EH215      Half Unit
Money and Finance: From the Eighteenth Century to Modernity

This information is for the 2022/23 session.

Teacher responsible

Prof Albrecht Ritschl SAR 6.06

Availability

This course is available as an outside option to students on non-Economic History programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.

Course content

The course provides an introduction into monetary and financial history from the 18th century to the present day. It examines the main developments in international monetary architecture and the global financial system since the Glorious Revolution. The course is designed to introduce students to major concepts of money and finance (financial development, financial integration, monetary policy, banking crises etc.) and to provide a long run perspective to the current policy debate.

Teaching

10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the LT.

There will be a Reading Week in Week 6 of LT.

Formative coursework

The students will produce one formative essay. The exercise will help them practice academic writing (structuring and presenting arguments, providing explanations, referencing etc.); a skill helpful for the exam of this course that will take place in the summer exam period. Students will also give a formative class presentation to practice presenting complex arguments to their peers and answering questions from the audience.

Indicative reading

1. Neal, L. The Rise of Financial Capitalism, Cambridge and New York, Cambridge University Press, 1990.

2. Eichengreen, B. (1992), Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression, 1919-1939, Oxford (Oxford University Press).3. Eichengreen, B. (2008), Globalizing Capital: A History of the International Monetary System, Princeton (Princeton University Press).

4. Friedman, M. and A. Schwartz (1963), A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960, Princeton (Princeton University Press).

5. Kindleberger, C. P. (2005), Manias, Panics and Crashes. A History of Financial Crises, 5th edition, New York: Macmillan.

6. Reinhart, C. and K. Rogoff (2009), This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly, Princeton (Princeton University Press).

Assessment

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the summer exam period.

Key facts

Department: Economic History

Total students 2021/22: Unavailable

Average class size 2021/22: Unavailable

Capped 2021/22: No

Value: Half Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Course selection videos

Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.