Volume 54, Number 18 · November 22, 2007
'Survival of the Richest'?
By Robert M. Solow
A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World
by Gregory Clark
Princeton University Press, 420 pp., $29.95
Look at the graph reproduced on this page. It shows the material standard of living of the average English person over a span of eight centuries beginning in 1200. In 1800 the average English person was literally no better off, in food, clothing, and shelter, than in 1200. Although there had been ups and downs, there was no long-term improvement. Nobody would have been talking about 'growth.'
Review, 4494 words
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