(7) Economic History
Questions about the topics within the subject area of Economic History should be directed to: Paul Richard Sharp, Department of Economics, e-mail: pauls@sam.sdu.dk
All topics in this subject area can be written in English or Danish.
7.1 Den store depression
Den store depression i 1930’erne står som den vel nok mest centrale makroøkonomiske begivenhed i det 20 århundrede. Depression kan faktisk siges at have givet anledning til fremkomsten af makroøkonomi som en selvstændig disciplin. Desuden var læren fra depression helt afgørende for udformningen af krisepolitikker i forbindelse med krisen i 2008; direktøren for den amerikanske centralbank, Ben Bernanke, var netop også ekspert på depressionen. De store spørgsmål som kan danne ramme for et BA projekt er følgende: Hvad forårsagede krisen, hvorfor blev den så dyb og langvarig, hvorfor spredte den sig globalt, og hvad afsluttede den?
Litteratur:
Romer, C., 1993. The Nation in Depression. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 7(3), 19-39
7.2 Kolonitidens indflydelse på den tredje verdens fattigdom
Mange af den vestlige verdens tidligere kolonier er i dag præget af stor fattigdom og manglende økonomisk udvikling. Ligger kimen til den tredje verdens manglende økonomiske formåen i kolonitiden? Skal vi se på den vestlige verdens hidtidige udnyttelse (udpining) af koloniernes ressourcer eller introduktionen af vestlige institutioner i strid med traditionelle kulturelle samfundsnormer, som bagvedliggende, men fundamentale årsager til den tredje verdens manglende udvikling i dag? Hvis den tredje verdens fattigdom har stærke rødder i kolonitiden, hvilke samfundsøkonomiske konsekvenser bør det så have for den vestlige verden? Hvilke former for kompensation bør vi tilbyde den tredje verden i forhold til, hvad vi tilbyder i dag?
Litteratur:
Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (2001): The colonial original of comparative development: an empirical investigation, the American Economic Review 91, 1369-1401.
Nunn (2008): The long term effects of Africa's slave trade, the Quarterly Journal of Economics 123, 139-176.
7.3 Agriculture, Development, and the Industrialization Process
To look at the role of agriculture for development, and in particular the industrialization process. Agriculture’s role here is usually considered to be to: 1) Increase productivity, so workers can move to the towns; 2) Provide capital for urban occupations through saving; 3) Earn foreign currency, so machines etc. can be bought from abroad; and 4) Provide a market for domestic manufactures. The project might for example examine those claims and look at examples of countries that have broken the mold by developing with agriculture leading the way. Denmark is of particular interest here.
Literature:
Broadberry, S. and K.H. O’Rourke eds. (2010). The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Europe, Volume 1: 1700-1870. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chapter 6
Henriksen, I. (1993). ‘The transformation of Danish agriculture’ in K.G. Persson (ed.). The Economic Development of Denmark and Norway since 1870. Aldershot: Edward Elgar
Papers by Paul Sharp and others on Denmark’s economic history, see: www.keynes.dk
7.4 Geography of artistic activity: Searching for determinants
Artistic activity has seen remarkable geographic clustering throughout history. Little is however known on the determinants of these clustering patterns. Why was, for example, Paris so important for classical composers in the 19th century, whereas Amsterdam, an equally wealthy, large city, played hardly a role within the field of music. For a sample of European cities, student’s research should explore the extent and variety of:
1. relevant cultural infrastructure (e.g. concert halls),
2. related supply industries (e.g. sheet music producers),
3. educational facilitates (e.g. music conservatories), etc.
Literature:
Birth Location, Migration and Clustering of Important Composers: Historical Patterns, joint with John O'Hagan,
Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, 2010, 43(2): 81-91.
Historical Patterns Based on Automatically Extracted Data: the Case of Classical Composers, joint with John O'Hagan (TCD), Historical Social Research (Section 'Cliometrics'), 2012, 37(2): 298-314.
7.5 CREATIVITY - What determines it and how can we support it?
Creativity is “driving the economy, reshaping entire industries and stimulating inclusive growth” (OECD, 2014). Creative and cultural sectors are seen as “the key ingredient for job creation, innovation and trade” (UNCTAD, 2010) and are believed to constitute opportunities for developing countries to leapfrog into emerging high-growth areas of the world economy. The presence of creative people is conducive to economic development (e.g., Florida, 2002) and is correlated with city growth (Gergaud, 2016). The role of creativity is recognized by Danish authorities, who have the ambition to create Europe’s best environment for stimulating the growth of creative sectors and believe that this may benefit not only the economy but also the environment (Erhvervsstyrelsen, 2013).
