Growth and Inequality, 1000-2000

Course goals

The aim of this course is to allow students to acquire:
- Knowledge of the origins, development and effect of institutions on a specific historical theme at an advanced level
- The ability to analyze the origins, development and effect of these institutions by applying appropriate theories, concepts and methods

Content

In this course we look at why the world has ended up the way it is; why are some parts of the world very affluent in terms of economic prosperity while others remain much poorer? We discuss whether economic prosperity is the best way to measure such global inequalities, or whether other forms of inequality are more pertinent, i.e. access to transport, inequality between the sexes, extreme differences in institutional arrangements etc. 

To explore how different forms of inequality emerged and how economic growth really took off we take a long term perspective. In the first half of the course we start by exploring three foundational models of economic development as they have been applied to the medieval period, and looks at why certain parts of the world developed benevolent politics, market institutions, and new technologies facilitating economic growth and development at a very early point in time. In the second half of the course we link what occurred in the medieval period to the advent of the Industrial Revolution and modern economic growth. This latter leg of the course focuses on the diffusion of modern economic growth and institutional constellations around the world. The main aim of this course is to analyze this long-term process of economic and institutional change by distinguishing multiple theoretical perspectives on its ultimate and proximate causes, as well as the vast global inequalities that came with it. In doing so we discuss the full breadth of the discipline of economic history, which has, since its establishment aimed to explore what the lives of everyday people were like throughout history. 

Please note:
Only students from the MA History of Politics and Society are allowed to register for this course. All other students have to contact the programme coordinator. 

Additional information

Career orientation
Students improve their feedback skills by commenting on the work of other students. The course moreover reflects on present-day issues regarding economic development and inequality, and invites students to establish links between historical and contemporary developments.