The British industrial revolution created an industrial economy. While casual discourse conflates industrialization and economic growth, Britain was remarkable primarily for the pronounced structural change that occurred rather than for rapid economic growth. Uniquely the British labour force...

The “Golden Age” of post-war European economic growth has witnessedextraordinary changes not only in the economic, but also in the social andcultural outlook of Western European societies. Eric Hobsbawm’s statementthat “[h]istorians of the twentieth century in the third millennium will...

In early modern north-western Europe, real wages declined while GDP per capita was on the increase. In contrast, wage growth in Tokugawa Japan went hand in hand with output growth. Based on this finding, the paper revisits Thomas Smith’s thesis on ‘Pre-modern Economic Growth: Japan and the...

Many developing countries - Viet Nam included - continue to struggle to raise incomes per capita. A common feature of the growth and development process is a fundamental change in the pattern of economic activity, as households reallocate labour from traditional agriculture to more productive...

Although manufacturing has played an important role in the growth of developing countries, Africa has lagged in this industry. This text argues that activities sharing the characteristics of manufacturing, including tourism and ICT, are beginning to play an important role in Africa, offering new...

Including in-depth contributions by eminent economists and social scientists, 'Asian Transformations' examines the phenomenal changes transforming economies in this continent and shifting the balance of economic power in the world, while reflecting on the future prospects in Asia over the next...