Charles H. Feinstein

British Economic Growth 1856-1973

A historical account of the course and causes of British economic growth from the mid-19th century until 1973, with special emphasis on the unparalleled growth after the Second World War.

Socialism, Capitalism and Economic Growth

These essays were written in 1969 to mark the retirement of Maurice Dobb from the Readership in Economics an Cambridge University. The contributors are economists and historians from many parts of the world. The unifying theme, economic growth and planning under socialism and capitalism, was central to the major part of Maurice Dobbs work.

Studies in Capital Formation in the United Kingdom 1750-1920

Capital formation plays a large part in any evaluation of economic growth and decline. In recent years the provision of capital in the British industrial revolution has received renewed attention. This interest arises out of attempts to trace the course and explain the progress of the pioneer industrializing country; to assess the reasons for Britains subsequent loss of economic pre-eminence; and to explain the process of industrialization in a general way, in particular on behalf of countries which are in the midst of this process today. The debate has been largely theoretical because of the lack of reliable data for the period prior to 1850, and up-to-date estimates for the period thereafter. This book seeks to remedy this lack. Part I, based largely on archival and other primary sources, contains detailed studies of the amount of capital invested in the main sectors of the economy (coal mining, agriculture, textiles, roads and waterways) from 1750-1850. Part II provides for the first time a comprehensive set of estimates compiled on a consistent basis for the entire period from 1750-1920. It thus provides the foundation for a full study of capital accumulation in Britain from the industrial revolution to the First World War.

Banking, Currency, and Finance in Europe Between the Wars

The financial history of interwar Europe was dominated by catastrophic episodes of hyper-inflation, dramatic exchange rate crises, massive and destabilizing movements of gold and capital, and extensive banking failures. In their attempt to restore and sustain the gold standard as the basis of the international monetary system, many countries were compelled to resort to deflationary fiscal and monetary policies of exceptional severity. The policies thus adopted in the 1920s were a major cause of the Great Depression of 1929-33; and this in turn exerted a powerful influence on the subsequent political and economic history of the 1930s. This collection of essays is the work of an international network of economic historians from Europe and the United States convened by the European Science Foundation. It brings together, in an accessible style, current knowledge and understanding of the nature and effects of these developments in banking, currency, and finance in the interwar period. The topics are examined at three levels. In Part I a substantial introductory survey of the central issues over the entire period is followed by special studies of the banking crises, the global capital flows, and the interrelationship of economic and political policies, with each of these themes considered in an international perspective. Part II is devoted to illuminating comparative analyses of the financial and exchange policies of pairs of countries; France and Italy, Britain and Germany, Sweden and Finland, and Belgium and France. The questions addressed by this book, and the temes and patterns it reveals, are relevant both to economic and political historians of the years between the two world wars, and to those interested in contemporary banking and financial problems. This book is intended for economic and political historians; professionals inerested in contemporary banking and financial problems.

Standard errors and confidence intervals

Introduction In the document ‘Data Description, Populations and the Normal Distribution’ a sample had been obtained from the population of heights of 5-year-old boys. If we assume that this variable has a Normal distribution (an assumption that is, in fact, entirely reasonable) then it will have a population mean, μ, whose value is very likely to be of interest. As this is a population parameter we will never know its true value, because we will never have a complete enumeration of the population. Consequently we will have to content ourselves with knowing what we can about μ on the basis of random samples drawn from the population.

Wages and the paradox of the 1880s

Abstract This comment is concerned with two aspects of a recent paper by David Greasley (1986, Explorations in Economic History 23 , 416–444) on measurement of British economic growth. First, it argues that his revision to the index of average wages originally compiled by Bowley and adopted by Feinstein is flawed because of an incorrect procedure for weighting the sectoral wage relatives, and that even if this is corrected the sample of relative included in his index is too small to provide a satisfactory basis for a new index. Second, it notes that he has discovered a serious error in Bowleys estimate of the number of wage earners, but that his alternative series itself suffers from minor defects which should be corrected.

The managed economy : essays in British economic policy and performance since 1929

A collection of 13 essays by distinguished economists relating to issues and events during the fifty years from the 1930s to the 1970s. The major themes of the volume are: the varying standard of British economic performance, and the development and application of policies to improve that performance.

Russian National Income, 1885-1913.

List of tables and figures Preface 1. Introduction 2. Problems of measurement of real national income: tsarist Russia 3. Summary results: national income of tsarist Russia, 1885-1913 4. An overview of the component accounts 5. National income, USSR territory, 1913 and 1928 6. Tsarist economic growth and structural change 7. A comparative appraisal: Russian growth before World War I 8. comparisons with the Soviet period 9. Conclusions Appendices Bibliography Index.

Making History Count: The classical linear regression model

This chapter builds on our previous work and takes a succession of giant strides towards realistic quantitative analysis of relationships between two or more variables. After completing this material it will be possible to examine a large range of potential historical problems, and to read critically many of the studies in history and the social sciences that make use of regression and related quantitative techniques. We will begin in §9.1 with a brief discussion of the concept of a ‘model’ and of the associated methodology of quantitative research into the relationships between two or more variables. The basic technique of linear regression (discussed in chapters 4 and 8) is then extended in §9.2 to examine the reasons why the observed values of the dependent variable deviate from the regression line, and to consider the implications of these deviations. In §9.3 a new test statistic, the F -test, is introduced and used to test the significance of the multiple regression as a whole. Finally, §9.4 is devoted to a further useful summary statistic, the standard error of the estimate. Historical research and models of relationships between variables One of the principal features of quantitative research in the historical and social sciences is the attempt to analyse and explain the behaviour of some particular variable.

Making History Count: Multiple linear regression

Making History Count introduces the main quantitative methods used in historical research. The emphasis is on intuitive understanding and application of the concepts, rather than formal statistics; no knowledge of mathematics beyond simple arithmetic is required. The techniques are illustrated by applications in social, political, demographic and economic history. Students will learn to read and evaluate the application of the quantitative methods used in many books and articles, and to assess the historical conclusions drawn from them. They will also see how quantitative techniques can open up new aspects of an enquiry, and supplement and strengthen other methods of research. This textbook will encourage students to recognize the benefits of using quantitative methods in their own research projects. The text is clearly illustrated with tables, graphs and diagrams, leading the student through key topics. Additional support includes five specific historical data-sets, available from the Cambridge website.