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An Economic and Demographic History of São Paulo, 1850-1950

Francisco Vidal Luna and Herbert S. Klein

This volume is the continuation of an earlier study of colonial and imperial São Paulo and covers the period 1850-1950. These volumes are the first full scale survey of the economy and society of the ... More

This volume is the continuation of an earlier study of colonial and imperial São Paulo and covers the period 1850-1950. These volumes are the first full scale survey of the economy and society of the state of São Paulo in this two century period in any language. Today São Paulo is the most populated state of Brazil and also the richest and most industrialized one. It is also the world leader in the production of sugar cane and orange juice and houses one of the world’s major airplane manufacturers. Its GDP today is almost double the size of Portugal or Finland and close to the size of the entire economy of Colombia or Venezuela and its capital city is one of the top five metropolitan centers in the world. This volume shows how the region of São Paulo went from being one of the more marginal and backward areas of the nation to its leading agricultural, industrial and financial center. Special emphasis is given to the creation of a modern state government and finances in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as well as the evolution of tis coffee economy and its internal market as well as its leading role it played in the integration of over two million European and Asian immigrants into Brazilian society.Less

The Power of a Single Number: A Political History of GDP

Philipp Lepenies

Widely used since the mid-twentieth century, GDP (gross domestic product) has become the world’s most powerful statistical indicator of national development and progress. Practically all governments ... More

Widely used since the mid-twentieth century, GDP (gross domestic product) has become the world’s most powerful statistical indicator of national development and progress. Practically all governments adhere to the idea that GDP growth is a primary economic target, and while criticism of this measure has grown, neither its champions nor its detractors deny its central importance in our political culture. In The Power of a Single Number, Philipp Lepenies recounts the lively history of GDP’s political acceptance—and eventual dominance. Locating the origins of GDP measurements in Renaissance England, Lepenies explores the social and political factors that originally hindered its use. It was not until the early 1900s that an ingenuous lone-wolf economist revived and honed GDP’s statistical approach. These ideas were then extended by John Maynard Keynes, and a more focused study of national income was born. American economists furthered this work by emphasizing GDP’s ties to social well-being, setting the stage for its ascent. GDP finally achieved its singular status during World War II, assuming the importance it retains today. Lepenies’s absorbing account helps us understand the personalities and popular events that propelled GDP to supremacy and clarifies current debates over the wisdom of the number’s rule.Less

The Long Space Age: The Economic Origins of Space Exploration from Colonial America to the Cold War

Alexander MacDonald

The early years of the twenty-first century have seen the rise to prominence of private-sector American spaceflight. The result is a new phase of space development—one where human spaceflight is no ... More

The early years of the twenty-first century have seen the rise to prominence of private-sector American spaceflight. The result is a new phase of space development—one where human spaceflight is no longer the exclusive domain of governments, but an activity increasingly driven by the interests and motivations of individuals and corporations. In order to understand this phenomenon, we need to examine the long-run economic history of American space exploration. This book examines three critical phases of that history. The first phase is the financing and construction of American astronomical observatories from Colonial America to the middle of the twentieth century. The second is the career of Robert Goddard, the American father of liquid-fuel rocketry, whose efforts constituted the world’s first spaceflight development program. The third is the American political history of the Cold War ‘Space Race’ and subsequent NASA human spaceflight initiatives in the twentieth century. Examining these episodes from an economic perspective results in a new view of American space exploration—one where personal initiative and private funding have been dominant long-run trends, where the demand for impressive public signals has funded large space exploration projects across two centuries, and where government leadership in the field is a relatively recent phenomenon.Less

The Shorter Writings

Xenophon

Gregory A. McBrayer (ed.)

This volume contains new, literal translations of Xenophon’s eight shorter writings along with interpretive essays on each work: Hiero, or The Skilled Tyrant; Agesilaus; Regime of the Lacedaemonians; ... More

This volume contains new, literal translations of Xenophon’s eight shorter writings along with interpretive essays on each work: Hiero, or The Skilled Tyrant; Agesilaus; Regime of the Lacedaemonians; Regime of the Athenians; Ways and Means, or On Revenue; The Skilled Cavalry Commander; On Horsemanship; and The One Skilled at Hunting with Dogs. The Agesilaos is a eulogy of a Spartan king, and the Hiero, or the Skilled Tyrant recounts a searching dialogue between a poet and a tyrant. The Regime of the Lacedaemonians presents itself as a laudatory examination of what turns out to be an oligarchic regime of a certain type, while The Regime of the Athenians offers an unflattering picture of a democratic regime. Ways and Means, or On Revenues offers suggestions on how to improve the political economy of Athens’ troubled democracy. The other three works included here—The Skilled Cavalry Commander, On Horsemanship, and The One Skilled at Hunting with Dogs—treat skills that are appropriate for gentlemen. By bringing together Xenophon’s shorter writings, this volume aims to help all those interested in Xenophon understand better the core of his thought, political as well as philosophic.Less

