World Economic History
Code: 102330 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2501572 Business Administration and Management | FB | 1 |
| 2501573 Economics | FB | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Alberta Toniolo
- Email:
- alberta.toniolo@uab.cat
Teachers
- Xavier Cusso Segura
- Montserrat Llonch Casanovas
- Roser Nicolau Nos
- Anna Maria Aubanell Jubany
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
There are no official prerequisites for taking the course. However, it is recommended that students have a basic knowledge of Economics, History and Geography, in order to get the most out of the lectures, readings and exercises.
Objectives and Contextualisation
- Analyse the complexity and dynamics of economic processes.
- Identify and explain the main determinants that have made possible periods of growth, economic stability, recession and crisis, on a national and international scale.
- Establish the explanatory factors of the economic globalisation processes.
- Analyse the causes and consequences of inequality amongst countries and between individuals generated by capitalist economic development.
- Study technological revolutions and their impact on the economy and on business organisation.
- Assess and compare the sustainability of historical economic development models.
- Detect gender differences and discrimination in the labour market, in access to economic resources and general welfare.
Competences
- Business Administration and Management
- Capacity for oral and written communication in Catalan, Spanish and English, which enables synthesis and oral and written presentation of the work carried out.
- Contextualise economic problems in historical terms.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the interrelationships between different economies, the role of national and international economies, their evolution and the consequences that may be produced for the company.
- Identify the economic agents that make up an economy, understanding how they have been interrelated to date, how they are currently interrelated and forecast futures according to new circumstances and their influence on a specific company.
- Organise the work in terms of good time management, organisation and planning.
- Select and generate the information necessary for each problem, analyse it and take decisions based on that information.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
- Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
- Economics
- Capacity for adapting to changing environments.
- Capacity for independent learning in the future, gaining more profound knowledge of previous areas or learning new topics.
- Contextualise economic problems in historical terms.
- Demonstrate initiative and work individually when the situation requires it.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the interrelationships between different economies, the role of national and international economies, their evolution and the consequences that may be produced for the company.
- Identify the economic agents that make up an economy, understanding how they have been interrelated to date, how they are currently interrelated and forecast futures according to new circumstances and their influence on a specific company.
- Organise the work in terms of good time management, organisation and planning.
- Select and generate the information necessary for each problem, analyse it and take decisions based on that information.
- Show motivation for carrying out quality work and sensitivity to the consequences for the environment and society.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Value ethical commitment in professional practice.
- Work well in a team, being able to argue proposals and validate or reject the arguments of others in a reasoned manner.
Learning Outcomes
- A capacity of oral and written communication in Catalan, Spanish and English, which allows them to summarise and present the work conducted both orally and in writing.
- Analyse the current economic problems in historical terms, to better assess the evolutionary possibilities of economic systems.
- Analyse the indicators of sustainability of academic and professional activities in the areas of knowledge, integrating social, economic and environmental dimensions.
- Assess ethical commitment in professional activity.
- Capacity to adapt to changing environments.
- Capacity to continue future learning independently, acquiring further knowledge and exploring new areas of knowledge.
- Communicate using language that is not sexist or discriminatory.
- Consider how gender stereotypes and roles impinge on the exercise of the profession.
- Demonstrate initiative and work independently when required.
- Demonstrate motivation regarding the quality of the work performed and sensitivity regarding the consequences on the environment and society.
- Describe the dynamic aspects of economic activity, taking as a reference the main phases of contemporary economic growth, and identify the main factors that have conditioned it.
- Explain the theoretical models of economy, in relation to their basic assumptions, using different historical cases as a reference.
- Explain the theoretical models of the economy using different historical cases as a reference.
- Identify the problems faced by economic agents when making decisions in uncertain conditions, based on different historical experiences.
- Organise work, in terms of good time management and organisation and planning.
- Perform an integrated analysis of the financial and physical flows of the economy, on the basis of different historical experiences.
- Perform an integrated analysis of the financial, worker and physical flows of the economy, on the basis of different historical experiences.
- Select and generate the information needed for each problem, analyse it and make decisions based on this information.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Work as part of a team and be able to argue own proposals and validate or refuse the arguments of others in a reasonable manner.
