Economic History 2400-L1PPHG
1 Introduction. Economic revolutions. What is economic growth and development. Mechanisms and barriers to economic growth - specialization, resource availability (Malthusian era), mechanization, inter- and intra-sectoral productivity growth. Historical demography - determinants of population size, demographic transitions.
2. State and economy of medieval Europe: evolution of political and economic structures. Agriculture as the basis for the functioning of medieval monarchies. Evolution of the agricultural system in the Middle Ages. Malthusian crises and their significance.
3 Cities and trade in medieval Europe: the collapse of the urban economy and trade in the early Middle Ages. The urban revolution in the late Middle Ages: the emergence of local and regional markets. The local nature of the urban economy. The crisis caused by the great pandemic of the “Black Death” and its significance for the economic development of Europe.
4. Colonial expansion of Europe in the 15th-17th centuries: geographical discoveries, their causes, organization and course. The colonial empires of Spain and Portugal. Consequences of geographical discoveries. The price revolution. The new economic geography of Europe.
5. New type of state in modern Europe and evolution of state structures: Centralization of the state. Fiscal state vs. domain state. Origins of the nation-state. Models of the modern state. Decentralized state in Poland: parliamentarism of the nobility and another path of state evolution. Crisis of the 17th-18th centuries in Poland
6. Economic development in modern Europe: Mercantilism and the beginnings of modern economic policy. Development of markets and commercial capitalism, e.g., France, Holland, England. Agrarian dualism. Consequences of dependent development. The economy of the Republic in the 16th-17th centuries.
7. Genesis of the industrial revolution in Great Britain: Evolution of the political system. Agrarian revolution and fencing: modern property rights. The colonial empire of Great Britain. Other conditions of the Industrial Revolution (why England?).
8. The revolutionary era of the late 18th century: the Industrial Revolution in Britain - the course and consequences: the emergence of modern industrial society. Political revolution in the USA. Crisis of French absolutism. French Revolution. The impact of political revolutions in France and North America on social and economic change.
9. industrialization of the West: early industrialization countries from Belgium to the USA. Pax Britannica: the era of gold currency and free trade. Technological breakthrough and changes in the organization of production. The managerial revolution. Globalization.
10. countries of late industrialization: successes and failures. Europe: Germany, Sweden, Austria-Hungary, Russia. First industrialized non-Western country: Japan. European imperialism.
11. Interwar period: the First World War and the war economy. Postwar political and economic geography of Europe. Hyperinflation in central and eastern Europe. The Great Depression. Economic roots of totalitarianism in Germany. Anti-crisis policies. The economy of the Second Republic. World War II.
12. the period after World War II: The Bretton Woods system. The golden thirty. Decolonization. First, second and third worlds. Development paths of Third World countries. The oil crisis and its causes. Society of mass consumption.
13. European integration in historical perspective: unification of Germany and Italy in the 19th century, political and economic conditions. Marshall Plan and American integration impulse. Disputes over the model of integration (Council of Europe, ECSC, EFTA, EEC). Broadening and deepening of integration.
14. Real socialism: the rise of the anti-market economy. Centrally planned economy. Stalinism and the industrialization of the USSR. State socialism after World War II: USSR and satellite countries. Drivers of economic growth. Crisis of the socialist economy.
15. Recent decades: New model of economic policy after the oil crisis (neoliberalism). IMF, Washington Consensus and deregulation of peripheral economies. Systemic transformation of socialist countries. The economic crises of 1980-90 and the first decade of the 21st century. Summary.
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge:
The classes expand the student's economic knowledge by familiarizing him with the process of evolution of the European and world economy. The knowledge imparted in the class allows the student to understand the genesis of the modern economy and the institutional conditions of modern economic growth. The course shows that in the course of the historical process the economy is constantly changing, and we are currently observing a certain stage of its development. The class also shows the historical context of economic theories.
Skills
The goal of the course is for the student to acquire the basic skills of analyzing economic phenomena in the long term, comparative analysis and noticing the social, political and demographic context of economic processes. The student acquires the skills of looking critically at economic phenomena, processes and theories, recognizing the variability of economic views in the process of formation of the modern economy. The student acquires the ability to critically evaluate positivist and anti-positivist socio-economic explanations, recognizing their advantages and disadvantages.
Social competencies:
Classes teach teamwork skills, including planning, task division, cooperation, conflict resolution and coordination of work, as well as reliable performance of obligations. Classes teach independent thinking, problem analysis and information retrieval. The classes teach skills of communication, presentation, public speaking, as well as discussion, criticism and defense of one's peeps. In the course of discussion, students will have the opportunity to identify gaps in knowledge and realize the need to supplement it on a continuous basis. Absolute adherence to the rules of credit and zero tolerance for downloading form an attitude of responsibility and reliability.
KW01, KW02, KW04, KU01, KU02, KU03, KU07, KU11, KK02, KK04, KK05
Assessment criteria
1. Written exam.
2. Preparation of a presentation, made individually or in a small group. The presentation should last about 30 minutes.
3. Participate in the discussion of the presentations made in class.
4. Two absences are possible during the class.
Bibliography
Braudel F., Kultura materialna, gospodarka i kapitalizm, XV-XVIII wiek, t. 2, Gry wymiany, Warszawa 1992.
Berger P. L., Rewolucja kapitalistyczna, Warszawa 1995.
Cameron R. i L. Neale, Historia gospodarcza świata. Od paleolitu do czasów najnowszych. Warszawa 2004.
Ferguson N., Potęga pieniądza. Finansowa historia świata, Wydawnictwo Literackie 2010.
Ingham C., Kapitalizm, Warszawa 2011.
Kennedy P., Mocarstwa świata. Narodziny. Rozkwit. Upadek, Warszawa 1995.
Koryś P., Pożegnanie z pańszczyzną. Historia gospodarcza Polski od zaborów do dziś. Warszawa 2024
Jezierski A. i C. Leszczyńska, Historia gospodarcza Polski, Warszawa 1997.
Landes D.S., Bogactwo i nędza narodów. Dlaczego jedni są tak bogaci, a inni tak ubodzy, Warszawa 2000.
Państwo socjalne w Europie, red. K. Kraus, T. Geisen, K. Piątek, Toruń 2001.
Sedillot R., Moralna i niemoralna historia pieniądza, Warszawa 2002.
Skodlarski J., Matera R., Gospodarka światowa. Geneza i rozwój, Warszawa 2004.
Szpak J., Historia gospodarcza powszechna, Warszawa 2003.
Teksty, które będą omawiane na poszczególnych zajęciach, zostaną podane w odrębnym trybie.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: