Following his The World Economy: a Millennial Perspective, Angus Maddison here offers a rare insight into the history and political influence of national accounts and national accounting.  He demonstrates that such statistical data can shed light on the analysis of economic phenomena such as growth, market formation and income distribution.  This approach is particularly interesting for developing countries often lacking the expertise or data to produce good national accounts.  It also serves as a reminder for OECD countries that effective policy making depends on verifiable economic data.

This book includes tables showing Maddison’s estimates for the world and its major regions from as early as the year 1000. It is intended as a research guide for future comparisons of economic performance in space and time.  It is for scholars and students of economics and economic history as well as for statisticians.

Foreword
List of Tables in Prologue and Source Notes
List of Basic Tables
Acknowledgemetns
Preface
Introduction
HS-1: 29 West European Countries (1500, 1600, 1700, 1820-2001)
HS-2: Western Offshoots (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States) (1500, 1600, 1700, 1820-70 at decade intervals, and 1870-2001 annually)
HS-3: East Europe and the Former USSR (1820, 1850, 1870, 1890, 1900, 1913, and annually from 1920)
HS-4: Latin America (1820, 1850, 1870, and annually from 1900)
HS-5: Asia (1820, 1850, 1870, and annually from 1900)
HS-6: Africa (Annually for individual countries from 1950. Estimates for Africa as a whole for 1, 1000, 1500, 1600, 1700, 1820, 1870, 1913)
HS-7: The World Economy 1950-2001 (annually for world and major regions 1950-2001)
HS-8: The World Economy 1-2001 AD (11 benchmark years 1-2001)
Select Bibliography