Die Rolle der Hochschulen im Innovationssystem sowohl der BRD als auch der DDR hat sich in den letzten fünfzig Jahren zum Teil dramatisch geändert. Der Veränderungsprozess in der Bundesrepublik lässt sich grob in drei Phasen einteilen, die sich zwar überlappen, dennoch im wesentlichen eine...

Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey's excellent The Rise of Free Trade (RFT) gathers together speeches, contemporary writing and extracts from parliamentary debates relating to British trade policy between 1815 and 1906 (the year in which free trade was consolidated by a decisice General Election victory...

During the interwar years there was a considerable expansion in un/semi-skilled manufacturing employment. This paper examines labour recruitment patterns for the expanding sectors, together with the characteristics employers sought in the new workforce, using national data and case-studies of...

This is Part 1 of a two-part paper which surveys the historical evidence on the role of institutions in economic growth. The paper provides a critical scrutiny of a number of stylized facts widely accepted in the growth literature. It shows that private-order institutions have not historically...

This is Part 2 of a two-part paper which surveys the historical evidence on the role of institutions in economic growth. The paper provides a critical scrutiny of a number of stylized facts widely accepted in the growth literature. It shows that private-order institutions have not historically...

In the last years, Economic History literature has paid close attention to the long-term changes undertaken by regional income inequality in different countries after the integration of their domestic markets. Nevertheless, this literature has mainly focused on developed economies (US and...

In this essay I review Sylvia Nasar's long awaited new history of economics, Grand Pursuit. I describe how the book is an economic history of the period from 1850-1950, with distinguished economists' stories inserted in appropriate places. Nasar's goal is to show how economists work, but also to...

During the eighteenth century the VOC imported over a billion small copper coins (doits) to Java, which is a remarkable operation for the world’s largest enterprise at that time, since these coins were unfit to pay for the company’s wholesale trade. This paper argues that the VOC responded...

In a globalizing world, economic growth of the countries is deeply affected by international economic relationships. Therefore, openness has become the one of the most important factor affecting economic growth of the nations. On the other hand, it is very important to determine the optimal time...