Selftest 1: The period before 1850 Flashcards
What does “Malthusian trap” imply?
More babies created than the technology available can feed
What does endogenous growth theory imply?
Economic theory where technology/technological change is an important factor
How does Neal/Cameron define economic growth?
A sustained increase in the total output of goods and services in a given society
What is the most common measure of output?
GDP (gross domestic product)
What does Neal/Cameron mean by economic development?
A substantial structural or organizational change in an economy
Name the classical factors of production
Land, labour, capital and human capital
What is the basic problem with using the classical factors of production for explaining historical change according to Neal/Cameron?
It more or less assumes that tastes, technology and social institutions are fixed and given
What is meant by human capital?
That people have a have good knowledge/education and/or ability and skills
What is implied by economic structure?
The size and character of different sectors in the economy
What does (Ernst) Engel’s law state?
That when incomes increases the proportion of income spent on food will shrink
Which human species were first to use tools?
Homo habilis
What are the “lucky latitudes”?
The section of Eurasia were most humans lived
What is the Neolithic revolution?
The phase when settled agriculture originated
When did the Neolithic revolution occur?
C. 13,000 BP
Where did the Neolithic revolution start?
In the western part of Asia (the Fertile Crescent)
Agriculture appeared independently in:
More than twenty places
In the Fertile Crescent agriculture first appeared:
On hillsides
When did empires appear in Western Asia?
5,500-3,000 BP
What is an emporia?
A place where merchants could live and trade
What was new about the Athenian empire?
It collectively financed a fleet and became the first maritime empire
What made Greek agriculture more productive?
Switching from grain to oil and wine and importing grain
What was one of Rome’s early comparative advantages?
Give trading privileges to conquered towns/regions and the protection of the Roman law
What, according to Neal/Cameron, explains the decline of Rome?
Plague, climate and lack of scientific research
Why did the Chinese Shang culture (c. 1520-1030 BCE) move their cities?
To find new access to copper ores
When did China become a more unified economy incorporating several older kingdoms?
1,100 BCE
What was characteristic of the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220)?
Free peasants who payed taxes and regulations of handicrafts for the purpose of producing luxuries
Name two differences between the Han and the Roman empire according to Neal/Cameron
Roman law made movement between sectors possible and Roman coins were used for payment outside the empire
What can explain the Neolithic revolution?
Technological invention, population pressure and climate change
What characterize the climate in the Middle Ages?
A warmer and wetter climate
Why did the Franks develop feudalism (a system of military and political relationships)?
In response to invasions of e.g. Muslims and Vikings
What is manoralism?
An organization of self-sufficient agriculture where landowners bound the cultivators to the soil
How large share of arable land was manorial land in England in the late 13th century?
25%
What is meant by the three-course crop rotation?
That grain was grown in 2/3 of the arable land and 1/3 was devoted to fallow
What was some listed advantages of three-course crop rotation?
Increased productivity, larger share of land could be planted, reduced risk of famine
What technological innovations was associated to the three-course rotation?
Wheeled ploughs and horses as draft animals
How did increasing population in Europe distribute itself in the Middle Ages?
By increased density of settlements, to wild and unsettled lands and over a larger area of Europe (geographically)
What is a commune in the Italian context of the Middle Ages?
Urban government that strived for political freedom for the town
What are some origins of the Medieval Crisis?
Crop failures and conflicts over land use
What was the key economic factor behind the success of the Muslim economy?
Great commercial possibilities
What was one positive effect of free access to mandarin exams for anyone?
Widespread literacy
What seems to have been one obstacle for technological breakthrough in China?
That craft products were mostly intended for the elite
What are considered the major contributions to civilization of the pre-modern economies in Southeast Asia?
Rice and spices
What factors worked against a more developed agriculture in the Americas before the European conquest?
Few domesticated animals and few types of metals
What major changes occurred in Europe from c. 15th century to mid 17th century?
Expanded geographical horizons and a shift of the economic centre of Europe towards north-western Europe
Which countries/economies are considered important for the technological development of navigation c. 1500?
The Dutch and the Portuguese
What was the largest industrial sector in Early Modern Europe?
Textiles
What constituted the largest capital cost in the Early Modern Europe iron industry?
Iron ore and charcoal
What was an effect of new raw materials from overseas on the European economy?
The establishment of new industries
What type of trade is described as triangular in the early modern period?
The exchange of slaves to America, firearms and cloth to Africa and raw materials to Europe
What is one major development concerning commercial organization in early modern Europe?
The development of larger, sometimes joint stock, trade companies
What is mercantilism?
A term use to describe a very varied set of economic ideas and policies in the early modern period
How is the economic policies of Dutch cities in the early modern period characterized?
Free except for trade with their colonies
Why is the Glorious Revolution considered important for economic history?
It paved the for funded debt, the creation of the Bank of England and an organized market for public and private securities
How is English/British mercantilist legislation characterised?
England import bans on textiles and legislation that favoured English shipping
What does “proto-industrialization” imply?
Rural manual production for a distant market, sometimes organized by merchants
Which nation is the first industrial nation?
England
Name some prerequisites and concomitants of British industrialization
Increased importance of trial and error in innovation, increased agricultural productivity, its geography
What characterizes inventors in the period 1750-1870?
They had hand-on knowledge of production (artisan inventors)
Which authors are connected with the “classical political economy”?
Smith, Ricardo, Malthus
