Economic History (ePub)

Economic history is mainly the study of past economies.It
combines historical and statistical methods along with the
application of economic theory to different times in history and
to various institutions. While it primarily includes financial and
business history, some of it overlaps with social history which
helps us get an insight to the changing behaviors of the
consumers and sellers.

Economics may be a fairly modern term, but it goes back into
ancient times when sales and purchase of items had begun to
take place. It was either in the form of barter system or
through purchases made in kind.

Once a monetary system was in place, economics began to
grow in significance and it gained a new perch when societies
began to advance and stock exchanges began to grow.
Today humans live in a time when Economics has left a
noticeable footprint in many aspects of our lives. The way in
which the economies of countries strengthened and dwindled
caused many livelihoods to get better or worse.

The factors that affected these economies helped us understand
our mistakes and the world began to look for ways in which it
can learn from these mistakes and ensure that it does not
falter again.

Terms like inflation and deflation are also closely associated to
economics and the world has seen both in different parts of
the globe. We will discuss the difference these changes made
and how the world coped with such changes.
Economic history helps us understand the extent to which
financial decisions can change the ways of the world. These
decisions are important for us because they have made a
difference before. So we can learn from them and ensure that
when we face the same situations once again, we are prepared
in a better way to face such situations.
If the world was to go through a financial crisis and instead of
learning from it, allow it to fade away in oblivion as people
struggled into better financial lives, then we would learn nothing
and history, which is bound to repeat itself, may cause the
same amount of struggle in our lives.
This is why Economic history plays an important role in our
lives and understanding it helps us lead a better life. Knowing
what can come ahead and taking hints from our economic
history to help us plan for the future ahead making ourselves
stronger in the fields of business and finance so that the world
can grow into a better master of finance and have a better
control over the situation if things were to repeat.
Through this book we will cover the different phases in
Economic history and the impact it has on our lives.