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The Cambridge History of "Capitalism"

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  • Peter Temin

Abstract

This review essay of the two-volume Cambridge History of Capitalism (2014), edited by Larry Neal and Jeffrey G. Williamson, is divided into three parts. First, I describe three chapters from the second volume that I recommend for all economists to add depth to their understanding of the world economy today. Robert C. Allen analyzes the world distribution of income; Randall Morck and Bernard Yeung discuss the history of business groups; and Peter Lindert surveys private and public programs to help the poor. In each case, they analyze historical backgrounds that illuminate current issues. Second, I criticize the definition of capitalism used in these volumes as too expansive to be useful. I argue that this definition mars the essays in first volume by stimulating a fruitless search for capitalism in the millennium before the Industrial Revolution. Third, I describe the essays in this reference work starting from the most recent and ending with those about antiquity. (JEL N00, P10)

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Temin, 2015. "The Cambridge History of "Capitalism"," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 53(4), pages 996-1016, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:jeclit:v:53:y:2015:i:4:p:996-1016
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/jel.53.4.996
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Mill, John Stuart, 1848. "Principles of Political Economy (III): Exchange," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, volume 3, number mill1848-3.
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    6. Hicks, J. R., 1969. "A Theory of Economic History," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198811633.
    7. Allen,Robert C., 2009. "The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521868273, September.
    8. Neal,Larry & Williamson,Jeffrey G. (ed.), 2014. "The Cambridge History of Capitalism," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107019645, October.
    9. Allen, Robert C., 2001. "The Great Divergence in European Wages and Prices from the Middle Ages to the First World War," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 411-447, October.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General
    • P10 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - General

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