Economic History Research Articles

¿Rompiendo con el subdesarrollo? Transformaciones de la estructura productiva, empleo y población en La Rioja, 1976-2001

The socioeconomic impacts of neoliberal economic policies, both globally and in individual countries, such as Argentina, have been widely discussed in the academic literature (cf. Basualdo, 2006; Cantamutto y Wainer, 2013; Gago, 2014; Harvey, 2007; Laval y Dardot, 2013; Piva, 2012; Svampa, 2005). However, its impacts in the province of La Rioja, Argentina, have not been analysed in great detail in the literature (for exceptions, see Hadad y Palmisano, 2017; Olmedo, 2006). To address these limitations, the present work proposes to analyse the socioeconomic impacts of neoliberal structural reforms in the province of La Rioja between 1976 and 2001, emphasising changes in the productive structure, employment and poverty, from a heterodox perspective. Based on an analysis of primary and secondary sources -statistical data from CFI-ECLAC and INDEC, texts on the economic, political and social history of Argentina during the period under investigation, with a particular emphasis on the changes experienced in La Rioja-, the article shows the similarities and differences in the socioeconomic impacts of neoliberal structural reforms in La Rioja compared to the rest of the Argentina. In this way, the work seeks to offer new knowledge about the specificities of socioeconomic development in the province of La Rioja in the period investigated, as well as contribute to the broader literature on the economic history of neoliberalism worldwide.

The WBdigital Database: A Digital Repository for the Historical DIW-Wochenbericht, 1928–1968

Abstract Economic and social scientists are increasingly interested in historical data, but many relevant sources are still available in analog form, limiting accessibility and research potential. This article introduces the WBdigital database, which aims to improve this situation. The database provides digital access to the DIW Wochenbericht (1928–1968), including its economic texts and time series data covering both German and international perspectives. These research data offer an ideal framework for investigating important research questions related to historical contexts and current economic challenges. Thus, we hope that the WBdigital database will be a valuable tool for researchers interested in economic history.

Irish Economic and Social History, 1974–2023: Publication Trends

This article reviews the publication trends in Irish Economic and Social History over its first 50 years.

Plague and Epidemic Disease in the Northern Parts of the Low Countries, 1349-1450

This article reviews what we know about plague and other epidemic diseases in the northern Low Countries before 1450 – the evidence, its limitations, and its implications. I make three observations. First, sources suggest that the Black Death was severe in central inland areas, although we lack conclusive evidence for its impact in the county of Holland. Second, the recurring epidemics occurring in the northern Low Countries were often severe – in certain localities reaching death rates of 20-25 percent. In this respect, Holland was as afflicted as other areas in the Low Countries. Third, while the outbreak of 1439 was a notable exception, most epidemics in the northern Low Countries rarely occurred during or just after grain price spikes, suggesting that food crises were not major drivers of epidemic disease in the period 1349-1450. I support further attempts to obtain empirical evidence for the mortality effects of epidemics in the medieval Low Countries. Ultimately, this information can be the foundation behind insights into other important long-term narratives in social, demographic, and economic history in the region.

Discussion of Projects for the Development of the Amudarya Flotilla by the Russian Government at the Turn of the 19th–20th centuries

The article examines the approaches of government departments regarding the development of private shipping on the Amu Darya, emphasizing the importance of the Amu Darya waterway in the context of the development of the Central Asian regional transit potential at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. The work also analyzes the financial indicators of this infrastructure project, its impact on strengthening the position of the Russian Empire on the territory of the southern Central Asian frontier. The author noted key role of the Military Department in the discussion and implementation of the Amudarya flotilla project, the contradictory approaches of government structures regarding private shipping projects, which ultimately led to the lack of a decision on this issue. The author concluded that, during the discussion of this water transport project, due to the uncertainty of many of its aspects and the unsettled financial issues the model of attracting private investors to its implementation was not accepted by the state. At the same time, due to geostrategic and economic reasons, the Amudarya flotilla remained important for the Military Department even in a situation of increasing budgetary unprofitability of this project. The main provisions and conclusions of the work may be of interest to historians specializing in economic history and orientalists studying the region of Central Asia and the Middle East.

