Economic History
Summary
Economic history examines how production, exchange and institutions evolve over time, shaping societies and livelihoods across regions and eras. It explores the causes and consequences of economic growth, inequality and crises—from the adoption of new technologies and the expansion of trade networks to the impact of wars, pandemics and financial shocks. By investigating how markets integrate, how states intervene and how cultural norms influence economic behaviour, the field illuminates the interplay between material forces and human agency. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative methods, economic historians reconstruct past economies to inform contemporary debates on development, resilience and policy design.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent field evidence demonstrates that agrarian regimes can mould social preferences within a single generation. In state farms where individuals were quasi-randomly assigned to rice or wheat cultivation, rice farmers displayed stronger group loyalty and relational thought styles than wheat farmers, highlighting how labour intensity and irrigation interdependence shape economic cooperation and institutional trust.
Analysis of border-spanning mortality during the 1918–1920 influenza pandemic reveals that countries suffering higher excess deaths subsequently raised tariffs more sharply than their peers. This finding shows that non-military shocks can trigger protectionist spirals, underscoring the need for multilateral coordination in the aftermath of global health crises.
Economic History publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in economic history across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Tariff: A tax levied on imported goods that alters relative prices and influences trade flows.
Market integration: The extent to which identical commodities command similar prices across different locations.
Protectionism: The use of trade barriers—such as tariffs and quotas—to shield domestic industries from foreign competition.
Price volatility: The degree of fluctuation in commodity prices over time, reflecting market stability or risk.
Collectivism: A cultural orientation that emphasises group cohesion, shared responsibility and interdependence in economic and social relations.
References
- People quasi-randomly assigned to farm rice are more collectivistic than people assigned to farm wheat. Nature Communications (2024).
- Pandemics and protectionism: evidence from the “Spanish” flu. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2021).
- Reassessing grain price variability in early modern Europe (c. 1500–1800). European Economic Review (2024).
- State formation and market integration: Germany, 1780–1830. Journal of Comparative Economics (2023).
- Late Homesteading: Native Land Dispossession through Strategic Occupation. American Political Science Review (2024).
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