Trousson, Raymond / Vercruysse, Jeroom (dir.), Dictionnaire general de Voltaire. (Champion classiques, references et dictionnaires 18) 1272 p. 2020:10 (Champion, FR) <670-9>
ISBN 978-2-38096-016-7 paper ¥7,064.- (税込) EUR 38.00

Altay, Bora (ed.), Revenue-Raising Institutions, State Organization and Economic Change in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire: The Evolution of Fiscal Mechanisms, Legal Frameworks, and State Capacity. (Palgrave Studies in Economic History) 170 pp. 2025:11 (Palgrave Macmillan, UK) <754-319>
ISBN 978-3-031-96491-6 hard ¥42,071.- (税込) EUR 169.99

This book offers an innovative look at the Ottoman iltizam (tax-farming) system through the lens of historical inquiry and modern theory. Drawing from original archival research as well as theoretical frameworks such as principal-agent theory and game theory, this book explores how the Ottoman state managed revenue collection, delegated authority, and grappled with institutional constraints. The chapters guide readers through the evolution of tax farming from its historical roots and theoretical foundations to detailed case studies. Contributors examine fiscal capacity, state-building, credible commitment, and the unintended consequences of decentralization. The final chapters explore 19th-century constitutional reforms that changed the institutional designs of earlier periods and synthesize key findings. Essential for scholars of Ottoman history, economic history, political economy, and institutional change, this volume redefines how we understand state organization, economic transformation, and governance in non-Western contexts.

Chelini, Michel-Pierre / Adair, P. / Baumann, E. (eds.), Wage Dynamics in Africa: Achievements and Challenges. (African Histories and Modernities) 303 pp. 2025:11 (Palgrave Macmillan, UK) <754-320>
ISBN 978-3-031-99799-0 hard ¥34,646.- (税込) EUR 139.99

This book addresses the long understudied topic of wage issues in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It offers an overview of wage issues in Africa, examines income inequalities, wages and causality, as well as wage determinants such as shocks, representations, and earning strategies. It also examines gender issues in the labour market. The book consists of 14 chapters divided into four parts. It covers several countries from North Africa (Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia) and Sub-Saharan Africa (Cameroon, Kenya, Mauritania and Senegal), with Cameroon and Senegal being covered twice. Statistical data before 1990-2000 are incomplete and the literature on the subject remains limited. While the African labour market shares similarities with other labour markets, it also has some unique characteristics. Only 27 per cent of workers are employees, two-thirds of whom work in the informal economy. Wage growth in Africa has been slow since the 1990s, with the exception of countries such as Botswana and Mauritius, where it has been particularly rapid. Looking at labour issues across such a wide range of countries proved to be a valuable asset. It confirmed, firstly, that there is a positive correlation between growth in wage employment and GDP and, secondly, that the boundary between formal and informal enterprises and jobs can shift towards more or less formality.

Ma, Ye / Leeuwen, Bas / Li, Jieli / Wang, Meimei, Chinese Household Registration Data of Yugan County (Jiangxi Province), ca. 1947. (Global Economic History Series 22 / The Quantitative Economic History of China 9) 150 pp. 2025:10 (Brill, NE) <754-322>
ISBN 978-90-04-72194-4 hard ¥29,700.- (税込) EUR 120.00

Population statistics are crucial for both policy and research purposes. They cover important social factors such as birth rates, labour force structure, growth, gender, and well-being. This book provides individual-level data on the Yugan county (Jiangxi Province, China) for 1947 and covers many of the above-mentioned socio-economic factors, including family size and structure, occupation, education, gender, age, and marriage.

Morton, Suzanne, Contested Catch: Lobster, Localism, and Canada's Atlantic Coast, 1870-1970. 277 pp. 2025:12 (U. Toronto Pr., CN) <754-323>
ISBN 978-1-4875-7177-1 hard ¥25,476.- (税込) US$ 120.00
ISBN 978-1-4875-7182-5 paper ¥7,419.- (税込) US$ 34.95

Contested Catch: Lobster and Localism on Canada's Atlantic Coast, 1870-1970 explores the complex development of the lobster fishery in Canada, focusing on the interplay between the ecology of lobsters, local fishing practices, evolving technologies, changing markets, and the role of the state. Drawing on nearly thirty different archives, this book spans the century from the expansion of the transnational commercial lobster industry and the introduction of government regulations around 1870 to the establishment of the first restricted-access ocean fishery on Canada's East Coast in the late 1960s.Suzanne Morton argues that lobster regulation was always about more than just protecting the lobster population - it reflected deeper local, political, and economic forces at play. She examines how the Canadian state, keeping its enforcement budget to a minimum and wanting to avoid electoral reprisals, interacted with local communities, businesses, and political groups to regulate fisheries. While the government and other officials implemented formal regulations and turned to commissions and government science, local fishers operated with informal systems based on tradition, economic interests, and sometimes coercion. Following the Second World War, with economists playing a prominent role, policy shifted from managing lobster as a sustainable resource to increasing the standard of living for fishermen and their families through rationalized efficiency, ultimately limiting access to who could fish. Even then, the fishery was shaped by both formal government efforts and local, social dynamics.

