Econ 40970
Modern European Economic History
John Lovett
Econ 40970: Modern European Economic History
John Lovett, Fall 2015
The Basics
Office: Scharbauer Hall, Room 4112, 817.257.6582
Office Hours: T, R: 10:00 – 12:00, or by appointment
e-mail: j.lovett@tcu.edu
Course Web Site: http://faculty.tcu.edu/jlovett , then Modern European Economic History
Text: There is no assigned text. You will, however, have lots of readings that are either on reserve at
the library or journal articles available on-line. You will need to copy these and keep them in a
well-organized notebook of readings.
Description of the Course
This course investigates the economic development of Europe from (roughly) 1700 to 1960. The ECON
40970 course counts as an economics “Historical Context” course for Econ majors. It can alternatively
serve as an economics elective for both Econ majors and minors.
Our primary objectives in this course in this course are to:
1) Understand the importance of Europe’s (and later the world’s) transition from a preindustrial society to the first industrial society.
The world has seen a lot of history. What makes Europe from 1700 to 1960 unique and important
when compared to (for example) the history of Southwest Asia from 200 to 460 CE? Both places
and periods are arguably important and offer exciting stories. Each has some lessons for today’s
generation. Nonetheless, Europe from 1700 to 1960 is of particular interest to economists, and
anyone living today, because it was the first instance in which rapid material changes became the
norm. For all of human history prior to (roughly) 1700, the norm was for each generation, in
material terms, to live in a very similar fashion to that of their parents. Today, the opposite is true.
Change is the norm. A production process or material item that hasn’t changed since your parent’s
time is unusual. As an experiment, think of ways our material living standard is the
same as our parents and ways in which they differ? Which list is longer?
This new era of change has many characteristics besides just an increased rate of change.
Humanity’s energy use has increased by an order of magnitude as we turned from human, animal,
and water energy to energy extracted from fossil fuels. Most production shifted from small
enterprises to large scale factories.
2) Examine Colonization as a symptom and facilitator of Europe’s Economic
Development.
How important were the colonies in explaining Europe’s rise to economic
hegemony? At the very least, colonization was a symptom of Europe’s economic rise. One
cannot develop and sustain colonies without good naval technology and a robust market for colonial
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Econ 40970
Modern European Economic History
John Lovett
goods. Did Europe’s colonies also make a significant contribution to European economic
development? There are many theories arguing that colonization played a pivotal role in Europe’s
industrialization. We will examine these theories. However, we will also find that the quantitative
evidence supporting many of these theories is often quite weak.
4) Investigate Changes in Europe’s Social/Political Environment.
In addition to changes in production technology, Europe underwent tremendous changes in her
political systems. During the period of this course, Europe saw the rise of constitutional monarchy,
representative governments, nationalism, populist movements, communism, fascism, etc. Most the
“modern” political models were tried somewhere in Europe during the time period
of this course.
Why did Europe’s institutional environment evolve as it did? Which of these systems worked well
at promoting economic well-being? Was the “choice” of a political/economic system open to
change or did geography largely dictate each nation’s choice.
5) Look at the Important Role Energy Played in Europe’s Rise and later (relative)
decline.
It takes energy of some kind to produce everything we make from bread, to I-phones. In 1700, the
energy used in production came from human and animal muscle, wind, water, and the yearly
agricultural process. Estimates vary, but humans in advanced societies around the year 1700 used
about 10,500 watt/hours of energy to produce their goods and services. Today, the average
American still uses roughly the same amount of “pre-industrial” energy … plus another 85 million
watt/hours of energy from electrical or fossil fuel sources. That’s more than an 8,000 fold
increase! Dude! No wonder we can produce some much more than in the past!
Where did this increase in energy use come from? In a word, coal. Further, Britain was far and
away the early leader in coal production and use. To many, this is the single most important reason
Britain led Europe into the Industrial Revolution. However, beginning in the early 1900s, oil began
to replace coal as the most useable source of energy. While Europe had large reserves of coal, it is
relatively short when it comes to oil. Perhaps the depletion of coal and the rise of oil played a large
role in Europe’s relative decline.
6) Examine the many, may, Crises Europe Faced between (roughly) 1910 and 1960.
While Western Europe may have led the world into this era of change, as is often the case, it’s hard
to stay on top. Beginning (approximately) in the late 1800’s Europe lead over the rest of the world
shrunk. Much of the first half of the 20th century was a time of crises for Europe. First came the
devastation of World War I. This was followed by rampant political and social strife throughout
most of Europe. The specter of communism took hold in Russia while Germany and Italy went
fascist. Then came the Great Depression, continued unrest, and the horrors of World War II, the loss
of colonial empires, etc. By the end of World War II, it is easy to argue that Europe had fallen from
its former position of world leader.
In recent decades, however, Europe seems to have climbed back to near the top of the Economic
heap. Although the last 50 years are beyond the scope of this course, we will discern many lessons
from Europe’s half-century of decline (1910 – 1960).
