Blood and Treasure: The Economics of Conflict from the Vikings to Ukraine
Wars are expensive, both in human terms and monetary ones. Since at least the 1640s, in the aftermath of the British Civil Wars, the phrase ‘blood and treasure’ has sought to encapsulate these costs. Blood and Treasure examines why Genghis Khan should be regarded as the father of globalisation, how New World gold and silver kept Spain poor, why some economists think of witch trials as a form of ‘non-price competition’, how pirate captains were pioneers of effective HR techniques, how handing out medals hurt the Luftwaffe in the Second World War and why economic theories helped to create a tragedy in Vietnam.
It also analyses the changing economic costs of war and ask whether war is always bad for the economy. Duncan Weldon was formally Economics Correspondent at The Economist and for BBC Newsnight and broadcasts frequently across the BBC.
‘A Brilliant Book’ Martin Wolf, Financial Times
