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Power to the People
Energy in Europe over the Last Five Centuries
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Astrid Kander
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2014
About this book
Power to the People examines the varied but interconnected relationships between energy consumption and economic development in Europe over the last five centuries. It describes how the traditional energy economy of medieval and early modern Europe was marked by stable or falling per capita energy consumption, and how the First Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century--fueled by coal and steam engines--redrew the economic, social, and geopolitical map of Europe and the world. The Second Industrial Revolution continued this energy expansion and social transformation through the use of oil and electricity, but after 1970 Europe entered a new stage in which energy consumption has stabilized. This book challenges the view that the outsourcing of heavy industry overseas is the cause, arguing that a Third Industrial Revolution driven by new information and communication technologies has played a major stabilizing role.
Power to the People offers new perspectives on the challenges posed today by climate change and peak oil, demonstrating that although the path of modern economic development has vastly increased our energy use, it has not been a story of ever-rising and continuous consumption. The book sheds light on the often lengthy and complex changes needed for new energy systems to emerge, the role of energy resources in economic growth, and the importance of energy efficiency in promoting growth and reducing future energy demand.
Author / Editor information
Astrid Kander is professor of economic history at Lund University. Paolo Malanima is director of the Institute of Studies on Mediterranean Societies at the National Research Council in Italy. Paul Warde is reader in early modern history at the University of East Anglia and research associate at the Centre for History and Economics, Magdalene College, University of Cambridge.
Reviews
""In my view it is, and will remain for a time, the reference book on the role of energy transitions in the long-term economic development of Europe for those coming from the standpoint of economic history. . . . This book will become a touchstone from which all these contested views on energy economics can debate, check their different ways of accounting for long-term economic growth, and compete for a better explanation.'"---Enric Tello, History
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"An ambitious and important analysis of the relationships between energy and economic growth in Europe over the past five hundred years."---Christopher F. Jones, Environmental History
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"Power to the People is to be welcomed. It is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of Economic History and History of Technology and will appeal both to the professional and the general reader interested in the future of humanity."---Francesc X. Barca-Salom, Environment and History
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"[T]his multi-authored effort is well structured and furnished with splendid illustrations and explanatory tables . . . I would recommend the book, but with the warning that it is not an easy read due to the sheer quantity of information and analytical viewpoints it contains."---Aurelia Mané-Estrada, European History Quarterly
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"With many insightful graphs, plus useful explanatory boxes for the less initiated, it is highly accessible, and recommended to undergraduate students curious about the history of energy, to postgraduates specializing in a specific field, and to academics."---Roger Fouquet, Journal of Economic Literature
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"Employing economic theory and growth accounting to illuminate the linkages between energy use and economic activity and supporting their argument with extensive quantitative evidence, the authors make a compelling case that modern economic growth would have been impossible without the increased energy intensity made possible by exploitation of fossil fuels. This work provides valuable historical perspectives on pressing contemporary challenges."
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
v -
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Preface
ix -
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Chapter One. Introduction
1 -
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Chapter Two. Definitions and Concepts
17 - PART I Pre-Industrial Economies Paolo Malanima
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Chapter Three. Traditional Sources
37 -
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Chapter Four. Constraints and Dynamics
81 - PART II. The First Industrial Revolution
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Chapter Five. A Modern Energy Regime
131 -
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Chapter Six. The Coal Development Block
159 -
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Chapter Seven. Energy and Industrial Growth
209 - PART III. The Second and Third Industrial Revolutions
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Chapter Eight. Energy Transitions in the Twentieth Century
251 -
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Chapter Nine. Major Development Blocks in the Twentieth Century and Their Impacts on Energy
287 -
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Chapter Ten. The Role of Energy in Twentieth-Century Economic Growth
333 -
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Chapter Eleven. Summary and Implications For the Future
366 -
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Appendixes
387 -
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References
415 -
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Index
451 -
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Backmatter
459
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
June 16, 2015
eBook ISBN:
9781400848881
Edition:
Course Book
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9781400848881
Keywords for this book
Technology; Energy intensity; Energy consumption; Economic growth; Coal; Fuel; Energy carrier; Energy development; Electricity; Agriculture; Steam engine; Industrial Revolution; Supply (economics); Fossil fuel; Firewood; Economics; Income; Second Industrial Revolution; Energy conservation; Economy; Energy transition; Industrialisation; Productivity; Hydropower; Calculation; Peat; Year; Availability; Coal mining; Quantity; Energy industry; Raw material; Total factor productivity; Energy supply; Manufacturing; Hectare; Industrial production; Relative price; Combustion; World energy consumption; Mechanization; Natural resource; Internal combustion engine; Population growth; Saving; Industry; Commodity; Capital deepening; Developed country; Thermal efficiency; The Third Industrial Revolution (book); Mining; Economic development; Engineering; Metallurgy; Percentage; Economic efficiency; Chemical industry; Steamship; Global warming; Vegetable; Inflation; World economy; Western Europe; Natural gas; Infrastructure; Economic history; Price index; Current Price; Service economy
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
