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.
464
questions
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What were the business models of real estate development in ancient Rome?
I just watched Mary Beard's documentary about the Romans. One thing I'm curious about is that some of the models of living of the Romans seemed to be quite similar to today's: e.g. that there were ...
- 197
8
votes
2
answers
6k
views
What factors led to the 30% devaluation of pound sterling in 1949?
In 1949, Britain devalued the pound sterling by 30%. This was a major world economic event given that the pound was and still is one of the major currencies in the world. In fact, 9 other countries ...
- 4,536
7
votes
3
answers
4k
views
What were the factors that led to stagflation in the United States during the 1970s?
Economics teaches that faster economic growth leads to higher inflation and slower economic growth leads to lower inflation. In the 1970s, United States suffered high inflation and slow economic ...
- 4,536
6
votes
3
answers
542
views
Oldest appearance of "brand names" in history?
I was watching a documentary about the Ulfberht swords from Scandinavia, and one thing caught my attention: it mentioned that these swords were made over a range of time and location that was broad ...
- 7,578
3
votes
1
answer
262
views
Evidence of Aztecs using Quetzal feathers as commodity money?
I found some webpages on the internet stating that on Aztecs barter-based economy, the remainder of value between two goods (if any) was settled with, among others, Quetzal feathers.
Is there any ...
- 133
26
votes
4
answers
34k
views
What did Germany do after World War II to recover so successfully that it became more prosperous than its WW2 victors?
Germany lost in World War II. Being the loser, its economy started at a disadvantage compared to her World War II victors in the aftermath of WW2. However, Germany managed to recover more ...
- 4,536
12
votes
1
answer
651
views
What were the factors that aided Margaret Thatcher in her victory against the trade unions when her predecessors failed?
Industrial strife has often been cited as a major reason for weakness in the British economy during the 1970s. For much of the 1970s, UK politics appeared to be a battle between the government and the ...
- 4,536
4
votes
4
answers
706
views
Historical examples of energy wars
Energy sources and resources like oil and coal are vital for the survival of modern civilizations.
Are there any good historical examples of wars, or low intensity armed conflicts, over the control ...
- 231
7
votes
1
answer
537
views
Was Ashoka motivated more by economics rather than religion in giving up war?
Is there any evidence to support the idea that Ashoka's aversion to war might have been due to inflationary economics rather than religion or remorse? Such as say the degradation in the value of coins ...
- 3,334
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What were the reasons for the Federal Art Project?
From August 29, 1935, until June 30, 1943 United States promote what they called Federal Art Project.
Reputed to have created more than 200,000 separate works, FAP artists
created posters, murals ...
- 141
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Why did the welfare state succeed in Bismarck's Germany but lagged in 20th-century Britain?
Otto von Bismarck pioneered the welfare state in Germany and Bismarck was/is greatly respected by Germans.
Pre-World War I British Liberal Party made welfare reforms after the 1906 general election. ...
- 4,536
10
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Were the heavy war reparations on Germany after World War I the main cause of its hyperinflation in 1923?
World War I victors imposed severe war reparations on Germany. When Germany defaulted, France invaded the Ruhr which was the most heavily industrialized area in Germany to force reparations themselves....
- 4,536
13
votes
6
answers
11k
views
Why did the Soviet Union's economy grow fast in the 1950's-1960's?
Communist economic systems self-implode. Today it has been recognized that Communism is bad for economic progress. There is no dispute that Communism makes countries poor based on what has happened in ...
- 4,536
8
votes
2
answers
272
views
What is the meaning of "£10 per cent" in the early 19th century in relation to a wage (30/- fortnight)
Reading Hammond and Hammond (1919) The Skilled labourer I came across the expression of £10% in the quoted primary sources, ie, at 34:
The Duke of Northumberland wrote to the H.O. on May 26 that work ...
- 14.6k
19
votes
4
answers
15k
views
What forces/incentives drove the Mongols to conquer a much larger territory than they could comfortably settle or rule?
Internet resources on the Mongol Empire usually dwell on the Mongol conquests of a huge mass of territory. Unfortunately, seldom are the reasons behind the conquests explained. One gets the impression ...
- 4,536
1
vote
7
answers
2k
views
Why did religion mixed with politics hold back progress of Europeans but not the Turks?
The Turks were technologically more advanced than the Europeans during the Middle Ages. One major reason behind the Europeans backwardness was that their freedom of thought was stifled by dogmatic ...
