The Wealth (and Poverty) of Nations - Global Economic Development Past and Present London School of Economics and Political Science

Overview

By looking further into the past, you will explore how recent work across the social sciences has revealed that the answers to the most important questions about human history can be found much earlier than the Industrial Revolution.

Engaging with cutting-edge research in the field you will explore the deep roots of divergence, considering economic and social structures before industrialisation. Looking at examples from around the world you will understand why living standards and economic performance have improved markedly, while at the same time, looking at how development has diverged between different societies.

Grappling with key debates such as how Western Europe overcame pre-modern growth constraints in the 19th century to the importance of slavery for Atlantic commerce this course endeavours not just to describe these processes, but also to suggest and consider explanations for them.

As a result, by the end of this course on The Wealth (and Poverty) of Nations - Global Economic Development Past and Present offered at the London School of Economics and Political Science you will have developed the quantitative reasoning skills and conceptual language to discuss important historical events that have shaped society today.

Outcomes

• Understand how economic and social structures before industrialisation influenced growth in different societies
• Analyse the relationship between the growth of national economies and the development of an international economy
• Use quantitative historical data to understand why living standards and economic performance have improved markedly
• Use economic theory to analyse the role different factors have played in creating economic growth in different societies across time