The Economic History Podcast
The Economic History podcast is a platform for sharing knowledge, ideas and new research with a general interest audience. Each fortnight, we meet leading academics in the field and discuss a range of topics, including pandemics, long run economic growth, gender issues, financial crises, inequality, sustainable development and a number of weird and fun economic experiments in history. There is no time like the past to help us understand the present.
Episodes
39 episodes
Income Inequality and Capital Shares
In this episode, we chat with Assoc. Prof. Erik Bengtsson about his extensive work on income inequality. What is the capital share of National Income, why does it matter and why does it change? We discuss the role of democracy and the "Great Le...
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Season 2
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Episode 39
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55:44
Globalization, Trade and the Populist Response
In this episode, Prof. Kevin H. O'Rourke discusses some of his work on trade and globalization. We trace the beginnings of globalization, mention some problems with measuring it perfectly, and review some of the literature on tariffs and econom...
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Season 2
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Episode 38
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44:47
Dysfunctional Wartime Markets
Prof. Kim Oosterlinck walks us through the strange world of financial (and alternative asset) markets in occupied France. We begin by looking at the economic costs of the Nazi occupation. We then turn to discuss the array of measures that were ...
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Season 2
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Episode 37
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36:00
Slouching Towards Utopia
In this episode, we meet Prof. Bradford DeLong to discuss his recent book 'Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century.' We cover the rate of technological change prior to the industrial revolution. Before 1500, "the ...
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Season 2
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Episode 36
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50:11
Macroeconomic (In)stability in UK Economic History, 1700-2010
In this episode, we meet Assist. Prof. Jason Lennard to discuss his work on measuring fluctuations in the UK economy. We cover the nature of the business cycle, how it is measured and how it has changed through time. We also consider the ...
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Season 2
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Episode 35
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53:41
Heights in (Economic) History
In this episode, we meet Prof. Eric Schneider to discuss the use of data on heights in economic history as a measure of well-being. Eric discusses his use of the crew records on a British ship (in operation for over a century) and what such sou...
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Season 2
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Episode 34
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46:41
Complements to GDP: Measuring Freedom, Health and Education through time
Today we meet with and discuss the recent work of Prof. Leandro Prados de la Escosura. We speak about the concept of economic liberty and discuss whether improvements in measures of health and education map on to GDP per capita over time.....it...
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Season 2
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Episode 33
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1:20:27
The Rise and Fall of American Growth, 1870-2010
In this episode, Prof. Robert Gordon walks us through the U.S. growth record since the Civil War. We discuss some key takeaways from his monumental 2016 book (which lends its name to this episode). We cover some key drivers of changes in standa...
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Season 2
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Episode 32
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46:01
Interwar (Monetary) Instability
In this episode, we sit down with Assoc. Prof. Kirsten Wandschneider to talk about the monetary disintegration that plagued the interwar period. How did countries choose to go back on the Interwar Gold Standard? How did this constrain policy ch...
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Season 2
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Episode 31
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50:45
Making Social Spending Work
Prof. Peter Lindert discusses the evidence on social spending and the economy since the nineteenth century summarized in his new book- 'Making Social Spending Work'. Why did it take so long? What are the effects of social spending on growth? Wh...
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Season 2
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Episode 30
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33:14
The Long Economic Shadow of World War II in Europe
In this episode, we chat with Prof. Tamás Vonyó about the long run variation in the impact of World War II across a range of European economies. We begin with discussing the comparative wartime destruction across regions (using Tamás' "5 D's") ...
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Episode 29
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59:35
The Great Enrichment
Prof. Deirdre McCloskey has written prolifically on a wide range of topics. In this episode, she discusses her trilogy of books which attempt to explain what she coined 'The Great Enrichment' since the nineteenth century. We discuss the use of ...
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Episode 28
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50:09
Economic Experiments in Extremism
Today, we meet Professor Hans-Joachim Voth to discuss some of his work on the economic forces around religious and political epochs characterised by extremism. We begin by reviewing the long term economic effects of the Spanish Inquisition and ...
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Episode 27
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45:04
Lessons from the Great Depression
Professor Peter Temin's 'Lessons from the Great Depression' remains a standard classic three decades since its publication. In today's episode, Peter talks about the Great Depression's lessons for today's policy makers and the use of fiscal pol...
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Episode 25
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21:26
The Corporation through Time: Theory, Mergers and the issues of Bigness
This week, we hear from Prof. Naomi Lamoreaux on her work on the evolution of the corporation through time. We start with trying to define what a firm is, cover the motivations behind and the consequences of mergers. We look to a past example o...
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Episode 24
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43:57
Creativity, Well-being and the Influence of Composers since 1450
This week, Prof. Karol Jan Borowiecki discusses his research on composers' creativity and consider some of the factors that influence the process: emotions, geography and instruction. We review some of the most innovative ways that Karol's work...
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Episode 23
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36:47
Bretton Woods 50 Years On
Today, we meet Prof. Eric Monnet of the Paris School of Economics and discuss the monetary system that emerged after World War II- Bretton Woods. After covering how it theoretically operated, Eric takes us through the details of how it function...
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Episode 22
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34:14
The Maddison Project and Counting the Consequences of Colonialism in Africa
In this episode, we meet Prof. Jutta Bolt to discuss the collaborative effort of the Maddison project, which standardizes international income statistics to compare living standards over time and space. We look at some of Jutta’s resea...
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Episode 21
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40:44
BONUS: The Industrial Revolution: History, Causes and Consequences
Professor Nicholas Crafts discusses some important developments in our interpretations of the Industrial Revolution over recent decades. We discuss how Nick's work, along with that of others, has led to a more sober interpretation of the produc...
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Episode 0
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1:08:12
Africa in the World Economy: Growth, Shrinking and Debt
In this episode, we meet Dr. Leigh Gardner to consider the experience of a number of former British colonies in Africa. We review the literature and Leigh's work on the cost of financing and operating former colonies and compare their debt and ...
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Episode 20
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33:37
The Dreadful Childhood and Long Shadow of American Slavery
In this episode, we speak with Professor Richard Steckel on his extensive work using height, nutritional, fertility and mortality data to explain the tragic outcomes of American slave health. We discuss the marriage and fertility patterns of sl...
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Episode 19
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45:38
Financial Systems and Growth
In this episode, Prof. Richard Sylla talks us through the process of building up a currency union in the U.S. following independence in 1776. We also consider the key ingredients for a successful "financial revolution", drawing on international...
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Episode 18
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54:12
Rulers, Religion and Riches: Another Divergence...Between the West and the Middle East
In this episode, we discuss the subtitle of Professor Jared Rubin's book: 'Why the West got Rich and the Middle East did Not.' We consider the Golden Age of Islam against the Western European backwater, facing its long dark age. Jared offers an...
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Episode 17
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1:05:36
GDP- Great Difficulties in Producing
In this episode, we meet with the eminent Prof. Diane Coyle to discuss the evolution of measuring economic activity through time. When and why did the process begin and how did it evolve? What were the political motivations that drove the chang...
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Episode 16
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26:35