- 4,536
3
votes
4
answers
3k
views
How did sugar go from a luxury to a necessity in 18th century?
The only thing I came up with is slavery.
This would be due to the wage differences between slave and free man. If plantations were manned by indentured labor, then wages would have been higher. ...
- 57
12
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Why did World War I victors let Germany pay reparations in German Marks and gave it the option to default via inflation?
Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was forced to make heavy war reparations to the victors of World War I. What puzzles me was that the reparations were denominated in Marks (German Currency at ...
- 4,536
-2
votes
1
answer
230
views
Relative merits of oligarchy and democracy [closed]
It's being presumed in a few Q&A and discussions here that democracy is the most optimal political system. I'd like to see whether this assertion can be substantiated or refuted here.
Are their ...
- 4,582
16
votes
3
answers
16k
views
How rich were carpenters in Roman Galilee in the 1st century AD?
According to the Biblical account, Jesus was the son of a carpenter, Joseph of Nazareth (Matthew 13,55).
How rich could a carpenter become in the Roman province of Galilee in 1st century AD? What ...
- 7,149
17
votes
1
answer
46k
views
How did Germany rebuild so quickly after World War I?
After World War I, Germany suffered severe economic damage. Germany was asked to make horrendous war reparations, suffered hyperinflation, social chaos .... In addition, world economic conditions were ...
- 4,536
5
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Does History confirm that prosperity, capitalism, and some form "democracy" or representative republican form of government always go hand in hand?
Many historians, politicians and economists find a link between the economic success of a nation and its form of government. For example, the idea that the USA's form of government was responsible ...
user2590
8
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How/why did Plzeň become the "armourer" for Austria-Hungary?
In 1938, Nazi Germany coveted (the modern) Czech [Republic] in large part for its Skoda Works which produced something like one-quarter of the arms and ammunition used by the Third Reich.
From what ...
- 104k
25
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How did Muslim traders raise investments given Islam's prohibition of usury?
During early caliphate era (7th-13th century), Muslim traders dominated trade in Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean (see here and here for example). I think Islam's prohibition of interest or usury ...
- 3,342
6
votes
1
answer
923
views
During World War II, in the U.S., were diapers available?
As is well known, during World War II many consumer goods became difficult to find and with regard to the situation in the United States, after some searches, I observed that, among others:
U.S. ...
- 1,171
7
votes
2
answers
755
views
Why did pastorial people from central Asia migrate to Europe?
Alans, Huns, Magyars, Mongols.
They were all pastoralists whose material culture and economic life seems more suited to the Asian steppes.
Yet for some reason they migrated into the European land ...
- 7,310
8
votes
1
answer
394
views
Where can I find detailed accounts of cash-less payment in medevial and ancient times?
In his book "Debt: The first 5000 Years" David Graeber writes that during most of the middle ages and antiquity coins were seldom used in day-to-day dealings, at least of the more rural population. He ...
- 4,734
7
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Were natural resources a primary reason for invading Romania during the middle ages-present?
When I was in school in Romania I remember my history teacher saying that historically Romania has seen a lot of invaders (referring mainly from the middle ages-present) because it used to have a lot ...
- 2,074
6
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Did the Great Society programs ameliorate poverty or exacerbate it?
Once time ago Martin Luther King Jr., in his "I Have a Dream" speech, said:
We must honestly face the fact that the movement must address itself to the question of restructuring the whole of ...
user2237
4
votes
0
answers
106
views
Effects of land reforms in the 20th and 21st centuries [closed]
As Wikipedia clearly shows, there have been many different land reforms in many different times and places. It seems there is enough data for research about the consequences of land reforms.
I am ...
9
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Did Roosevelt's New Deal lift the U.S. out of the depression or did it actually prolong the Depression and cripple American capitalism? [closed]
While the New Deal did much to lessen the worst affects of the Great
Depression, its measures were not sweeping enough to restore the
nation to full employment. Critics of FDR's policies, on both ...
user2237
8
votes
3
answers
863
views
During 1790-1800, was it legal to pay workers using whiskey?
As is well known, in frontier regions whiskey was regarded as an indispensable necessity to life, health and happiness, at the point that it usually had to substute for specie as a medium of exchange: ...
user2237
22
votes
4
answers
9k
views
What was the size of surface of a cereal crop needed per man per year during the Dark Ages in Western Europe?
If I'm a peasant during the dark ages, what surface (in meters (<- I am in advance on my time)) I need to farm to get enough cereal (for bread and brew) ?
how many cereals (in kg (<- again, I'm ...