Bagehot’s giant bubble failure

Modern economic history literature has extensive coverage of the Overend, Gurney crash of 1866 and the associated Lender of Last Resort operations of the Bank of England. But it basically ignores the giant British investment mania of the 1860s that led to that crisis and to the crisis of 1867 that followed. Yet that mania has many other interesting features that are relevant for dealing with bubbles. In particular, that historical episode shows that high interest rates may not suffice to deflate a bubble. It also demonstrates the dangers of “financial innovation,” which flowered in that period and enabled promoters to mislead and ruin investors in novel ways, while producing a rapid expansion of the railway system that escaped public notice. Even some of the most sophisticated contemporary observers, such as Walter Bagehot, who were bothered by the market anomalies they saw, were deceived by that pioneering “financial engineering” which has strong similarities to the one that led to the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. This paper points out some of the many neglected aspects of that mania. Those include an illustration of the evolution of economic thought towards ignoring underlying causes of financial crises and concentrating just on the panics in which they culminate.

Back to the future: How economic history can gain more relevance by abandoning modernization thinking

AbstractEconomic history has built a solid scientific foundation over the past decades but runs a risk of becoming marginalized. This paper suggests various ways to enhance its academic and societal relevance. It proposes taking pressing societal issues as clear starting points and using history as a ‘laboratory’ to address them. To effectively do so, a sharper focus on the social and environmental contexts of economic development would be needed. This may be furthered by closer involvement in multidisciplinary teams, where economic historians would bring in the chronological dimension, making use of their historical skills. Relevance will also be increased by abandoning modernization thinking. This would encourage more openness to processes of contestation, reversal, and divergencies, and more fully using the research opportunities offered by periods further back in time and all across the globe, not because these are different from the ‘modern’, Western situation but because they are relevant as sources of knowledge in themselves – knowledge that may be vital in light of the grave challenges present societies are facing.

A New Look on the Economic History of Colonial Korea Using Agriculture as an Example

The article critically analyzes the main theoretical concepts that are used in the study of the economic history of colonial Korea and attempts to provide a new perspective on this period. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the concept of the so-called “non-linear” understanding of history emerged in Russian historical science. This approach is the most productive for analyzing world history. Within the framework of the “non-linear” understanding of history, the theory of the so-called “colonial mode of production” should be used to analyze such a complex socioeconomic and socio-political phenomenon of world history as colonialism. It breaks the previously dominant frame of “feudalism-capitalism” and defines the colonial economy as specific, with its peculiarities and laws. Moreover, colonialism, being a “dead end” in the process of historical development, cannot give rise to a new socio-economic system and leads only to the degradation of the colony’s economy, even if there may be some development in certain periods and sectors. All theoretical concepts of Korean and Russian historical science have been based on the socalled “unilinear” understanding of the historical process, where one socio-economic system must be followed by the next, more progressive one. Previously, colonial Korea was perceived as either a “semi-feudal colonial” or “colonial capitalist” society, but this understanding limited the possibilities of socio-economic analysis and confined the economic history of colonial Korea within the “feudalism-capitalism” dichotomy. The article attempts to move beyond the above dichotomy by analyzing colonial Korea’s agriculture using the theory of “colonial mode of production”.

Spanish Immigration in Italy, 1500–1700

ABSTRACT This article focuses on Spanish immigration to Italy in the period from 1500 to 1700, the centuries when Spanish rule in Naples, Sicily, and Milan led to large-scale immigration of soldiers, clergy, viceroys, governors, and their followers and families. Presently, there is a lack of any detailed study of this important aspect of Spanish imperialism for the broader Italian context. This article argues that such a study is essential for understanding the social, economic, political, and cultural history of Italy in this period and presents avenues for future research.

What Is This “Tranquility”? A Reply to Nelson

In a note appearing in the August 2024 issue of History of Political Economy (HOPE), Edward Nelson argues that a passage commenting on James Forder's Macroeconomics and the Phillips Curve Myth (2014) in a 2023 HOPE article by Carlo Cristiano titled “The Early Reception of the Phillips Curve in the United Kingdom” would provide a false characterization of the economic literature and claims priority in affirming that UK policymakers did not use the Phillips curve as a menu for policy. It is shown in this reply that Nelson's reading of Cristiano's 2023 article, and more specifically of the passage commenting on Forder's 2014 book, is based on a misunderstanding. The purpose of the 2023 article was not to show that UK policymakers did not use the Phillips trade-off as a menu for policy. In that article, consensus on this point is taken for granted. It is also argued in this reply that there is no need to mention Nelson's works to affirm that UK policymakers did not use the Phillips trade-off as a policy menu and that Nelson's works are indeed very relevant, but for other reasons.

A Study on the Phenomenon of Foreign Slaves in the Tang Dynasty

As one of the most prosperous periods in ancient China's economic, political, and cultural history, the Tang Dynasty's literature features many depictions of foreign slaves. These individuals became captives due to wars or arrived in China through trade exchanges along the Silk Road and other means. They played various roles in Tang society. This study is divided into five parts: the introduction, a detailed exploration of the types, sources, and primary occupations of foreign slaves in the Tang Dynasty, an analysis of the fundamental reasons for the influx of a large number of foreign slaves into Tang territory, an examination of the impact of foreign slaves on Chinese society during the Tang period, and the conclusion.

