Learning outcomes

The course aims at investigating the economic phenomena in a historical perspective, paying attention to their complexity, and the relationships between economic events and institutional and political aspects. In particular, we will focus on the growth and development dynamics, as well as the crises, which have characterised the European and international economies in the last two centuries, taking into account the changes in the economic regimes and the evolution of international economic relations, as well as the role of financial systems and business organizations.

Program

The course aims at investigating the economic phenomena in a historical perspective, paying attention to their complexity, and the relationships between economic events and institutional and political aspects. In particular, we will focus on the growth and development dynamics, as well as the crises, which have characterised the European and international economies in the last two centuries, taking into account the changes in the economic regimes and the evolution of international economic relations, as well as the role of financial systems and business organizations.

Main topics:
1. The First industrial revolution: toward new growth patterns
2. From mercantilism to the rise of laissez-faire: the "first globalization"
3. The Second industrial revolution, financial systems and business organizations
4. From WWI to the Great Depression: novel forms of economic regulation
5. Authoritarian regimes and economic dirigisme between two world wars
6. The centrally planned economies: from expansion to collapse
7. International cooperation and economic recovery after WWII
8. The advent of mixed economies and the welfare state
9. The integration of the European economy
10. The "second globalization" between regulatory needs and market dynamics

Reference textbooks:
- Vera Zamagni, Perché l'Europa ha cambiato il mondo. Una storia economica, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2^ ed. 2015
- Derek Howard Aldcroft, L'economia europea dal 1914 al 2000, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2000

Further references will be given during the lectures.

Examination Methods

For attending students: report on a specific topic; written exam and (optional) oral exam.
For non-attending students: written and oral exam.