Economic Growth and the Origins of Modern Political Economy

Book excerpt: Economic Growth and the Origins of Modern Political Economy addresses the intellectual foundations of modern economic growth and European industrialization. Through an examination both of the roots of European industrialization and of the history of economic ideas, this book presents a uniquely broad examination of the origins of modern political economy. This volume asks what can we learn from ‘old’ theories in terms of our understanding of history, our economic fate today, and the prospects for the modern world’s poorest countries. Spanning across the past five hundred years, this book brings together leading international contributors offering comparative perspectives with countries outside of Europe in order to place the evolution of modern economic knowledge into a broader reference framework. It integrates economic discourse and the intellectual history of political economy with more empirical studies in economic history and the history of science. In doing so, this innovative volume presents a coherent and innovative new strategy towards a reconfiguration of the history of modern political economy. This book is suitable for those who study history of economic thought, economic history or European history.