"The frequency and repetition of economic crises over the last hundred years demands an analysis that allows us to discover the root causes of these situations and the problems they have generated in the world economy. This book investigates these cycles throughout the 20th and the early 21st...

"Food consumption and nutrition are historically among the most characteristic features of inequality in living standards driven by socio-economic, gender, generational and geographical reasons. Nutrition directly impacts mortality, life expectancy, height and illness, and thus becomes a good...

Impersonal exchange increases trade and specialization opportunities, encouraging economic growth. However it requires the support of sophisticated public institutions. This paper explains how Classical Rome provided such support in the main areas of economic activity by relying on public...

Introduction -- Regional economic development in Europe, 1900-2010 : a description of the patterns -- Country chapte -- Austria -- Belgium -- Denmark -- Finland -- France -- Germany -- Italy -- Netherlands -- Norway -- Portugal -- Spain -- Swden -- Switzerland -- United Kingdom and Ireland --...