LSE Department of Economic History

This week @nickfitzhenry.bsky.social, class teacher on the course "Economic History of the Middle East and North Africa", took his students on a field trip to see the Cambridge Cairo Genizah collection - famous from Greif's paper on The Maghribi Traders' Coalition - and the Fitzwilliam 📜🔎

Michio Morishima, economics and LSE - LSE History Michio Morishima (1923-2004) was an internationally renowned economist from Japan. He accepted his first post at LSE in 1970 and was founding Chair of STICERD research centre in 1978.

LSE marks 130 years celebrating scholars who shaped our history. @lseechist.bsky.social Prof Janet Hunter (former STICERD Deputy Director) reflects on Michio Morishima, whose vision and leadership founded STICERD as a successful multidisciplinary centre. blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsehistory/2...

@msaleh-econhistory.bsky.social will be one of the featured speakers at LSE's next World Cafe 🌍 event, 'Decolonising knowledge and education'. Open to all #LSE students and staff, you can find out more here: info.lse.ac.uk/staff/servic...

Do not miss out on this exciting event tomorrow evening with @msaleh-econhistory.bsky.social, @lsemiddleeast.bsky.social and the Cohesive Capitalism Programme 📖

@noahsutter.bsky.social spends his Christmas break reading "Midaq Alley". Naguib Mahfouz describes the (economic) life in an eponymous Cairo back street, teeming with barbers, innkeepers, businessmen, dentists etc., at the threshold to a new modern era. (10/10)

@marco-cokic.bsky.social goes home with "Murder at the Black Cat Cafe". This murder mystery is set in postwar Tokyo - bomb scarred and years before Japan's postwar economic miracle. Sleuth Kosuke Kindaichi has to solve the case of a murdered woman burried behind a notorious brothel. (9/10)

Zane's Secret Santa gift, Stefan Zweig's "Beware of Pity", is set in the waning days of Austria-Hungary. A young lieutenant gets engaged to the daughter of a Hungarian magnate. After tragedy strikes, he throws himself into the battles of World War I which is unfolding. (8/10)

@lbritzkat.bsky.social can call Christian Kracht's "Eurotrash" her own. The book is the story of a roadtrip of a writer son and his rich octogenarian mother through Switzerland - in their car: a bag full of soiled cash with a potentially ominous past in Nazi Germany. (7/10)

Greg got "Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows". When Nikki, a London law school dropout, finds herself in need of cash, she accepts a job teaching creative writing - the title indicates the twist this job will take - in her native Punjabi community in London. (6/10)

Eden gets to read "M: Son of the Century" by Antonio Scurati. The book recounts the story of the rise of Benito Mussolini, set against the backdrop of postwar economic woes and the "Red Biennial" of labour uprisings. (5/10)

@ohlerjohann.bsky.social goes into the Term Break with Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita". The devil and his cat Behemoth visit the Moscow of the 1930s, a city dominated by bureaucracy and supply shortages. At the centre: A love story between a poor writer and a rich married woman. (4/10)

Nicolas secured the classic Poirot murder mystery "Death on the Nile". On a ship full of wealthy British heiresses and American socialites, a murder taking place - against the backdrop of the faded gilded age in the interwar years and a de facto British protectorate. (3/10)

Gillian walks away with the Booker prize winning "The Remains of the Day". An Oxfordshire Manor that is sold to an American millionaire, who reduces staff and operations. A story of cultural capital and economic rationalization. (2/10)

Once again, our department's PhD students met for the annual Book Secret Santa. Our students have proven that their reading tastes cover a wide range of genres, periods, and topics... Many of them feature a connection to economic history and economic themes. Let's dive in! (1/10)

"The Making of the Modern Muslim State: Islam and Governance in the Middle East and North Africa" 7.00pm Wednesday 28 January | Malika Zeghal, Steffen Hertog, Mohamed Saleh | LSE

Join us and the @lsemiddleeast.bsky.social for the launch of Malika Zeghal's latest book "The Making of the Modern Muslim State: Islam and Governance in the Middle East and North Africa", moderated by @msaleh-econhistory.bsky.social.📕🌍 More info here: www.lse.ac.uk/middle-east-... #lseevents #lse

@patrickwallis.bsky.social's work on apprenticeship was featured in LSE's Research for the World magazine. Grab a coffee and read it here: lnkd.in/e3eiCFz9

The history of UK debt

Join us tomorrow for an exciting talk on the history of UK debt!

