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Lecture Notes: Econ 135 S2023: History of Economic Growth

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Brad DeLong

Jan 17, 2023

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality

My Introduction to My Class on "New Deal & Neoliberal Orders"

The New Deal & Neoliberal Orders: Introduction: We decided at the start dedicate a couple of weeks to discussing political economy, not necessarily in the grand sense. Political economy papers in econ…

5 months ago · 18 likes · 2 comments · Brad DeLong

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality

LECTURE NOTES: DAY 1: Introduction: Five Questions Surrounding the Identification of 1870 as the Hinge of History

Let me talk for a while, and then let’s see if we can have a successful discussion here afterwards…

9 months ago · 6 likes · Brad DeLong

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality

LECTURE NOTES: DAY 2: Numerical Guesses at þe Quantitative Picture of Long-Run Economic Growth

Population: 70,000 years ago, back in the Early Paleolithic Age, there were perhaps 100,000 of us—100,000 East African plains apes who looked like us, moved like us, acted like us, talked like us, and…

9 months ago · Brad DeLong

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality

“West”, “North Atlantic”, or “Dover Circle-Plus”?, & BRIEFLY NOTED: For 2023-01-21 Sa

FOCUS: “West” or “Dover Circle-Plus”? A student asked me why, in my lectures earlier this week, I kept on referring to the “North Atlantic” rather than the “Western” economies. Why did I use the first…

8 months ago · 16 likes · 3 comments · Brad DeLong

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality

DAY 3: LECTURE NOTES: The Logic of the Malthusian Economy

From 70,000 to 10,000 Years Ago 70,000 years ago, back in the Early Paleolithic Age, there were perhaps 100,000 of us—100,000 East African plains apes who looked like us, moved like us, acted like us…

8 months ago · 3 likes · Brad DeLong

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality

LECTURE NOTES: Lessons from Simulating a Malthusian Economy

Aha! SubStack now has a LATEX module! And this makes me think, once again, that I should worry the question of C.P. Snow’s The Two Cultures in my economic history courses… Basically, the 1/3 of student…

8 months ago · 26 likes · 5 comments · Brad DeLong

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality

DAY 4: LECTURE NOTES: Efflorescences & Dark Ages in the Agrarian Age

The Theory of the Malthusian Economy: Efflorescences & Dark Ages If this were a different course, we would spend a week or more probably two building an economic model of how a society in Malthusian e…

8 months ago · Brad DeLong

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality

DAY 5: LECTURE NOTES: 2.3. Inequality & Domination Before Modern Economic Growth

Once people began to farm, especially farm grains, they become relatively stationary: Agriculturalists cannot carry their resources away with them. Their wealth is in their land and the crops they ar…

8 months ago · Brad DeLong

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality

DAY 6: LECTURE NOTES: 2.4. Slow Pace of Innovation & Discovery Before Modern Economic Growth

2.4.1. In Everything Except Economic Growth, They Were Like Us It could have been different. The rate of growth of human technology could have been faster, back in the Agrarian Age. They were capable …

7 months ago · Brad DeLong

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality

Readings for Econ 135 S 2023: History of Economic Growth

Required Books: Clark: A Farewell to Alms Allen: Global Economic History DeLong: Slouching Towards Utopia 1. Introduction Day 1: 2022-01-17 Tu: Introduction Required: Clark 1; Allen 1; DeLong Intro. Optiona…

8 months ago · Brad DeLong