Power to the People examines the varied but interconnected relationships between energy consumption and economic development in Europe over the last five centuries. It describes how the traditional energy economy of medieval and early modern Europe was marked by stable or falling per capita energy consumption, and how the First Industrial Revolutio

Preface ix CHAPTER ONE Introduction 1 CHAPTER TWO Definitions and Concepts 17 PART I Pre-Industrial Economies Paolo Malanima 35 CHAPTER THREE Traditional Sources 37 1. Energy in Premodern Societies 2. Organic Sources and Agricultures 3. Non-organic Sources 4. Seven Long-run Propositions 5. Conclusion CHAPTER FOUR Constraints and Dynamics 81 1. Population and Climate 2. Energy Scarcity 3. Saving Land 4. Saving Labor 5. Conclusion PART II The First Industrial Revolution Paul Warde 129 CHAPTER FIVE A Modern Energy Regime 131 1. The Take-off of Coal 2. Traditional Sources: Rise but Relative Decline 3. Conclusion CHAPTER SIX The Coal Development Block 159 1. The Core Innovations 2. The Growth Dynamics of the Coal Development Block 3. The Transport Revolution CHAPTER SEVEN Energy and Industrial Growth 209 1. Coal and Growth 2. Seven Long-run Propositions 3. Energy Intensity and Economic Structure 4. Conclusion PART III The Second and Third Industrial Revolutions Astrid Kander 249 CHAPTER EIGHT Energy Transitions in the Twentieth Century 251 1. The Rise of Oil and Electricity 2. Old and New in Energy Regimes 3. Conclusion CHAPTER NINE Major Development Blocks in the Twentieth Century and Their Impacts on Energy 287 1. The ICE-Oil Block 2. The Electricity Block 3. The ICT Development Block 4. Conclusion CHAPTER TEN The Role of Energy in Twentieth-Century Economic Growth 333 1. Development Blocks and GDP 2. Seven Long-run Propositions 3. Energy Intensity and Economic Structure 4. Conclusion CHAPTER ELEVEN Summary and Implications for the Future 366 1. Summing Up the Book 2.Thinking about the Future 3. Some Remarks about the Future APPENDIXES A. The Role of Energy in Growth Accounting 387 B. Decomposing Energy Intensity 1870-1970 395 C. The Impact from the Service Transition on Energy Intensity 402 D. Biased Technical Development 411 References 415 Index 451

"Employing economic theory and growth accounting to illuminate the linkages between energy use and economic activity and supporting their argument with extensive quantitative evidence, the authors make a compelling case that modern economic growth would have been impossible without the increased energy intensity made possible by exploitation of fossil fuels. This work provides valuable historical perspectives on pressing contemporary challenges."--Choice "With many insightful graphs, plus useful explanatory boxes for the less initiated, it is highly accessible, and recommended to undergraduate students curious about the history of energy, to postgraduates specializing in a specific field, and to academics."--Roger Fouquet, Journal of Economic Literature "[T]his multi-authored effort is well structured and furnished with splendid illustrations and explanatory tables ... I would recommend the book, but with the warning that it is not an easy read due to the sheer quantity of information and analytical viewpoints it contains."-- Aurelia Mane-Estrada,European History Quarterly "Power to the People is to be welcomed. It is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of Economic History and History of Technology and will appeal both to the professional and the general reader interested in the future of humanity."--Francesc X. Barca-Salom, Environment and History "An ambitious and important analysis of the relationships between energy and economic growth in Europe over the past five hundred years."--Christopher F. Jones, Environmental History

"Power to the People is a work of impressive scholarship, offering extensive and detailed quantitative information—much of which is new or not widely available—with readable explanations of the technical innovations that drove economic performance. It shows how energy use has long been central to Europe's economic growth, but that its role has been neither simple nor uniform."—William M. Cavert, University of Cambridge"Power to the People is a meaningful contribution to our knowledge of the economic consequences of changes in energy and its use. The book provides a thoughtful and interesting historical approach to a timely question—can we continue to achieve economic growth and high living standards, particularly in poorer or developing countries, while decreasing energy use to reduce environmental impacts?"—Lynne Kiesling, Northwestern University