Content
TOPIC 1. THE PRE-INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY
1.1. The limits of population growth: the "Malthusian ceiling"
1.2. Agriculture, trade and manufacturing
1.3. The agrarian revolution
TOPIC 2. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN SOCIETY AND THE ECONOMY
2.1. Determining factors of Industrial Revolution
2.2. Technical and organizational change in the First Technological Revolution
2.3. Demographic transition
2.4. Modern economic growth and living standards
TOPIC 3. THE DIFFUSION OF INDUSTRIALISATION (1830-1913)
3.1. The diffusion of industrialisation in Europe
3.2. The emergence of the Second Technological Revolution
3.3. The rise of the USA
TOPIC 4. THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY (1860 - 1913)
4.1. Changes in transport and communications
4.2. Business relationships
4.3. Regional and transcontinental migrations
4.4. Capital markets
4.5. The international monetary system
4.6. The Long Depression (1873-1896)
4.7. The great divergence in economic development
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Exercise sessions | 17 | 0.68 | 1, 5, 6, 9, 15, 18, 24 |
| Lectures | 32.5 | 1.3 | 2, 11, 13, 14, 17 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Tutorship | 10.5 | 0.42 | 1, 2, 6, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Preparation of exercises | 31.5 | 1.26 | 1, 5, 6, 9, 15, 18, 24 |
| Reading and study | 55 | 2.2 | 2, 11, 13, 14, 17 |
1. Lectures
The professor will develop an analytical conceptualisation and a synthesis for every topic in the programme. The aim is to facilitate the transmission of knowledge and to motivate the student in historical analysis.
2. Exercise sessions
The aim of the exercise sessions is to help students to achieve the specific knowledge of the subject and acquire transferable skills. There will be questions set for each topic and it is expected that students will work on them before class with the help of the lectures and reading material.
3. Studying from lectures and readings
The work done in class has to be complemented by the student individually or in group work. The student should gain independence in the learning process and in the process attain the analytical tools to develop the critical thinking. This work should amount to hundred hours in addition to lectures and tutorials.
4. Tutorship
Students can use the professor's office hours to solve specific questions. Office hours will be announced in the intranet, Campus virtual.
5. Campus Virtual
Campus Virtual is a useful tool to help students to get easy information about the logistics of the course and the basic materials that the professor considers essential for learning.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise 1 | 5% of the final mark | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 21, 24 |
| Exercise 2 | 5% of the final mark | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 21, 24 |
| Exercise 3 | 5% of the final mark | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 21, 24 |
| Exercise 4 | 5% of the final mark | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 21, 24 |
| Final exam | 40% of the final mark | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23 |
| Midterm exam | 40% of the final mark | 1.5 | 0.06 | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23 |
The evaluation will consist of:
- 4 practical exercises. Weight of the grade for each exercise = 5% of the course grade. These practical exercises cannot be reprogrammed.
- The midterm exam has two parts, each worth 40% of the exam mark. The first part consists of twenty multiple-choice questions each worth 0.5 points if the answer is correct, -0.17 if the answer is incorrect and 0 if the question is not answered. The second part consists of 4 questions worth 2.5 points each. Weight of the grade of the midterm exam = 40% of the course grade.
- The final exam has two parts, each worth 40% of the exam mark. The first part consists of twenty multiple-choice questions each worth 0.5 points if the answer is correct, -0.17 if the answer is incorrect and 0 if the question is not answered. The second part consists of 4 questions worth 2.5 points each. Weight of the grade of the final exam = 40% of the course grade.
The questions will be on the topics explained in the theory and practical sessions and on the content of the readings and teaching materials indicated by the group professor.
Synthesis test: students who wish to opt for the synthesis test will have to apply by e-mail to the group's professor before 1 october 2024. The synthetic test will take place on the day of the final exam set by the Faculty. It will consist of forty multiple-choice questions and eight essay questions concerning all the diferents parts of the subject, practical and theoretical.
CAUTION:
1. A student is considered UNEVALUABLE as long as he/she has not participated in any of the evaluation activities. "The qualification of UNEVALUABLE implies exhausting all the rights inherents to enrolment in the subject".
