political economy is rooted in the stages of social growth. Nearly all contributors agree that simple evolutionary generalizations can no longer be applied to specific cases without considerable modification, and in this undertaking formalist and Marxist canons alike need to be invoked for a deeper understanding of the actual operations of the state in earlier societies.

The Early History of Economics in the United States

The Early History of Economics in the United States PDF Author: Birsen Filip
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000755509
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
Since the latter half of the 20th century, the economics departments of American universities were internationally renowned for providing competitive and advanced levels of education. However, from the 1870s up until the beginning of WWI, German universities held international supremacy when it came to the quality of teaching, the enrollment of foreign students, and scholarly publications. This book examines the role of the German Historical School of Economics (GHSE) in the development of the discipline of economics in the US during this period. The chapters explain that, prior to the influence of the GHSE, political economy was in a dismal state in the US, both as a profession and an academic discipline. As a result, many Americans elected to go to Germany in pursuit of an advanced education in political economy, having been inspired by the unmatched international reputations of theorists of the GHSE. After they returned home, these German-trained Americans challenged the dominant status of classical orthodoxy and revolutionized the discipline of economics in the US by importing the ideas, methods, and approaches of the GHSE. In doing so, they established the first dedicated political economy departments, graduate programs, and chairs at American universities and colleges. Although the precise magnitude and value of the influence of the GHSE is impossible to quantify, there is no doubt that Americans are deeply indebted to this school of thought for its contributions to the early development of the discipline of economics in the US. The chapters also examine what has been lost since: the current mainstream in economics has eliminated many of the features that were once so important to the discipline that it has effectively limited contemporary economics to a small fraction of the complex organism defined by the German Historical School. This situation has facilitated the poverty of the leading economic school of thought, as well as the discipline of economics in general. This book represents a significant contribution to the literature on the history of economic thought and economic education in the US. It will be of particular interest to students and scholars of economics, political science, sociology, and the philosophy of economics.

The Emergence of Capitalism in Early America

The Emergence of Capitalism in Early America PDF Author: Christopher W. Calvo
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 0813057442
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
Due to the enormous influence of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations on Western liberal economics, a tradition closely linked to the United States, many scholars assume that early American economists were committed to Smith’s ideas of free trade and small government. Debunking this belief, Christopher W. Calvo provides a comprehensive history of the nation’s economic thought from 1790 to 1860, tracing the development of a uniquely American understanding of capitalism. The Emergence of Capitalism in Early America shows how American economists challenged, adjusted, and adopted the ideas of European thinkers such as Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and Thomas Malthus to suit their particular interests. Calvo not only explains the divisions between American free trade and the version put forward by Smith, but he also discusses the sharp differences between northern and southern liberal economists. Emergent capitalism fostered a dynamic discourse in early America, including a homegrown version of socialism burgeoning in antebellum industrial quarters, as well as a reactionary brand of conservative economic thought circulating on slave plantations across the Old South. This volume also traces the origins and rise of nineteenth-century protectionism, a system that Calvo views as the most authentic expression of American political economy. Finally, Calvo examines early Americans’ awkward relationship with capitalism’s most complex institution—finance. Grounded in the economic debates, Atlantic conversations, political milieu, and material realities of the antebellum era, this book demonstrates that American thinkers fused different economic models, assumptions, and interests into a unique hybrid-capitalist system that shaped the trajectory of the nation’s economy.

Bronze Age Economics

Bronze Age Economics PDF Author: Timothy Earle
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429970544
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 465

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Book Description
"Timothy Earle has set out to offer the most comprehensive view now available of the economic foundations of early societies, and it may well be that he has succeeded. Bronze Age Economics is a pioneering contribution to archaeological theory." —Colin Renfrew, University of Cambridge

The Early History of Financial Economics, 1478-1776

The Early History of Financial Economics, 1478-1776 PDF Author: Geoffrey Poitras
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 552

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Book Description
Poitras (finance, Simon Fraser University) provides an account of the early development of financial economics and presents a foundation for the study of modern financial economics. The book chronicles the development of early financial economics, from the appearance of the first printed commercial arithmetic in 1478 to the publication of The Wealth of Nations in 1776. The origins of the subject are traced back to the commercial arithmetic of the Renaissance reckoning schools. The contributions of de Moivre, Halley, and Stevin are also discussed. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

Public Goods Provision in the Early Modern Economy

Public Goods Provision in the Early Modern Economy PDF Author: Masayuki Tanimoto
Publisher: University of California Press
ISBN: 0520303652
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
At publication date, a free ebook version of this title will be available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Scholarly discussions on economic development in history, specifically those linked to industrialization or modern economic growth, have paid great attention to the formation and development of the market economy as a set of institutions able to augment people’s welfare. The role of specific nonmarket practices for promoting the economic development and welfare has been a distinct concern, typically involving discussion of the state’s economic policies. How have societies tackled those issues that the market did not? To what extent did those solutions reflect the structure of an economy? Public Goods Provision in the Early Modern Economy explores these questions by investigating efforts made for the provision of "public goods" in early modern economies from the perspective of Japanese socioeconomic history during Tokugawa era (1603–1868), and by comparing those cases with others from Europe and China’s economic history. The contributors focus on three areas of inquiry—early modern era welfare policies for the poor, infrastructure, and forest management—to provide both a unique perspective on Japanese public finance at local levels and a vantage point outside of Europe to encourage a more global view of early modern political economies that shaped subsequent modern transformations.

Economics in Perspective

Economics in Perspective PDF Author: John Kenneth Galbraith
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400889073
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
In Economics in Perspective, renowned economist John Kenneth Galbraith presents a compelling and accessible history of economic ideas, from Aristotle through the twentieth century. Examining theories of the past that have a continuing modern resonance, he shows that economics is not a timeless, objective science, but is continually evolving as it is shaped by specific times and places. From Adam Smith's theories during the Industrial Revolution to those of John Maynard Keynes after the Great Depression, Galbraith demonstrates that if economic ideas are to remain relevant, they must continually adapt to the world they inhabit. A lively examination of economic thought in historical context, Economics in Perspective shows how the field has evolved across the centuries.

Stone Age Economics

Stone Age Economics PDF Author: Marshall Sahlins
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134362072
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
Stone Age Economics is a classic of economic anthropology, ambitiously tackling the nature of economic life and how to study it comparatively. This collection of six influential essays is one of Marshall Sahlins' most important and enduring works, claiming that stone age economies formed the original affluent society. The book examines notions of production, distribution and exchange in early communities and examines the link between economics and cultural and social factors. This edition includes a new foreword by the author.

The Economics of Henry George

The Economics of Henry George PDF Author: P. Bryson
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230119980
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
Henry George the greatest, most famous and most rejected of early American economists who trained himself in classical economics and developed a theory of a 'single tax'. There is much literature on many specific facets and aspects of George's work, but we lack a book which provides an overview of George's economics... until now!

The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World

The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World PDF Author: Walter Scheidel
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521780535
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 17

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Book Description
In this, the first comprehensive survey of the economies of classical antiquity, twenty-eight chapters summarise the current state of scholarship in their specialised fields and sketch new directions for research. They reflect a new interest in economic growth in antiquity and develop new methods for measuring economic development, often combining textual and archaeological data that have previously been treated separately.