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Cover; Contents; Acknowledgements; List of illustrations; List of tables; 1 The great divergence; 2 The rise of the West; 3 The Industrial Revolution; 4 The ascent of the rich; 5 The great empires; 6 The Americas; 7 Africa; 8 The standard model and late industrialization; 9 Big Push industrialization; Epilogue; References; Further reading; Index;

Why are some countries rich and others poor? In 1500, the income differences were small, but they have grown dramatically since Columbus reached America. Since then, the interplay between geography, globalization, technological change, and economic policy has determined the wealth and poverty of nations. The industrial revolution was Britain's path breaking response to the challenge of globalization. Western Europe and North America joined Britain to form a club of rich nations bypursuing four polices-creating a national market by abolishing internal tariffs and investing in transportation, er