The Rise of the English Shipping Industry in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

Ralph Davis

This volume is a reprint of Ralph Davis’ seminal 1962 book, The Rise of the English Shipping Industry in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. The aim was to examine the economic reasons for the ... More

This volume is a reprint of Ralph Davis’ seminal 1962 book, The Rise of the English Shipping Industry in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. The aim was to examine the economic reasons for the growth of British shipping before the arrival of modern technology, with a particular attention on overseas trade. The study can roughly be divided into two halves. The first is an in-depth exploration the roles within the shipping industry, from shipbuilders and shipowners to seamen and masters, from an economic perspective. The second is a chapter-by-chapter review of British overseas trade with Northern Europe, Southern Europe, the Mediterranean, East India, and America and the West Indies. The final two chapters diverge from the main sections, and focus on the interplay between government, war, and shipping. Davis attaches no extra significance to any particular nation or role, and offers an even-handed approach to maritime history still considered rare in the present day. Costs, profits, voyage estimates, ship-prices, and earnings all come under close and equal scrutiny as Davis seeks to understand the trades and developments in shipping during the period. To conclude, he places the study into a broader historical context and discovers that shipping played a measured but crucial role in the development of industrialisation and English economic development. This edition includes an introduction by the series editor; Davis’ introduction and preface; seventeen analytical chapters; a concluding chapter; two appendices concerning shipping statistics and sources; and a comprehensive index.Less

Diverse Development Paths and Structural Transformation in the Escape from Poverty

Martin Andersson and Tobias Axelsson (eds)

This book analyzes experiences of and possibilities for developing countries to catch up by providing a set of analytical interpretations of development experiences that with different degrees of ... More

This book analyzes experiences of and possibilities for developing countries to catch up by providing a set of analytical interpretations of development experiences that with different degrees of success have taken place in Asia, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa. Based on the growth performance across the developing world over the last decades, it offers thorough accounts of the possibilities of engagement in such processes in an increasingly globalized world. The compilation of chapters shows the diversity and variation of development pathways that entail valuable lessons and implications for how to approach this difficult question. It shows the importance of acknowledging that the process of development is dynamic and that the possibilities for catch-up are situation dependent. At the same time it makes clear that without structural change, in particular the agricultural transformation, sustained catching up is unlikely to happen. Instead of clinging on to universal templates, the analysis of current growth processes in the developing world will be enriched by paying closer attention to the multifaceted nature of both economic backwardness and successful pathways to escape it. The chapters of this volume, situated in the borderland of Economic History and Development Economics, are pertinent examples of how the research agenda about long-term development and catching up can be informed.Less

Planning and Profits: British Naval Armaments Manufacture and the Military Industrial Complex, 1918-1941

Christopher Miller

In a time of great need for Britain, a small coterie of influential businessmen gained access to secret information on industrial mobilisation as advisers to the Principal Supply Officers Committee. ... More

In a time of great need for Britain, a small coterie of influential businessmen gained access to secret information on industrial mobilisation as advisers to the Principal Supply Officers Committee. They provided the state with priceless advice, but, as “insiders” utilised their access to information to build a business empire at a fraction of the normal costs. Outsiders, in contrast, lacked influence and were forced together into a defensive “ring” – or cartel – which effectively fixed prices for British warships. By the 1930s, the cartel grew into one of the most sophisticated profiteering groups of its day. This book examines the relationship between the private naval armaments industry, businessmen, and the British government defence planners between the wars. It reassesses the concept of the military-industrial complex through the impact of disarmament upon private industry, the role of leading industrialists in supply and procurement policy, and the successes and failings of government organisation. It blends together political, naval, and business history in new ways, and, by situating the business activities of industrialists alongside their work as government advisors, sheds new light on the operation of the British state. This is the story of how these men profited while effectively saving the National Government from itself.Less

The Struggle to Save the Soviet Economy: Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of the USSR

Chris Miller

For half a century the Soviet economy was inefficient but stable. In the late 1980s, to the surprise of nearly everyone, it suddenly collapsed. Why did this happen? And what role did Soviet leader ... More

For half a century the Soviet economy was inefficient but stable. In the late 1980s, to the surprise of nearly everyone, it suddenly collapsed. Why did this happen? And what role did Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's economic reforms play in the country's dissolution? In this groundbreaking study, Chris Miller shows that Gorbachev and his allies tried to learn from the great success story of transitions from socialism to capitalism, Deng Xiaoping's China. Why, then, were efforts to revitalize Soviet socialism so much less successful than in China? Making use of never-before-studied documents from the Soviet politburo and other archives, Miller argues that the difference between the Soviet Union and China--and the ultimate cause of the Soviet collapse--was not economics but politics. The Soviet government was divided by bitter conflict, and Gorbachev, the ostensible Soviet autocrat, was unable to outmaneuver the interest groups that were threatened by his economic reforms. Miller's analysis settles long-standing debates about the politics and economics of perestroika, transforming our understanding of the causes of the Soviet Union's rapid demise.Less