The Enlightened Economy: An Economic History of Britain 1700-1850

This book concerns the most important event in secular history – how the world’s average income went from £1.50 a day per head in 1800 to £15 a day now worldwide (both sums in 2010 prices), with the richest places like Britain reaching £55 a head. It’s a type of book that has recently proliferated. Joel Mokyr, a leading economist and economic historian at Northwestern University, has written a ‘pumpkin’ book on ‘How Britain Did It Before 1850’.