'This book is of great importance. For the whole of the period for which adequate statistics are available, it confronts the main theories of fluctuations in economic growth with the evidence. The result is fascinating, and at times devastating. Solomou's achievement in this terse and clear book of 170-odd pages is remarkable. His handling of the main statistical series on growth is masterly; as to the multitude of possible explanatory factors his knowledge of the secondary sources is clearly encyclopaedic, and he gives their gist in a richly informative way without losing sight of his general argument. Anyone interested in the recent economic history of the major Western economies, or the world economy, should read and re-read Solomou; so should economists interested in growth.' The Economic Journal

• List of figures; List of tables; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Perspectives on long-term economic growth variations; 2. Statistical methodology; 3. Production trends in the world economy; 4. Price trends; 5. Innovation clusters and Kondratieff waves; 6. The national aspects of Kuznets swings, 1850–1913; 7. The international aspects of Kuznets swings, 1850–1913; 8. A long-term perspective of interwar economic growth; 9. Some conclusions on the postwar boom, 1950–1973; 10. Conclusions; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

'This book is of great importance. For the whole of the period for which adequate statistics are available, it confronts the main theories of fluctuations in economic growth with the evidence. The result is fascinating, and at times devastating. Solomou's achievement in this terse and clear book of 170-odd pages is remarkable. His handling of the main statistical series on growth is masterly; as to the multitude of possible explanatory factors his knowledge of the secondary sources is clearly encyclopaedic, and he gives their gist in a richly informative way without losing sight of his general argument. Anyone interested in the recent economic history of the major Western economies, or the world economy, should read and re-read Solomou; so should economists interested in growth.' The Economic Journal

• List of figures; List of tables; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Perspectives on long-term economic growth variations; 2. Statistical methodology; 3. Production trends in the world economy; 4. Price trends; 5. Innovation clusters and Kondratieff waves; 6. The national aspects of Kuznets swings, 1850–1913; 7. The international aspects of Kuznets swings, 1850–1913; 8. A long-term perspective of interwar economic growth; 9. Some conclusions on the postwar boom, 1950–1973; 10. Conclusions; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

'This book is of great importance. For the whole of the period for which adequate statistics are available, it confronts the main theories of fluctuations in economic growth with the evidence. The result is fascinating, and at times devastating. Solomou's achievement in this terse and clear book of 170-odd pages is remarkable. His handling of the main statistical series on growth is masterly; as to the multitude of possible explanatory factors his knowledge of the secondary sources is clearly encyclopaedic, and he gives their gist in a richly informative way without losing sight of his general argument. Anyone interested in the recent economic history of the major Western economies, or the world economy, should read and re-read Solomou; so should economists interested in growth.' The Economic Journal

• List of figures; List of tables; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Perspectives on long-term economic growth variations; 2. Statistical methodology; 3. Production trends in the world economy; 4. Price trends; 5. Innovation clusters and Kondratieff waves; 6. The national aspects of Kuznets swings, 1850–1913; 7. The international aspects of Kuznets swings, 1850–1913; 8. A long-term perspective of interwar economic growth; 9. Some conclusions on the postwar boom, 1950–1973; 10. Conclusions; Notes; Bibliography; Index.