Economic History

Code:

LEC209

Acronym:

HE

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Social Science

Instance: 2007/2008 - 2S

Active?	Yes
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	373	Official Curricular Structure since 2004	2	3		-

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

Economic History aims at enabling undergraduate students to apprehend the main historical trends that have contributed to shape the economic and social development of the societies they live in.
The general theme of the course - «The rise, the crises and the 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 supremacy 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 economic growth in advanced market economies, namely in the inter-war period and in the 1970s and 1980s. Likewise, attention is given to growth complexity in underdeveloped economies since 1945.
Hence, Economic History aims at providing a better perception of the model of economy and society that underlies undergraduate studies in Economics. In particular, it envisages to provide a better understanding of the complexity of the institutional matrix underlying the economic and social environment in which forthcoming university graduates will work.

Program

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

1. Economies and societies

2. The emergence of the market economy: 1750-1850
2.1. The supremacy 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
4.4. The emergence of the guided market economy

5. The renewed vigour of the market economy: 1945-1970
5.1. The institutionalisation of international cooperation
5.2. The golden age of economic growth
5.3. 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, D. H. (2001) The European Economy 1914-1980, London, Routledge.
Chandler, A. D. and Daems, H. (eds) (1980) Managerial Hierarchies - Comparative Perspectives on the Rise of the Modern Industrial Enterprise, Harvard, Harvard University Press.
Figueiredo, A. M. and Costa, C. (1986) Do Subdesenvolvimento. Vulgatas, Rupturas e Reconsiderações em Torno de um Conceito, Porto, Edições Afrontamento.
Friedman, M. & Friedman, R. (1990) [1980] Free to Choose, Harcourt.
Heilbroner, R. L. and Milberg, W. (1998) [1962] The Making of Economic Society, New Jersey, Prentice Hall.
Heilbroner, R. L. (1999) [1953] The Worldly Philosophers, NewYork, Simon and Schuster.
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, Londres, George Allen & Unwin.
Keynes, J.M. (1971-1978) [1936] The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes, London, MacMillan, vol. 7.
Maddison, A. (1991) Dynamic Forces in Capitalist Development, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Neale, W. 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, K. H. & Williamson, J.G. (2000) Globalization and History. The Evolution of a Nineteenth- Century Atlantic Economy, Cambridge & London, The MIT Press.
Polanyi, K. (1968) [1944] The Great Transformation. The Political and Economic Origins of our Time, Boston, Beacon Press.
Smith, A. (1981) [1776] Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Indianapolis, Liberty Press.
Stigler, G. J. (1986) “The goals of economic policy”, in The Essence of Stigler, K.L.Leube and T.G.Moore (eds.), Hoover Institution, Stanford University, 1986, pp. 89-98.
Supple, B. (1977) “The State and the Industrial Revolution”, in The Fontana Economic History of Europe, C. Cipolla (ed.), vol. 3, pp. 301-357.

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 with, 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

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Description	Type	Time (hours)	Weight (%)	End date
Subject Classes	Participação presencial	63,00
	Total:	-	0,00

Eligibility for exams

No attendance requirements.

Calculation formula of final grade

Periodical assessment:
Sum of the weighted marks of three tests: multiple choice questions - 45% + non-multiple choice questions - 55%; students are required to obtain a minimum of 30% of the marks pertaining to the non-multiple choice questions of the third test.
Final exam: multiple choice questions - 45% + non-multiple choice questions - 55%; students are required to obtain a minimum of 30% of the marks pertaining to the non-multiple choice questions.

Examinations or Special Assignments

No specific work/tests are required.

Classification improvement

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