The Long Run Blog - Economic History Society

The UK’s unpaid war debts to the United States, 1917-1980

21 Aug, 2018

by David James Gill (University of Nottingham) We all think we know the consequences of the Great War –...

Judges and the death penalty in Nazi Germany: New research evidence on judicial discretion in authoritarian states

24 Jul, 2018

Do judicial courts in authoritarian regimes act as puppets for the interests of a repressive state – or do...

BAD LOCATIONS: Many French towns have been trapped in obsolete places for centuries

17 Jul, 2018

Only three of the 20 largest cities in Britain are located near the site of Roman towns, compared with...

THE ‘WITCH CRAZE’ OF 16th & 17th CENTURY EUROPE: Economists uncover religious competition as driving force of witch hunts

26 Jun, 2018

Economists Peter Leeson (George Mason University) and Jacob Russ (Bloom Intelligence) have uncovered new evidence to resolve the longstanding puzzle...

British perceptions of German post-war industrial relations

19 Jun, 2018

By Colin Chamberlain (University of Cambridge) ‘Almost idyllic’ – this was the view of one British commentator on the...

Transatlantic Slavery and Abolition: a Pan-European Affair

14 Jun, 2018

By Felix Brahm (German Historical Institute London) and Eve Rosenhaft (University of Liverpool) Slavery Hinterland. Transatlantic Slavery and Continental...

From VoxEU – Wellbeing inequality in retrospect

12 Jun, 2018

Rising trends in GDP per capita are often interpreted as reflecting rising levels of general wellbeing. But GDP per...

THE FINANCIAL POWER OF THE POWERLESS: Evidence from Ottoman Istanbul on socio-economic status, legal protection and the cost of borrowing

7 Jun, 2018

In Ottoman Istanbul, privileged groups such as men, Muslims and other elites paid more for credit than the under-privileged...

Perpetuating the family name: female inheritance, in-marriage and gender norms

5 Jun, 2018

by Duman Bahrami-Rad (Simon Fraser University) Why is it so common for Muslims to marry their cousins (more than...

Winning the capital, winning the war: retail investors in the First World War

29 May, 2018

by Norma Cohen (Queen Mary University of London) The First World War brought about an upheaval in British...

Medieval origins of Spain’s economic geography

22 May, 2018

The frontier of medieval warfare between Christian and Muslim armies in southern Spain provides a surprisingly powerful explanation of...

THE IMPACT OF MALARIA ON EARLY AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT: Evidence from the sickle cell trait

17 May, 2018

While malaria historically claimed millions of African lives, it did not hold back the continent’s economic development. That is...