Economic level theory
The theory of economic levels describes the historical development of the economy taking into account the interdependencies of economic, demographic, social and political factors. According to the multi-pronged approach were of different branches of science such as economics , economic history , economic geography economic theories developed, and Regional Research. Especially in economics , this theoretical method was scientifically recorded for the first time by Karl Bücher and the Younger Historical School of Economics since the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The common feature of these historical-deductive considerations is the assumption of a succession of stages in the direction of an evolutionary higher development.
A distinction can be made between theories which:
- to attribute the transition between the individual levels to natural or developmental laws that cannot be influenced by humans, and to those which allow room for human influence.
- which establish a uniform "development path" for all regions, and those which allow spatial and temporal differentiations.
Pre-scientific approaches
Attempts to periodize the course of economic development go back to ancient Greece. Thucydides distinguished between pirate, nomadic, agricultural and urban trading peoples. Plato emphasized the transition from shepherd to arable farmer and craftsman. Aristotle designed a series of levels consisting of nomads, hunters, cattle breeders, and farmers.
Older historical school
The representatives of the older historical school adopted a law of development based on the various factors of production above things and the influences of man. Wilhelm Roscher differentiated stages of development according to the relative importance of the factors of production in classical economics. In the early days, the factor nature predominated, in the Middle Ages the factor labor, and in modern times the factor capital.
The model by Karl Bücher
The aim of the step model was to clarify the internal relationships between economic phenomena. The levels were divided into three sections. Books justify the division of the levels and their delimitation from one another according to the relationship between the origin of the production and consumer goods and their consumption.
1st stage: Housekeeping
A closed economic society that lives in a loose family structure. The goods are produced in-house. The production depends on the "soil quality". There is no exchange of goods and thus no trade. The consumption of goods is equal to the amount of goods produced. E.g. living and living conditions in the Neolithic (similar to Adam Smith's stage theory , "stage of hunting").
2nd stage: urban economy stage
The economy consists of several micro-economies that are separated from one another by (small) territorial areas (cities). Money is introduced as a medium of exchange. The first guilds emerged, trades and crafts are the new producers. The focus is on customer production (goods are produced for market participants). The trade arises as a direct exchange of the products among the market participants. There are no middlemen, the goods go directly from the producer to the consumer. There are only minor imports, for example of spices. There were first approaches to this in the ancient Oikenwirtschaft and in the early Middle Ages.
3rd stage: stage of the national economy
Larger states are starting to form. The goals are: to ensure the supply of goods and to protect oneself against goods imports by means of external customs duties (customs exemptions: import of raw materials). Furthermore, a uniform system of coins, laws and measures is created. The direct sales market from producer to consumer is missing. The goods and products pass through many sales channels before they reach the consumer. The levels of goods circulation have thus increased. Goods are no longer manufactured for customer requirements (customer production), but for the entire (economic) market. This results in the first mass production in factories. Examples: mercantilism , cameralism and Colbertism .
Individual evidence
- ^ Ludwig Schätzl: Wirtschaftsgeographie 1, UTB Schöningh, Paderborn, 9th edition 2003, p. 168 ff.
- ^ Hermann Kellenbenz: economic levels; in: Erwin v. Beckerath, Hermann Bente: Concise Dictionary of Social Sciences, Volume 12, C. Fischer, Stuttgart, 1965, pp. 260–269
- ↑ Werner Lachmann: Development Policy 1. Basics, 2nd ed., Oldenbourg, 2004, p. 90
- ↑ Ludwig Schätzl: Wirtschaftsgeographie 1, UTB Schöningh, Paderborn, 9th edition 2003, p. 169, FN 1.
- ↑ Ludwig Schätzl: Wirtschaftsgeographie 1, UTB Schöningh, Paderborn, 9th edition 2003, p. 169.
- ↑ Erwin K. Scheuch, Ute Scheuch: Social change. Volume I: Theories of Social Change, Westdeutscher Verlag, 2003, p. 40