Let's read 60 papers

My 2024 Stellenbosch #econhist reading list

The graduate course in economic history I teach kicked off last week. Now in its thirteenth year, the course has evolved into a unique format: four groups of students read four papers a week, present and discuss them. Each group comments on the papers their group had not presented. (For those interested, students are assessed based on class participation and a written essay. The essay must also be presented to the entire group. No exam.)

My focus is global economic history, with a slight preference for papers on Africa. The course is divided into three sections: historical episodes, roots of growth, and hot topics. I update the reading list every year; I hope to expose students to the latest research in the field from a range of authors.

The complete reading list is provided below, with links to the papers. Why not join us this semester in reading 60 papers in (roughly) 120 days? And if you have any suggestions for papers I may have missed, please add them in the comments section!

To keep up with the latest research in economic history, I publish a monthly post featuring the leading papers in the field. Be sure to subscribe to stay informed.

1: Historical Episodes: The Neolithic Revolution

• Cao, Y., Enke, B., Falk, A., Giuliano, P. and Nunn, N., 2021. Herding, Warfare, and a Culture of Honor: Global Evidence (No. w29250). National Bureau of Economic Research.

• Kung, J., Ozak, O., Putterman, L. and Shi, S. 2022. Millet, Rice, and Isolation: Origins and Persistence of the World's Most Enduring Mega-State. Working paper.

• Blouin, A., 2021. Axis-orientation and knowledge transmission: evidence from the Bantu expansion. Journal of Economic Growth, 26, pp. 359-384.

• Obikili, N. 2022. Tubers and its Role in Historic Political Fragmentation in Africa. Working Paper.

2: Historical Episodes: Slavery

• Whatley, W.C., 2018. The gun-slave hypothesis and the 18th century British slave trade. Explorations in Economic History, 67, pp.80-104.

• Heblich, S., Redding, S.J. and Voth, H.J., 2022. Slavery and the British Industrial Revolution (No. w30451). National Bureau of Economic Research.

• Martins, I., Cilliers, J. and Fourie, J., 2023. Legacies of loss: The health outcomes of slaveholder compensation in the British Cape Colony. Explorations in Economic History, 89, p.101506.

• Hornbeck, R. and Logan, T., 2023. One Giant Leap: Emancipation and Aggregate Economic Gains (No. w31758). National Bureau of Economic Research.

3: Historical Episodes: The Industrial Revolution

• Schneider, B., 2023. Technological unemployment in the British Industrial Revolution: the destruction of hand spinning. Working Paper.

• Kelly, M., Mokyr, J. and Ó Gráda, C., 2023. The mechanics of the Industrial Revolution. Journal of Political Economy, 131(1), pp.59-94.

• Galofré-Vilà, G., 2023. The Diffusion of Knowledge during the British Industrial Revolution. Social Science History, 47(2), pp.167-188.

• O’Brien, P., 2021. Was the British industrial revolution a conjuncture in global economic history? Journal of Global History, pp.1-23.

4: Historical Episodes: Colonialism

• Bolt, J., Gardner, L., Kohler, J., Paine, J. and Robinson, J.A., 2022. African Political Institutions and the Impact of Colonialism (No. w30582). National Bureau of Economic Research.

• Fourie, J. and Garmon Jr, F., 2023. The settlers’ fortunes: Comparing tax censuses in the Cape Colony and early American republic. The Economic History Review, 76(2), pp.525-550.

• Van Waijenburg, M., 2018. Financing the African Colonial State: The Revenue Imperative and Forced Labor. The Journal of Economic History, 78(1), pp.40-80.

• Kampanelis, S., Elizalde, A. and Ioannides, Y.M., 2023. Songlines. No 23-07, QUCEH Working Paper Series.

5: The Roots of Growth: Innovation and Technology

• Gollin, D., Hansen, C.W. and Wingender, A.M., 2021. Two blades of grass: The impact of the green revolution. Journal of Political Economy, 129(8), pp.2344-2384.

• Giorcelli, M. and Moser, P., 2020. Copyrights and creativity: Evidence from Italian opera in the Napoleonic age. Journal of Political Economy, 128(11), pp.4163-4210.

