Members of the Economic History Department pursue research in all areas of the discipline. The department has particular strengths in the following areas:
Demography, labour, and living standards
Neil Cummins, Ian Gazeley, Sara Horrell, Jane Humphries, Chris Minns, Eric Schneider, Joan Rosés, Patrick Wallis
Our research engages with questions surrounding work, migration, childhood development, gender, fertility and mortality, and the economics of the family in historical context.
Suggested reading
- Sara Horrell, Jane Humphries, and Jacob Weisdorf (2021), “Family standards of living over the long run, England 1280-1850.” Past & Present 250(1) 87-134.
- David De La Croix, Eric Schneider, Jacob Weisdorf (2019), “Childlessness, celibacy and net fertility in pre-industrial England: the middle-class evolutionary advantage”. Journal of Economic Growth, 24(3), 223-256.
Historical economic geography and long run economic change
Leigh Gardner, Max Schulze, Albrecht Ritschl, Joan Rosés, Oliver Volckart
Our research is focused on development patterns over space and time – what accounts for the rise and fall of nations and regions, patterns of economic convergence and divergence, and how core-periphery dynamics have changed over time.
Suggested reading
Pre-industrial economic history
Jordan Claridge, Neil Cummins, Sara Horrell, Jane Humphries, Chris Minns, Oliver Volckart, Eric Schneider, Max Schulze, Patrick Wallis
Our research on pre-industrial economies aims to understand how medieval and early modern societies approached economic challenges related to gender, education, conflict, finance, and agricultural management.
Suggested reading
- Neil Cummins, Morgan Kelly, Cormac Ó Gráda, C. (2016), “Living standards and plague in London, 1560–1665”. The Economic History Review, 69(1), 3-34.
- Maarten Prak, Clare Crowston, Christopher Kissane, Bert De Munck, Chris Minns, Ruben Schalk, Patrick Wallis (2020), “Access to the trade: monopoly and mobility in European craft guilds in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries”. Journal of Social History 54(2) 421-452.
- Patrick Wallis, Justin Colson, David Chilosi (2018). “Structural change and economic growth in the British economy before the Industrial Revolution, 1500–1800”. The Journal of Economic History, 78(3), 862-903.
Firms and finance
Olivier Accominotti, Gerben Bakker, Leigh Gardner, Alejandra Irigoin, Natacha Postel-Vinay, Albrecht Ritschl, Tirthankar Roy, Anne Ruderman, Oliver Volckart
Our research studies the changing fortunes of industries and firms, the contribution of financial markets to economic integration, and understanding the causes and consequences of past financial crises.
Suggested Reading
Global economic history
Kent Deng, Leigh Gardner, Alejandra Irigoin, Anne Ruderman, Tirthankar Roy
Our research focuses on long-run international comparisons, emphasizing the development of global trades (silver bullion, slavery), and the economic history of colonialism.
Suggested Reading
Narrative science
Mary Morgan
Our research on narrative science connects historical modes of argument (i.e. narratives) with scientific modes or argument based on laws, theories, and models. Research in this area stresses links to economics and economic history, history and philosophy of science, and the study of technology.
Suggested Reading