Introduction to Modern and Contemporary History
Objectives
The purpose of the course is to provide a general overview of how modern economic growth has made Western countries so prosperous.
Understanding the prosperity of the West also helps to understand the poverty or incomplete development of most countries in the world since
they do not have the same level of prosperity. This then leads to an understanding of inequality in the world. The topics to be addressed include
growth theory to technological change, human capital formation, demographic change, and link to underlying institutional, cultural, and
geographic conditions.
General characterization
Code
1465
Credits
3.5
Responsible teacher
Lisbeth De Oliveira Rodrigues
Hours
Weekly - Available soon
Total - Available soon
Teaching language
English
Prerequisites
n/a
Bibliography
Acemoglu, Daron and James A. Robinson, The Narrow Corridor. States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty , New York, Penguin Random House, 2020.
Galor, Oded, The Journey of Humanity. The Origins of Wealth and Inequality , London, The Bodley Head, 2022.
Teaching method
The method followed in the course will be blended: short online lectures coupled with quizzes, presentation and discussion of cases by students in class.
Evaluation method
1. Regular exam period
Continuous assessment
elements and their weights:
Individual quizzes (10%);
In-class discussions: two in-class group participation on
the topic of the day (25%).
Final exam and its weighting:
A final exam covering the entire content of the course
(65%). Note: To pass the course, you
need a minimum score of 8.5 on the exam.
2. Resit exam period: 100% or, if different from 100%, see
rules for the regular exam period.
3. Grade improvement in the regular period: 100%.
4. Grade improvement in Resit Period: 100%.
Subject matter
First Part - Growth
1. How did the western countries become so rich? Western
countries have become incredibly wealthy over the last 200 years, but the rest
of the world has not been able to follow, leading to enormous inequality.
2. Where, when and how did it all begin? The human exodus
from Africa, the Neolithic Revolution and the first complex societies and
economies.
3. The Malthusian Trap Growth stagnated between the
Neolithic and Industrial Revolutions: How did the Malthusian Trap Work?
4. The beginning of the end of the Malthusian trap Beneath
the surface, things were changing, preparing the ground for the Industrial
Revolution.
5. The Industrial Revolution The engines of the Industrial
Revolution: technological change and human capital
6. The Demographic Transition The growth of human capital
explains the demographic transition: longer life expectancy, lower mortality
rates, and lower birth rates.
7. Modern prosperity: achievements and environmental costs
During the twentieth century, Western countries achieved a level of development
based on material comfort, high life expectancy, education, and vibrant
cultural life, but at an environmental cost: climate change.
Second Part - Inequality
8. Inequality in the world today Why is the world so
unequal? Why have non-Western countries not been able to follow Western
countries? Growth theory, colonial exploitation, and deep-rooted factors:
Institutions, culture, geography, and diversity.
9. The importance of institutions Inclusive and extractive
institutions: the birth of modern inclusive institutions in England in the
seventeenth century and the Industrial Revolution as its consequence; different
forms of extractive institutions.
10. The importance of culture Behind institutions is the
cultural factor: present-oriented cultures, future-oriented cultures, and the
culture of growth.
11. The importance of geography But behind the culture is
often the geography: the environment explains the time preferences.
12. The legacy of the Neolithic Revolution The first to
achieve the Neolithic Revolution were not the first to achieve the Industrial
Revolution: different paths to specialisation.
13. Out of Africa Ultimately, it all boils down to when people left Africa and the extent to which this made them more diverse.