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EH

Economic history and long-run growth

Economics

Histories of how economies grew rich over centuries, from the Dutch Republic and the Industrial Revolution to American growth and the long-run gains in human welfare.

24 books on Economic history and long-run growth, 1 of them tier 1, recommended by 31 people including Mohnish Pabrai and Bill Gates.

24 books · 35 experts

Start here

  1. The First Modern EconomyJan de Vries, Ad van der Woude, 1997
  2. Empire of CottonSven Beckert, 2014
  3. Capitalism in AmericaAlan Greenspan, Adrian Wooldridge, 2018
  4. Enlightenment NowSteven Pinker
  5. Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the WorldHans Rosling

The best books on Economic history and long-run growth 24

The First Modern EconomyThe First Modern Economy
T1 The First Modern Economy
Jan de Vries, Ad van der Woude · 1997
The definitive economic history of the Dutch Republic, 1500-1815.
Open Library
Empire of CottonEmpire of Cotton
T2 Empire of Cotton
Sven Beckert · 2014
One commodity chain as the whole story of industrial capitalism.
Open Library
Capitalism in AmericaCapitalism in America
T2 Capitalism in America
Alan Greenspan, Adrian Wooldridge · 2018
A former Fed chairman's economic history of creative destruction.
Open Library
Enlightenment NowEnlightenment Now
T3 Enlightenment Now
Steven Pinker · 2018
Steven Pinker's 500-page empirical survey of progress across 15 dimensions: health, wealth, equality, safety, knowledge, quality of life. Explicitly frames market economies and Enlightenment liberalism as the institutional sources of that progress. Has been criticized for cherry-picking metrics and underweighting catastrophic risks; the data itself is worth engaging with regardless.
Open Library
“Pinker's data-driven case for human progress appears in Naval's recommendations as a corrective to pessimism and as a demonstration of how empirical thinking can cut through ideological noise. Naval has paired it with Sapiens as a pair of reality-calibrating books.”Naval Ravikant
Recommended byBill GatesAndrew WilkinsonDaniel PetreMichael MauboussinNaval Ravikant
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About tFactfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World
T3 Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World
Hans Rosling · 2018
Hans Rosling was a global health professor, not an economist, which gives his data-driven case for human progress particular credibility. He shows, in meticulous detail, that almost every quantitative measure of human welfare has improved dramatically over the past century. He attributes this to global trade and economic development without being a polemicist.
Open Library
Recommended byBill GatesAlfred LinDaniel PetreHoward MarksMelinda GatesThe Barefoot InvestorTrevor Ncube
The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity EvolveThe Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
T3 The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
Matt Ridley · 2010
Matt Ridley's evolutionary argument that exchange and specialization are the deep engine of human progress — older than capitalism, older than agriculture. His data on long-run improvement in living standards is well-sourced; his dismissiveness toward environmental risks is the book's main weakness and worth holding separately from its core claim.
Open Library
“I really highly, highly recommend picking up Genome, The Red Queen, Origins of Virtue, The Rational Optimist, and The Evolution of Everything.”Naval Ravikant
Recommended byAndrew WilkinsonBill GatesFrank MartinMohnish PabraiNat EliasonNaval RavikantThomas GaynerMark Zuckerberg+5 more
Recent economic changes, and their effect onRecent economic changes, and their effect on the production and distribution of wealth and the well-being of society
T4 Recent economic changes, and their effect on the production and distribution of wealth and the well-being of society
David Ames Wells · 1889
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick Collison
Rise of the Western World: A New Economic HiRise of the Western World: A New Economic History
T4 Rise of the Western World: A New Economic History
Douglass C. 94 North, Robert Paul Thomas · 1973
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
The New DealThe New Deal
T4 The New Deal
Anthony J. Badger · 1989
Open Library
Recommended byPaul Graham
The Power of Commerce: Economy and GovernancThe Power of Commerce: Economy and Governance in the First British Empire
T4 The Power of Commerce: Economy and Governance in the First British Empire
Nancy F. Koehn · 1990
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
Creating Modern Capitalism: How EntrepreneurCreating Modern Capitalism: How Entrepreneurs, Companies, and Countries Triumphed in Three Industrial Revolutions
T4 Creating Modern Capitalism: How Entrepreneurs, Companies, and Countries Triumphed in Three Industrial Revolutions
Thomas K. McCraw · 1998
National business systems compared through the firms that defined them.
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
The Wealth and Poverty of NationsThe Wealth and Poverty of Nations
T4 The Wealth and Poverty of Nations
David S. Landes · 1998
Why some economies grew rich; culture and institutions across five centuries
Open Library
“In Li Lu's capitalism/economics section on why some nations prosper.”Li Lu
Recommended byCharlie MungerMohnish PabraiJamie DimonLi Lu
The Birth of Plenty: How the Prosperity of tThe Birth of Plenty: How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created
T4 The Birth of Plenty: How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created
William J. Bernstein · 2004
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish PabraiMorgan Housel
The Company of Strangers: A Natural History The Company of Strangers: A Natural History of Economic Life
T4 The Company of Strangers: A Natural History of Economic Life
Paul Seabright · 2004
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish PabraiPatrick Collison
A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic HistoryA Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World
T4 A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World
Gregory Clark · 2007
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick Collison
Violence and Social OrdersViolence and Social Orders
T4 Violence and Social Orders
Douglass C. North · 2009
Open Library
Recommended byEmmett Shear
A Great Leap ForwardA Great Leap Forward
T4 A Great Leap Forward
Alexander J. Field · 2011
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick CollisonRaoul Pal
Freedom's ForgeFreedom's Forge
T4 Freedom's Forge
Arthur Herman · 2012
American industrial mobilisation in the 1940s; the precedent everyone reaches for.
Open Library
“One of the best books I've read, it's a great story of industrial production and heroes.”Christopher Bloomstran
Recommended byChristopher BloomstranPatrick Collison
Land of PromiseLand of Promise
T4 Land of Promise
Michael Lind · 2012
Open Library
Recommended byPaul Graham
Made in the USA: The Rise and Retreat of AmeMade in the USA: The Rise and Retreat of American Manufacturing
T4 Made in the USA: The Rise and Retreat of American Manufacturing
Vaclav Smil · 2013
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
GrowthGrowth
T4 Growth
Vaclav Smil · 2019
Open Library
Recommended byBill Gates
Numbers Don't LieNumbers Don't Lie
T4 Numbers Don't Lie
Vaclav Smil · 2020
Open Library
Recommended byBill GatesMark ZuckerbergTerrance McArthur
Before The Industrial RevolutionBefore The Industrial Revolution
T4 Before The Industrial Revolution
Carlo Cipolla
unverified
Recommended byRyan Peterson
The Rise and Fall of American GrowthThe Rise and Fall of American Growth
T4 The Rise and Fall of American Growth
Robert J. Gordon · 2016
The productivity case for why the post-1970 US grows slower than the myth.
Open Library
“This is a heavyweight (literally) masterpiece... It's a data-rich textbook as well as a phenomenal read.”Christopher Bloomstran
Recommended byBill GatesChristopher BloomstranPatrick CollisonSatya Nadella

