Nick Fitzhenry is a PhD candidate in Economic History at LSE, where his current research explores death, disease and healthcare during apartheid-era South Africa. His work examines how racial inequalities in mortality, healthcare access, and medical innovation shaped broader societal trends, focusing on the mid-20th century.
Using applied econometrics and historical demography, He aims to uncover the long-term impacts of apartheid health policies on spatial and racial disparities. His broader interests include the intersection of historical and contemporary health inequities, colonial medical histories, and the evolution of public health systems.
Alongside his research, he has been a Graduate Teaching Assistant for courses on EH238: The Origins of Growth and EH222: The Economic History of the Middle East and North Africa. He has also served as a departmental writing advisor, guiding students in crafting analytical essays and historical arguments.
He holds an MSc in Economic History (with Distinction) from the same institution. Before joining LSE, he gained a Master’s degree in Applied Economics (First Class) from the University of Cape Town (UCT), where he focused on econometrics and development economics. His undergraduate studies in Economics at UCT also included specialised coursework in constitutional law and property law.
Before the PhD, he worked as a research associate in organisations including the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU), where he conducted impact evaluations and constructing large-scale datasets for an evaluation of South Africa’s Land Restitution Programme. He also worked at What Works for Children’s Social Care in London, where he implemented quasi-experimental designs to evaluate social programmes in the care sector.
In addition to research, he has also overseen the department’s social media presence on X (formerly twitter) and YouTube, and served as an assistant to the editor for The Economic History Review. He is also on the advisory board of the Historical Economic Demography Group.
Provisional title for dissertation
- Essays on regional development in Southern Africa
Dissertation supervisors
- Dr Leigh Gardner, Professor Chris Minns
Curriculum Vitae
Personal website
Bluesky