Economic Eras
The major periods that define economic history, each marked by new ideas, crises, and transformations in how societies organize production and exchange.
The Mercantilist Era
From the rise of European nation-states to Adam Smith's revolt — three centuries when wealth meant gold and trade was war by other means.
The Classical Era
From Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations to the Marginal Revolution — the founding age of economic science.
The Marginal Revolution
Three economists independently reinvent value theory in 1871, launching the neoclassical age and remaking economics as a science of individual choice.
The Interwar Era
From Versailles to the eve of global war — two decades of economic catastrophe that shattered old certainties and birthed macroeconomics.
The Keynesian Era
The age of government intervention — from the General Theory to the stagflation crisis that ended the postwar consensus.
The Postwar Golden Age
From Bretton Woods to the Nixon shock — a quarter-century of unprecedented growth, full employment, and the rise of the welfare state.
The Stagflation Era
From the Nixon shock to Volcker's victory over inflation — a decade of crisis that overturned the Keynesian consensus and remade economic policy.
The Neoliberal Era
From Reagan and Thatcher to the global financial crisis — the triumph and unraveling of market fundamentalism.
The Post-Crisis Era
From Lehman's collapse to the return of inflation — an era defined by financial fragility, unconventional policy, and the reopening of questions economists thought they had settled.