Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP15795
Authors: Giovanni Federico; Alberto Bisin
Abstract: The relationship between history and economics as academic disciplines ismethodologically subtle and sociologically contested. If the Cliometric revolutioncan be characterized as an acquisition of economics by history, the mostrecent trends in Historical Economics appear to turn this relationship on itshead. In this Introduction we read the chapters of the Handbook as a forcefulargument in favor of a merger between the two disciplines rather than the acquisitionof one by the other; a merger which combines, notably, the detailedknowledge of historical sources, the capability of distilling complex historicalprocesses into a model, and the statistical/econometric skills for identificationand estimation.
Keywords: economic history; cliometrics; persistence studies
JEL Codes: N00; B40
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| historical context (B15) | current socioeconomic dynamics (P17) |
| historical treatments (B15) | present-day outcomes (P17) |
| type of colonial institutions established during the colonial era (F54) | current GDP per capita (E20) |