In Ottoman – British Commercial Relations Efforts to Increase Cotton Production in Smyrna and Its Surroundings (1855–1870)

ABSTRACT During the mid–19th century, cotton production and trade became increasingly important in and around Smyrna. This was due to a combination of factors, including favourable climate conditions, fertile plains in the region, and international demand from England and other European countries. These countries were unable to purchase American cotton due to the American Civil War, which made cotton produced in Smyrna even more valuable and in demand. The purpose of this study is to examine the changes and developments in cotton production and trade in Smyrna between 1855–1870, with a particular focus on the general course of Anglo—Ottoman commercial relations during this period. The sources used for this study include the Ottoman Archives, British Press, official publications, and reports. This study aims to shed light on the economic and commercial history of Smyrna during this period, by analysing the factors that contributed to the growth of cotton production and trade in the region. By examining the primary sources available, we can gain a better understanding of the social, political, and economic context in which cotton production and trade took place, and the impact it had on the local and international economy.

Multivocal responses to conservation in Maluku province, Indonesia: Biocultural diversity, protest and management in a zone of ecological transition

The Moluccan islands of eastern Indonesia (Maluku) were amongst the last frontiers to be opened‐up for large‐scale resource extraction and economic development in modern times. The interventions of organized conservation science and local conservation activity are also recent. Yet the area has a complex economic history and historical ecology linked to the spice trade, which itself prompted early scholarly interest in its natural history. Conservation practice since 1980 is shown to be deeply embedded in local political events and cultural contexts, exhibiting a diversity of institutional forms and a 'cacophony' of community voices. We conclude that conservation research and interventions need to pay more attention to historical ecologies, biocultural linkages and distinctively local patterns of conservation activity.

Analysis of Sharia Economic Development in the Era of Globalization in Indonesia: Opportunities & Challenges

Sharia economics has become a topic that has attracted attention in the development of the global economy, especially in the current era of globalization. This article highlights basic principles such as monotheism, balance, benefit, taawun, and justice in the context of sharia economics, taking into account the prohibitions on usury, maysir, and gharar. The research was carried out through a qualitative descriptive approach using library research methods. This article also discusses the history and development of sharia economics in Indonesia, including the challenges faced and the government's efforts to develop it. This article emphasizes the importance of developing sharia economics as a relevant alternative in achieving sustainable and equitable development.

“Wrocław Meeting with Economic History”, or an attempt to revive research on the economy and society

“Wrocław Meeting with Economic History”, or an attempt to revive research on the economy and society

The economic history of Silesia in the Polish-German academic dialogue after 1945 (overview)

The economic history of Silesia in the Polish-German academic dialogue after 1945 (overview)

Earth deity shrines of the Greater Taipei area: A first edition curated dataset

Community tutelary shrines in Taiwan have been identified as excellent resources for grassroots-level heritage. As community ritual assemblages, they are able to encode data about a settlement’s social, political and economic history in their material composition, aesthetic choices, artefacts, displays and orientations. This data paper previews a first edition dataset related to 752 such shrines found throughout the greater Taipei area in northern Taiwan. It explores the basis for such a dataset, how it can be used and what has been produced. This dataset is available on the depositar research data repository, operated out of the Institute of Information Sciences at Academia Sinica in Taipei and is publicly available for download.

The Political Economy of International Commodity Cartels: An Economic History of the European Timber Trade in the 1930s, written by Elina Kuorelahti

The Political Economy of International Commodity Cartels: An Economic History of the European Timber Trade in the 1930s, written by Elina Kuorelahti

Identification and measurement of intensive economic growth in a Roman imperial province.

A key question in economic history is the degree to which preindustrial economies could generate sustained increases in per capita productivity. Previous studies suggest that, in many preindustrial contexts, growth was primarily a consequence of agglomeration. Here, we examine evidence for three different socioeconomic rates that are available from the archaeological record for Roman Britain. We find that all three measures show increasing returns to scale with settlement population, with a common elasticity that is consistent with the expectation from settlement scaling theory. We also identify a pattern of increase in baseline rates, similar to that observed in contemporary societies, suggesting that this economy did generate modest levels of per capita productivity growth over a four-century period. Last, we suggest that the observed growth is attributable to changes in transportation costs and to institutions and technologies related to socioeconomic interchange. These findings reinforce the view that differences between ancient and contemporary economies are more a matter of degree than kind.

Economic history of South Africa

Economic history of South Africa