EH402 Half Unit
Quantitative Analysis in Economic History I
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Tom Raster
Availability
This course is compulsory on the MPhil/PhD in Economic History. This course is available on the MSc in Economic History, MSc in Economic History (Research), MSc in Financial History, MSc in Global Economic History and MSc in Political Economy of Late Development. This course is not available as an outside option to students on other programmes. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
How to apply: All Economic History courses are controlled access and capped. Priority will be given to students for whom the course is within their programme regulations.
All course choices submitted before the deadline will be considered. It is advisable that students submit a statement in support of their course choices as these will be used to allocate places where a course is oversubscribed.
Deadline for application: First round offers will be sent on Monday 29 September 2025. Students who submit their course choices after the deadline and students wishing to take an Economic History course as an outside option will be waitlisted initially and informed by Wednesday 1 October 2025 whether they have been successful.
Once an offer has been sent, you have 48 hours to accept it before it times out. Once an offer has timed out, it will be re-allocated to someone on the waitlist. In all cases, it is strongly advised that you have an alternative course choice as a back-up in case you are unable to secure your first choice.
For queries contact: If you have any questions, please contact the MSc Programmes Officer (o.harrison1@lse.ac.uk) A list of all taught master's courses in this Department are listed on LSE's course guide webpages. Guidance on how to apply to individual controlled access courses can also be found on LSE for You.
Requisites
Mutually exclusive courses:
This course cannot be taken with EH427 at any time on the same degree programme.
Course content
This course is concerned with how economic historians use quantitative methods and with how researchers design and structure a research project. In terms of quantitative methods the emphasis is on the applied and practical rather than the theoretical and will range from the use of simple summary descriptive statistics to multiple regression. The course is concerned with the problems of analysing and interpreting quantitative historical evidence. It will consider topics such as sampling and statistical distributions, correlation, simple and multiple regression, specification problems, hypothesis testing, panel data analysis and instrumental variables, although the content may vary slightly from year to year. The course will also provide students with training in using an econometrics software package (STATA). An important component of the course is the deconstruction of historical articles that have used quantitative techniques.
Teaching
9 hours of seminars and 20 hours of computer workshops in the Autumn Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn Term.
This course is delivered through a combination of classes and lectures totalling a minimum of 20 hours across Autumn Term.
Formative assessment
Students will be expected to produce 1 essay in the AT.
Indicative reading
- C H Feinstein and M Thomas, Making History Count (2002);
- P Hudson, History by Numbers (2002);
- C H Lee, The Quantitative Approach to Economic History (1977);
- G Hawthorn, Plausible Words (1991).
Assessment
Exam (100%), duration: 120 Minutes in the Spring exam period
Key facts
Department: Economic History
Course Study Period: Autumn Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 62
Average class size 2024/25: 16
Controlled access 2024/25: YesCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Team working
- Problem solving
- Application of information skills
- Communication
- Application of numeracy skills
- Specialist skills