Experts 35

The people who wrote this page's books, and the people who recommend them.

Authors 4

Vaclav Smilwrote 3 books hereMatt Ridleywrote 1 book here
WJ
William J. Bernsteinwrote 1 book hereAlan Greenspanwrote 1 book here

Recommenders 31

MP
Mohnish Pabrairecommends 8 books hereBill Gatesrecommends 6 books herePatrick Collisonrecommends 6 books herePaul Grahamrecommends 2 books hereAlfred Linrecommends 2 books here
AW
Andrew Wilkinsonrecommends 2 books here
CB
Christopher Bloomstranrecommends 2 books here
DP
Daniel Petrerecommends 2 books hereMark Zuckerbergrecommends 2 books hereNaval Ravikantrecommends 2 books hereCharlie Mungerrecommends 1 book hereHoward Marksrecommends 1 book here
Show all 31
Marc Andreessenrecommends 1 book here
MM
Michael Mauboussinrecommends 1 book here
LL
Li Lurecommends 1 book here
MH
Morgan Houselrecommends 1 book here
TG
Thomas Gaynerrecommends 1 book here
AP
Anthony Pomplianorecommends 1 book hereEmmett Shearrecommends 1 book here
FM
Frank Martinrecommends 1 book hereJamie Dimonrecommends 1 book here
JA
John Arnoldrecommends 1 book hereMelinda Gatesrecommends 1 book here
NE
Nat Eliasonrecommends 1 book here
RP
Raoul Palrecommends 1 book here
RP
Ryan Petersonrecommends 1 book hereSatya Nadellarecommends 1 book here
TM
Terrance McArthurrecommends 1 book here
BI
The Barefoot Investorrecommends 1 book here
RW
The Rational Walkrecommends 1 book hereTrevor Ncuberecommends 1 book here
See all 35 in the Experts tab →

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