Despite the interface that exists between economics and history, modern economic theory has largely failed to integrate the two. This unusual collection of essays makes an interesting departure in showing how economic theory, and even its formal mathematical apparatus, can be fruitfully applied to throw light on historical processes and problems in fields as diverse as agrarian economics and industrial capitalism. The first five essays, set in the context of traditional agrarian economics, seek to explain the ‘stylized’ historical fact of stagnation of agriculture in many parts of eastern India. The second set of essays deals with the emergence and evolution of capitalist economies, exploring areas such as the emergence of the factory system, the failure of central planning, the changing character of social democracy, globalization and the role of developing countries and state intervention in the context of transition to a market economy. This book is thus not just ‘quantitative’ economic history, nor is it a mechanical application of neoclassical economics. Rather, it charts out an imaginative new path combining economic theory and history which students and researchers in economics, history, political science and sociology will find stimulating.
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