History of international economy

History of international economy

10.000 B.C. - 1700s

Agrarian Revolution o Neolithic Revolution

500 B.C - 1500s

Origins of International Trade

1500s - 1700s

Mercantilism

1760 - 1840

+info

Industrial Revolution

History of international economy

19th century

Transition to Industrialised Capitalism

19th - 20th century

International Financial and Monetary Systems

1917 - 1991

Conflict Socialism vs. Capitalism

1944

Bretton Woods and the Post-World War II Economic Order

Info

History of international economy

1970s

Emerging Economies Development and Globalisation

1997/2008

Modern Economic Crises

1990s - Present

+info

Digital Age and the Global Economy

The First Agricultural Revolution is also called the Neolithic Revolution. This revolution began around 10,000 B.C. Humans made significant changes to their lifestyle from hunting and gathering their food to farming crops and herding animals. The First Agricultural Revolution, or the Neolithic Revolution, began around 10,000 B.C. Humans shifted from being hunter-gathers to being subsistence farmers and herders. The Second Agricultural Revolution, or the British Agricultural Revolution, began during the 18th century. Major changes to farming techniques, which included livestock breeding, crop rotation, and mechanical farm equipment, decreased the number of workers needed on farms. The Third Agricultural Revolution, or the Green Revolution, took place during the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. Innovations in irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides, and plant breeding led to greater crop yields.

The impact of the British Industrial Revolution

• Many new machines were invented that could do things much faster than before or could perform entirely new tasks.
• Steam power was cheaper, more reliable and faster than traditional power sources.
• Large factories were established, creating jobs and a boom in cotton textile production, in particular.
• Major engineering projects, such as iron bridges and viaducts, became possible.
• Traditional industries, such as hand weaving and stagecoach-related businesses, went into terminal decline.

• The cost of food and consumer goods fell as items were mass
• Produced and transport costs fell.
• Manufacturers and farmers had better tools at their disposal.

Steam-powered machines reduced production costs, made profits higher, and permitted mass-produced consumer goods to be cheaper. The transport revolution continued this trend because a single train could carry 20 times the cargo of a canal boat and reach its destination eight times faster. Mechanisation and the railways created a boom in the coal mining, iron, and steel industries. There was a whole raft of new jobs available, such as in the railway stations, on construction sites, and in the factories. Women gained more financial independence; women comprised over half the workforce in textile factories. Most people could afford a train excursion to the seaside once a year. The telegraph meant the speed of communication vastly increased.

European countries seek to accumulate wealth through colonial expansion and control of trade.The idea arises that a nation's wealth is measured by the amount of precious metals it possesses. Mercantilism was the dominant economic system in Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries. It was based on the idea that a country's wealth and power were best served by increasing exports and reducing imports. Mercantilism, economic theory and practice common in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century that promoted governmental regulation of a nation's economy for the purpose of augmenting state power at the expense of rival national powers. It was the economic counterpart of political absolutism.

Trade Routes between Europe and Asia during Antiquity

Development of trade routes such as the Silk Road between Asia, Europe and Africa. Growth of maritime trade between ancient empires, such as the Roman Empire and the Chinese Empire. The trade routes served principally to transfer raw materials, foodstuffs, and luxury goods from areas with surpluses to others where they were in short supply. Some areas had a monopoly on certain materials or goods. China, for example, supplied West Asia and the Mediterranean world with silk, while spices were obtained principally from South Asia. These goods were transported over vast distances— either by pack animals overland or by seagoing ships—along the Silk and Spice Routes, which were the main arteries of contact between the various ancient empires of the Old World. Another important trade route, known as the Incense Route, was controlled by the Arabs, who brought frankincense and myrrh by camel caravan from South Arabia.

The ascent of industrial capitalism in the latter part of the 19th Century with its momentous application of new technologies, its rapid expansion of production and markets, and its bloody struggles over terms of employment culminated in a historical pact between investors and workers through the mediation of the state. In exchange for the compliance of a predominantly male labor force, capitalists accepted government regulations regarding higher wages, better working conditions, stronger unions, and larger benefit packages.

The Bretton Woods Conference, officially known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, was a gathering of delegates from 44 nations that met from July 1 to 22, 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to agree upon a series of new rules for the post-WWII international monetary system.

The international monetary system prior to the 1870s can be characterised as based on bimetallism, in the sense that both gold and silver were used as international means of payment. This does not, however, imply that each individual country was on a bimetallic standard; many countries accepted either a gold standard or a silver standard. For example, China, India, Germany and Holland were on the silver standard while in the UK, bimetallism was maintained until 1816.

A difficult global economic situation confronted the world as it entered the 1980s—a situation characterized not only by high inflation and unemployment (internal imbalance) in developed countries, but also large deficits in the current account of the balance of payments (external imbalance) in several developed and developing countries. In addition, lower demand in developed countries led to a decline in commodity prices and a deterioration of the terms of trade for many developing countries dependent on commodity exports.

The digital economy is booming. Annual smartphone shipments have more than doubled since 2010, hitting 1.2 billion in 2023. Internet of things (IoT) devices are projected to surge 2.5 times from 2023 to 39 billion by 2029. New data from 43 countries, representing about three quarters of global GDP, show business e-commerce sales grew nearly 60% from 2016 to 2022, to reach $27 trillion. This growth is taking an increasingly heavy toll on the environment. The digital economy is resource intensive. A two-kilogram computer requires 800 kilograms of raw materials. A smartphone, from production to disposal, requires about 70 kilograms. While the production phase is the most impactful – generating some 80% of smartphone greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – environmental harm occurs throughout the lifecycle of devices and ICT infrastructure, including through e-commerce

The decade of the 1970s began with the breakdown of the post-Second World War consensus on the global economic governance architecture, as embodied in the Bretton Woods system. The decade also witnessed two oil price shocks and the persistence of high inflation and unemployment—referred to as stagflation—in several developed countries. Lack of international coordination meant that weak growth, high inflation and high unemployment became the norm in most developed countries throughout the 1970s.

Russian Revolution (1917): The rise of the Soviet Union and its centrally planned socialist model created an economic bloc separate from the capitalist system, affecting international trade. Cold War (1947 - 1991): The world was divided into two economic blocs: the capitalist led by the US and the socialist led by the USSR. This fragmented global markets, limiting trade between the two systems. Arms race: Both blocs devoted large resources to military spending, diverting funds from productive sectors. The USSR, in particular, suffered economic stagnation as it prioritised military over civilian industry.

Emerging economies: Many developing countries were caught up in the rivalry, receiving aid from the US or the USSR to gain allies. This led to economic alliances with the blocs, limiting their participation in global markets.Five-year plans: The planned economies of the socialist bloc suffered from inefficiencies and shortages, weakening their global competitiveness vis-à-vis the more dynamic markets of capitalism. Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) and collapse of the USSR (1991): The end of socialism in Eastern Europe and the USSR allowed many countries to adopt capitalism, integrating into the global market, which accelerated globalisation.