Department News 2022-23

Economic History master's students wins first prize at prestigious St Gallen Symposium essay competition

Congratulations to MSc Economic History student Elliot Gunn, who won first place in the recently held St. Gallen Symposium's annual global essay competition. Elliot came first in a field of 100 graduate students from around the world, who are selected on the basis of a 2,000-word essay (essentially a policy proposal) on a specific topic. Elliot's proposal was on improving health care.

More details of the competition and prize winners are here:  52nd St Gallen Symposium 

The timestamp for the livestreamed award ceremony begins here Award Ceremony Livestream

Urban Resilience

6-7.30pm, 5 June 2023

Speaker: Professor Edward Glaeser (Harvard); Chair: Professor Max Schulze (LSE)

In person and online

COVID-19 and the associated rise of remote work has shocked many of the world's cities, but cities have been through far worse in the past, argues Professor Edward Glaeser, a world expert on the economics of cities. Disease, natural destruction and wars have all shaped urban trajectories. Recently, remote work has been particularly disruptive as the most skilled are the most likely to connect through cyberspace. But there are good reasons to be optimistic about our urban world in the medium term. 

More information, include how to register in advance, is available here: Register for this event

'Not just about the money' - Throwing new light on medieval wages

LSE's Research for the World showcases research by Professor Jordan Claridge, who is developing a new approach to understanding wages in the Middle Ages by reassessing the value of in-kind payments, which frequently formed the majority of medieval worker's wages.

Read the full article to find out more about this innovative approach, and how it will help : It’s not just about the money: a reappraisal of Medieval English agricultural wages

The Guardian features Natacha Postel Vinay on the recent SVB and Credit Suisse bank collapses

Natacha argues that recent legislation to penalise bank owners and minimise tax payer involvement in the event of banking collapses does not go far enough to discourage the kind of shareholder behaviours which lead to financial crises.

Read the full article here: Until bankers have more to lose themselves, collapses like SVB and Credit Suisse will keep happening

Professor Tirthankar Roy elected to Academy of Social Sciences

We are pleased to announce that Professor Tirthankar Roy has been elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

These Fellowships are awarded to highly accomplished individuals, recognised for excellence in their fields and for their wider contribution to the social sciences for public benefit.

In Memory of Jennifer Kohler (1990-2022)

We are sad to announce that Jennifer Kohler passed away at the end of 2022.  If you would like to leave a message of condolence for her family, please visit her memorial page: Jennifer Kohler Memorial Page 

The Department, along with friends and family, is planning a celebration of her life on 28 February.  If you would like to attend, please register here:  Register here for Jennifer's memorial

Inflation, Pandemic and War: Is this time really different?

4-5.30pm, Monday 13 February 2023

Online

World economies are facing a troika of challenges in the form of war (in Ukraine), disease (COVID19) and return of inflation, all of which has led to dampened growth globally. How far are these challenges, individually and as a combination, new, and what lessons can we draw from the history?

To answer these questions, we take a long-run view from the early modern times to the present and discuss implications of war, disease and inflation on our economies. Our panel of experts draw lessons from more than 100 years of history to highlight risks to recovery, effective policy responses and how history can inform the present.

Discussion followed by Q&A featuring Dr Tehreem Husain & Dr Natacha Postel-Vinay (LSE), and Professor D'Maris Coffman (UCL)

Register for this event here: Seminar Registration

What can we learn from recessions throughout history?

Jason Lennard's recent paper on dating business cycles and his video on recessions feature on LSE Research for the World. You can read and view here: What can we learn from recessions?

The video  Inflation: how long do recessions last? also features in LSE's 'Understanding the UK Economy' video series on Youtube.  

LSE-ESRC Post-doctoral Fellowships 

The Department of Economic History at LSE would be pleased to support suitable applications for a one-year postdoctoral fellowship starting October 2023. Applicants must be completing their PhD on an ‘ESRC DTP pathway’.

Check you are eligible via this link: Postdoctoral Fellowships

If eligible, you are welcome to contact Professor Sara Horrell before making your application.

Deadline for applications: 4pm. 23 March 2023

Submit your application via the LSE Jobs e-recruitment system

Professor Neil Cummins features in LSE IQ podcast, How does class define us?'

The podcast examines how we wear and reveal our social class in English society today. In the episode Neil discusses  reveals how class will probably determine who you marry.