• Martina Miotto and Luigi Pascali. 2022. Solving the Longitude Puzzle: A Story of Clocks, Ships and Cities. Working paper.

• Gross, D.P. and Sampat, B.N., 2023. America, jump-started: World War II R&D and the takeoff of the US innovation system. American Economic Review, 113(12), pp.3323-3356.

6: The Roots of Growth: The State

• Angelucci, C., Meraglia, S. and Voigtländer, N., 2022. How merchant towns shaped parliaments: From the Norman Conquest of England to the Great Reform Act. American Economic Review, 112(10), pp.3441-87.

• Dimitruk, K., 2023. The Glorious Revolution and Access to Parliament. The Journal of Economic History, 83(3), pp.676-708.

• González, F., Prem, M. and Urzúa, F., 2020. The privatization origins of political corporations: Evidence from the Pinochet regime. The Journal of Economic History, pp.1-40.

• Wang, T., 2023. The electric telegraph, news coverage and political participation (No. w31468). National Bureau of Economic Research.

7: The Roots of Growth: Human capital

• Squicciarini, M.P. and Voigtländer, N., 2015. Human capital and industrialization: Evidence from the age of enlightenment. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(4), pp.1825-1883.

• Atack, J., Margo, R.A. and Rhode, P.W., 2024. De-skilling: Evidence from late nineteenth-century American manufacturing. Explorations in Economic History, p.101554.

• Dittmar, J. and Meisenzahl, R. 2022. The research university, invention and industry: Evidence from Germany history. Working Paper.

• Frankema, E. and van Waijenburg, M., 2023. What about the race between education and technology in the Global South? Comparing skill premiums in colonial Africa and Asia. The Economic History Review.

8: The Roots of Growth: Trade and Globalisation

• Kerby, E., Moradi, A. and Odendaal, H., 2022. African time travelers: what can we learn from 500 years of written accounts? Working paper.

• Frankema, E., Williamson, J. and Woltjer, P., 2018. An Economic Rationale for the West African Scramble? The Commercial Transition and the Commodity Price Boom of 1835–1885. The Journal of Economic History, 78(1), pp.231-267.

• Hersh, J. and Voth, H.J., 2022. Sweet diversity: Colonial goods and the welfare gains from global trade after 1492. Explorations in Economic History, 86, p.101468.

• Pérez, S., 2021. Southern (American) Hospitality: Italians in Argentina and the United States During the Age of Mass Migration. The Economic Journal, 131(638), pp.2613-2628.

9: Hot Topics: Measuring welfare

• Broadberry, S., Guan, H. and Li, D.D., 2021. China, Europe, and the Great Divergence: A Restatement. The Journal of Economic History, 81(3), pp.958-974.

• Bailey, M.J., Leonard, S.H., Price, J., Roberts, E., Spector, L. and Zhang, M., 2023. Breathing new life into death certificates: Extracting handwritten cause of death in the life-m project. Explorations in Economic History, 87, p.101474.

• Cummins, N., 2021. Where is the middle class? Evidence from 60 million English death and probate records, 1892–1992. The Journal of Economic History, pp.1-46.

• Chiovelli, G., Michalopoulos, S., Papaioannou, E. and Regan, T., 2023. Illuminating Africa? Working paper.

10: Hot Topics: Women and gender

• Goldin, C., 2023. Why Women Won. Working paper.

• Perrin, F., 2021. On the origins of the demographic transition: rethinking the European marriage pattern. Cliometrica, pp.1-45.

• De Pleijt, A. and van Zanden, J.L., 2021. Two worlds of female labour: gender wage inequality in Western Europe, 1300–1800. The Economic History Review, 74(3), pp.611-638.

• Baten, J., De Haas, M., Kempter, E. and Meier zu Selhausen, F., 2021. Educational Gender Inequality in Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Long‐Term Perspective. Population and Development Review, 47(3), pp.813-849.

