Department Events 2024-25

Milton Friedman: The last conservative

Date and Venue: Tuesday 18 March 2025, 12 pm, CKK 1.17, Cheng Kin Ku Building, LSE 

Speaker: Jennifer Burns, Stanford University

Chair: Olivier Accominotti, LSE 

In her new book Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative, which forms the basis of this event, Jennifer Burns traces Friedman's long-standing collaborations with women, including economist Anna Schwartz; his complex relationship with powerful figures such as Federal Reserve Chairman Arthur Burns and Treasury Secretary George Shultz; and his direct interventions in policymaking at the highest levels. 

For more information, please visit the event webpage: Milton Friedman: The last conservative 

Elite conflict, colonialism and democracy in the Middle East
Speaker: Dr Mohamed Saleh
Chair: Professor Eric Schneider

Thursday 29 May 2025 6.00pm to 7.30pm 
Venue: Old Theatre, Old Building and online   

In this British Academy-funded research project, Mohamed Saleh develops a new economic history of the Middle East that explains the economic roots of authoritarianism in the region. He theoretically and empirically investigates how demands for democratisation emerge from intra-elite conflicts in an agrarian economy, despite the lack of an industrial bourgeoisie that was crucial in the Global North, and how elite politics shift with colonialism, the intrusion of industrial capital, and postcolonial nationalist military coups.   

This public lecture is free and open to all. More information, including how to register, is available here:  Elite conflict, colonialism and democracy in the Middle East 

Apprenticeship and economic growth in early modern England

Speaker: Professor Patrick Wallis
Chair: Professor Eric Schneider

Wednesday 14 May 2025 6.30pm to 8.00pm
Venue: Old Theatre, Old Building, and online

In his latest book, The Market for Skill: apprenticeship and economic growth in early-modern England, which forms the basis of this event, Patrick Wallis shows how apprenticeship helped reshape the English economy between 1500-1800.

By detailing the activities of apprentices and masters, the strategies of ambitious parents, the interventions of guilds and the decisions of town officials, Wallis shows how the system contributed to the growth of cities, the movement of workers, and the spread of new technologies. He argues that this success was because it was a flexible institution which allowed apprentices to change their minds and exit contracts early, providing a vital training accessible to most young people, whatever their background.

This event is free and open to all. More information, including how to register, is here: Apprenticeship and economic growth in early modern England

Historical Economic Demography Group: announcing 2025 workshops

The Historical Economic Demography Group is hosting two workshops in the first half of 2025. Full details below:

• Seventh Annual Historical Economic Demography Workshop
  31 January 2025
• Health Transitions in the Global South
  9-10 June 2025

The hidden victims: civilian casualties of the two world wars

Speaker: Cormac O’Grada (UCD)
Chair: Eric Schneider (LSE)
Date and time: Thursday 20 February, 6.30pm, Sheik Zayed Theatre, Cheng Kin Ku Building

In his latest book, which forms the basis of this event, O’Grada argues that previous estimates of civilian deaths in the two world wars are almost certainly too low.  By careful evaluation of the available evidence, he estimates that these wars cost nearly twice as many lives as previously estimated.  As he shows, this matters as it enables us to argue with those who try to deny, minimise or exaggerate wartime savagery. 

More information, including how you can attend can be found here: The hidden victims: civilian casualties of the two world wars  

How apprenticeship helped transform premodern England

Professor Patrick Wallis 

Tuesday 11 March, 11-11.30am, Shaw Library

For more than a century, apprenticeship in England has been in crisis. Brief moments of optimistic expansion have been punctured by political and economic shocks. Yet it was not always so. Before 1800, apprenticeship was a thriving and vital part of the economy. Drawing on his new book, The Market for Skill, Professor Patrick Wallis describes how apprenticeship helped transform England from a backwards, rural economy and laid the foundations for the first Industrial Revolution.

2025 Epstein Lecture: The diffusion of soft technologies during and after World War II

Speaker: Michela Giorcelli (UCLA)
Chair: Patrick Wallis (LSE)
Date and time: Thursday 20 March, 6.30pm, Auditorium, Central Building

The 2025 Epstein Lecture will be delivered by Michela Giorcelli, who will discuss how the large-scale diffusion of innovative management practices to US firms involved in war production acted as a technology that put them on a higher growth path for decades, and helped create the ‘American Way’ of business.  More information, including how to attend, can be found here.

What was the Holy Roman Empire? What monetary policies tell us about premodern multilaterism

Wednesday 23 October 2024, 6.30-8pm, Old Theatre, LSE

In his recent book The Silver Empire: how Germany created its first common currency, which forms the basis of this event, Oliver Volckart examines the political and economic conditions leading to the creation of Germany's first common currency. For this panel event, he is joined by Dr Federica Carugati (KCL) to discuss what monetary policy can tell us about premodern multilaterism.  The event will be chaired by Professor Olivier Accominotti (LSE).

Full details, including a link to the recording can be found here: The Holy Roman Empire

2024 OWL Workshop hosted at LSE

The department hosted the annual Oxford, Warwick and LSE (OWL) workshop on 8 November. This workshop is a great opportunity for economic historians and economists to get insights into the latest research in economic history. This year it included a keynote from Professor John Turner (Queen's University, Belfast), Capital Structures without Government Rules: Evidence from Victorian Britain. 

The full programme is available here: OWL 2024 programme

Financial History Group Inaugural Workshop

The Financial History Group, which brings together researchers exploring key questions in money and finance, will hold its inaugural workshop on 29 November 2024 at LSE. 

This event is by invitation only, but you can see the full programme here:  Workshop Programme

Handbook of the Economic History of Colonialism

The department will welcome contributors to The Handbook of the Economic History of Colonialism (Routledge 2025) on 13-14 December to attend a workshop. The book focuses on two major waves of European overseas colonialism: Americas (1490s-1820s) and Asia/Africa (1850s-1970s) and showcases new scholarship in the field.

Attendance is by invitation only but you can see the full programme here: Event programme