Great divergence. China, Europe, and the Creation of the Modern World Economy 

19,99

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The “Great Divergence” provides a fresh look at one of the classic questions of history: why was it possible to achieve stability in industrial development in Northwestern Europe, despite the surprising similarity of situations observed in the most developed regions of Europe and East Asia? Kenneth Pomeranz shows that as early as the middle of the XNUMXth century. the two parts of the world were very similar in terms of life expectancy, consumption, markets for goods and capital goods, and household strategies. According to Pomerants, what happened in the XIX century. the divergence of the development paths of Europe and other parts of the Old World was largely due to the presence of coal, which replaced wood fuel. Another difference, which, in his opinion, played a significant role, is related to trade. By chance, Europe received in the person of America a more significant source of raw materials than those on which the economic centers of Asia relied. This allowed Northwest Europe to significantly increase its population, develop deeper industrial specialization, and free its labor force from agricultural employment while increasing imports rather than maximizing output.
Despite the fact that after 1750 the peripheral regions of East Asia experienced a significant increase in both population and production, this increase prevented the export of vital resources from these areas to the Yangtze Delta, which specialized in the production of fabrics. As a result, the growth of production in this center of the East Asian economy almost stopped, and what was nevertheless achieved was carried out through the intensification of labor and economy of resources - a path that Europe would have to take if it did not find itself with the corresponding underground and overseas resources.

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Publication language: Russian

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