Routledge Handbook of Global Economic History

This landmark volume documents and examines the development of economic history as a global discipline from the later nineteenth century to the present day. Exploring the normative and relativistic nature of different schools and traditions of thought, the Handbook not only examines current paradigmatic western approaches, but also those conceived in less open societies and in varied economic, political and cultural contexts. In doing so, the book clears the way for greater critical understanding and a more genuinely global approach to economic history.

The Handbook brings together leading international contributors in order to systematically address cultural and intellectual traditions around the globe. Many of these are exposed for consideration for the first time in English. The chapters explore dominant ideas and historiographical trends, and open them up to critical transnational perspectives.

The volume will be essential reading for both academics and students in economic and social history. As this field of study is very much a bridge between the social sciences and humanities, the issues examined in the book will also have relevance for those seeking to understand the evolution of other academic disciplines under the pressures of varied economic, political and cultural circumstances, on both national and global scales.

Francesco Boldizzoni is a Research Professor in Economic History at the University of Turin and a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge. He has held visiting appointments at EHESS, the LSE and Dartmouth College and is the 2013-2014 Scholar-in-Residence at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.