Sunday, December 7, 2008

Power and Plenty or Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics

Power and Plenty: Trade, War and the World Economy in the Second Millenium

Author: Ronald Findlay

International trade has shaped the modern world, yet until now no single book has been available for both economists and general readers that traces the history of the international economy from its earliest beginnings to the present day. Power and Plenty fills this gap, providing the first full account of world trade and development over the course of the last millennium.

Ronald Findlay and Kevin O'Rourke examine the successive waves of globalization and "deglobalization" that have occurred during the past thousand years, looking closely at the technological and political causes behind these long-term trends. They show how the expansion and contraction of the world economy has been directly tied to the two-way interplay of trade and geopolitics, and how war and peace have been critical determinants of international trade over the very long run. The story they tell is sweeping in scope, one that links the emergence of the Western economies with economic and political developments throughout Eurasia centuries ago. Drawing extensively upon empirical evidence and informing their systematic analysis with insights from contemporary economic theory, Findlay and O'Rourke demonstrate the close interrelationships of trade and warfare, the mutual interdependence of the world's different regions, and the crucial role these factors have played in explaining modern economic growth.

Power and Plenty is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the origins of today's international economy, the forces that continue to shape it, and the economic and political challenges confronting policymakers in the twenty-first century.



Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments     xiii
Preface     xvi
Introduction: Geographical and Historical Background     1
Western Europe     4
Eastern Europe     11
North Africa and Southwest Asia: The Islamic World     15
Central (or Inner) Asia     24
South Asia     29
Southeast Asia     33
East Asia (China, Korea, and Japan)     37
The World Economy at the Turn of the First Millennium     43
The Golden Age of Islam     48
China: The Sung Economic Miracle     61
The Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian Trade     67
The Pirenne Thesis     71
Eastern Europe: T he Viking Connection     73
The Economy of Western Europe     80
World Trade 1000-1500: The Economic Consequences of Genghis Khan     87
Trade and War in the Mediterranean and the Black sea, 1000-1350     88
The Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, 1000-1350     98
The Pax Mongolica and Overland Trade, 1000-1350     101
Eurasia on the Eve of the Black Death     109
The Black Death     111
Trade between Western and Eastern Europe, 1350-1500     120
Overland Trade, 1350-1500: The Aftermath of the PaxMongolica     124
The Emergence of Russia     126
The Middle East, the Mediterranean, and International Trade, 1350-1500     127
Southeast Asia and C hina, 1350-1500     133
Quantifying the Late Medieval Spice Trade     140
World Trade 1500-1650: Old World Trade and New World Silver     143
Portugal, the Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean     145
Spain, Portugal, and the New World     158
The Pacific and East Asia     167
The Dutch Rise to Primacy in World Trade     175
Russia, Sweden, and the Baltic, 1500-1650     187
Southeast Asia during the Age of Commerce     194
The Cape Route, Venice, and the Middle East     204
Silver, Silk, and Spices     212
World Trade 1650-1780: The Age of Mercantilism     227
Origins of the British Empire: Trade, Plunder, and Settlement     2 29
Mercantilism, Commercial Rivalry, and the Anglo-Dutch Wars     238
Britain, France, and the Dutch Republic     245
Britain and France: Commercial Expansion and the Second Hundred Years' War     247
India: The Disintegration of the Mughal Empire and the Transition to Colonial Rule     262
Southeast Asia and the End of the Age of Commerce     275
The Manchu Empire     284
China's Overseas Trade     286
Chinese and Russian Overland Trade     295
Conclusion     304
Trade and the Industrial Revolution     311
Trade during the Industrial Revolution     324
Trade, Overseas Expansion, and the Industrial Revolution     330
Why Britain? Why Europe a nd Not Asia?     346
Conclusion     364
World Trade 1780-1914: The Great Specialization     365
War and Revolution     366
The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars: Short-Run Implications     369
The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars: Long-Run Implications     371
The Industrial Revolution and Transportation Technology     378
Bulk Commodities and Heckscher-Ohlin Effects     383
Nineteenth-Century Imperialism     387
Nineteenth-Century Trade Policy     395
Commodity Market Integration, 1815-1914     402
Complementary Factor Flows and the Great Frontier     407
Trade and the Global Division of Labor     411
Trade, Tropica l Frontiers, and the Great Divergence     414
The Terms of Trade     424
Conclusion     425
World Trade 1914-39: Deglobalization      429
World War I     429
The Aftermath of War     435
Interwar Commercial Policy     443
Transport Costs     455
The Volume of World Trade     458
Price Convergence and Divergence     461
The Great Depression, the Collapse of World Trade, and the Developing Countries     465
The Collapse of the Ottoman Empire     469
Conclusion     471
Reglobalization: The Late Twentieth Century in Historical Perspective     473
World War II     473
Geopolitical Consequences: Communism, the Cold War, and Decolonization     476
The Gradual Reconstruction of the Atlantic Economy: 1950-70     489
Policy Divergence: 1945-80     493
Reglobalization: 1980-2000     496
International Transport Costs     501
Trends in Openness: Quantities and Prices     505
Unraveling the Great Specialization     512
Openness and Convergence in the Late Twentieth Century     515
Conclusion     525
Globalization at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century     527
The Future of Globalization: Economic Challenges     534
The Future of Globalization: Political Challenges     539
Bibliography      5 47
Index     593

Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics

Author: CHIANG

The best-selling, best known text in Mathematical Economics course, Chiang teaches the basic mathematical methods indispensable for understanding current economic literature. the book's patient explanations are written in an informal, non-intimidating style. To underscore the relevance of mathematics to economics, the author allows the economist's analytical needs to motivate the study of related mathematical techniques; he then illustrates these techniques with appropriate economics models. Graphic illustrations often visually reinforce algebraic results. Many exercise problems serve as drills and help bolster student confidence. These major types of economic analysis are covered: statics, comparative statics, optimization problems, dynamics, and mathematical programming. These mathematical methods are introduced: matrix algebra, differential and integral calculus, differential equations, difference equations, and convex sets.



Table of Contents:

1. The Nature of Mathematical Economics

2. Economic Models

3. Equilibrium Analysis in Economics

4. Linear Models and Matrix Algebra

5. Linear Models and Matrix Algebra (Part II)

6. Comparative Statics and the Concept of Derivitive

7. Rules of Differentiation and Their Use in Comparative Statics

8. Comparative-Static Analysis of General Function Models

9. Optimization: A Special Variety of Equilibrium Analysis

10. Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

11. The Case of More than Once Choice Variable

12. Optimization with Equality Constraints

13. Economic Dymamics and Integral Calculus

14. Continuous Time: First Order Differential Equations

15. Higher Order Differential Equations

16. Discrete Time: First Order Difference Equations

17. Higher Order Difference Equations

18. Simultaneous Differential Equations and Difference Equations

19. Linear Programming

20. Linear Programming (Continued)

21. Non-Linear Programming

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