Chinese Economic History -- An interview with Prof. Kenneth Pomeranz

An interview with Prof. Kenneth Pomeranz, author of "The Great Divergence" and University Professor in History and the College at the University of Chicago. He was interviewed at the XVIIth World Economic History Congress held in Kyoto, Japan in August of 2015 by Prof. Ronald A. Edwards of ChineseEconomicHistory.com.

[@艾威朋-e8c]

One of the best interviews on a general introduction to "The Great Divergence".

[@elizabethtan8343]

How come Pomeranz has not received a Nobel Prize in Economics yet??

[@dhagos]

If I had to guess off the top of my head, as to why Europe become so much stronger economically in the 18th century, I'd guess it had to do with the Americas and Black Slavery. Two huge contributors to England's economy, as well as to the rest of Europe.

[@dommatcham2728]

I think that slavery did have a large effect but it seems the Americas were quite expensive during the 18th century not least because of the war of independence - the debt this incurred was part of the reason why the British started the Opium War in order to secure trade with China. Also, slavery in the British Empire was eradicated in 1807 and numbers were falling before then. India, on the other hand, was far more profitable and was one of the main growth drivers. That's not to say that slavery was utterly abhorrent it's just my view the main growth drivers were to do with accumulation by dispossession in the Americas but mainly in India (and also in Australia) and then the utilization of modern science (particularly Newtonian physics) in producing the industrial revolution.

[@beni718]

Yes slavery provided cheap cotton for North Atlantic textile industries. England's dependence on slave-picked cotton is evidenced by England almost allying with the Confederacy during the US Civil War.