A Plan of the English Commerce

New Edition

Daniel Defoe

July 2014 / ISBN: 978-1-62273-001-8
Availability: In stock
187pp. ¦ $28 £20 €25

A Plan of the English Commerce is a rare piece of economic history covering the crucial period at the outset of the first Industrial Revolution and the early wave of globalization. Unlike other chroniclers of British economic development, Defoe was contemporary to and often had first-hand experience of important events. His account therefore offers an extraordinary vantage point, free from the distorting lens of modern theoretical explanations. An account rich in anecdotes and penetrating observations, Defoe’s work emphasizes neglected aspects of the world economy at the time, such as the interplay between industrial policy and international trade. Defoe argues that, under the Tudors, British industry developed under a heavily protected regime. Contrary to widespread belief, export controls, infant-industry subsidies, government-sponsored industrial espionage and aggressive technology transfer were routine. A Plan of the English Commerce is principal among Daniel Defoe’s works dealing with economic matters and remains of interest not only to economic historians but also to scholars concerned with economic development, international trade and industrial policy. This New Edition has been typeset with modern techniques and contains a newly compiled Index of important topics. Aiming for visual clarity and the minimization of redundancy, the New Edition drops the largely arbitrary italicization of words and applies a modern formatting style to the rudimentary tables found in the original. It has been painstakingly proofread to ensure that it is free from errors and that the content is faithful to the original, down to the unusually long chapter headings.

Women in Industry

A Study in American Economic History

Edith Abbott

April 2014 / ISBN: 978-1-62273-000-1
Availability: In stock
304pp. ¦ $30 £22 €27

Women in Industry is a critical examination of labor history of women in the United States from colonial times to the turn of the 20th century. Since its first publication a century ago, it has received hundreds of citations and had a formative influence in fields as diverse as labor history, gender studies, and economic history methodology. Women in Industry examines working conditions, wages and other forms of compensation across industries and professions. While firmly rooted in economics, Abbott does not overlook the social causes and implications of shifting patterns of female employment nor the organized opposition such changes attracted by established interests. Using masses of carefully compiled evidence, Abbott's work forcefully made the point that, contrary to popular belief, women did not suddenly replace men in industrial employment sometime in the 19th century. Rather, women and children were a regular and prominent feature of American industries in general and manufacturing in particular. Forming the first comprehensive account of female employment in a developing manufacturing economy, Abbott's extensive primary research and dispassionate interpretation make this essential reading for students of economic history. Academically rigorous yet accessible, Women in Industry remains unsurpassed in the reach of its coverage and the depth of its scholarship: It is fairly recognized as a timeless work and a source of inspiration for contemporary economic historians everywhere.