Just in time with current events, Professor Olivier Accominotti will lead the discussion on a historical intepretation and lessons to be learnt💷📈

Find out more here:
www.lse.ac.uk/economic-his...

#lse #econhist #ukdebt #chancellor

People in front of the portrait of the Arnolfini at the National Gallery, London

Class activity of the day: economic history themed visit of the National Gallery 🖼️🚂💰 @lseechist.bsky.social

What if socialism worked? - Economic History A common quip about socialism holds that “it works in theory but never in practice”. Magnus Neubert examines the merit of this saying by exploring how labour-managed socialism in Yugoslavia functioned...

Did #Socialism really fail at delivering economic results? In our newest #Blog, @neubertmagnus.bsky.social gives a more nuanced story showing the relative success of #Yugoslavia after 1945 📈
blogs.lse.ac.uk/economichist...

Excited to share my recent WP with Alan de Bromhead & @ronanlyons.bsky.social

Build Better Health: Evidence from Ireland on Housing Quality and Mortality

cepr.org/publications... via @cepr.org

And shoutout to former LSE Economic History staff and PhD students Stephen Broadberry,
@cliochris.bsky.social and @nunopgpalma.bsky.social who have been cited as well. The scientific statement can be found here: www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2025...

Big day for LSE and Economic History! Philippe Aghion (LSE Econ), Peter Howitt and Economic Historian Joel Mokyr were awarded this year's Sverige Riksbank (Nobel) Prize. On top of that, our recent PhD graduate (2024)
@juliuskoschnick.bsky.social has been cited in the scientific statement 🥳

Economic History Seminars 2025-26 Economic History Seminars 2025-26: Sharing global expertise

I had a great time presenting at the @lseechist.bsky.social faculty seminar yesterday; grateful for their tolerance of my cultural history (including invocations of Benjamin…).

Best of all: thanks to their PhD students, who were fantastic!

www.lse.ac.uk/economic-his...

The Academy of Social Sciences welcomes 63 leading social scientists to its Fellowship this autumn – Academy of Social Sciences

Find out more here: acss.org.uk/news/the-aca... (3/3)

Fellows are selected for their substantial contributions to the field in a range of areas, and they highlight the importance, breadth and relevance of the social sciences to understanding and tackling the varied challenges facing society today (2/3)

We are delighted to announce that Olivier Accominotti, @leighgardnereh.bsky.social and @ericbschneider.bsky.social have been elected as Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences, @acadsocsciences.bsky.social 🥳🎓 (1/3)

Join this exciting project at the LSE with @ericbschneider.bsky.social and @hggaddy.bsky.social on mortality estimates 📊

What is the significance of Indian textiles in global economic history? Co-organising a one-day workshop with Tirthankar Roy on the topic, to mark the launch of the new book ‘Textiles from Bengal’. Limited places available, book via link👇
www.lse.ac.uk/Economic-His...

Did China’s One-Child Policy Narrow the Gender Gap in Education? - Economic History "By enforcing strict family planning in cities, the government inadvertently created a generation where daughters received the same educational opportunities as sons." "By enforcing strict family plan...

3/3 While controversial for many reasons, the one-child policy had unexpected effects. Jie Jiao’s research highlights how it unintentionally boosted girls’ education.
Read more 👉 blogs.lse.ac.uk/economichist...
#econhist #lse #china #lseblog

2/3 Jiao finds that the policy increased educational investment in girls. Historically, Chinese families favoured sons over daughters. This preference meant that boys were more likely to receive education. By restricting most families to a single child, the OCP has changed this dynamic.