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The Backbone of Europe
  • Health, Diet, Work and Violence over Two Millennia
  • Edited by Richard H. Steckel, Clark Spencer Larsen, Charlotte A. Roberts, Joerg Baten
  • Published online:
    29 October 2018
    Print publication:
    15 November 2018
  • Using human skeletal remains, this volume traces health, workload and violence in the European population over the past 2,000 years. Health was surprisingly good for people who lived during the early Medieval Period. The Plague of Justinian of the sixth century was ultimately beneficial for health because the smaller population had relatively more resources that contributed to better living conditions. Increasing population density and inequality in the following centuries imposed an unhealthy diet - poor in protein - on the European population. With the onset of the Little Ice Age in the late Middle Ages, a further health decline ensued, which was not reversed until the nineteenth century. While some aspects of health declined, other attributes improved. During the early modern period, interpersonal violence (outside of warfare) declined possibly because stronger states and institutions were able to enforce compromise and cooperation. European health over the past two millennia was hence multifaceted in nature.

  • European Trade, Colonialism, and Human Capital Accumulation in Senegal, Gambia and Western Mali, 1770–1900

  • Gabriele Cappelli, Joerg Baten
  • Journal:
    The Journal of Economic History / Volume 77 / Issue 3 / September 2017
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    21 August 2017, pp. 920-951
    Print publication:
    September 2017
    • Article
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  • We trace the development of human capital in today's Senegal, Gambia, and Western Mali between 1770 and 1900. European trade, slavery, and early colonialism were linked to human capital formation, but this connection appears to have been heterogeneous. The contact with the Atlantic slave trade increased regional divergence, as the coast of Senegambia developed more quickly than inner areas. This pattern was affected by French early colonialism and by the reaction of different West African populations to the economic incentives provided by foreign demand for agricultural products. The peanut trade since the mid-nineteenth century further amplified regional economic inequalities.

  • Conclusion

    • By Joerg Baten, Department of Economics, University of Tübingen
  • Edited by Joerg Baten, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Germany
  • Book:
    A History of the Global Economy
    Published online:
    28 May 2018
    Print publication:
    10 March 2016, pp 353-355

  • Summary

    In this volume, twenty-seven authors from many different countries and all world regions have jointly written a history of the global economy. They have considered a set of development indicators for income, health (height), education (numeracy), democracy and institutional quality that allowed the identification of periods of welfare improvement or decrease in all world regions. Insights could be obtained into the economic history of Africa, Asia, the Middle East and other world regions – important parts of the world that could not be studied using such a comparative, non-Eurocentric and long-term development approach before. This global approach changes the way we understand the economic history of the world.

    What can be learned from this book? It is certainly impossible to summarize all the results regarding global economic development of this volume in a short conclusion. The only strategy that we can follow – in order to round up this volume – is to emphasize some recurrent themes that were discussed in several chapters. One of the most fascinating findings was the large mobility between countries that developed faster and others that lagged behind. It has often been overlooked by historical descriptions of Africa, for example, how some countries and regions experienced growth spurts and rapid educational development during phases of their development. In west Africa during the nineteenth century and again during late colonialism, the development of ‘rural capitalist’ peasants (Austin) was quite promising, even if later civil wars and problematic institutional designs ended this. Similarly, Poland and other parts of east central Europe experienced a period of surprisingly high welfare after inviting skilled Jewish immigrants and setting constraints to the king in the sixteenth century (again, this governance system became problematic later). These less well-known examples of development episodes are not as present in the historical narratives because they later failed. However, failure was not always predetermined; economic history allows us to identify the reasons for success and failure. In this volume, we also included the hitherto little discussed countries and episodes of development.

A History of the Global Economy
  • 1500 to the Present
  • Edited by Joerg Baten
  • Published online:
    28 May 2018
    Print publication:
    10 March 2016
  • Why are some parts of the world poor today, while others are rich? At which point in time did they diverge, and what were the reasons? These core questions are addressed in a concise and accessible introduction to global economic development since 1500. Leading economic historians from across the globe provide overviews of major world regions together with global comparison chapters and case studies highlighting key themes, individuals, processes and events. Utilising a set of common developmental indicators, the chapters address crucial issues such as how international trade and migration, institutions and flows of physical and human capital impacted economic growth. Richly illustrated with informative figures, maps, tables and charts, A History of the Global Economy summarises the key economic findings, debates and ideas, and provides students and the interested public with an up-to-date and engaging introduction to the origins and evolution of today's global economy.

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