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The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy
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The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy Paperback - 2021

by Kenneth Pomeranz


From the publisher

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.

From the rear cover

"Pomeranz uses that European invention--economics--to overturn Eurocentrism, establishing beyond cavil a New Fact in our world. Never again will Europeans imagine they stood alone in the doorway of economic growth. Pomeranz and his colleagues in the new sinology have reintroduced the Central Kingdom and its stunning historical sources, and Pomeranz has written the one essential book."--Deirdre McClosky, University of Iowa

"Pomeranz uses a mixture of institutional forces and technological/geological luck to explain how an economic and ecological 'tie game' suddenly became a victory for western Europe over China. He combines global imagination with the scientific detail needed to make his points hold firm. The Great Divergence should command widespread respect."--Peter H. Lindert, University of California, Davis

"A truly magisterial effort based on an immense knowledge of the field, a vast amount of reading, and on close and careful analysis, informed by both social science and history."--Joel Mokyr, Northwestern University

"This is an outstanding book, painstaking and devastating in its attack on received wisdom, supported by a wealth of solid evidence and elegant argument."--Jack A. Goldstone, University of California, Davis

Details

  • Title The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy
  • Author Kenneth Pomeranz
  • Binding Paperback
  • Pages 404
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Princeton University Press
  • Date 2021-04-13
  • Features Bibliography, Index
  • ISBN 9780691217185 / 0691217181
  • Weight 0.75 lbs (0.34 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 in (21.34 x 13.97 x 3.05 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 18th Century
    • Chronological Period: 19th Century
  • Library of Congress subjects Comparative economics, Economic development - History
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2020949716
  • Dewey Decimal Code 337

About the author

Kenneth Pomeranz is University Professor of History at the University of Chicago. His books include The Making of a Hinterland and The World That Trade Created.
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