Why Europe? : The Great Divergence and the West's Rise to Global Predominance (New Approaches to Economic and Social History)

Hoffman, Philip T.

Cambridge University Press（2026/08発売）

• 製本 Paperback:紙装版/ペーパーバック版／ページ数 250 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9780521738446

Full Description

Economic growth transformed the world. It freed us from a world where nearly everyone was mired in poverty and half of all children died before reaching adulthood. However, these benefits have not been felt everywhere, nor by everyone. In this groundbreaking new account of the divergence between east and west, Philip T. Hoffman uncovers the ultimate causes of economic growth and the reasons why it originated in seventeenth-century western Europe. He examines the relative impacts of a wide range of economic, political, and social factors, from high wages, cheap capital, and financial institutions to political fragmentation, porous borders, and interstate warfare. Through accessible economic principles and fascinating case studies, he demonstrates why growth began in Britain, why it spread so unevenly elsewhere, and why inequality inhibits growth.

Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Europe's advantages: demography, agriculture, and the environment; 3. War, conquest, and politics in Europe's rise; 4. Ideas, beliefs, and culture; 5. Why Britain was the first country in Europe to industrialize; 6. Institutions and Britain's pioneering industrialization; 7. Why some economies grew rich and others fell behind; Bibliography; Index.