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- Kunnas, Jan
(författare)
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A Call for reciprocity in interdisciplinary research
- 2016
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Ingår i: <em>Interdisciplinarity in World History: Continuity and Change</em>. - Newcastle upon Tyne : Cambridge Scholars Publishing. - 144389043X - 9781443890434 ; , s. 54-75
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This chapter is a call for greater reciprocity in interdisciplinary research. I will show how a larger mutuality between economics and economic history could benefit both disciplines, something understood already by Ibn Khaldun (1332—1406), who was both a historian and an economist. I hope though to ignite a discussion for lanes in both directions in all interdisciplinary research. My starting point will be the revolution in economic history that the 1960s brought among other things. The revolution was the use of the theoretical and statistical tools of modern economics on the historical past. R. M. Hartwell though argues that this new economic history was actually a return to the economic history of the pre-1914 era, characterized as well by a close relationship with economics. The difference being that in the pre-1914 era the direction of influences was mainly going from economic history to economics, while in the post 1950s era the direction of this one-way street was from economics to economic history. D. N. McCloskey lamented already in 1976 that, “the new historical economist has neglected the task of persuading the others of the worth of history in economics”. Thirty years or so later, in the midst of yet another financial crisis, this suggestion is still pitifully relevant. I will show with a few examples, that there are indeed lanes in both directions; from history to economics and from economics to history. Historical methods can be used to test economic theories, and economic methods can be applied to test historical questions.
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- Kunnas, Jan
(författare)
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Human Capital in Britain, 1760 to 2009
- 2016
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Economic History Review. - : Routledge. - 0358-5522 .- 1750-2837. ; 64:3, s. 219-242
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Human capital can be defined as the knowledge, skills, competencies and attributes embodied in individuals that facilitate the creation of personal, social and economic well-being. It is arguably one of the most important determinants of economic growth. In general, human capital has been calculated with two different approaches: (1) retrospective method through the expenditures on education, (2) prospective through the discounted sum of the wages it would receive over the expected number of remaining working years. In this paper we use the prospective method to calculate human capital in the UK from the mid-eighteenth century to the present, providing the by far longest estimate for human capital for any country. To overcome the problems related to the scarcity of historical data, we developed a method which is able to make the most efficient use of the scarce data available for the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Our calculations show a 112-fold increase of human capital, and a 13-fold increase of human capital per worker and per capita from 1760 to 2009. Using cumulative schooling expenditures from 1833 to 2000, we examine whether increased spending on schooling explains this phenomenal growth in human capital.
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- Kunnas, Jan
(författare)
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Storytelling : From the early Anthropocene to the good or the bad Anthropocene
- 2017
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Ingår i: The Anthropocene Review. - : Sage Publications. - 2053-0196 .- 2053-020X. ; 4:2, s. 136-150
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper examines whether the Anthropocene can be a helpful metaphor for holistic understandings of human impacts on the Earth. I argue that for this, splitting the Anthropocene into several consecutive stages would be helpful, and suggest a multistage Anthropocene: the early Anthropocene, the first acceleration phase, the post-1950 Great Acceleration, and finally the good or the bad anthropocene depending on whether humans take decisive action in time that ensures us staying within planetary boundaries. This reframing uses the power of storytelling by presenting a multifaceted picture of human agency in the Anthropocene, provides a deep framing that is positive and supports action, and provides clear signals on the direction in which we are moving. It puts humans back in their rightful place on Earth – as one of many species, although with large power for the good or the bad, and the responsibilities this brings.
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