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Econ 40970
Modern European Economic History
John Lovett
Grading.
Possible points are
shown at right. Course
grades are assigned as
shown below.
A
A92.5%+
89.5%+
B+
B
B86.5%+ 82.5%+ 79.5%+
CC+
C
76.5%+ 72.5%+ 69.5%+
D+
D
D66.5%+ 62.5%+ 59.5%+
Possible Points
Item
Exams 1 – 3
3 x 100 = 300
+ Final Exam
100
+ Reading Notebook Checks
5 x 10 = 50
+ Homework
4 x 25 = 100
+ Participation (+100 to -90)
100*
= Total
= 750
Exams: Exams are generally half essay, half objective. I’ll give you questions to study (via the course
website) as the course progresses.
Reading Notebook Checks: I want you to physically have the assigned readings. State anti-stalking
laws preclude me from determining this directly (sorry … very innapropriate humor). Instead, I will
merely check periodically to see if you have all the readings. I’ll give you mor explicit directions later.
The basics, however, are that you will need to get a 2” ring binder. In this folder you will keep your
readings seperated by dividers. From time to time, I’ll check to see that everything is in there.
Homeworks: You will have four homework assignments. Typically, in these you will use
quantitative/graphical analysis to investigate the economic effects of various historical changes. For
example, in two of these homeworks you will investigate the role falling shipping costs played in
changing both the types of items produced for export and the overall level of competition..
80
3, 90
6, 75
60
9, 60
15, 30
Participation Points
40
12, 45
20
18, 15
0
21, 0
-20
24, -15
27, -30
-40
30, -45
-60
33, -60
-80
36, -75
-100
0
5
10
15
20
25
Days Absent
3
30
35
39, -90
I will excuse an absence if: 1) you miss class
for an official TCU (not fraternity or sorority)
activity, medical emergency, etc. and, 2) you
provide documentation or an e-mail from
Campus Life. If an absence is excused, I drop
it from both the numerator and the
denominator.
100
1, 100
0, 100
Participation is based on attending class,
being alert, and interacting in class. You start
with 100 participation points. You can miss
one day with no penalty. After that, each
class you miss costs you 4 points unless it is
excused (see next paragraph). The chart at righ
shows participation points as a function of
attendance. Please note that your participation
score can be negative if you miss enough
classes. This is akin to courses in which you
lose a letter grade after X number of absences.
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Econ 40970
Modern European Economic History
John Lovett
Classroom behavior such as showing up late, using your cell phone, disruptive conversations,
shooting tranqulizer darts, unleashing rabid hyenas, etc., can also cost you participation points.
Finally, I reserve the right to make minor changes to syllabus to facilitate a better student experience.
Students With Disabilities
Texas Christian University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding students with disabilities.
Eligible students seeking
accommodations should contact the Coordinator of Student Disabilities Services in the Center for
Academic Services located in Sadler Hall, 11. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students
should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking
accommodations. Further information can be obtained from the Center for Academic Services, TCU
Box 297710, Fort Worth, TX 76129, or at (817) 257-7486.
Adequate time must be allowed to arrange accommodations and accommodations are not retroactive;
therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the academic term for which
they are seeking accommodations. Each eligible student is responsible for presenting relevant,
verifiable, professional documentation and/or assessment reports to the Coordinator. Guidelines for
documentation may be found at http://www.acs.tcu.edu/disability_documentation.asp.
Students with emergency medical information or needing special arrangements in case a building must
be evacuated should discuss this information with their instructor/professor as soon as possible.
Academic Misconduct Policy
Don’t cheat or facilitate cheating! Do your own work, don’t plagiarize, etc. Definitions of academic
misconduct, as well as possible sanctions for academic misconduct, can be found in the TCU Student
Handbook. A “Procedures for Dealing With Academic Misconduct” can be found at the Department of
Campus Life and the AddRan College Dean’s office.
One of the best predictors of economic success for a nation is low levels of corruption. Both theory and
empirical evidence strongly support this. Nations in which cheating, bribery, favoritism, and bending
the rules is the main to get what you want are almost universally poor and underdeveloped. They also
are usually rife with great social problems such as incredible inequality.
Why am I telling you this now? Playing fair is not just a good thing in the moral sense. Playing fair is
also good for society. In societies where breaking the rules is the norm, people often get their positions
and contracts based on who is the best cheater, not who is the best at doing the job or making the
product. If cheating is pervasive, your doctor is not one of the best at providing medical care. Instead,
he or she is simply one of the best at cheating on exams, etc. If cheating is prevalent, the company
building the bridges you drive over is not particularly good at building safe, low cost bridges. Instead,
they build unsafe, over-priced bridges, but sure know how to bribe and cheat their way into contracts.
The point is that a cultural acceptance of cheating is a major scourge for both academia any society.
Accordingly, I will punish any incidents of academic dishonesty I discover.
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