Industry has been at the centre of some of the most formidable political and economic debates of the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This book explores the pivotal decades of the eighteenth-century in which the modern concept of industry was, for the first time, at the heart of heated debates in France and other European countries. The close reading of contemporary debates illuminates the origins of an economic key concept and suggests a fresh perspective on the rise of industry in the eighteenth-century.

Current debates about taxes are dominated by references to foreign models. The contributors to this book explore how ideas about taxation were transferred between and within countries from the mid-eighteenth century to the present. They send out a word of caution to current policymakers looking for straightforward solutions from abroad.

In times of economic crisis austerity becomes a rallying cry, but what does history tell us about its chances for success?
Austerity is at the center of political debates today. Its defenders praise it as a panacea that will prepare the ground for future growth and stability. Critics insist it will precipitate a vicious cycle of economic decline, possibly leading to political collapse. But the notion that abstinence from consumption brings benefits to states, societies, or individuals is hardly new. This book puts the debates of our own day in perspective by exploring the long...