Department News 2024-25

Research Showcase: 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.

You can sign up for this event here: How apprenticeship helped transform pre-modern England

New Year's Honours awarded to Professor Mary Morgan and Economic History alum Dr Loyd Grossman

We are delighted to announce that Professor Mary Morgan has been awarded an OBE in the New Years Honours list in recognition of her services “to the Economics Profession and to Social Science”. Professor Morgan commented on her award that  “[m]y research aims have been to illuminate the various ways that social science, particularly economics, has played in shaping the ways our societies are organised and governed; and thence to frame these insights in ways that might help society make good use of our social sciences in the future. My service to the RES especially has provided a stronger sense of that mission and its importance.  I am delighted that my service and contributions to social science and the economics profession have been honoured in this way.”

More details of Professor Morgan's award can be found here: New Year's Honours for LSE 2025 

Honours also went to alum Dr Loyd Grossman, who was awarded a Knight's Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire.  Dr Grossman received an MSc in Economic History from LSE in 1977. Full details of his award can be found here: New Year's Honours 2025 

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

Economic HIstory graduate Kirill Kushnarev wins 2024 ESCoE prize 

Recent MSc Economic History graduate, Kirill Kushnarev is the winner of the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE)'s challenge to write a blog using sources in the UK Historical Data repository. The challenge is part of EXCoE's recently launched master's dissertation programme.

Kirill's winning entry is on labour market concentration since the British Industrial Revolution. He talks about his findings and the use of historic repository sources in this short video : 

Kirill Kushnarev talks about his research and experience on the ESCoE programme

You can read Kirill's blog, plus more information about the prize here: Labour market concentration since the British Industrial Revolution 

Professor Patrick Wallis named President of the Economic History Society

Congratulations to Patrick, who will begin his three-year term in April 2025. 

You can read more details here: https://ehs.org.uk/election-ehs-president-and-honorary-secretary/

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.

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  

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 participate in 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

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

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

 Oliver Volckart interview on New Books Network 

Listen to a recent interview with Oliver about his recent book, The Silver Empire: Link to the podcast 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).

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