5
votes
2
answers
348
views
Were railroads indispensable to American economic development?
In "Railroads and American Economic Growth: Essays in Econometric History", 1964, Robert W. Fogel, the father of modern econometric history, found that railroads were not indispensable to American's ...
user2237
19
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How much of an impact did the Roman emperors' civil wars have on their decision to debase the coinage?
From Adrian Goldsworthy's How Rome Fell: "Civil war remained a common event, ...the economy collapsed, as successive emperors massively devalued the coinage to pay for their wars."
Other sources say ...
- 439
5
votes
3
answers
398
views
Parable of the broken window and 1929 crisis
I've read that, in 1938, economic crisis was taking back, and that it's the war effort that finally closed the 1929 crisis.
Is it not a version of the parable of the broken window ? How a war effort ...
- 321
6
votes
0
answers
79
views
Origin of land-lottery system
A report from 1894 describes the Musha'a land tenure system in the Arab villages of Palestine: the agricultural lands of the village are considered common property, and they are divided each year ...
11
votes
3
answers
36k
views
GDP per capita of major combatants before and after WWII?
Perhaps this is difficult to measure and maybe not even a good metric for anything meaningful, but what was the GDP and GDP per capita for nations around the world immediately before World War II? ...
- 573
7
votes
2
answers
327
views
Of which countries was Ludwig von Mises a citizen?
This is a question regarding the economist and political thinker Ludwig von Mises.
A short biography: Mises was born in 1881 in Lviv, then part of Austria–Hungary. He studied and worked in Vienna ...
- 73
4
votes
3
answers
2k
views
The economic prosperity of former colonies and their demographic make up
Most former colonies are now developing or poor countries, such as many countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Some exceptions are Australia, the United States, Canada. Interestingly they are ...
- 1,388
6
votes
6
answers
405
views
Has scholarship shown that persecuted religious minorities have tended to be financially successful?
In this interview with Neal Stephenson, talking about the historical basis for his Baroque Cycle series of novels, he makes the remark that
... persecuted religious minorities, if they’re not ...
- 169
2
votes
0
answers
326
views
Kazakhstan and anti-capitalism in the 1990s
What drove anti-capitalist sentiments from Kazakh intellectuals and economists in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union?
It is my understanding that Kazakhstan was a low level ...
- 1,155
1
vote
3
answers
2k
views
Was the N.E.P. of Russia successful in terms of economics?
The Soviet's New Economic Plan was indeed a successful plan in establishing a comparatively strong postwar economy for the Soviet Union, but there were many imperfections: food prices fluctuated ...
- 207
5
votes
1
answer
2k
views
When did the incident happen when bounty on rats led people to farm rats?
Sorry for the title but don't know how to phrase it exactly.
I once read an article about a period (in France I think but I'm not sure) when the cities were growing and people strted to have issues ...
- 53
1
vote
2
answers
5k
views
What was Lenin's "New Economic Policy" and what complications did it have?
I have recently read an article on Lenin's New Economic Policy, and I was wondering if there were two sides to the story. What were some of the complications of this policy? In addition to this, was ...
- 207
2
votes
1
answer
227
views
Inflation After Executive Order 6102 (FDR Leaving GoldStandard)
I'm looking at this image which implies that the US leaving the Gold Standard started revival after the Great Depression. I'm thinking that it could all be explained with rapid inflation due to the ...
- 121
5
votes
1
answer
806
views
What were some of the complications of Marshall Plan?
What were some of the complications that were revolved around the Marshall Plan? Were the Soviets involved in any way?
- 207
7
votes
2
answers
531
views
Examples of censorship causing economic decline [closed]
I am writing a blog post about knowledge banning, either by state censorship or by self-imposed censorship, like the US Comics Code Authority of the 20th century.
My focus is moral censorship, ...
- 231
6
votes
4
answers
10k
views
How has Chinese GDP as a percentage of world GDP changed over time and why?
I've heard it's 33% during the Qing dinasty. 4% during cultural revolution. Now it's climbing up steadily to 11%.
Where can I see the table of those actually tracking those numbers?
What were the ...
- 5,479
52
votes
7
answers
4k
views
Has a state ever "attacked" another one by printing fake money?
Has any state ever performed an "economic attack" against another state, by printing fake money of the victim's currency?
Or, is it known if someone ever considered doing it, and which were the ...
- 1,697