Book Report: Robert W. Fogel, Escape from Hunger and Premature Death

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Economic Book Report: Robert W. Fogel, The Escape from Hunger and Premature Death, 1700-2100: Europe, America, and the Third World.
Robert W. Fogel’s book, The Escape from Hunger and Premature Death, 1700-2100: Europe, America, and the Third World, provides an analysis of the economic transitions witnessed between 18th and the 21ist century. The author highlights some of the challenges facing various economies around the world across the period and the strategies employed to address the perceived deterrents to sustainable economic growth and development. Besides providing an overview of the underlying factors responsible for overcoming the challenges facing economic growth over the stated period, the author also provides recommendations for the future. Robert Fogel takes a holistic approach in providing a chronological account of economic development among the developed, developing, and Third World countries. However, the author emphasizes on the health and well-being of the populace as being the most critical factors in the improvement of the outlined economies. He accomplishes the said objective by revisiting some of the crisis faced during the early development of the economies and identifying the approach taken to address the challenges for improved economic growth. The book report thus offers to provide a comprehensive analysis of Fogel’s perspective and the approach taken to highlight the key elements to consider for sustainable economic growth and development in the global community.
The growth and development of the world’s economy are dependent on a wide range of factors, which play a significant role in the collective productivity of the globe. The social, political, cultural, as well as economic aspects of the global community are integral to the sustainable growth of the economy. The social demographic factors of the world’s population, for instance, are a key determinant of whether or not the desired economic outcomes can materialize. The health and well-being of people reflect positively on the economic performance of a country and the world at large. Shared interest and concern on health improvement at the global level accounts for the significant improvement in the reduction of high mortality rates characterizing the early 18th century. The globalized concern for the health and well-being of the global community further contribute to the recorded increments in life expectancy among different economies around the world. A historical account of the underlying factors behind the positive transitions serves to create an informed understanding of their significance towards the achievement of sustainable growth and development of the economy. It is important to highlight the author’s theme upon which he argues his claims through five informative and elaborate chapters developed for the easier understanding of the concept for readers across the wide range of professions. Fogel coins the phrase “techno-physio evolution” to summarize the two most crucial and often overlooked factors responsible for sustainable economic growth CITATION Fog04 \l 1033 (Fogel). The author breaks down the influence and effects of the two critical facto...