This paper has three main purposes: a) it uses a comparative quantitative framework to demonstrate the pace of economic growth in different parts of the world economy since 1820, and to identify the major causes which have been operative; b) it analyses the different approaches which economists...

A long-term assessment of Asia's share of global GDP suggests that Asia has now almost reclaimed the role in the global economy it occupied in 1820. By focusing on the experience of key economies in Asia, this paper assesses why the continent's role weakened between 1820 and 1950 and...

This paper reviews the history of cyclical and long wave analysis and examines the evidence on changes in the momentum of economic growth in 16 advanced capitalist countries from 1820 to 2001. It assesses the work of the main Business Cycle Research Institutes in Western Europe the USA and...

This article quantifies the comparative performance of China in several dimensions. Firstly, it shows that China's move from a command to a market economy was less abrupt and more successful than that of 29 other economies making a similar transition. Secondly, while official estimates show...

This article is an appraisal of the contributions of Colin Clark to the art of macroeconomic measurement. It traces his place in the historical tradition in this field, provides biographical background and analyses his contributions to national income measurement, international comparisons,...