How does social spending relate to economic growth and which countries have got this right and wrong? Peter Lindert examines the experience of countries across the globe to reveal what has worked, what needs changing, and who the winners and losers are under different systems. He traces the...

Introduction: approaching the imperial Roman economy -- Central aims of the book -- Who will read this? Target audiences -- Lingering questions about imperial Rome -- The many faces of Roman economic history -- From fine-grained to 'big picture': methods and treatment of the evidence -- The...