ERINDALE COLLEGE

University of Toronto

1998-99

ECO 303Y:  Modern European Economic History

Prof. S. M. Eddie

257 Kaneff Centre

Telephone: 828-3908

E-mail: eddie@chass.utoronto.ca

REQUIRED TEXTS :

Students should purchase all of these.

1.         E. L. Jones, The European Miracle:  Environments, economies and geopolitics in the history of Europe and Asia, 2nd edition (Cambridge University Press, 1987).  Available in paperback.

2.         Paul Gregory,  Before Command:  An Economic History of Russia from Emancipation to the First Five-Year Plan (Princeton University Press, 1994)

3.         Edith Fine and Judith Jacobson, Nitty-Gritty Grammar (Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1998), paperback.

Recommended text (purchase not required):

The Economic History of Modern Europe: ECO 303Y:  This reprotext booklet contains copies of all the assigned readings not found in the required texts.  All are on reserve in the library, but given the limited number of copies we are allowed to put on reserve, you may find it convenient to have your own copy of the readings.

OBJECTIVES AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSE :

            The profound economic changes now sweeping Europe have their roots in the economic history of the 19th and 20th centuries.  One group of mostly rich nations, the members of the EEC, is moving toward a complete common market and even a common currency, while the other large group, the remnants of the former Socialist bloc, is struggling to try to rescue its economies from the ruins of central planning.  A third, peripheral group of countries either strives to join the club of the rich (e.g., Portugal or Greece) or, already being rich, tries to keep a discreet distance from the hurly-burly of the rest of Europe (e.g., Norway, Switzerland).  Our goal is to try to understand how they arrived at their present situation, and to provide a basis for thinking about where they might head from here.

            To achieve this goal requires a basic understanding of modern economic growth and its principal economic and social consequences, as well as of how and why central planning went awry.  Necessary concomitants are a rudimentary knowledge of the economic geography of Europe and of the economic forces (as well as some of the political forces) behind the present tensions within and among countries in Europe.  This course is designed to lead in an orderly fashion toward such an understanding of the European situation.

The design organizes the course into four parts : 

1.         The first part (to Oct. 26th) aims at systematizing our thinking about economic growth and economic organization.  We will focus particularly on use of explicit economic theory and simple quantitative analysis.

2.         The second part (to Dec. 21st) examines agriculture, industrialization, and evidence of change in the standard of living, both in general European perspective and with respect to Great Britain, Germany, France, and Russia in particular.

3.         In the third part of the course (to Feb. 8th), we will consider the period between the two world wars:  the aftermath of World War I, the wholesale boundary changes and creation of new countries, the hyperinflations of the 1920s and the Great Depression of the 1930s, and the rise of Nazi Germany.

4.         Finally, in part 4 we will examine the Soviet Union in the period 1917 - 1940:  from Revolution, civil war and War Communism through the Great Debate on economic strategy, the development of central planning, the collectivization of agriculture, the bureaucratization of everything, and how this laid the foundation for today's troubles in the former Soviet Union and its former Socialist allies.

HOW TO SUCCEED IN THIS COURSE :

            As a normal part of study procedure, I strongly recommend that students take notes on the assigned readings.  Not only does this relieve you of the necessity of going back to the readings a second or third time as you study them, the neural- motor connection inherent in the act of taking notes reinforces learning.  Everyone must take notes the first two weeks; you will receive a grade on these notes.

            A hint on effective, efficient reading :  Economic historians tend to be a rather linear-thinking lot.  The first sentence is usually the topic sentence of each paragraph in their writings.  You can often see their argument more clearly if your first reading of a given work is to read only the first sentence of each paragraph. [1]   You can pick up the qualifications and nuances later.  A double reading done this way usually takes less time than a single first-word-to-last-word reading, because you see the main line of argument quickly, and the second time through the paper or chapter goes very much more quickly because you know what you're looking for.

            In this course readings are of at least equal priority to the lectures .   The lectures will supplement the readings; they will not substitute for nor repeat the readings.  This is analogous to parallel computing:  We proceed simultaneously along two paths ­ reading and class work ­ until we reach a point where the results of the inputs and information processing of each path can be put together.  This occurs rather late in the course.  While the readings usually cover specific questions or topics, lectures will be used to discuss various concepts in economic theory which are necessary for the study of the topics under review, to examine controversies in the scholarly literature, to provide summaries or interpretations of viewpoints other than those found in the readings, to inform the students about directions of current research, and so forth.  It is intentional, and an integral part of the course design, that the lectures often will differ substantially from the material covered in the readings.  Tests and the final exam will cover both reading and lecture materials.

            Because this is a writing-designated course, we will spend considerable time on basic writing issues .   We will focus on the organization and presentation of your ideas and on writing simple, clear, and direct prose which will command the attention of the reader, rather than turning him or her off because of poor grammar, sloppy syntax, and incorrect spelling.  This will include specific attention to common errors in English grammar which make readers think the writer is uneducated or lazy, therefore not worth the reader's continued attention.  This may be unfair ­ it does not give the writer credit for what he or she really knows nor for the effort put into the writing  ­ but that's the way it is:  Your ideas and knowledge will have no impact unless you can express them clearly.

