The Great Divergence Reconsidered

'Adam Smith's central thesis was that efficient markets generate economic growth. This lively book revives the Smithian tradition. Efficient markets create growth, and efficient markets were unique to pre-industrial Europe. This is an important contribution to the debate on why the West rather than the East experienced the Industrial Revolution.' Gregory Clark, University of California, Davis 'The timing of the Great Divergence between the economies of the West and East is one of the 'big' topics of modern economic history. Building on a theoretical framework that goes back to Adam Smith, Roman Studer combines new data and cutting-edge analysis to show - deftly and convincingly - that long before the Industrial Revolution the integration of commodity markets in the West fostered rates of economic growth and living standards higher than anywhere in the East.' Cormac O Grada, University College Dublin 'By foregrounding market integration and the costs of trade, The Great Divergence Reconsidered makes a case for a radical shift in the discourse on the origins of international economic inequality. The sophistication of Roman Studer's arguments and the quality of his statistical analysis make that case compelling. This is undoubtedly a major work.' Tirthankar Roy, London School of Economics and Political Science Adam Smith's central thesis was that efficient markets generate economic growth. This lively book revives the Smithian tradition. Efficient markets create growth, and efficient markets were unique to pre-industrial Europe. This is an important contribution to the debate on why the West rather than the East experienced the Industrial Revolution. Gregory Clark, University of California, Davis The timing of the Great Divergence between the economies of the West and East is one of the 'big' topics of modern economic history. Building on a theoretical framework that goes back to Adam Smith, Roman Studer combines new data and cutting-edge analysis to show - deftly and convincingly - that long before the Industrial Revolution the integration of commodity markets in the West fostered rates of economic growth and living standards higher than anywhere in the East. Cormac O Grada, University College Dublin By foregrounding market integration and the costs of trade, The Great Divergence Reconsidered makes a case for a radical shift in the discourse on the origins of international economic inequality. The sophistication of Roman Studer's arguments and the quality of his statistical analysis make that case compelling. This is undoubtedly a major work. Tirthankar Roy, London School of Economics and Political Science