Essays in Economic History

Lawrence H. Officer is a Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Among his many publications are three other books published by Palgrave: A New Balance of Payments for the United States, 1790-1919 (2021); Everyday Economics (2009); and Two Centuries of Compensation for U.S. Production Workers in Manufacturing (2009).

Part 1: Purchasing Power Parity: Origin and Use.- Chapter 1: Salamancans and Gerard Malynes.- Chapter 2: Gustav Cassel.- Chapter 3: Purchasing Power Parity in Economic History.- Chapter 4: Afterword to Part I.- Part 2: Purchasing Power Parity: Empirical Studies.- Chapter 5: Absolute and Relative Purchasing Power Parity.- Chapter 6: Law of One Price.- Chapter 7: National Price Level.- Chapter 8: Afterword to Part II.- Part 3: Standard of Living.- Chapter 9: Value of Consumer Bundle.- Chapter 10: Consumer Price Index.- Chapter 11: Compensation of Manufacturing Workers.- Chapter 12: Afterword to Part III.- Part 4: Fixed-Rate Monetary Standards.- Chapter 13: Metallic Standards.- Chapter 14: Classical Gold Standard.- Chapter 15: Bretton Woods System.- Chapter 16: Afterword to Part IV.- Part 5: Anglo-American Monetary Standards.- Chapter 17: American Monetary Standard.- Chapter 18: British Monetary Standard.- Chapter 19: Afterword to Part V.- Part 6: Monetary-Standard Behavior.- Chapter 20: Bullionist Periods.- Chapter 21: Dollar-Sterling Exchange Market.- Chapter 22: U.S. Specie Standard.- Chapter 23: Afterword to Part VI.- Part 7: Economics in Alternative Scenarios.- Chapter 24: Economics and Economic History in Science Fiction.

"Throughout the book, Officer is a happy warrior whose enthusiasm for history and economics is infectious. ... it should be read by anybody interested in PPP or in U.S and British monetary history. Most certainly, it should be read by those who use the long-run data series he creates. Outside of these areas it can be read with pleasure by those of us who enjoy seeing a master craftsman at work." (John Devereux, EH Net, eh.net, July, 2023)

“Throughout the book, Officer is a happy warrior whose enthusiasm for history and economics is infectious. … it should be read by anybody interested in PPP or in U.S and British monetary history. Most certainly, it should be read by those who use the long-run data series he creates. Outside of these areas it can be read with pleasure by those of us who enjoy seeing a master craftsman at work.” (John Devereux, EH Net, eh.net, July, 2023)