World Economic History: Discovering Our Global Economic Journey, From Antiquity to the Modern Era

By Fouad Sabry

What is World Economic History

The economic history of the world encompasses the development of human economic activity throughout time. It has been estimated that throughout prehistory, the world average GDP per capita was about $158 per annum, and did not rise much until the Industrial Revolution. Cattle were probably the first object or physical thing specifically used in a way similar enough to the modern definition of money, that is, as a medium for exchange.

How you will benefit

(I) Insights, and validations about the following topics:

Chapter 1: Economic history of the world

Chapter 2: Economy of Alberta

Chapter 3: Economy of Canada

Chapter 4: Economy of Ecuador

Chapter 5: Recession

Chapter 6: Economy of South Korea

Chapter 7: Economy of Switzerland

Chapter 8: Economy of the United Kingdom

Chapter 9: Economy of the United States

Chapter 10: Economy of Australia

Chapter 11: Business cycle

Chapter 12: Economy of Africa

Chapter 13: Economic history of India

Chapter 14: Economy of the Middle East

Chapter 15: Economy of India under the British Raj

Chapter 16: Economy of East Asia

Chapter 17: Global recession

Chapter 18: Economic history of the Russian Federation

Chapter 19: 1970s energy crisis

Chapter 20: Economic history of Italy

Chapter 21: Economic history of Ghana

(II) Answering the public top questions about world economic history.

(III) Real world examples for the usage of world economic history in many fields.

Who this book is for

Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of World Economic History.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: Feb 12, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: Economic history of the world

The global economic history examines the evolution of human economic activities throughout time. It is believed that the global average GDP per capita during prehistory was approximately $158 per year (adjusted to 2013 USD) and did not significantly increase until the Industrial Revolution. Cattle were likely the first object or tangible entity to be used as a medium of exchange in a manner close to the contemporary notion of money.

By the 3rd millennium BCE, civilization had reached its peak, Ancient Egypt was home to about fifty percent of the world's population.

The city-states of Sumer created a commerce and market economy initially based on the commodity currency of the shekel, which was a specific weight measure of barley, Later, the Babylonians and their city-state neighbors devised the earliest system of prices based on a legal code-mandated measuring of various goods.

The Sumerian legal books could be regarded as the first (written) financial law, Many of its characteristics are still employed in the present pricing system.

Temples are the earliest documented debtors at interest in recorded history, starting in Sumer around 3000 B.C.

Later, in their diplomatic duties, they legitimized profit-seeking trade, in addition to being a large recipient.

In accordance with Herodotus, and most current academics, Around 650–600 BCE, the Lydians were the first people to employ gold and silver coins.

Hesiod is regarded as the earliest economist (at least based on the opinions created by the evidence of surviving texts) due to his writings in Works and Days on the fundamental problem of the scarcity of resources.

In the subsequent 1,500 years, the Indian subcontinent and China accounted for more than half of the global economy. Despite having a high GDP, these populous nations did not have a considerably greater GDP per capita.

The expansion of the global economy during the Middle Ages was sluggish due to the rise in population and commerce. During the early stages of the Middle Ages, Europe was a backwater economic region. In the later Middle Ages, however, prosperous trading cities formed in Italy, spawning the first modern accounting and banking systems.

During the Industrial Revolution, economic growth in the modern sense initially began in Britain and then spread to the rest of Europe as a result of an increase in energy conversion. During the twentieth century, the world's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) increased by a factor of five. During the reconstruction period following World War II, the 1960s saw the most growth. During the second half of the twentieth century, shipping containers made transporting commodities more affordable, especially globally. There are still numerous nations where individuals, particularly small children, die from infections such as rotavirus and polio that are now preventable.

The Great Recession occurred between 2007 and 2009. Since 2020, economies have been impacted by COVID-19 recession.

In the Paleolithic period, which lasted between 500,000 and 10,000 B.C, This period began with the end of the last glacial epoch more than 10,000 years ago and was characterized by the gradual domestication of plants and animals and the establishment of settlement societies at diverse times and