MICRO 1.1 - Flat Economic World

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan scholar, traveled most of the world, noticed that across the world, each country was similar economically, there weren’t countries that had way higher living standards than others

flat world economic concept

in the 14th century, standards of living between countries were relatively similar, although some countries i.e. britain, india, italy, and japan were slightly better off on average than other countries —> the MAIN difference in living standards was within a country rather than between different countries i.e. between fedual lords and serfs, royalty and subjects, slaves and their owners, etc.

during the 14th century, what determined your prospects on the economic ladder?

where your parents were on the economic ladder
if you were male or female

**back then the part of the world you were born in didn’t matter that much

is the world economically flat in the present?

NO

what changed the flatness of world economically?

the industrial revolution