The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Europe

Unlike most existing textbooks on the economic history of modern Europe, which offer a country-by-country approach, The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Europe rethinks Europe's economic history since 1700 as unified and pan-European, with the material organised by topic rather than by country. This first volume is centred on the transition to modern economic growth, which first occurred in Britain before spreading to other parts of western Europe by 1870. Each chapter is written by an international team of authors who cover the three major regions of northern Europe, southern Europe, and central and eastern Europe. The volume covers the major themes of modern economic history, including trade; urbanization; aggregate economic growth; the major sectors of agriculture, industry and services; and the development of living standards, including the distribution of income. The quantitative approach makes use of modern economic analysis in a way that is easy for students to understand.

Stephen Broadberry is Professor of Economic History at the University of Warwick and a Co-ordinator of the Economic History Initiative at the Centre for Economic Policy Research. His recent publications include The Economics of World War I (2005, as co-editor) and Market Services and the Productivity Race, 1850-2000: Britain in international Perspective (2006). Kevin H. O'Rourke is Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin and a Co-ordinator of the Economic History Initiative at the Centre for Economic Policy Research. His recent publications include New Comparative Economic History: Essays in Honor of Jeffrey G. Williamson (2007, as co-editor) and Power and Plenty: Trade, War, and the World Economy in the Second Millennium (2007, with Ronald Findlay).