Orlandi, Angela, Money, Culture, Beauty. The Botti Family: Merchant-Bankers in Renaissance. 189 pp. 2025:10 (Springer, GW) <754-324>
ISBN 978-3-032-00452-9 hard ¥29,696.- (税込) EUR 119.99

This book deals with the typical commonalities and stories of the Florentine and European Renaissance. It is a work of economic and social history, which reconstructs the history of the Botti family, Florentine merchants, bankers and patrons in the Renaissance period. The family was active in some of the most important European cities as a part of a mixture of economic, social and cultural stimuli that characterized the Renaissance, and were spread throughout Europe. The general focus is on two prominent historiographic themes: (i) The 'commercial diaspora', networks of merchants who, maintaining connections to their home cities, operated in essence as cultural intermediaries. (ii) The intercultural exchange in Europe of the Sixteenth Century. The latter is discussed with an interdisciplinary approach focused on merchant's activity. This book is of great interest to historians and philosophers of the Renaissance.

Schottenhammer, Angela / Torck, Mathieu et al. (eds.), Seafaring, Trade, and Knowledge Transfer: Maritime Politics and Commerce in Early Middle Period to Early Modern China and South East & East Asia. (Crossroads - History of Interactions across the Silk Routes 9) 400 pp. 2025:9 (Brill, NE) <754-326>
ISBN 978-90-04-73055-7 hard ¥33,412.- (税込) EUR 135.00

Maritime politics changed over time, and so did local perceptions and activities. People involved in maritime commerce had to react to changes in government decrees or instructions. This volume introduces political decisions and their background, agents involved into maritime trade - from private merchants over pirates to government institutions, including military - and practical questions of seafaring (diets, navigation maps, etc.) and diplomacy, but also looks into archaeological evidence and local perceptions of the maritime world, covering the period from ca. 900 to 1800. Contributors are: Angela Schottenhammer, Kimura Jun, Mark Staniforth, Li Man, John Chaffee, Ma Guang, Elke Papelitzky, Mathieu Torck, Xu Zhexin, Cheng Weichung, Leonard Blusse, Ubaldo Iaccarino, Cai Xiangyu (Ellen), Wim De Winter, and Patrizia Carioti.

Tosco, Giorgio, Tuscan and Genoese Aspirations to Transoceanic Trade (17th Century). (European Expansion and Indigenous Response 48) 278 pp. 2025:10 (Brill, NE) <754-329>
ISBN 978-90-04-73509-5 hard ¥28,462.- (税込) EUR 115.00

Many small, early modern European states tried to follow in the footsteps of their bigger neighbours and expand beyond the oceans. Tuscan and Genoese Aspirations to Transoceanic Trade (17th Century) traces the little-known history of two of these states: the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Republic of Genoa. These two old and prestigious commercial centres found themselves gradually displaced over the 17th century as the centre of gravity of the European economy moved away from the Mediterranean. In an attempt to combat this, Florentine and Genoese elites collected information and reviewed projects, established joint-stock companies, and sent ships to East Asia and the Americas. While their plans failed, their vicissitudes illustrate the mechanisms that stood behind European expansion overseas, and how its results differed widely from expectations.

Wang, Shengqiao, Century of Shanghai Trade: Rethinking of Chinese Cultural Identity. 340 pp. 2025:10 (Springer, GW) <754-330>
ISBN 978-981-9687-00-8 hard ¥34,646.- (税込) EUR 139.99

This book systematically reviews the over 100-year history of Shanghai's trade, tells the legend of Shanghai's century-old trade, summarizes the development of Shanghai's trade, extracts its trade characteristics, and promotes the urban spirit of Shanghai. This book analyzes the development of Shanghai's century-old trade as a process from being along the Huangpu River to being near the sea, and then towards the ocean, integrating into global trade. The book contains rich historical materials, precious photos and images, providing readers with valuable information about the development of Shanghai's trade over the past 100 years and has high academic and collection value. This book uses business associations, organizations, characters, events, stories, and phenomena as carriers and revolves around historical events through expert comments to draw the finishing touch and inspire readers to think. At the same time, the book also invites some characters who have experienced the development of Shanghai trade to narrate as first-hand witnesses, restoring the authenticity of history, making the book have good readability and interface experience.

