To date, much of the research on the health transition has focussed on Europe and North America. Thus, the experience of the health transition in the Global North is often contrasted with that of the Global South: the transition in the Global South happened later, happened more quickly and was more strongly influenced by medical innovations and global health campaigns than the transition in the Global North. While there is truth in this description, the North-South dichotomy may underemphasise the variation in the health transition within the Global South. For instance, mortality decline in the Caribbean (Cuba, Puerto Rico and Jamaica) began in the early twentieth century and child stunting rates were far lower there than in countries with similar levels of income in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia (Riley 2005; Schneider et al. 2024).
This workshop seeks to understand these variations within the Global South by bringing together researchers studying a wide range of contexts. By emphasising a South-South comparison (Frankema 2024), it hopes to shift our default reference from the Global North and yield insights into key questions about how the health transition varied across populations. Thus, we are seeking papers studying the following questions: 1) what explains the heterogeneity in the timing of the health transition across the Global South; 2) how did colonialism shape the health transition in the Global South; and 3) what were the main drivers of the health transition in the Global South. Studies can either include cross-country comparisons or focus on the health transition in one country or context. We also welcome both quantitative and qualitative approaches to these questions with the aim of hearing different perspectives from economic historians, development economists, historical demographers and historians of medicine and health.
Submission: Please submit a 300-500 word abstract by 3 February 2025 using the form at the following link: https://forms.gle/RaLLP7w129aKMzTe9. We will send notification of acceptance by 7 February.
Funding: The workshop is sponsored by the LSE Historical Economic Demography Group, and we are seeking additional funding (to be confirmed) to cover the workshop fee and meals during the workshop for all participants. Unfortunately, we are not able to cover travel or accommodation costs for the workshop.
Neil Cummins, Professor of Economic History and Co-Director of the LSE Historical Economic Demography, (http://neilcummins.com/)
Eric Schneider Professor of Economic History and Co-Director of the LSE Historical Economic Demography, (https://www.ericbschneider.com/)