Nick Crafts' lecture 'Play it again, Clem' features on the LSEHistory blog. You can read the post here: Play it again Clem: Lessons from the 1940s for post covid Britain. 

You can view a recording of Professor Crafts' lecture on Youtube, or listen to a podcast: Video; Podcast

Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships at the Department of Economic History

The Department of Economic History is keen to hear from people interested in holding a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship with us.

For full information go to this page: Early Career Fellowships Guidance for Applicants 2023  

LSE's internal deadline is 18 November 2022. If you wish to discuss this prior to application, contact Professor Sara Horrell (s.h.horrell@lse.ac.uk)

Thinking of doing a PhD in Economic History at LSE?

If you are interested in taking a PhD in Economic History at LSE, join us for a webinar where we will outline the opportunities and offer a Q&A.

The event is on 11.30am, Tuesday 15 November.

Find more information here: Virtual Graduate Open Events 

Individual enquiries are also encouraged.

'Uncovering the economics of a slave ship' - Dr Anne Ruderman's research features in LSE Research for the World

Dr Anne Ruderman’s discovery of documents from slave ship 'La La Bonne-Société' sheds new light on the way the industry operated, revealing more about the economics of this very specific market and providing a greater understanding of how the transatlantic slave trade operated on the African coast.

Read the full article here: Uncovering the economics of a slave ship

Pandemics, Economics and Inequality Lessons from the Spanish Flu

Basco, S., Domènech, J., and  Rosés, J. R. - Palgrave Macmillan (2022)

With the outbreak of Covid-19 there is an increased need to learn about the economic effects of pandemics. Joan Rosés has co-authored this book on the impact of the Spanish Flu, using data from Spain, a reliable source of data where mortality data was not affected by the First World War. 

Alum opens new natural history museum in Sheffield

Recent graduate James Hogg has founded the Yorkshire Natural History Museum in Sheffield, the first northerm museum dedicated to the subject. The museum made national news on its opening day when an exhibit was identified by an expert paleontologist as probably the oldest known example of a vertebrate embroyo found in Britain. 

James developed his interest in paleontology while in search of quiet study space as a student on the BSc Economics and Economic History programme. The British Museum and Natural History Museum offered an alternative to the busy library at LSE, and thus his passion was born. 

More information about the museum can be found here: ‘The whole embryo was there’: expert makes rare find on Sheffield museum opening day'

Professor Nick Crafts
Play it again Clem? Lessons from the 1940s for Post-Covid Britain
6 October 2022, 6.30pm.

After World War Two, Britain faced issues which are familiar today: strengthening the welfare state, dealing with an inflated public debt, improving productivity performance, underpinning support for the market economy, and credibly promising a better future. The Attlee government has been widely praised for the way it handled this difficult situation, and it is often said that we should remember the lessons of the 1940s. But what are the lessons we should learn, how successful were the policies of the time, and should we really try to go back to the future? 

This is a hybrid event. Information about the event and how to book is available here: Play it again Clem? Lessons from the 1940s for Post-Covid Britain

Brad DeLong
Slouching Towards Utopia - book launch. 
10 October 2022 6.00pm.  

DeLong tells the story of the major economic and technological shifts of the 20th century. His book charts the unprecedented explosion of material wealth after 1870, which transformed living standards around the world but which, paradoxically, has left us with unprecedented inequality, global warming, and widespread dissatisfaction with the status quo. 

This is an online event. More information and how to book is available here:  Slouching Towards Utopia

Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay! A Popular History of Taxes
Film screening hosted by Natacha Postel-Vinay (LSE)
24 October 2022, 6.30pm

Without taxation there is no government. Taxation is essential, but who is to pay, and for what? For centuries people have fought over these questions, and these fights have been at the heart of the development and crises of democracy, from Magna Carta through the French Revolution to the Global Financial Crisis and the pandemic. Bringing together internationally renowned academic experts and policymakers, this gripping documentary retraces this fascinating history across France, Britain and Germany from the Middle Ages to the present day. 

In-person event.  More information and how to book is available here: Can't Pay, Won't Pay!

Sovereignty without Power: Liberia in the age of empires, 1822-1980

Leigh Gardner – Inaugural Lecture
23 November 2022, 6.30pm. 

Leigh Gardner's work focuses on the economic and financial history of Africa during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with an emphasis on Africa's connections to the global economy. 

Hybrid event.  More information and how to book is available here: Sovereignty without Power.