Professor: Simon Ville

M - 12:45pm to 2:45pm

Australian experience provides a lens from which to cast a wide historical view of the development of settler societies over two centuries, drawing comparisons with Canada, Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa and New Zealand. Despite their common focus on natural resources production and close engagement with the international economy, the experience of these economies often differed. Themes include: geography versus institutions as development determinants; colonialism’s impact on indigenous economy; and the nature of capitalist production. It locates settler economies within modern debates about the nature of economic history and the convergence-divergence framework, and informs economic with social, cultural and political perspectives.