EH307 One Unit
The Economic History of South Asia, 1600-2000
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Prof Tirthankar Roy
Availability
This course is available on the BSc in Economic History, BSc in Economic History and Geography and BSc in Economics and Economic History. This course is not available as an outside option to students on other programmes. This course is not available to General Course students.
This course is capped. Places will be assigned on a first come first served basis.
Course content
South Asia is one of the fastest growing economies of the world. The region is also home to nearly one-third of the world's poorest people. How did this paradoxical mix between the creation of wealth and persistence of poverty come into being? Does economic history suggest an answer? The course introduces the stylized facts and major debates in the economic history of modern South Asia. It considers the legacies of empires and developmental states, globalizations of the past and the present times, and the role of indigenous institutions and resource endowments. The course begins with a discussion of empires and markets before European colonial rule began, with special reference to maritime trade and craft production, in which the European East India companies were interested in. For the colonial period, the major theme is the transformation engendered by colonialism and international economic integration. In the sixty years since the end of colonial rule, developmental states tried to overcome the obstacles to growth as the economists interpreted them. The course considers how successful they were in meeting the aim, and why they were limitedly successful.
Teaching
10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the Autumn Term.
10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the Winter Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn and Winter Term.
Formative assessment
Students are expected to write three essays or equivalent pieces of written work.
Indicative reading
1. Dietmar Rothermund, An Economic History of India (1993)
2. B.R. Tomlinson, The Economy of Modern India (2013)
3. Tirthankar Roy, The Economic History of India 1757-2010 (2020)
4. G. Balachandran, ed., India and the World Economy 1850-1950 (2003)
5. Latika Chaudhary and others, eds., A New Economic History of Colonial India (2016)
6. P.J. Marshall, ed., The Eighteenth Century in Indian History (2004)
Assessment
Exam (100%), duration: 180 Minutes in the Spring exam period
Key facts
Department: Economic History
Course Study Period: Autumn and Winter Term
Unit value: One unit
FHEQ Level: Level 6
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: Unavailable
Average class size 2024/25: Unavailable
Capped 2024/25: NoCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.