Week 4

Question 1

provide a brief overview of economic history

Answer 1

hunter gathering

agircultural revolution

ancient world

rise of cities

age of discovery

industrial revolution

information revolution

Question 2

what are the three early economies

Answer 2

ancient empires
medieval cities
age of discovery

Question 3

characteristics of ancient empires

Answer 3

aristocratic control of the economy
profit maximization

Question 5

charactersitics of medieval cities

Answer 5

“free” cities vs Holy roman empire
black deaath -> environment

Question 6

charactersitics of the age of discovery

Answer 6

financed by banks
rise of European colonial powers
(Spain, Portugal, Great Britain)

Question 7

Early greek economist theories

Answer 7

greek philosophers
utopian theories
Plato (4th century) “The republic”

Question 8

European colonial powers mercantilism

Answer 8

economy controlled by the government
goal: accumulation of gold (wealth)

Means: tariffs -> maximize export and minimize import

founded the basis for colonialism and imperialism

Question 9

European colonial powers: geographical factors

Answer 9

world order (Mother countries vs colonies)

control over colony economies

economic dependence

Question 10

Historic emergence of capitalism

Answer 10

the cities
trade
accumulation
class dynamics
engineering
urbanization
labour
wages
new social dynamics
capitalist worker

Question 11

Capitalism - creation of value

Answer 11

Profit - capitalism is profit orientated

Exploitation - growth in value rests on the exploitation of labour

creative destruction - capitalism is necessarily dynamic in technological and organizational terms
spatial displacement of capital
uneven geographies of capitalism

Question 12

Adam Smith characteristics

Answer 12

economic liberalism

father of economics

wealth of nations

doctrine knows as economic liberalism

synonymous with classical economic theory

a reaction to mercantilism

invisible hand through supply/demand

Question 13

adam smith invisible hand

Answer 13

invisible hand shall be the only force to control the economy

expressed by the demand and supply interaction

through price

the mechanism that guarantees market equilibrium

Question 14

adam smith - wealth of a nation

Answer 14

wealth of a nation is a function of

the skills of its labour force,
capital asccumulation

additional note: innovation

conceiving the economy as a whole

made up of individuals with their skills

Question 15

whos theory is about overpopulation and scarce resources

Answer 15

thomas robert malthus

Question 16

Thomas R Malthus 1766 - 1834

Answer 16

Economist and clergymen

stated that food supply is the linit to population growth

food supply grows according to an arithmetic progression

population grows according to a geometric progression

Question 17

Malthus two main checks

Answer 17

preventative checks : moral restraint, decrease birth rates
hard to implement

positive checks : war, disease
increase death rates ,
only check that can solve overpopulation and should just be accepted

Question 18

What did malthus say was a major limit to food production?

Answer 18

Land

accpeted until mid 19th century

Question 19

Malthus theory merits and limitations

Answer 19

merits : clearly sates that resources limits a population

Limits: assumes ineflexibility of food production
considers only food and not other needs

fundamental aspects of geography are ignored
eg. space, location, distance
trade is also a major factor not considered

Question 20

What is/are Neomalthusians

Answer 20

paul ehrlich, garrett Hardin 1960s

resources (not specifically good) limit population growth

population growth has a negative impact on the environment

deteriorating quality of life

Question 21

David Ricard 1772 - 1823

Answer 21

classical economic theory

expanded smiths ideas to growth, wages, and international trade

his ideas show SPATIAL THINKING

a free enterprise economy may slow down the process and its final outcome

produce more = more food

Question 22

Ricardo iron law of wages

Answer 22

wages are determined by scarcity and subsistence cost

in the long run workers receive a “natural wage”
determined by labour demand and supply

the more numerous the people, the richer the landlords. They fatten, the people starve

Question 23

Ricardo international economic theory

Answer 23

theory of comparative advantage

theory of comparative costs and comparative advantages

laissez-faire in the international environment

each country should specialize in the production of goods where it has comparative advantage

Question 24

Karl Marx historic context 1818 - 1883

Answer 24

germany - second insutrial revolution (steel)

deteriorating social conditions

wrote communist manifesto 75 years after smith and 25 years after ricardo, malthus

concerned with the conditions of the working class (the poor conditions)

critical of malthus and ricardo

Question 25

Marx 3 levels of capitalist criticism

Answer 25

moral - injustice

sociological - class conflict

economic - accumulation of capital in private hands lead to economic growth and breakdown of capitalism

at each level he emphasizes conflict
conflict leads to change

Question 26

Marx theory of value

Answer 26

the value of a good is function the amount of labour embodied in it

ex. good A = 10 hours of work
good B = 20 hours of work

A is better

Question 27

what is marx’s theory of surplus value

Answer 27

a surplus value is created in the production process

the surplus or exploitation is the difference between the value produced by a worker and their wage

capital accumulation, obtained as a surplus of workers exploitation, is the basis for economic growth

Question 28

marx class struggle theory

Answer 28

injustice, class conflict, and labour exploitation will lead to uprisings resultuing in:
classless society
no private property
egalitarian ethic

everyone in society will share and control the means of production

this will be the solution to current social problems

based on an ideological lens

Question 29

marx population and resources

Answer 29

classical economic principals will not resolve europes overpopulation

an overpopulation does not exist
the problem is not food scarcity or population excess

it is the maldistribution of wealth (and food)

Question 30

marx theories merits and limits

Answer 30

merits: critical theory, points out problems
empowers people through knowledge

limits: implementation (hasnt been done effectively), resolution of problems
lack of spatial perspective

Question 31

critical geographies :feminist theory

Answer 31

important for population growth vs economy

simone de beauvoir

empowering women
fertility, birth rates
childcare, health literacy, infant mortality

Question 32

Ester Boserup 1910 - 1999

Answer 32

proposes a reversal of malthus theory

population is the independent variable

food production is the dependent variable

population growth triggers change and improvement to agricultural production

Question 33

Boserup population theory

Answer 33

the conditions of agricultural growth 1965

historic context: increasing population growth (baby boom)

intensification of agricultural systems:
intensive land use, intensive labour, trade-off work/leisure

Question 34

after boserup…..

Answer 34

her theories used to understand agricultural production in developing countries

density and sustainable agricultureBo

Question 35

Boserup merits and limitations

Answer 35

merits: ability to change perspective
influential in development work, developing countries

limits: excess population pressure, food scarcity, limits to agricultural intensification, limits to labour intensification, closed systems vs trade and migration