Out of Africa and into agriculture -- The Grand Canal, and the printing press and plague -- The age of sail -- The Industrial Revolution and the wealth of nations -- Trade, travel and technolodgy take off -- Economic models and the modern factory -- World War I and the Depression -- World War II and Bretton Woods -- The glorious thirty? -- Markets, markets everywhere -- Inflation targeting and inequality -- Hot markets and a hotter planet -- The pandemic and beyond -- Economics: past, present and future.

"This small book tells a big story. From ancient times to the modern world, The Shortest History of Economics unearths the hidden economic forces behind war, innovation and social transformation. It traces how capitalism and the market system emerged, and introduces the key ideas and people who shaped the discipline of economics."--Page 4 of cover.