- Netherlands
Paul Erdkamp
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, History Department, Faculty Member
Investment in capital, both physical and financial, and innovation in its uses are often considered the linchpin of modern economic growth, while credit and credit markets now seem to determine the wealth - as well as the fate - of... more
Investment in capital, both physical and financial, and innovation in its uses are often considered the linchpin of modern economic growth, while credit and credit markets now seem to determine the wealth - as well as the fate - of nations. Yet was it always thus? The Roman economy was large, complex, and sophisticated, but in terms of its structural properties did it look anything like the economies we know and are familiar with today?
Through consideration of the allocation and uses of capital and credit and the role of innovation in the Roman world, the individual essays comprising this volume go straight to the heart of the matter, exploring such questions as how capital in its various forms was generated, allocated, and employed in the Roman economy; whether the Romans had markets for capital goods and credit; and whether investment in capital led to innovation and productivity growth. Their authors consider multiple aspects of capital use in agriculture, water management, trade, and urban production, and of credit provision, finance, and human capital, covering different periods of Roman history and ranging geographically across Italy and elsewhere in the Roman world. Utilizing many different types of written and archaeological evidence, and employing a range of modern theoretical perspectives and methodologies, the contributors, an expert international team of historians and archaeologists, have produced the first book-length contribution to focus exclusively on (physical and financial) capital in the Roman world; a volume that is aimed not only at specialists in the field, but also at economic historians and archaeologists specializing in other periods and places.
Through consideration of the allocation and uses of capital and credit and the role of innovation in the Roman world, the individual essays comprising this volume go straight to the heart of the matter, exploring such questions as how capital in its various forms was generated, allocated, and employed in the Roman economy; whether the Romans had markets for capital goods and credit; and whether investment in capital led to innovation and productivity growth. Their authors consider multiple aspects of capital use in agriculture, water management, trade, and urban production, and of credit provision, finance, and human capital, covering different periods of Roman history and ranging geographically across Italy and elsewhere in the Roman world. Utilizing many different types of written and archaeological evidence, and employing a range of modern theoretical perspectives and methodologies, the contributors, an expert international team of historians and archaeologists, have produced the first book-length contribution to focus exclusively on (physical and financial) capital in the Roman world; a volume that is aimed not only at specialists in the field, but also at economic historians and archaeologists specializing in other periods and places.
Research Interests:
A Cultural History of Food presents an authoritative survey from ancient times to the present. This set of six volumes covers nearly 3,000 years of food and its physical, spiritual, social and cultural dimensions. 1. A Cultural History... more
A Cultural History of Food presents an authoritative survey from ancient times to the present. This set of six volumes covers nearly 3,000 years of food and its physical, spiritual, social and cultural dimensions.
1. A Cultural History of Food in Antiquity (800 BCE - 500 CE)
2. A Cultural History of Food in the Medieval Age (500 - 1300)
3. A Cultural History of Food in the Renaissance (1300 - 1600)
4. A Cultural History of Food in the Early Modern Age (1600 - 1800)
5. A Cultural History of Food in the Age of Empire (1800 - 1900)
6. A Cultural History of Food in the Modern Age (1920 - 2000)
Each volume discusses the same themes in its chapters:
1. Food Production
2. Food Systems
3. Food Security, Safety and Crises
4. Food and Politics
5. Eating Out
6. Professional Cooking, Kitchens and Service Work
7. Family and Domesticity
8. Body and Soul
9. Food Representations
10. World Developments
This structure means readers can either have a broad overview of a period by reading a volume or follow a theme through history by reading the relevant chapter in each volume.
1. A Cultural History of Food in Antiquity (800 BCE - 500 CE)
2. A Cultural History of Food in the Medieval Age (500 - 1300)
3. A Cultural History of Food in the Renaissance (1300 - 1600)
4. A Cultural History of Food in the Early Modern Age (1600 - 1800)
5. A Cultural History of Food in the Age of Empire (1800 - 1900)
6. A Cultural History of Food in the Modern Age (1920 - 2000)
Each volume discusses the same themes in its chapters:
1. Food Production
2. Food Systems
3. Food Security, Safety and Crises
4. Food and Politics
5. Eating Out
6. Professional Cooking, Kitchens and Service Work
7. Family and Domesticity
8. Body and Soul
9. Food Representations
10. World Developments
This structure means readers can either have a broad overview of a period by reading a volume or follow a theme through history by reading the relevant chapter in each volume.
Research Interests: History, Cultural History, Sociology, Cultural Studies, Economics, and 16 moreArt History, Cultural Sociology, Foodways (Anthropology), Cultural Heritage, Sociology of Food and Eating, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Anthropology of Food, Cultural Theory, Food History, Food, Gender, Culture, Food, Food and Nutrition, Consumer Culture, Social History, Cultural Anthropology, and Consumption and Material Culture
Provides an overall view of, and original insights into, the economics of land and resources in the Roman world Features a range of different methodologies and theoretical perspectives Relevant to the economic history of medieval... more
Provides an overall view of, and original insights into, the economics of land and resources in the Roman world
Features a range of different methodologies and theoretical perspectives
Relevant to the economic history of medieval and early modern Europe, and therefore appeals to a wide scholarly audience of historians and economists
Explanation of the success and failure of the Roman economy is one of the most important problems in economic history. As an economic system capable of sustaining high production and consumption levels, it was unparalleled until the early modern period.
This volume focuses on how the institutional structure of the Roman Empire affected economic performance both positively and negatively. An international range of contributors offers a variety of approaches that together enhance our understanding of how different ownership rights and various modes of organization and exploitation facilitated or prevented the use of land and natural resources in the production process. Relying on a large array of resources - literary, legal, epigraphic, papyrological, numismatic, and archaeological - chapters address key questions regarding the foundations of the Roman Empire's economic system. Questions of growth, concentration and legal status of property (private, public, or imperial), the role of the state, content and limitations of rights of ownership, water rights and management, exploitation of indigenous populations, and many more receive new and original analyses that make this book a significant step forward to understanding what made the economic achievements of the Roman empire possible.
Readership: Scholars and students interested in the ancient Roman economy and the institutional structure of the Roman Empire, in particular the role played by land and resources, as well as classical studies, economic history, and classical archaeology.
Features a range of different methodologies and theoretical perspectives
Relevant to the economic history of medieval and early modern Europe, and therefore appeals to a wide scholarly audience of historians and economists
Explanation of the success and failure of the Roman economy is one of the most important problems in economic history. As an economic system capable of sustaining high production and consumption levels, it was unparalleled until the early modern period.
This volume focuses on how the institutional structure of the Roman Empire affected economic performance both positively and negatively. An international range of contributors offers a variety of approaches that together enhance our understanding of how different ownership rights and various modes of organization and exploitation facilitated or prevented the use of land and natural resources in the production process. Relying on a large array of resources - literary, legal, epigraphic, papyrological, numismatic, and archaeological - chapters address key questions regarding the foundations of the Roman Empire's economic system. Questions of growth, concentration and legal status of property (private, public, or imperial), the role of the state, content and limitations of rights of ownership, water rights and management, exploitation of indigenous populations, and many more receive new and original analyses that make this book a significant step forward to understanding what made the economic achievements of the Roman empire possible.
Readership: Scholars and students interested in the ancient Roman economy and the institutional structure of the Roman Empire, in particular the role played by land and resources, as well as classical studies, economic history, and classical archaeology.