Comparative history of living standards: the West and the East

Chiaki YAMAMOTO (School of Economics)

Objective
   This course will introduce you to recent findings of economic history on living standards in comparative perspective. In his The Great Divergence published in 2000, Kenneth Pomeranz argued that the level of economic development in East Asia had been on a par with Western Europe up until the eighteenth century, and the Great Divergence in living standards between the two occurred after the Industrial Revolution. His book has questioned the traditional view that the dominance of the West dates back to the early modern period, and promoted further studies on living standards. In this class, we will explore the debate and discuss topics such as "what is economic development?", "economic growth in the early modern period", and "modern economic growth".

Course Schedule

1. Introduction
2. Comparative history of living standards: the background
3. Specialisation, markets, and economic growth: some concepts (1)
4. Specialisation, markets, and economic growth: some concepts (2)
5. Discussion: What is economic development?
6. Cross-cultural comparison of living standards: GDP per capita and real wages
7. Smithian growth
8. Trends in income gaps
9. Household economy and factor (land/labour) markets
10. Discussion: Economic growth in the early modern period
11. The Industrial Revolution: Onset of industrialisation and its diffusion
12. Industrialisations of nations
13. Consequences of industrialisation
14. Discussion: Divergence or convergence?
15. Exam

Textbook
   No textbook assigned. Handouts will be provided.

Evaluation
   Class attendance and contribution to discussion: 50%
   Exam: 50%