In this volume, modern economic historians show how analysis of past experiences contributes to a better understanding of present-day economic conditions. They offer insights into major challenges that will occupy the attention of policy makers in the coming decades. The 17 essays are organized around three major themes, the first of which is the changing constellation of forces sustaining long-term economic growth in market economies. The second major theme concerns the contemporary challenges posed by transitions in economic and political regimes, and by ideologies that represent legacies from past economic conditions that still affect policy responses to new "crises". The third theme is modern economic growth's diverse implications for human economic welfare - in terms of economic security, nutritional and health status, and old age support - and the institutional mechanisms communities have developed to cope with the risks that individuals are exposed to by the concomitants of rising prosperity. INDICE Introduction: Thinking Historically about Tomorrow's Economic Challenges PART ONE: DRIVERS OF LONG-TERM ECONOMIC GROWTH Jan de Vries: The Industrious Revolution and Economic Growth, 1650-1830 Jane Humphries: English Apprenticeship: A Neglected Factor in the First Industrial Revolution Stephen Broadberry: Human Capital and Productivity Performance: Britain, the United States and Germany 1870-1990 Paul A. David and Gavin Wright: General Purpose Technologies and Surges in Productivity: Historical Reflections on the Future of the ICT Revolution Nick von Tunzelmann: Technological Systems and Comparative Systems of Innovation: From Historical Performance to Future Policy Guidelines PART TWO: CHANGES IN ECONOMIC REGIMES AND IDEOLOGIES Nicholas Crafts: The East Asian Escape from Economic Backwardness: Retrospect and Prospect Christopher Davis and James Foreman-Peck: The Russian Transition through the Historical Looking-glass: Gradual versus Abrupt Decontrol of Economic S