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This title was first published in 2002: There are few students of European economic history who will not have come across the writings of Derek H. Aldcroft. His contributions to the field of economic and social history are vast and distinguish him as one of the most prolific economic historians of the 20th century. This volume honours Derek's contribution to the literature of economic and social history and its contents reflect his wide-ranging interests, particularly on issues relating to transport history and the growth and structural change in economies. From transport in the Industrial Revolution to late 20th-century international financial architecture, the essays in this book, contributed by leading economic historians, are a tribute to a remarkable scholar.
The European Economy Since 1914 provides an invaluable guide to the major economic changes in both Western and Eastern Europe during the twentieth century.
The First and Second World Wars, the great depression, oil shocks, inflation, financial crises, stock market crashes, the collapse of the Soviet command economy and Third World disasters are discussed in this comprehensive book. The contributors subject these disasters to in-depth assessment, carefully considering their costs and impact on specific countries and regions, as well as assessing them in a global context. The book examines the legacy of economic disasters and asks whether economic disasters are avoidable or whether policymakers can learn from their mistakes.
What do unions do and why do they do it? Do they seek to maximise profit for their members, or to obtain better working conditions that benefit society as a whole? Derek H. Aldcroft and Michael J. Oliver here provide one of the first sustained studies of the effects of union activities in terms of economic performance and the impact on the business world. From the rise of the British mass trade union movement in the 1870s to the present day, the book examines the main trends in union development and structure, and the core strategies unions have used to achieve their objectives: the use of strikes, work rules and restrictive practices; workers’ attitudes to innovation; the wage bargaining process. Important assessments are made of the influence of these strategies on investment, innovation, economic growth, and the cost of structure and competitiveness of the UK economy.
First published in 1997, this book analyses some of the key economic issues facing Europe in the interwar period, against the uncertain international, political and economic background of the time. Among the subjects discussed are the legacy of the peace settlements, inflation, trade and reconstruction, international lending, depression and recovery, the position of Eastern and Central Europe, and the progress of the peripheral nations. The book contends that the peace treaties raised more problems than they solved, while the policy mistakes of the Allied powers after the First World War, and their failure to devise an adequate programme of economic and financial reconstruction, weakened the already divided continent, contributing to its disintegration.
An account of the economic history of Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia in the 20th century. The authors explain why Eastern Europe was already underdeveloped by 1914 before assessing the impact of two World Wars, economic recession and socialist economic planning.
Economic historians have perennially addressed the intriguing question of comparative development, asking why some countries develop much faster and further than others. Focusing primarily on Europe between 1914 and 1939, this present volume explores the development of thirteen countries that could be said to be categorised as economically backward during this period: Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey and Yugoslavia. These countries are linked, not only in being geographically on Europe's periphery, but all shared high agrarian components and income levels much lower than those enjoyed in western European countries. The s...
The essays in this book focus on the controversies concerning Britain's economic performance between the mid-nineteenth century and the First World War. The overriding theme is that Britain's own resources were consistently more productive, more resilient and more successful than is normally assumed. And if the economy's achievement was considerable, the influence on it of external factors (trade, international competition, policy) were much less significant than is normally supposed. The book is structured as follows: Part One: The Method of Historical Economics Part Two: Enterprise in Late Victorian Britain Part Three: Britain in the World Economy, 1846-1913.
"In 'The Lights that Failed', Steiner challenges the assumption that the Treaty of Versailles led to the opening of a second European war and provides an analysis of the attempts to reconstruct Europe during the 1920s"-OCLC