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21May

Inheritance, demographics, and economic development

Hosted by the Department of Economic History
In-person and online public event (Old Theatre, Old Building)
Thursday 21 May 2026 6.30pm - 8pm

Inheritance institutions shape family structures and demographic decisions, with enduring implications for economic development. This lecture describes how inheritance rules affect fertility, marriage, and migration decisions in historical and development contexts.

Meet our speaker and chair

Paula Gobbi is a professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ECARES) and a CEPR Research Fellow. Her research fields are Demographic Economics, Economic History, Development and Growth.

Sara Horrell is Head of the Department of Economic History at LSE and her research interests include gender, labour, living standards, and modern British and European economic history

More about this event

Join us on campus or register to watch the event online at LSE Live. LSE Live is the home for our live streams, allowing you to tune in and join the global debate at LSE, wherever you are in the world. If you can't attend live, a video will be made available shortly afterwards on LSE's YouTube channel.

The Department of Economic History is one of the world's leading centres for research and teaching economic history. It is home to a huge breadth and depth of knowledge and expertise ranging from the medieval period to the current century.

Established in 2008 in memory of Professor Stephan (Larry) Epstein, this annual event showcases the work of up-and-coming academics in the field of economic history.

Hashtag for this event: #LSEEvents

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