Questions tagged [economy]
Questions which concern the historical management, distribution, and usage of resources; why a particular resource, or state of production, occurred in a certain way. General economics questions are off-topic but may be welcome on our sister site Economics Stack Exchange.
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Income distribution of major combatants before and after WWII?
This question about GDP per capita of major combatants before and after WWI made me wonder how these GDPs were distributed. Do we know the Gini coefficient (or a similiar metric) for the major ...
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Ratio of population to military size throughout European history? [closed]
I realise that this is a fairly broad question, but I am trying to get a sense of the ratio between the total population and the size of the military that societies could support at different times ...
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What is the average price, in silver, for a loaf of bread through history?
I would like to build a graph for the price of a loaf of bread based on exchange of silver. My research has shown that some items or commodities have remained very consistent when priced against other ...
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Germany's "Economic Miracle" [closed]
I heard, but cannot verify, that some economists call what Hitler did for Germany's economy an "economic miracle."
This claims (my emphases):
Hitler's Economic MiracleThe real reason for World War ...
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Why was the government expenditures of the Roman Empire very low compared to modern governments?
I was trying to compare the military spending of the Roman empire in the 1st century with modern military spending and how much of a burden that was to Roman people. The Wikipedia page of the ...
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Russian war reparations from Germany post WW2 [closed]
Is there any record of negotiations(if any), regarding war reparations from Germany to Russia following WW2, if there were reparations paid by Germany to Russia following WW2, do they have an impact ...
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Medieval farmer's metal tools
What metal woodworking tools should I expect to find in the household of a 14th century well-off peasant farmer from Hampshire? (Answering more broadly is acceptable, but it might help to give this ...
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How many electric light companies operated in New York in 1887?
ConEdison's History page says:
By 1900, there were more than 30 companies generating and distributing electricity throughout the boroughs of New York City and in Westchester County.
I'm skeptical ...
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Was the Stock Market Crash of 1929 a cause or result of the Great Depression?
Did the Stock Market Crash of 1929 effectively cause the Great Depression, or were there economic factors already in place at that time such that the Greet Depression would have happened anyway, and ...
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How did Asian Americans manage to become richer than an average American? [closed]
By "richer" I mean higher median income.
Large-scale immigration of Asians to the United States began in the 19th century. In the beginning, most of them were poorer than an average American. ...
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How did the Germans get housing again after WWII?
After a large number of homes were destroyed in the war, how did the average German become a homeowner again?
I know about the Marshall Plan, but this question does not refer to how the economy in ...
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How was security on the Silk Road between China and the West maintained?
From the 2nd century BC to the beginning of the 15th century the Silk Road (or more correctly roads, as there were alternative routes) was the primary trade route between China and the West. One ...
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What is the largest overnight depreciation?
What is the largest overnight currency depreciation? How large, which currency and when?
When examining historical records of currency depreciation, it is helpful to have a better understanding of ...
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What is the first example of a Western government passing a sin tax?
What is the first example of a Western government passing a sin or vice tax -- that is, a tax passed primarily to discourage consumption of certain goods due to moral, not economic, concerns? ...
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Impact of the Berlin Wall to GDR
"No one has the intention of erecting a wall!" - Walter Ulbricht, June 15,1961.
The Wall was erected anyway, because more than 2.6 million East Germans escaped to West Berlin or West Germany from ...
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What is it called when a Corporation purchases the rights to something to prevent it's production, to increase profit [closed]
What is it called, when a Large Business or Corporation sees that some product, invention, or medicine will destroy or reduce the size of their market or consumer base; and they either purchase the ...
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How did Yugoslavia economically survive the Cold War
During the time of Cold War, both USA and USSR have a program to help their allied country economically.
For USA, they have a policy called "Marshal Plan" which is aimed to support democratic country ...
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When did the majority of Americans stop living on farms? [closed]
I know defining a farm is tricky. I will, of course, take any definition available. If I could pick, I would say that if there is one person working full-time outside of a household, that household is ...
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Was slavery really on the way out in the antebellum USA?
Gail Jarvis, in an encomium to the Dunning School writes:
William A. Dunning fervently opposed slavery but his reading of the trends of the times led him to the conclusion that the institution was ...
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Why was gold so popular and valuable back when it did not have many real world uses?
I'm talking about back when it was first starting to get discovered, like 2000 B.C. (roughly). Gold was being used for coins, jewellery and more. It was a very well known commodity and accepted ...
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What was the Nove / Millar debate, how is it important to the historiography of the Soviet Union?
The Nove / Millar debate was a debate amongst economic historians in the 1970s, where the Western understanding of Soviet economic development in the 1920 and 1930s was seriously revised. In ...
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What is the current U.S. monetary standard? [closed]
Despite my greatest efforts, I could not find any information about what standard the U.S. is using at this time. Apparently, we used to be on a gold standard. What about now? Do we even have a ...
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Keynesian economics during his era
Nowadays in politics, critics of Keynesian economics say it is unsustainable spending. However, I know that John Maynard Keynes actually said budgets should be balanced in the medium term, just not ...
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Did the Nazis have any unique or especially effective economic policies?
The Nazi rule in Germany is associated with (among many, many other things) a sudden and powerful economic resurgence. This is especially impressive since it happened in a country that was ...
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Power over the centuries: spiritual vs. political vs. economic
I recently attended a presentation on the shift in power over the centuries. The speaker argued that ...
the power in the middle ages was in the churches, i.e., the priests and, thus, in the ...
