In this chapter, I consider the benefits of viewing history through an evolutionary lens. In recent decades, a field of …. I begin the chapter by discussing the theory behind cultural evolution and the empirical evidence supporting its ability … to explain the history of human societies. I then turn to a discussion of how an evolutionary perspective provides …

The history of the twentieth century can be summarized excessively briefly in five propositions: First, that the … history of the twentieth century was overwhelmingly economic history. Second, that the twentieth century saw the material … were the most brutal and barbaric in history. Fourth, that the twentieth century saw the relative economic gulf between …

What can macroeconomic history offer macroeconomic theorists and macroeconometricians? Macroeconomic history offers … `path dependence': ways in which the cumulative past, including the history of shocks and their effects, change the … structure of the economy. This essay reviews American macroeconomic history to illustrate its potential uses and draw out …