11: Hot Topics: Health

• Alsan, M. and Goldin, C., 2019. Watersheds in child mortality: The role of effective water and sewerage infrastructure, 1880–1920. Journal of Political Economy, 127(2), pp.586-638.

• Lowes, S. and Montero, E., 2021. The legacy of colonial medicine in Central Africa. American Economic Review, 111(4), pp.1284-1314.

• Hanlon, W.W., 2020. Coal smoke, city growth, and the costs of the industrial revolution. The Economic Journal, 130(626), pp.462-488.

• Antman, F.M., 2023. For want of a cup: the rise of tea in England and the impact of water quality on mortality. Review of Economics and Statistics, 105(6), pp.1352-1365.

12: Hot Topics: Mobility and Migration

• Ward, Z., 2023. Intergenerational Mobility in American History: Accounting for Race and Measurement Error. American Economic Review, 113(12), pp.3213-3248.

• Abramitzky, R., Boustan, L., Catron, P., Connor, D. and Voigt, R., 2023. The Refugee Advantage: English-Language Attainment in the Early Twentieth Century. Sociological Science, 10, pp.769-805.

• Derenoncourt, E. 2022. Can you move to opportunity? Evidence from the Great Migration. American Economic Review, 112(2): 369-408.

• Buckles, K., Price, J., Ward, Z. and Wilbert, H.E., 2023. Family Trees and Falling Apples: Historical Intergenerational Mobility Estimates for Women and Men (No. w31918). National Bureau of Economic Research.

13: Hot Topics: Race, segregation and discrimination

• Alsan, M. and Wanamaker, M., 2018. Tuskegee and the health of black men. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 133(1), pp.407-455.

• Cook, L.D., Jones, M.E., Logan, T.D. and Rosé, D., 2023. The Evolution of Access to Public Accommodations in the United States. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 138(1), pp.37-102.

• Feir, D.L., Gillezeau, R. and Jones, M.E., 2023. Institutional Drift, Property Rights, and Economic Development: Evidence from Historical Treaties (No. w31713). National Bureau of Economic Research.

• Abel, M., 2019. Long-run effects of forced resettlement: evidence from Apartheid South Africa. The Journal of Economic History, 79(4), pp.915-953.

14: Hot Topics: Violence and war

• Archibong, B. and Obikili, N., 2023. Prison labor: The price of prisons and the lasting effects of incarceration (No. w31637). National Bureau of Economic Research.

• Barr, A. and Smith, A.A., 2023. Fighting crime in the cradle: The effects of early childhood access to nutritional assistance. Journal of Human Resources, 58(1), pp.43-73.

• McGuirk, E. and Burke, M., 2020. The economic origins of conflict in Africa. Journal of Political Economy, 128(10), pp.3940-3997.

• Ager, P., Bursztyn, L., Leucht, L. and Voth, H.J., 2022. Killer incentives: Rivalry, performance and risk-taking among German fighter pilots, 1939–45. The Review of Economic Studies, 89(5), pp.2257-2292.

15: Hot Topics: Culture and religion

• Bazzi, S., Fiszbein, M. and Gebresilasse, M., 2020. Frontier culture: The roots and persistence of “rugged individualism” in the United States. Econometrica, 88(6), pp.2329-2368.

• Michalopoulos, S. and Xue, M.M., 2021. Folklore. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 136(4), pp.1993-2046.

• Becker, S.O., Pfaff, S., Hsiao, Y. and Rubin, J., 2023. Competing Social Influence in Contested Diffusion: Luther, Erasmus and the Spread of the Protestant Reformation. Working Paper.

• Jedwab, R., Meier zu Selhausen, F. and Moradi, A., 2022. The economics of missionary expansion: evidence from Africa and implications for development. Journal of Economic Growth, 27(2), pp.149-192.

‘Let’s read 60 papers’ was first published on Our Long Walk. The image was created with Midjourney v6. Prompt: Within the confines of a high-ceilinged industrial loft, an African historian is immersed amidst thousands of papers. The loft, with its exposed brick and remnants of machinery, serves as a physical echo of the past eras he explores. Around him, papers flutter like leaves in an unseen wind.