Aristeidis Grivokostopoulos is a PhD candidate in Economic History. His research focuses on the economic and political history of Greece during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He aims to examine the political economy of sovereign debt and monetary institutions in late 19th-century Europe, focusing in particular on the case of Greece. Drawing on a wide range of archival sources — from parliamentary debates to diplomatic records — he investigates how changing geopolitics, financial conditions and domestic politics influenced fiscal and monetary decision-making. He intends to make use of the latest tools in large scale textual analysis, such as the application of large language models (LLMs), to map the pressures and choices faced by Greek policymakers. 

Prior to the PhD, he completed his MSc in Financial History at LSE, where his dissertation was on the arrival of the Great Depression in Greece in 1931, systematically analysing correspondence between the Bank of Greece, and its counterparties, at the time. Before joining academia, he worked in the financial services and technology, for industry-leading companies such as Morgan Stanley and Creandum. Outside of his doctoral research, he has played an active role in the student and professional community of Greeks in London, organising speaker events and conferences.

Research Interests

• Political economy of sovereign debt and default
• Monetary institutions and central banking in historical perspective
• Fiscal state capacity and taxation in late 19th-century Europe
• Economic development and modernization in Southeastern Europe