The World Economy by Angus Maddison: Book Cover

    The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective by Angus Maddison, Donald Johnston (Foreword by), Jorge Braga De Macedo (Preface by)

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    Textbook (Paperback)

    • 388pp
    • Sales Rank: 380,858

    Textbook Information

    • ISBN-13: 9789264186088
    • Edition Number: 1
    • Pub. Date: May 2001
    • Publisher: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

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    Product Details

    • Pub. Date: May 2001
    • Publisher: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
    • Format: Textbook Paperback, 388pp
    • Sales Rank: 380,858

    Synopsis

    Angus Maddison provides a comprehensive view of the growth and levels of world population since the year 1000. In this period, world population rose 22- fold, per capita GDP 13 fold and world GDP nearly 300 fold. The biggest gains occurred in the rich countries of today (Western Europe, North America, Australasia and Japan). The gap between the world leader - the United States - and the poorest region - Africa - is now 20:1. In the year 1000, the rich countries of today were poorer than Asia and Africa. The book has several objectives. The first is a pioneering effort to quantify the economic performance of nations over the very long term. The second is to identify the forces which explain the success of the rich countries, and explore the obstacles which hindered advance in regions which lagged behind. The third is to scrutinise the interaction between the rich and the rest to assess the degree to which this relationship was exploitative. The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective is a "must" for all scholars of economics and economic history, while the casual reader will find much of fascinating interest. It is also a monumental work of reference. The book is a sequel to the author's Monitoring the World Economy: 1820 -1992, published by the OECD Development Centre in 1995, and his 1998 Chinese Economic Performance in the Long Run, also published by the OECD.

    "A tour de force. What a wonderful gift for the new century." Robert Mundell, Nobel Prize winner and Professor of Economics, Columbia University.

    "An essential reference for anyone interested in global development for many years to come." Paul Krugman, Professor of Economics, PrincetonUniversity.

    "Quite simply a dazzling essay." Nicholas Eberstadt, American Enterprise Institute.

    "Highly recommended . . . refreshing and full of historical information. An important book." Kisanhani F. Emizet, Kanzas University, writing in International Politics.

    A Winner of the 2001 Awards for Notable Government Documents conferred by the American Library Association/Library Journal.

    Customer Reviews

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    • Ratings: 1Reviews: 1

    Useful reference workby willyvan

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    October 20, 2009: Maddison presents a systematic quantification of the economic performance of the world's nations over the very long term. This amazing collection of statistics, published under the auspices of the OECD, is a great reference work, but there is not much analysis.

    Since 1000, world population has risen 22-fold, world GDP 300-fold, and GDP per head 13-fold. World GDP multiplied by six between 1950 and 1988, the biggest growth being in the years 1950-73.

    Western Europe's income in 1000 was below those in Asia and North Africa. In the 14th century, it caught up with the world leader China. By 1820, its income was double that of the rest of the world, by 1913, six times.

    Between 1913 and 1950, the Soviet Union's GDP per head grew by 1.76% a year, more than the USA's 1.61, the UK's 0.92 and Western Europe's 0.76. He observes that the Soviet Union had no unemployment and writes, "Under the old system, basic necessities (bread, housing, education, health, crèches and social services) had been highly subsidised by the government or provided free by state enterprises to their workers."

    But the 1990-91 counter-revolutions ended all that. Wages and pensions were slashed and savings destroyed. In Belarus, Moldova, Russia and the Ukraine, just 2% of the population was in poverty in 1987-88, but 52% by 1993-95. In the four Central Asian states, poverty rose from 15% to 66%, in the three Baltic states, from 1% to 29%. Russia's GDP was 42% lower in 1998 than in 1990. Its fixed investment was just 17.5% of its 1990 level.

    Maddison claims to assess the rich countries' exploitation of the poor. But when he looks at Britain's relationship with India, he gives statistics for only 12 years of the 72 from 1868 to the 1930s, claiming that this 'covers' the whole period. So his case that Britain's rulers looted only from 0.9 to 1.3% of India's national income a year would seem to be not proven.

    I Also Recommend: Industry and Empire, Contours of the World Economy 1-2030 AD, Globalization and Its Discontents, Making Globalization Work, Power and Plenty.