We are writing a report on human development in Bolivia, and we are trying to place Bolivia's current political economy in historical perspective.
We are therefore interested in the concept of historical cycles, ie. what marks the beginning and the end of a historical period within the field of economic history, how economic historians define and determine historical periods, and whether it is possible to observe the transition from one period to another while the transition is taking place.
The Answer
Various recent articles by Solomos Solomou in the Journal of Economic History have looked at long waves of economic activity more formally than earlier research. Robert Fogel's new book "The Fourth Great Awakening" might offer a broad angle on such questions.
One strand of literature that deals with this issue involves social structures of accumulation. Terry McDonough offers a brief overview at http://www.1-888.com/longwave/schssa.html and a reference to an excellent book on the subject that he co-edited with Michael Reich and David Kotz.
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