            The marking scheme for the course follows on the next page.

MARKING SCHEME :

            This course has been designated a "writing course" by the Commerce programme.  In keeping with this designation, writing other than tests and exams is required. A student's mark in the course will consist of the following:

1.         A set of readings notes ­ the notes you have taken on all assigned readings of the first two weeks ­ due Sept. 29th, worth 3 per cent.

            NB: In fact these will be worth more, for the practice and the critique of your notes should help you improve the efficiency of your reading for the rest of the course.

2.         A problem set (due Nov. 27th) worth 9 per cent.

3.         Two term tests (Oct. 19th and Jan. 18th) , worth 18 per cent each.  Note that a small part of each test will be on questions of writing, particularly on the grammar which is covered in Nitty-Gritty Grammar and which we will discuss in class.

4.         Short writing assignments, including in-class exercises, worth a total of 18 per cent.  This includes book reviews of Jones's European Miracle (due Nov. 13th) and Gregory's Before Command (due Feb. 22nd), worth 5 per cent each, and a written evaluation of the Roehl-Locke debate, worth 3 per cent (due Dec. 7th).  There will be no makeups for in-class exercises, the dates of which are clearly indicated in the course outline.

5.         A final examination worth 34 per cent .  This will be scheduled during the regular April-May examination period.  The exact date and time will be announced by the Registrar's Office in mid-March.

To facilitate your planning of how to fit the assignments from this course in with your obligations in other courses, and to give you the opportunity to allow plenty of time for unforeseen contingencies,  the entire year's schedule of due dates for all assignments is given in this course outline, available the first day of classes.  As a consequence, no requests for extension of deadlines can or will be entertained.

The schedule of classes and assignments follows on the next page.

