In this volume, leading modern economic historians show how analysis of past experiences contributes to a better understanding of present-day economic conditions; they offer important insights into major challenges that will occupy the attention of policy makers in the coming decades. The seventeen essays are organised around three major themes, the first of which is the changing constellation of forces sustaining long-run economic growth in market economies. The second major theme concerns the contemporary challenges posed by transitions in economic and political regimes, and by ideologies that represent legacies from past economic conditions that still affect policy responses to new 'crises'. The third theme is modern economic growth's diverse implications for human economic welfare - in terms of economic security, nutritional and health status, and old age support - and the institutional mechanisms communities have developed to cope with the risks that individuals are exposed to by the concomitants of rising prosperity. Contributors to this volume - Jan de Vries Jane Humphries Stephen Broadberry Paul A. David and Gavin Wright Nick von Tunzelmann Nicholas Crafts Christopher Davis and James Foreman-Peck Carol Leonard Francis Wilson Leandro Conte, Gianni Toniolo, and Giovanni Vecchi Barry Eichengreen and Peter Temin Avner Offer Roderick Floud Timothy Leunig and Hans-Joachim Voth Anne Digby and Sheila Ryan Johansson Richard Smith and Peter Solar Paul Johnson and Mark Thomas
