The roots of globalization, which has defined the world economy for at least the last 30 years, extend far back. Along with improvements in logistics and the spread of capitalism, the recipe for globalization called for reductions in tariffs and other trade barriers. Already in the mid 19th century, tariff barriers were coming down across…
As the Industrial Revolution spread throughout Europe and beyond in the 19th century, so did new approaches to economic thinking. Protectionism was slowly but steadily going out of vogue, and free trade, or at least liberalized trade, was making headway. In Britain, the repeal of the Corn Laws in the 1840s was a major turning…
Free trade is often associated with late-20th century globalization. The creation of large continental trade associations like NAFTA, Mercosur, and the EU lead many to consider trade liberalization to be a recent phenomenon. The truth is that free trade, and the economic rationale behind it, had its birth in the 19th century with the decline…
When it comes to financing real estate purchases, mortgages have been around for centuries. The first loans called mortgages developed in the middle ages; the word itself comes from Norman law books as “mort gage” or “dead pledge.” The word dead here refers not to any human death but to the fact that medieval mortgages…
