Podcasts
(3) Interview with E.A. Wrigley
Professor Sir E.A. Wrigley (University of Cambridge).
Interviewed by Professor Tim Guinnane (Yale University) on behalf of the Cliometrics Society.
Professor Sir E.A. Wrigley was interviewed at his home in Cambridge in May 2010 by Professor Tim Guinnane (Yale):
This interview complements the more biographical interview by Alan Macfarlane in 2007 »
(2) The Leverhulme Lectures 2010
Professor Osamu Saito (Hitotsubashi University, Cambridge Group).
"All poor, but no paupers: a Japanese perspective on the Great Divergence" »
Ken Pomeranz’s The Great Divergence (2000), based mainly on Chinese evidence, argued that in the early modern period, the Asian standard of living was on a par with that of Europe and that market growth in East Asia was comparable to that in western Europe. The book has stimulated a major debate amongst economic historians and much progress has recently been made in cross-cultural comparisons of real wages. However, real differences between East and West cannot be properly understood unless household income, not just real wages, and income inequality, not just per-capita income, are compared; and due attention should be given, not only to product markets, but to factor markets as well. This lecture series examines these issues on the empirical basis of what Japan’s economic history can offer. The findings are not consistent with either Pomeranz’s account of East-West differences in living standards or with those presented in Bob Allen’s recent book.
(1) The Ellen McArthur Lectures 2009
Professor Nick Crafts (University of Warwick)
“From the 18th to the 21st Century: a Perspective on 250 Years of Economic Growth” »
These lectures consider the evolution of the performance of the British economy over the long run taking the view that 'history matters' but so do the microeconomic foundations of growth. Starting with the Industrial Revolution, the growth record of the British economy is re-examined and key controversies are re-appraised. The objective is to provide a coherent account of British relative economic decline which emphasizes the interactions between institutions and policy choices in the context of historical constraints. The argument is tested by seeking also to explain the apparent end of relative decline recently.
