Power to the People : Energy in Europe over the Last Five Centuries.
Title:
Power to the People : Energy in Europe over the Last Five Centuries.
Author:
Kander, Astrid.
ISBN:
9781400848881
Personal Author:
Physical Description:
1 online resource (473 pages)
Series:
The Princeton Economic History of the Western World Ser.
Contents:
Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- CHAPTER ONE: Introduction -- CHAPTER TWO: Definitions and Concepts -- PART I: Pre-Industrial Economies -- CHAPTER THREE: Traditional Sources -- 1. Energy in Premodern Societies -- 2. Organic Sources and Agricultures -- 3. Non-organic Sources -- 4. Seven Long-run Propositions -- 5. Conclusion -- CHAPTER FOUR: Constraints and Dynamics -- 1. Population and Climate -- 2. Energy Scarcity -- 3. Saving Land -- 4. Saving Labor -- 5. Conclusion -- PART II: The First Industrial Revolution -- CHAPTER FIVE: A Modern Energy Regime -- 1. The Take-off of Coal -- 2. Traditional Sources: Rise but Relative Decline -- 3. Conclusion -- CHAPTER SIX: The Coal Development Block -- 1. The Core Innovations -- 2. The Growth Dynamics of the Coal Development Block -- 3. The Transport Revolution -- CHAPTER SEVEN: Energy and Industrial Growth -- 1. Coal and Growth -- 2. Seven Long-run Propositions -- 3. Energy Intensity and Economic Structure -- 4. Conclusion -- PART III: The Second and Third Industrial Revolutions -- CHAPTER EIGHT: Energy Transitions in the Twentieth Century -- 1. The Rise of Oil and Electricity -- 2. Old and New in Energy Regimes -- 3. Conclusion -- CHAPTER NINE: Major Development Blocks in the Twentieth Century and Their Impacts on Energy -- 1. The ICE-Oil Block -- 2. The Electricity Block -- 3. The ICT Development Block -- 4. Conclusion -- CHAPTER TEN: The Role of Energy in Twentieth-Century Economic Growth -- 1. Development Blocks and GDP -- 2. Seven Long-run Propositions -- 3. Energy Intensity and Economic Structure -- CHAPTER ELEVEN: Summary and Implications for the Future -- 1. Summing Up the Book -- 2.Thinking about the Future -- 3. Some Remarks about the Future -- APPENDIXES -- A. The Role of Energy in Growth Accounting -- B. Decomposing Energy Intensity 1870-1970.
C. The Impact from the Service Transition on Energy Intensity -- D. Biased Technical Development -- References -- Index.
Abstract:
Power to the People examines the varied but interconnected relationships between energy consumption and economic development in Europe over the last five centuries. It describes how the traditional energy economy of medieval and early modern Europe was marked by stable or falling per capita energy consumption, and how the First Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century--fueled by coal and steam engines--redrew the economic, social, and geopolitical map of Europe and the world. The Second Industrial Revolution continued this energy expansion and social transformation through the use of oil and electricity, but after 1970 Europe entered a new stage in which energy consumption has stabilized. This book challenges the view that the outsourcing of heavy industry overseas is the cause, arguing that a Third Industrial Revolution driven by new information and communication technologies has played a major stabilizing role. Power to the People offers new perspectives on the challenges posed today by climate change and peak oil, demonstrating that although the path of modern economic development has vastly increased our energy use, it has not been a story of ever-rising and continuous consumption. The book sheds light on the often lengthy and complex changes needed for new energy systems to emerge, the role of energy resources in economic growth, and the importance of energy efficiency in promoting growth and reducing future energy demand.
Local Note:
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2017. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.
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