How the West Grew Rich The Economic Transformation Of The Industrial World

How did the WestEurope, Canada, and the United Statesescape from immemorial poverty into sustained economic growth and material well-being when other societies remained trapped in an endless cycle of birth, hunger, hardship, and death? In this elegant synthesis of economic history, two scholars argue that it is the political pluralism and the flexibility of the West's institutionsnot corporate organization and mass production technologythat explain its unparalleled wealth.

Nathan Rosenberg, a leading expert on the history of technology, is an economist at Stanford University.L.E. Birdzell, Jr. is an attorney and legal scholar, based in Newport, Rhode Island. Nathan Rosenberg, a leading expert on the history of technology, is an economist at Stanford University.L.E. Birdzell, Jr. is an attorney and legal scholar, based in Newport, Rhode Island.