Day, Date	Topic or exercise, Notices	Reading assignments, comments
Sept. 14	Introduction:  Some basic considerations	E. A. Wrigley, "Why poverty was inevitable in traditional societies," in John A. Hall and I.C. Jarvie, eds., Transition to Modernity: Essays on Power, Wealth and Belief, pp. 91-110. W. Arthur Lewis, The Theory of Economic Growth, pp. 420-435: "Is economic growth desirable?" H. Freudenberger and G. Cummins, "Health, work, and leisure before the industrial revolution," Explorations in Economic History 13:1 (Jan. 1976), pp. 1-12.
Sept. 21	Quantification in economic history: introduction	Douglass North, "Institutions," Journal of Economic Perspectives 5:1 (Winter, 1991), pp. 97-112. R.E. Johnson, "History by Numbers," Perspectives (Newsletter of the American Historical Association), Feb. 1989, pp. 14, 16-18. Handout on index numbers (readings notes on this NOT required).
Sept. 28	Quantification in economic history continued. In-class grammar exercise	C.H. Lee, The Quantitative Approach to Economic History, ch. 2, pp. 7 - 35. Jones, preface and introduction to the second edition, pp. vi - xxxi; chs. 1-2, pp. 3-41. Nitty-Gritty Grammar, pp. 3-13.
	Readings notes for assigned readings through Sept. 21st  due today.
Oct. 5	Organizing our thinking: economic models	Douglass North and Robert Paul Thomas, "An Economic Theory of the Growth of the Western World," Economic History Review, XXIII:1 (Feb. 1970), pp. 1-17. Jones, ch. 3-4, pp. 45-84. Nitty-Gritty Grammar, pp. 14-30.
Oct. 12	Thanksgiving holiday.  No class today.
Oct. 19	First term test covering lecture and reading materials through Oct. 5.
Oct. 26	Economic models continued. In-class grammar exercise	Jones, chs. 5 & 6, pp. 85-126. Nitty-Gritty Grammar, pp. 31-42.
Day, Date	Topic or exercise, Notices	Reading assignments, comments
Nov. 2	Economic organization: feudalism	Jones, chs. 7 & 8, pp. 127-171. Nitty-Gritty Grammar, pp. 43-49.
Nov. 9	Transition from feudalism:  enclosures and serf emancipations	Jones, chs. 9 - 12, pp. 175-238. Nitty-Gritty Grammar, pp. 50-64.
Fri., Nov. 13th:   Review of Jones book due by 4:45 pm today
Nov. 16	Industrialization: in general and in Great Britain.	R.V. Jackson, "Rates of industrial growth during the industrial revolution," Economic History Review XLV:1 (Feb. 1992), pp. 1-23. N.F.R. Crafts, British Economic Growth During the Industrial Revolution, ch. 3 (pp. 48-69). Clark Nardinelli, "Were children exploited during the industrial revolution?" Research in Economic History 11 (1988), pp. 243-276. Nitty-Gritty Grammar, pp. 65-85.
Nov. 23	Changes in standards of living as reflected in changes in the average height of a given population. In-class grammar exercise	Stephen Nicholas and Deborah Oxley, "The living standards of women during the Industrial Revolution, 1795-1820," Economic History Review 46:4 (Nov. 1993), pp. 723-749. Stephen Nicholas and Richard Steckel, "Tall but poor: Living standards of men and women in pre-famine Ireland," Journal of European Economic History 26:1 (Spring 1997), pp. 105-130. David Weir, "Parental consumption decisions and child health during the early French fertility decline, 1790-1914," Journal of Economic History 53:2 (June 1993), pp. 259-274. Nitty-Gritty Grammar, pp. 86-96.
Fri., Nov. 27th:   Index number problem due by 4:45 pm today
Day, Date	Topic or exercise, Notices	Reading assignments, comments
Nov. 30	Germany upsets the European balance of power	Jürgen Kocka, "Capitalism and bureaucracy in German industrialization before 1914," Economic History Review 34:3 (Aug. 1981), pp. 453-468. Richard Tilly, "German industrialization and Gerschenkronian backwardness," Rivista di Storia Economica 6:2 (June, 1989), pp. 139-164. Jeremy Edwards and Sheilagh Ogilvie, "Universal banks and German industrialization: A reappraisal," Economic History Review 49:3 (Aug. 1996), pp. 427-446.
Dec. 7	France:  unusual population history; the myth of stagnation.	Richard Roehl, "French industrialization: A reconsideration," Explorations in Economic History 13:3 (July, 1976), pp. 233-281 Robert R. Locke, "French Industrialization: The Roehl Thesis Reconsidered" and Richard Roehl, "French Industrialization: A Reply," Explorations in Economic History 18:4 (Oct.1981): 415-435. George Grantham, "The French cliometric revolution: A survey of cliometric contributions to French economic history," European Review of Economic History 1:3 (Dec. 1997), pp. 353-396.
	Written analysis of the Roehl-Locke debate due today.
End of the Fall semester
Jan. 4	A laggard Great Power?  Austria- Hungary before World War I. In-class grammar exercise	S. M. Eddie, "Economic Policy and Economic Development in Austria-Hungary, 1867-1913," The Cambridge Economic History of Europe, vol. VIII, ed. Peter Mathias and Sidney Pollard (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 814 - 886.
Jan. 11	Emancipation and industrialization in Imperial Russia	Gregory, chs. 1-4, pp. 3 - 80.
Jan. 18	Second term test covering all lecture and reading materials from Oct. 26th through Jan. 4th, inclusive.  This test will also include at least 10% on writing-specific questions, particularly grammar.
Day, Date	Topic or exercise, Notices	Reading assignments, comments
Jan. 25	World War I and the new map of Europe. In-class grammar exercise	Charles Feinstein, Peter Temin, and Gianni Toniolo, "International economic organization: Banking, finance, and trade between the wars," in Charles Feinstein, ed., Banking, Currency, and Finance in Europe Between the Wars (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995), pp. 9-75.
Feb. 1	Deflation and hyperinflation in the 1920s	Mark Thomas. "The macro-economics of the interwar years," ch. 13 in Roderick Floud and Donald McCloskey, eds., The Economic History of Britain Since 1700, 2nd edition, vol. 2 (Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 320-347. George Horsman, Inflation in the Twentieth Century: Evidence from Europe and North America (St. Martin's Press, 1988), ch. 2: "The great German inflation," pp. 6-37. Gustavo Franco, "Fiscal reforms and stabilization: Four hyperinflation cases examined," Economic Journal 100:399 (March 1990), pp. 176-187.
Feb. 8	The Great Depression of the 1930s	Barry Eichengreen, "The origin and nature of the Great Slump revisited," Economic History Review 45:2 (May, 1992), pp. 213-239.
Feb. 15	Reading week.  No class today.
Mon., Feb. 22:   Review of Gregory book due by 4:45 pm today
Feb. 22	Revolution, War Communism, and the great inflation in the Soviet Union	Gregory, Before Command, chs. 5 & 6, pp. 81-127. P. Bernholz, "Currency substitution during hyperinflation in the Soviet Union, 1922-1924," Journal of European Economic History, Fall 1996, pp. 297-324.
Mar. 1 & 8	The New Economic Policy and the Great Debate	Gregory, Before Command, ch. 7, pp. 128-165. Simon Johnson and Peter Temin, "The economics of NEP," Economic History Review 46:4 (Nov. 1993), pp. 750-767.
Mar. 15	Collectivization and the first Five-Year Plan	Robert C. Allen, "Capital accumulation, the soft budget constraint, and Soviet industrialization," European Review of Economic History 2:1 (Apr. 1998), pp. 1-23.
Day, Date	Topic or exercise, Notices	Reading assignments, comments
Mar. 22	The 1930s in the Soviet Union In-class grammar exercise	Barbara Katz, "Purges and Production:  Soviet Economic Growth, 1928 - 1940," Journal of Economic History XXXV:3 (Sept. 1975), pp. 567-590.
Mar. 29	Summing up	Nathan Rosenberg & L.E. Birdzell, Jr., How the West Grew Rich, pp. vi-xi and pp. 3-36, and ch. 10: "Implications and Comparisons," pp. 302-335.
Apr. 5	Review and catch-up