Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

To understand those factors determining Britain's economic performance from its Industrial Revolution in the late eighteenth century to its relative economic decline in the postwar era.

Outline Of Syllabus

Two centuries of growth and structural change
The Industrial Revolution
Trade and factor flows during the first era of globalization
British manufacturing in international perspective
Did late-Victorian Britain fail?
The classical and interwar gold standards
The interwar era: new industries, protection, and the retreat to empire
Postwar Britain: a 'golden age' or the 'sick man of Europe'?
Britain's trade with its Empire/Commonwealth

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

Understand the determinants of structural change, growth, and productivity growth in the British economy
Evaluate the economic performance of Britain relative to that of other major world economies
Explain the causes and consequences of the trade and monetary policies that Britain pursued

Intended Skill Outcomes

Evaluating economic policies
Evaluating economic performance

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The module includes both lectures and seminars. During the lectures, the relevant scholarly arguments and main supporting evidence will be presented. During the seminars, students will evaluate and critique the arguments, drawing upon both the lectures and the module readings.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The exam format is ideal for this module, given that it can be used to assess the mixture of quantitative and qualitative evidence presented in the module (in lectures, seminars, and readings). Moreover, as this module emphasises the critique of scholarly arguments, an exam is conducive to such an exercise.

General Notes

N/A