Advanced economic history

Course objectives

The aims of this course are to provide an introduction to the methods of quantitative economic history together with a review of some major findings of historical research of interest to economists. Even though the course is designed in European perspective, the global economy is taken into account for comparison.

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JACOB LOUIS WEISDORF Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
Weeks 1-2: Introduction to economic history Weeks 4-5: The first Industrial Revolution Weeks 6-8: The second Industrial Revolution Weeks 9-10: The third Industrial Revolution Weeks 11-12: Supervised essay writing and in-class examination
Prerequisites
A fundamental grasp of empirical methods and statistical estimation techniques is beneficial but not required.
Books
The curriculum consists of academic research articles from top economics or economic history journals, for example: - D Acemoglu, S Johnson, JA Robinson (2001), “The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation,” American Economic Review 91, pp. 1369-1401 - E Spolaore and R Wacziarg (2013), “How Deep Are the Roots of Economic Development?”, Journal of Economic Literature 51, pp. 325– 369 - JV Henderson, T Squires, A Storeygard, D Weil (2018), “The Global Distribution of Economic Activity: Nature, History, and the Role of Trade,” Quarterly Journal of Economics 133, pp. 357–406
Frequency
Non-mandatory in-class lectures.
Exam mode
Essay writing and multiple-choice examinations. Exams may be oral if the circumstances require this.
Lesson mode
Lectures and class discussions.
  • Lesson code10616775
  • Academic year2025/2026
  • CourseEconomics
  • CurriculumMacroeconomics and finance (Percorso valido anche fini del conseguimento del doppio titolo italo-belga) - in lingua inglese
  • Year2nd year
  • Semester1st semester
  • SSDSECS-P/12
  • CFU6