World Economic History is a core subject of the first year of the History and Geography degrees. Its main objective is to provide the student with a good knowledge of the main historical processes and developments, taken into account different historiographical approaches. In this course the student will become familiar with the main developments and facts of World Ecomomic and Social History: the rise and crisis of feudalism in the Middle Ages, the Age of the Discoveries and the Big and Little Divergences, the Industrial Revolution, the rise of Capitalism, the appearence of alternatives to Capitalism (Socialism), and the arrival of Globalization and its consequences (both positive and negative).



The students will have to learn how to analyze historical texts and sources and how to use the different kinds of tables and figueres commonly used in the field of Economic History.



This subject is closely linked to the "Economic History of Spain" of the second year of the History degreee.



The Economic and Social History is one of the most important parts of Historical Studies all over the world, and it is also related to Economics and Geography. It should also be mentioned that World Economic History is a basic part of many of the subjects taught at High School level in the line of Social and Human Sciences, such as "History of the Modern World", "Geography" and "Economics".

To develop a good knowledge of the main trends and developments in World Economic History with an awareness of the relations between them and the present world.



To learn the methods most commonly used in historical research and to develop the capacity to work with different sources.



To develop the ability of students for teamwork.

LESSON 1. THE RISE AND CRISIS OF FEUDALISM.

LESSON 2. THE EARLY MODERN ECONOMY (16TH-18TH CENTURIES).

LESSON 3. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND THE EXPANSION OF CAPITALISM.

LESSON 4. THE EXPANSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY (1870-1913).

LESSON 5. THE CAPITALISM AT A CROSSROADS: THE WORLD WARS AND THE INTERWAR YEARS (1914-1945).

LESSON 6. THE EXPANSION AND CRISIS OF CAPITALISM.

The teacher will taught the main contents of the subject during his lectures. There will also be time devoted to practical exercises and seminars, both individual and in group. Taking together, the lectures and practical classes will amount to 60 hours. It should be remarked here that the attendance of the student to these classes (clases magistrales) is compulsory. Then, the student will also have to devote another 90 hours of personal work to the subject.

• Final Assessment System
• Tools and qualification percentages:
  • Written test to be taken (%): 60
  • Realization of Practical Work (exercises, cases or problems) (%): 20
  • Individual works (%): 20

This subject is evaluated on the basis of continuous evaluation.



1- Continuous Evaluation: 40% of the final mark of the subject is made up of practical exercises realized in the classroom (20%) and an individual paper (another 20%).



2- Final exam (60% of the final mark). To compute the continuous evaluation in the final mark, the student will have to reach a minimum mark in the final exam. This minimum mark will be communicated to the students at the beginning of the term.



Students will be informed about the assessment criteria of the final exam at the professor’s tutorial sessions.



In the event that a student chooses to waive the continuous evaluation, he/she should submit a written application to the professor within the first nine weeks of the semester. In this case the final exam will amount to 100% of the final mark if the student wishes so.



If the health situation makes it necessary to suspend the on-site evaluation, the exams will be carried out online using eGela’s tools. The specific characteristics of each exam will be announced in advance in the corresponding eGela forum of each group/subject.





It is recalled that students must be aware and follow the protocol for both academic ethics and prevention of dishonest or fraudulent practices when taking assessment tests and writing academic essays at the UPV/EHU.

The evaluation criteria followed in second call (segunda convocatoria/bigarren deialdia) will be the same as in the first.

Selected readings (review articles and books) necessary for a good knowledge of the subject.

Figures and Tables will be provided to the student by the teacher.

Basic bibliography

ALLEN, Robert C. (2013), World Economic HIstory. A very Short Introduction, Cambridge, Cambirdge University Press.

CAMERON, Rondo y NEAL, Larry (2005), A Concose Economic History of the World. Since the Paleolithic to the Present, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

CHANG, Ha Joon (2008), Bad Samaritans. The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret Histoyr of Capitalism, Bloomsbury, New York.

CHANG, Ha Joon, (2014), Economics: the User´s Guide, London, Penguin,

FRIEDEN, Jeremy. (2006), Global Capitalism. Its Fall and Rise in the 20th Centyry, Norton, New York.

MARKS, Robert. (2015), The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Environmental Narrative from the XVth to the 21th Century, Rowman and Litfield, London.

In-depth bibliography

ALLEN, Robert, The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective, (Cambridge, CUP, 2009).
BERNSTEIN, William, The Birth of Plenty, How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created, (New York, Mc Graw-Hill, 2004).
BERNSTEIN, Willliam, A Splendid Exchange. How Trade Shaped the World, (New York, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2008).
BROADBERRY Stephen and O´ROURKE, Kevin, The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Europe, vols I and II, (Cambridge, CUP, 2010).
CHANG, Ha-Joon, Kicking Away the Ladder: Develpment Strategy in Historical Perspective (London, Anthem Press, 2002).
DE VRIES, Jan, The Economy of Europe in an Age of Crisis, 1600-1750, (Cambridge, CUP, 1976).
DE VRIES, Jan, The Industrious Revolution: Consumer, Behavior and the Household Economy, 1650 to Present, (Cambridge, CUP, 2008).
EICHENGREEN, Barry, Globalizating Capital. A History of the International Monetary System, (Princeton, PUP, 2008).
LANDES, David, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, (London, Little Brown and Co, 1998).
MADDISON, Angus, The World Economy, volumes I and II, (Paris, OECD, 2006).

Journals

Economic History Review
Journal of Economic History
Journal of European Economic History
Explorations in Economic History

Web addresses

www.aehe.net/docencia