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What is "the dead credit"?
I was reading the Wikipedia page for the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth and this picture was featured to demonstrate the diverse society. It is propably a parody of various pictures called "...
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Were US exports in the early 1800s paid for with metal or with paper?
In the early 1800s, when people in the US exported goods to Europe, how were those goods paid for? What did the buyers actually send back on ships crossing the Atlantic to pay for the goods?
I can ...
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What property relations existed between peasants and those who took from peasants in early Ottoman rule in Anatolia?
What property relations existed between peasants and those who took from peasants in early Ottoman rule (1300-1450) in Anatolia?
How was social surplus extracted from peasants, by who, with what ...
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What was the effect of the Panic of 1837 on financial/banking policy?
Were there any direct or immediate financial/banking policies made because of this recession? I've read that a combination of factors helped get America out of the Panic, but it never mentioned a ...
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How did the Abbey of Cluny derive revenue from William of Aquitaine's hunting preserve?
My understanding is that traditionally most monasteries were extensions of the Roman villa system, owning land and the labor of the attached peasants -- the same economic basis as the aristocracy. ...
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Are the quantities of gold that the Roman Empire looted and mined known?
I am having trouble finding information on the quantities of looted and mined gold by the Roman Empire.
How much did they loot from the Dacians?
How much did they loot from the Jews?
And how much ...
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What was the reason for US Fed rate increase in spring 1928?
I was reading this wikipedia article on the great depression of the 1930s. This timeline mentions that in 1928, USA Fed increased interest rates. What was the reason behind this move.
I read ...
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Was there really a labor shortage in the USA until 1970?
After watching several video lectures made by Richard D. Wolff I noticed he frequently draws historical events as evidence to base his arguments on. One thing he mentions frequently (in several videos)...
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How wealthy was Singapore at its independence (1965)?
According to this article Is Singapore the Perfect Country for Our Times?
Singapore's defining achievement is summed up in the title of its
longtime leader Lee Kuan Yew's memoir, From Third World ...
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Inflation rates in Spain and Portugal during the 16th century
What were the monthly or yearly inflation rates in Spain and Portugal during the 16th century?
Is there data for the amount of silver or gold possessed by the crowns during that period? How much did ...
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Gap between poor and rich in the Roman Empire
Was the difference in purchasing power between the poor and the wealthy in the Roman Empire, greater than or less than than the difference between rich and poor people in modern western economies?
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How were FDR's economic policies as Governor of New York contradictory?
I have read in a number of Roosevelt's biographies that as Governor of New York, Roosevelt was not so aware of how economics works. He recognized that radical change was needed to respond to the Great ...
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Land concentration in Columbia
I am looking for elaboration for the following passage, which I found in Wikipedia:
"In 1968 and 1969 alone, the INCORA issued more than 60,000 land titles to farmers and workers. Despite this, ...
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How close were the living standards of India compared to England during the medieval period?
India, China and the African continent today are mostly associated with poverty in Europe, the US and so on. Looking at India specifically, did it during the medieval era share a similar standard of ...
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Was slavery economically most efficient system in the ancient/agricultural era? [closed]
I mean slavery in ancient civilizations, for example Greece, Rome, Egypt. Not considering moral aspects at all, but considering economic reasons and agricultural nature of economic activity.
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Why did overestimated coins led to inflation and well-estimated coins to deflation?
It is said in Debt, the first 5,000 years by David Graeber (chapter 4, note 2) that when the value of metal coins represented exactly their weight, the result was deflation. The author says that when ...
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Ratio of commerce to residence in preindustrial towns
Is there any research that has attempted to estimate the ratio of commerce to residence, or of shopkeepers to residents in other trades, for preindustrial towns? Or are there old census sources where ...
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Why only in the last few hundred year has science and technology progressed like it has [closed]
Man has been on the Earth for millions of years. But in only the last few hundred years, science has made major advances: the average life expectancy expanded, electronics, transistors, ...
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Are there instances where collective farming has actually brought benefit to the population
I was reading a few articles about population growth and famines and thereby discovered that some of the recent famines where caused by government policies, among which I read at least twice (USSR and ...
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How did an input of resources in 16th century Spain contribute to inflation?
My history book claims that the flow of Silver from the New World to Spain in the 16th century contributed to an inflation. However, that seems very unintuitive. How could gaining resources lead to a ...
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Quesnay, Adam Smith, and Pitt
I am now reading the book Decadent Societies by R.M. Adams and on pp.66-7 he writes:
Quesnay's ideas, which fell on stony ground in France, showed their
basic vitality when picked up by Adam ...
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Was COMECON involved in economic imperialism and if so, to what extent?
Disclaimer: I am not 100% sure if it was COMECON, it might be another Soviet apparatus.
I recall reading about how the Soviet Union forced her Eastern European satellites into very lucrative and ...
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Were soldiers in the World Wars paid?
There have always been professional soldiers however during the world wards there were vast conscription to encourage young men to join up for "King and Country".
Presumably there was some sort of ...
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Where did the profits for the founders of the Bank of England come from?
Royal assent was given for the formation of the Bank of England, in part, to help pay for the Nine Years' War (1688-97) with France in 1694. The founding of the Bank and, and in effect, the loan it ...
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What containers were used for food prior to the industrial era?
Today, when you go shopping, most of the food is kept in plastic or paper containers (or tin cans).
In the everyday life, what types of containers were used to sell, transport and keep food before ...
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