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‘The Great Divergence’ Revisited: The Case of Bengal in Early Modern Times

‘The Great Divergence’ Revisited: The Case of Bengal in Early Modern Times This study contributes to the literature on the ‘Great Divergence’ by analysing the historical roots of the economic slowdown in Bengal. It offers a critique of existing hypotheses insofar as they fail to account for the experience of Bengal sufficiently. In particular, emphasis on demographic-ecological crisis as an explanation of Asian regions falling behind seems inapt for Bengal. The paper proposes an alternative theoretical framework based on Adam Smith's understanding of pre-modern process of economic development, and especially the role of capital inflows. This alternative is tested against a detailed analysis of monetary and fiscal trends in early modern Bengal. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Economic History of Developing Regions Taylor & Francis

‘The Great Divergence’ Revisited: The Case of Bengal in Early Modern Times

Ray, Indrajit
Economic History of Developing Regions , Volume 30 (2): 32 – Jul 3, 2015
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2015 Economic History Society of Southern Africa
ISSN
2078-0397
eISSN
2078-0389
DOI
10.1080/20780389.2015.1071662
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This study contributes to the literature on the ‘Great Divergence’ by analysing the historical roots of the economic slowdown in Bengal. It offers a critique of existing hypotheses insofar as they fail to account for the experience of Bengal sufficiently. In particular, emphasis on demographic-ecological crisis as an explanation of Asian regions falling behind seems inapt for Bengal. The paper proposes an alternative theoretical framework based on Adam Smith's understanding of pre-modern process of economic development, and especially the role of capital inflows. This alternative is tested against a detailed analysis of monetary and fiscal trends in early modern Bengal.

Journal

Economic History of Developing Regions – Taylor & Francis

Published: Jul 3, 2015

Keywords: Great Divergence; Bengal; Adam Smith; N 10

References

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