Economic History

Code:

LEC209

Acronym:

HE

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Social Science

Instance: 2005/2006 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Web Page:	http://www.fep.up.pt/disciplinas/lec209
Responsible unit:	Grupo de Ciências Sociais
Course/CS Responsible:	ECONOMICS

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
ECO	256	Official Curricular Structure since 2004	2	3		-

Objectives

Economic History aims at enabling undergraduate students to apprehend the main historical trends that have contributed to shaping the economic and social development of the societies they live in.
The general theme of the course - «Rise, crises and transformations of the market economy: 1750-1990» - highlights the concern with the vicissitudes of the emergence and unfolding of market economies. The course begins with a reflection on the place and importance of economic activities in different societies, in the context of the ascendancy of the market over custom and command. Attention is then paid to the factors underlying the trend towards sustained economic growth in the most progressive societies of the Western world, from the first decades of the nineteenth century up to the last decades of the twentieth. At the same time, attention is paid to the difficulties encumbering the path of economic growth, particularly to those of the inter-war period and of the 1970s and the 1980s.
In consequence, Economic History aims at providing a better perception of the model of economy and society that underlies undergraduate studies in Economics. In particular, it aims at provide an understanding of the complexity of the institutional matrix that underlies the economic and social environment in which students will work in the near future.

Program

«Rise, crises and transformations of the market economy: 1750-1990»

1. Economies and societies

2. The emergence of the market economy: 1750-1850
2.1. The ascendancy of the market
2.2. The trend towards economic growth
2.3. The pervasiveness of political economy and the emergence of the liberal state

3. The strengthening of the market economy: 1850-1914
3.1. Crises and fluctuations of economic activity
3.2. The socialist threat
3.3. The internationalisation of the gold standard
3.4. The trend towards globalisation
3.5. The changes in the structure of markets and firms

4. The market economy on the verge of collapse: 1914-1945
4.1. The ruin of the old liberal order
4.2. The vicissitudes of the gold standard
4.3. The Great Depression

5. The renewed vigour of the market economy: 1945-1970
5.1. The emergence of the managed market economy
5.2. The institutionalisation of international cooperation
5.3. The golden age of economic growth
5.4. The recognition of underdevelopment

6. The challenges of the 1970s and 1980s
6.1. The threat of stagflation
6.2. The collapse of the Bretton Woods monetary system
6.3. Reinforcing the trend towards globalisation
6.4. The end of the illusions of development.

Main Bibliography

Aldcroft, Derek H. (1987) The European Economy 1914-1980, London, Croom Helm.
Buchholz, Todd G. (1999) [1989] New Ideas from Dead Economists. An Introduction to Modern Economic Thought, Penguin Books.
Chandler, Alfred (1977) The Visible Hand.The Managerial Revolution in American Business, Cambridge, Harvard University Press.
Eichengreen, Barry (1999) A Globalização do Capital. Uma Perspectiva do Sistema Monetário Internacional, Lisboa, Editorial Bizâncio.
Figueiredo, A. M. & Costa, C. (1986) Do Subdesenvolvimento. Vulgatas, Rupturas e Reconsiderações em Torno de um Conceito, Porto,Edições Afrontamento.
Friedman, Milton & Friedman, Rose (1980) [1979] Liberdade para Escolher, Lisboa, Publicações Europa-América.
Heilbroner, Robert & Milberg, William (1998) [1962] The Making of Economic Society, 10th ed., New Jersey, Prentice Hall.
Hirschman, A.O. (1981) Essays in Trespassing. Economics to Politics and Beyond, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Kenwood, A.G. & Lougheed, A.L (1999) [1971] The Growth of the International Economy 1820-2000, London, George Allen & Unwin.
Keynes, J.M. (1970) [1936] Teoria Geral do Emprego, do Juro e do Dinheiro, Rio de Janeiro, Editora Fundo de Cultura.
Maddison, Angus (1991) Dynamic Forces in Capitalist Development, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Neale, Walter C. (1957) “The Market in Theory and History”, in Trade and Market in the Early Empires, K. Polanyi, C. M. Arensberg & H. Pearson (eds), New York, The Free Press.
O’Rourke, Kevin H. & Williamson, Jeffrey G. (2000) Globalization and History. The Evolution of a Nineteenth- Century Atlantic Economy, Cambridge & London, The MIT Press.
Polanyi, Karl (1968) [1944] The Great Transformation. The Political and Economic Origins of our Time, Boston, Beacon Press.
Smith, Adam (1981, 1983) [1776] Inquérito sobre a Natureza e as Causas da Riqueza das Nações, 2 vols., Lisboa, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.
Stigler, George Joseph (1982) “The Economist and the State”, in The Economist as Preacher, and Other Essays, Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
Supple, Barry (1977) “The State and the Industrial Revolution”, in The Fontana Economic History of Europe, C. Cipolla (ed.), vol. 3, pp. 301-357.
(A compulsory reading list will be indicated to students)

Complementary Bibliography

No complementary bibliography will be indicated.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Students are encouraged to participate in classes, on the basis of prior reading of the compulsory reading list indicated for each class throughout the semester. They are expected to raise questions and solve any problems they may come across, in the course of the presentation of course materials in each class, or in the course of their prior reading of the compulsory reading list. Additional support is provided each week, according to a regular timetable.

Software

No use will be made of software.

Evaluation Type

Eligibility for exams

No attendance requirements.

Calculation formula of final grade

Simple arithmetic sum of the marks of the three tests or overall mark of the final exam; students with marks from 7.5-9.5 will have to take a complementary written examination.

Examinations or Special Assignments

No specific work/tests are required.

Classification improvement

In accordance with the rules of the prevailing regulations (Regulamento de Avaliação de Conhecimentos).