Publications

Article

The Future of Economic, Business, and Social History

By: G. Jones, Marco H.D. van Leeuwen and Stephen Broadberry

Three leading scholars in the fields of business, economic, and social history review the current state of these disciplines and reflect on their future trajectory. Geoffrey Jones reviews the development of business history since its birth at the Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: Economic History; Business History; History; Asia; Africa; Europe; Latin America; North and Central America

Awards

Joseph J. Spengler Prize

By: Sophus A. Reinert

Awarded the 2012 Joseph J. Spengler Prize for the best book in the history of economics for Translating Empire: Emulation and the Origins of Political Economy (Harvard University Press, 2011). View Details

November 2009
Article

Telegraphs—Shrinking Economic Distances? A Preliminary Enquiry, 1870s-1912

By: Felipe Tamega Fernandes

This is a very preliminary report on sources and data for my research on telegraphs. Telegraphs are usually analysed in the context of railway expansion and the literature has somewhat neglected the role of telegraphic communication for the development of steamship... View Details

Keywords: Economic History; Communication Technology; Rail Transportation; Ship Transportation; Telecommunications Industry

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2010
Book

A History of Irish Economic Thought

For a country that can boast a distinguished tradition of political economy from Sir William Petty through Swift, Berkeley, Hutcheson, Burke, and Cantillon through to that of Longfield, Cairnes, Bastable, Edgeworth, Geary, and Gorman, it is surprising that no... View Details

Keywords: History; Government and Politics; Economics; Republic of Ireland

Oct 2017
Panel Discussion

Business History and Economic Geography

By: Valeria Giacomin

2023
Article

Bridging the Gap with the ‘New’ Economic History of Africa

By: Ewout Frankema and Marlous van Waijenburg

This review article seeks to build bridges between mainstream African history and the more historically oriented branch of the ‘new’ economic history of Africa. We survey four central topics of the new economic history of Africa—growth, trade, labor, and inequality—and... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Trade; Labor; Equality and Inequality; Development Economics; History; Africa

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This review article seeks to build bridges between mainstream African history and the more historically oriented branch of the ‘new’ economic history of Africa. We survey four central topics of the new economic history of Africa — growth, trade, labor, and... View Details

2008
Working Paper

Rethinking the Role of History in Law & Economics: The Case of the Federal Radio Commission in 1927

By: David A. Moss and Jonathan B. Lackow

In the study of law and economics, there is a danger that historical inferences from theory may infect historical tests of theory. It is imperative, therefore, that historical tests always involve a vigorous search not only for confirming evidence, but for... View Details

Keywords: Economic History; Decision Choices and Conditions; Government Legislation; Law; Media and Broadcasting Industry

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2016
Book

Slavery's Capitalism: A New History of American Economic Development

By: Sven Beckert and Seth Rockman

During the nineteenth century, the United States entered the ranks of the world's most advanced and dynamic economies. At the same time, the nation sustained an expansive and brutal system of human bondage. This was no mere coincidence. Slavery's Capitalism... View Details

Keywords: History; Development Economics; Ethics; Social Issues; United States

2013
Book

Fortune Tellers: The Story of America's First Economic Forecasters

By: Walter A. Friedman

The period leading up to the Great Depression witnessed the rise of the economic forecasters, pioneers who sought to use the tools of science to predict the future, with the aim of profiting from their forecasts. This book chronicles the lives and careers of the men... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting And Prediction; Economic History; Economics; History; Risk and Uncertainty; United States

fall 1993
Article

On the Early History of Experimental Economics

By: A. E. Roth

Keywords: Business History; Economics

October 2019 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Myanmar: Special Economic Zones

By: Willy Shih and Dawn Lau

This case examines four Special Economic Zones in Myanmar. While the country's development had been hobbled by a complex history of military rule, ethnic conflict, and international sanctions, as it pursued liberalization it sought avenues to developing its economy.... View Details

Keywords: Economic Development; Emerging Economies; Special Economic Zones (SEZs); Development Economics; Developing Countries and Economies; Manufacturing Industry; Energy Industry; Southeast Asia; Myanmar

Educators

2008
Book

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World

By: Niall Ferguson

Niall Ferguson traces the historical evolution of the financial system, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls "Planet Finance." In doing so, he reveals financial history as the essential backstory behind all history, from the... View Details

Keywords: Financial History; Money; Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Investment; Globalization

Winter 2020
Article

The Economics of Maps

By: Abhishek Nagaraj and Scott Stern

For centuries, maps have codified the extent of human geographic knowledge and shaped discovery and economic decision-making. Economists across many fields, including urban economics, public finance, political economy, and economic geography, have long employed maps,... View Details

Keywords: Maps; Economic Geography; Geography; Economics; History