2. Only midterm and final exams can be reprogrammed, always exceptionally and after obtaining the explicit aproval of the Grade Coordinator. All other types oftests performed during the course will NOT be reprogrammed.
3. This subject does not offer the option for comprehensive evaluation.
Calendar of evaluation activities
The dates of the evaluation activities (midterm exams, exercises in the classroom, assignments, ...) will be announced well in advance during the semester.
The date of the final exam is scheduled in the assessment calendar of the Faculty.
"The dates of evaluation activities cannot be modified, unless there is an exceptional and duly justified reason why an evaluation activity cannot be carried out. In this case, the degree coordinator will contact both the teaching staff and the affected student, and a new date will be scheduled within the same academic period to make up for the missed evaluation activity." Section 1 of Article 264. Calendar of evaluation activities (Academic Regulations UAB).
Students of the Faculty of Economics and Business, who in accordance with the previous paragraph need to change an evaluation activity date must process the request by filling out an Application for exams' reschedule: e-Formulari per a la reprogramació de proves.
Grade revision process
After all grading activities have ended, students will be informed of the date and way in which the course grades will be published. Students will be also be informed of the procedure, place, date and time of grade revision following University regulations.
Retake Process
"To be eligible to participate in the retake process, it is required for students to have been previously been evaluated for at least two thirds of the total evaluation activities of the subject." Section 2 of Article 261. The recovery (UAB Academic Regulations). Additionally, it is required that the student to have achieved an average grade of the subject greater than or equal to 3.5 and less than 5.
The date of the retake exam will be posted in the calendar of evaluation activities of the Faculty. Students who take this exam and pass, will get a grade of 5 for the subject. If the student does not pass the retake, the grade will remain unchanged, and hence, student will fail the course.
The retake exam has two parts, each worth 50% of the exam mark. The first part consists of twenty multiple-choice questions each worth 0.5 points if the answer is correct, -0.17 if the answer is incorrect and 0 if the question is not answered. The second part consists of four questions worth 2.5 points each.
Irregularities in evaluation activities
In spite of other disciplinary measures deemed appropriate, and in accordance with current academic regulations, "in the case that the student makes any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an evaluation activity, it will be graded with a 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that can be instructed. In case of various irregularities occur in the evaluation of the same subject, the final grade of this subject will be 0". Section 11 of Article 266. Results of the evaluation. (UAB Academic Regulations).
Bibliography
Aldcroft, Derek and Morewood, Steven (2013) The European Economy since 1914, London: Routledge. https://login.are.uab.cat/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsebk&AN=512379&site=eds-live
Allen, Robert (2011) Global Economic History. A very short Introduction, Oxford: OUP.
Broadberry, Stephen & O’Rourke, Kevin (eds.)(2010) The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Europe. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.
Di Vittorio, Antonio (ed.) (2006) An Economic History of Europe. London: Routledge. https://login.are.uab.cat/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsebk&AN=171273&site=eds-live
Feinstein, Charles.; Temin, Peter & Toniolo, Gianni (2008) The World Economy Between the World Wars. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Livi Bacci, Massimo (2017) A Concise history of world population. Malden: Blackwell. https://login.are.uab.cat/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsebk&AN=1453379&site=eds-live
O’Rourke, Kevin & Williamson, Jeffrey G. (1999) Globalization and history: the evolution of a nineteenth-century Atlantic economy. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Persson, Karl Gunnar (2010) An Economic History of Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://login.are.uab.cat/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsebk&AN=313317&site=eds-live
Temin, Peter (1989) Lessons from the Great Depression. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Zamagni, Vera (2018) An Economic History of Europe since 1700, Agenda Publishing.
Software
Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 2 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 3 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 41 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 42 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 51 | Catalan | first semester | afternoon |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 52 | Catalan | first semester | afternoon |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 60 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 81 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 82 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 2 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 3 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 4 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 8 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 51 | Catalan | first semester | afternoon |
| (TE) Theory | 52 | Catalan | first semester | afternoon |
| (TE) Theory | 60 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |