Page 267 - Encyclopedia Of World History

economic growth, extensive and intensive 617

transportation that has transformed the global division of worldwide fossil fuel consumption, global warming, and
labor (making it possible to a greater extent than ever various other kinds of environmental damage. It remains
before for people to depend on very distant places even to be seen whether less-damaging energy sources can
for essentials), as chemical fertilizer and pesticides that become a significant part of the world’s power. None of
have raised yields per acre to unheard-of levels (greatly this means we are likely to see an end to economic
reducing the extent to which the finite supply of land con- growth any time soon, but it does mean that how we
strains production), as plastics and other new materials think about growth and its costs may change. Even
that substitute for other resources, and as machinery that intensive growth may no longer be the “free lunch” it has
substitutes for the muscles of billions of people and ani- sometimes seemed to be.
mals.Thus labor supply does not currently limit produc-
Kenneth L. Pomeranz
tion very much, either; the problem, on the contrary, is a
surplus of workers, or workers who are not in the places See also Agrarian Era; Foraging (Paleolithic) Era; Indus-
where they are needed. trialization; Industrial Technologies; Modern Era; Trade
Cycles
Economic Growth in the
Contemporary World
While global wealth is very unequally distributed, and Further Reading
poverty remains a huge problem in much of the world, Christian, D. (2004). Maps of time: An introduction to big history. Berke-
the modern economic era is unparalleled in at least two ley: University of California Press.
Diamond, J. (1997). Guns, germs, and steel:The fate of human societies.
ways. First, the world economy has grown to the point
New York: W.W. Norton.
where everybody could theoretically have more material DeVries, J. (1994).The industrious revolution and the industrial revolu-
goods than even the privileged had in most societies tion. Journal of Economic History, 54(2), 249–270.
Elvin, M. (1973). The pattern of the Chinese past. Stanford, CA: Stanford
until quite recently. Second, the major constraints on University Press.
even further growth are probably not so much the old Flinn, M.W. (1984). A history of the British coal industry:Vol. 2. 1700–
1830, the Industrial Revolution. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1984.
ones of limited land, labor, and capital, as they are the
Jones, E. (1988). Growth recurring: Economic change in world history.
environmental damage that may result from continued New York: Oxford University Press.
extension of our energy-intensive production methods. At Maddison,A. (2001). The world economy:A millennial perspective. Paris:
Development Center of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation
the moment, the threat of global climate change from and Development.
continued production of greenhouse gases (a byproduct McNeill, J. R. (2000). Something new under the sun:An environmental his-
tory of the twentieth century. New York: W.W. Norton.
of all fossil-fuel burning) is probably the most widely dis-
Mokyr, J. (1990). The lever of riches:Technological creativity and economic
cussed, but the long-term effects of making, burning, progress. New York: Oxford University Press.
using, and dumping many other chemicals invented in Pacey, A. (1990). Technology in world civilization. Oxford, UK: Basil
Blackwell.
the last two centuries—most of them, in one way or Pomeranz, K. (2000). The great divergence: China, Europe and the mak-
another, derivatives of coal or oil—pose a number of ing of the modern world economy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press.
other poorly understood threats. In the last few decades,
Sahlins, M. (1972). Stone Age economics. London: Tavistock.
major economies have become less fossil-fuel intensive, Simmons, I. G. (Ed.). (1996). Changing the face of the earth: Culture, envi-
meaning they burn fewer fossil fuels per dollar of eco- ronment, history (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.
Watson,A. (1983). Agricultural innovation in the early Islamic world:The
nomic activity. Decreasing the energy intensity of the diffusion of crops and farming techniques, 700–1100. Cambridge,
economy is also a high priority for China, the world’s UK: Cambridge University Press.
Wrigley, E.A. (1988). Continuity, chance, and change:The character of the
largest developing economy. But because the total
Industrial Revolution in England. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Uni-
amount of economic activity continues to grow, so do versity Press.