Details

ISBN-10: 0691217181
ISBN-13: 9780691217185
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publish Date: 04/13/2021
Dimensions: 8.40" L, 5.50" W, 1.20" H

The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy

Paperback

Price: $19.95

Overview

A landmark comparative history of Europe and China that examines why the Industrial Revolution emerged in the West

The Great Divergence sheds light on one of the great questions of history: Why did sustained industrial growth begin in Northwest Europe? Historian Kenneth Pomeranz shows that as recently as 1750, life expectancy, consumption, and product and factor markets were comparable in Europe and East Asia. Moreover, key regions in China and Japan were no worse off ecologically than those in Western Europe, with each region facing corresponding shortages of land-intensive products. Pomeranz’s comparative lens reveals the two critical factors resulting in Europe’s nineteenth-century divergence-the fortunate location of coal and access to trade with the New World. As East Asia’s economy stagnated, Europe narrowly escaped the same fate largely due to favorable resource stocks from underground and overseas. This Princeton Classics edition includes a preface from the author and makes a powerful historical work available to new readers.

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Reviews
This book is very important and will have to be taken seriously by anyone who thinks that explaining the Industrial Revolution . . . is crucial to our understanding of the modern world. . . . [A] book so rich that fresh insights emerge from virtually every page.–-Robert B. Marks, American Historical Review
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Details

ISBN-10: 0691217181
ISBN-13: 9780691217185
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publish Date: 04/13/2021
Dimensions: 8.40" L, 5.50" W, 1.20" H
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