ECN 110A - World Economic History – Pre-History to Industrial Revolution

DESCRIPTION

This course detials the nature and development of economies from pre-history to the

Industrial Revolution. It explains how this was dramatically different from modern economies. Finally it considers what caused the Industrial Revolution, why it was in Europe, and why it was delayed till 1800.

SCHEDULE

Below is the schedule for the quarter. Because of a shortage of large lecture rooms this class has to be offered at 8 am, not a favored time for most of you. The lectures from this class in Spring 2009 were videotaped. These lectures are on the class web site, and cover all the material for this quarter. Thus you can take the class without having to attend the 8 am lectures. However, to encourage you to keep up with the lectures there will be a weekly short quiz in the TA sections.

Week of	Monday	Wednesday	Friday

Jan 4	Lecture 1	Lecture 2	Lecture 3
Jan 11	Lecture 4	Lecture 5	Lecture 6
Jan 18	MLK Day	Lecture 7	Lecture 8
Jan 25	Lecture 9	Lecture 10	Lecture 11
Feb 1	Lecture 12	Lecture 13	Midterm 1 (sample Midterm) (answers-sample Midterm)
Feb 8	Lecture 14	Lecture 15	Lecture 16
Feb 15	Presidents’ Day	Lecture 17	Lecture 18
Feb 22	Lecture 19	Lecture 20	Midterm 2 Sample midterm 2
Mar 1	Lecture 21	Lecture 22	Lecture 23
Mar 8	Lecture 24	Lecture 25	Lecture 26
Mar 15	Lecture 27	-	-

FINAL, Fri 19 March, 1-3 pm (Sample Final)

READINGS

The text is my book, A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World (Princeton University Press, 2007), available from the bookstore. There will also be weekly supplementary readings available as links to the syllabus on my web site. Some will be on more technical material, such as mathematical models of growth. Others will be case studies illustrating points in the book.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

There will be 8 short quizzes in the TA sections, two midterms, and a final. Anyone registered for the course has to be available for the midterms and final as scheduled. The grade for the class will be:

Quizzes - 20% Midterm 1 - 20% Midterm 2 - 20% Final - 40%

By Economics Department policy the class average GPA will be 2.7.

MISSED MIDTERM

Everyone should do both midterms. If, however, you need to miss either midterm for any reason – illness, a sports event, a crucial interview – then I just reweight the quizzes and other tests proportionately.

PROBLEM SETS

Problems on each chapter will be posted through the links below. The TAs will go over these questions as well as the supplementary material in the review sections.

OUTLINE

Ch	Topic	Pages
1.	Introduction Jared Diamond – The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race	1-18

The Malthusian Trap: Economic Life to 1800
2.	The Logic of the Malthusian Economy Questions on Chapter 2 Answer to Chapter 2 questions Caplan Critiques the Malthusian Model Clark Responds Caplan Second Round Clark Second Round	19-39
3.	Material Living Standards Questions on Chapter 3 Answers to Chapter 3 Questions Bessino and Ma on Japan Allen (pp 1-6)	40-70
4.	Fertility Questions on Chapter 4 Answers to Chapter 4 Questions	71-90
5.	Life Expectancy Questions on Chapter 5 Answers to Chapter 5 Questions	91-111
6.	Malthus and Darwin: Survival of the Richest Surnames, Genetic Selection and Social Mobility	112-132
7.	Technological Advance Growth Accounting	133-144
8.	Institutions Malawi vs Sweden North and Thomas North and Weingast	145-165
9.	The Emergence of Modern Man	166-192

The Industrial Revolution
10.	Modern Growth: the Wealth of Nations Growth Accounting	193-207
11.	The Problem of the Industrial Revolution	208-229
12.	The English Industrial Revolution	230-258
13	Why England? Why not China, Japan, or India?	259-271
14	Social Consequences of the Industrial Revolution Questions on Chapter 14	272-302