Chu, Angus C., Human Origins and Evolution in a Malthusian Economy. 164 pp. 2025:8 (World Scientific, SI) <754-168>
ISBN 978-1-80061-734-6 hard ¥12,313.- (税込) US$ 58.00 *

This book develops an economic theory of the entirety of human evolution, presenting a Malthusian growth-theoretic framework to explore the origins of the human species and the development of human society across the prehistoric, agricultural, industrial and modern eras.Early members of our genus Homo emerged over 2 million years ago, gradually evolving into Homo sapiens about 300,000 years ago. During most of their existence, early modern humans were hunter-gatherers and shared this planet with archaic humans, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans. So, how did Homo sapiens emerge? Why did other human species become extinct while early modern humans survived? Why do modern humans still carry DNA from archaic humans? What caused the transition of human society from hunter-gatherer tribes to agricultural settlements and the subsequent development from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy? And how has education affected the emergence of innovation and given rise to the progression from pre-industrial stagnation to economic growth in the modern era? By addressing these fundamental questions through an economic lens, the book reveals the manifold influences that have shaped the unique trajectory of our species.

Song, Chenzhu, "Red" Banks: The Contribution of Chinese Banks to the Economic Rise of China (1980-2020). (Studies in Critical Social Sciences 334 / New Scholarship in Political Economy 34) 225 pp. 2025:10 (Brill, NE) <754-192>
ISBN 978-90-04-74120-1 hard ¥33,660.- (税込) EUR 136.00

Have you ever wondered how China's banking sector powered the world's most dramatic economic transformation? This book opens the vault, revealing how policy banks, state-owned giants, and daring joint-stock institutions fueled China's rise from 1980 to 2020. You'll explore unpublished financial records and financed reforms to Belt and Road mega-projects. How did China's banks sidestep the pitfalls of Western systems? What made their approach to infrastructure and manufacturing uniquely explosive? This study bridges gaps in global finance research, challenging conventional narratives and exposing the symbiotic relationship between state strategy and real economic growth.

インドネシアの経済開発の政治経済　第1巻：文明の幕開けから新秩序時代まで　紀元前2000～紀元後1998年
Ramesh, Sangaralingam, The Political Economy of Indonesia's Economic Development. Volume I: The Dawn of Civilisation to a New Order Era: 2000BC to 1998AD. 427 pp. 2025:9 (Palgrave Macmillan, UK) <754-199>
ISBN 978-3-031-94349-2 hard ¥32,171.- (税込) EUR 129.99

Spanning over four millennia, this sweeping historical analysis traces Indonesia's economic journey from prehistoric agrarian societies to the democratic challenges of the 21st century. Integrating political economy, history, and development studies, the book offers a rich, multi-layered account of how geography, empire, trade, colonialism, revolution, and reform have shaped the world's largest archipelagic nation. The first volume charts Indonesia's transformation from early maritime kingdoms and colonial exploitation to the rise of the New Order and its dramatic collapse in the wake of the Asian Financial Crisis. It interrogates the interplay between power and production, foreign influence and domestic agency, and growth and inequality, laying bare the forces that have driven, distorted, and disrupted Indonesia's economic development. This book is essential reading for scholars, students, policymakers, and anyone interested in Southeast Asian development, global capitalism, and the long-term dynamics that shape emerging economies.

Shah, Sultan Nazrin (ed.), Chronicling Themes in the Economic and Social History of Malaysia. 450 pp. 2025:10 (World Scientific, SI) <754-200>
ISBN 978-981-9817-90-0 hard ¥27,174.- (税込) US$ 128.00
ISBN 978-981-9822-29-4 paper ¥12,313.- (税込) US$ 58.00

Sultan Nazrin Shah brings together highly distinguished researchers to explore issues in the economic, administrative, and social history of modern Malaysia.The challenge of the plural society - with large 'Malay', 'Chinese', and 'Indian' blocs - is investigated from many angles, particularly the way governments have handled economic inequalities. Both the dangers and the achievements of the New Economic Policy (emerging in 1969-1971) are examined, as are developments in education policy - which today requires invigoration of science and mathematics training if Malaysia is to escape the 'middle-income trap'.Some chapters throw new light on such turning-point episodes as the Japanese occupation (1941-1945) and the communist Emergency (1948-1960). As well as focusing on major cities, other essays investigate the role of small towns in Malaysia's urbanization. We hear the voices of 'poor gardeners, farmers, and hawkers' as well as elite leaders in Malaysia's transition to modernity. Not all change was for the better. In empowering women, for instance, we read that Westernized governmental approaches offer less than the pre-modern Malay heritage.Although the chapters move in many directions, the creative role of government in modern Malaysia - going back to the colonial period - is a dominant narrative. The country's engagement in the global economy - through tin and rubber - was underpinned by establishing law and order, with secure property rights, and the building of a communications and bureaucratic framework. The post-independence government Malayanized British assets, boosted GDP per head of population, addressed the sharp economic disadvantages of the Malay/Bumiputra community, and reoriented the national economy towards 'export-oriented industrialization'. Today, Malaysia is heavily urbanized, with world-leading electrical and electronics hubs in Penang and the Klang Valley.