Economics
What's Inside
Introduction
The term “economics” is a relatively recent invention, having only been in common usage since the second half of the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, the concept of “economics” is integral to almost every aspect of our daily lives: on an individual level, it influences where we live, how we spend most of our time, and our overall quality of life. Put simply, the term refers to the distribution of resources within and between human populations. Economics is inseparable from politics and, over the years, competing ideologies have led to the creation of very different economic systems, from free-market capitalism to state socialism. Therefore, the theme of “Economics” remains one of the most important in historical research, not just for economic historians, but for those working in a range of fields, from social and cultural history to political and international history.
At BOA, “Economics” relates to many different historical and geographical contexts, and often intersects with themes such as “Politics and Social Movements”, “Colonialism and Empire”, “International Relations”, and “Philosophy and Religion”. For this reason, the collections featured below address an array of topics. For instance, they highlight the scale of the transatlantic slave trade and, more generally, of Britain’s imperial project; they document the origins of the labour movement; they chronicle the rise and fall of the Soviet Union; and they record the establishment of a new global monetary system after the Second World War.