Despite the remarkable importance of creativity, social science research has largely refrained from studying it. Student’s theses could investigate the long-term development, geographic coverage, and individual motivations to engage in creative activity, as well as how human interplay relates to these dynamics.
Literature:
Erhvervsstyrelsen, Erhvervs- og Vækstministeriet. Vækstplan for kreative erhverv og design, 2013.
Florida, Richard, The rise of the creative class: And how it's transforming work, leisure, community, and everyday life, New York: Basic Books, 2002.
Gergaud, Olivier, Morgane Laouenan and Etienne Wasmer, “A Brief History of Human Time: Exploring a database of notable people,” Sciences Po Economics Discussion Papers No 2016-03, 2016.
OECD, Resilient Economies for Inclusive Societies, Paris: OECD, 2014.
UNCTAD, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Creative Economy Report 2010. Creative Economy: A Feasible Development Option. Geneva: United Nations, 2010.
7.6 Sundhed og langsigtet økonomisk udvikling
Er sundere befolkninger også lig med rigere befolkninger? Projektet kunne indeholde en undersøgelse af sammenhængen mellem mål for sundhed som forventet levetid og BNP capita eller undersøge indførslen af medicinske teknologier på sundhed og udvikling. Konkrete eksempler ville inkludere sammenhængen mellem fremkomsten af moderne medicin og uddannelse og udvikling. Alternativt kunne man kigge på indførslen af offentlige goder som påvirker sundhed som f.eks. hospitaler, rent vand osv.
Litteratur:
Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S. (2007). Disease and development: The effect of life expectancy on economic growth. Journal of Political Economy 115(6), 925-985.
Cutler, D., Miller, G. (2005). THE ROLE OF PUBLIC HEALTH IMPROVEMENTS IN HEALTH ADVANCES: THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY UNITED STATES. Demography.
Weil, D.N. (2009). Health and Economic Growth. Durlauf, S.N., Aghion P. (eds.) Handbook of Economic Growth, North-Holland, Netherlands.
7.8 Human capital and Long-run Economic Growth
The effect of human capital on growth involves multiple channels. On the one hand, an increase in human capital can directly affect economic growth by enhancing labor productivity. On the other hand, human capital is an important input into R&D processes, thus increasing labor productivity indirectly by accelerating technological change. Furthermore, different types of human capital such as basic and higher education can play different roles in both production and innovation activities. The research should explore to what extent and which forms of human capital affected labor productivity in historical perspective. Alternatively, the research can investigate how human capital affected the process of innovation.
Literature:
Squicciarini M. and N. Voigtlaender (2015), Human Capital and Industrialization: Evidence from the Age of Enlightenment, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130, 1825-1883.
Cinnirella, F. and J. Streb (2017), The Role of Human Capital and Innovation in Economic Development: Evidence from post-Malthusian Prussia, Journal of Economic Growth, 22, 193-227.
5.13 Causes and effects of the demographic transition
The demographic transition is the change to an equilibrium characterised by low fertility and low mortality. Together with the industrial revolution, the demographic transition is one of the most important events in history. Understanding the socio-economic determinants which caused the demographic transition is therefore of great importance for a better understanding of long-run economic growth. The research could study the role of (i) human capital, (ii) health, (iii) labor markets, (iv) or cultural norms in the demographic transition. Short and long-run effects of the demographic transition constitute another research topic.
Literature:
Galor, O. (2012), The Demographic Transition: Causes and Consequences, Cliometrica, 6, 1-28.
Guinnane, T. (2011), The Historical Fertility Transition: A Guide for Economists, Journal of Economic Literature, 49, 589-614.
5.14 Refugee migrants and their impact on native workers: The Danish experience after WWII
Today, almost 70 million people around the world have been forced from home. Among them are 25 million refugees (UNHCR, 2018). Confronted with these huge number of refugee migrants, there is a lively debate among policymakers in host countries whether and at what speed refugees assimilate and whether they are benefitting or harming native workers. Despite the high-policy relevance, there is still relatively little economic research on this population. Since refugee migration is not only a current phenomenon, it could be useful to analyze the economic impact of refugees in historical settings. One suggested research avenue for students is to (i) document the waves of refugee immigration to Denmark after WWII and (ii) to investigate how refugees affected labor market outcomes of native workers. Some interesting historical case studies for Denmark include the admission of Hungarian refugees after the Hungarian uprising in 1956 or the accommodation of Polish Jews between 1969-1972 following some anti-Semitic campaigns in Poland.
Literature:
Cortes, Kalena. 2004. “Are Refugees Different from Economic Immigrants? Some Empirical Evidence on the Heterogeneity of Immigrant Groups in the United States.” Review of Economics and Statistics 86 (2): 465-80.
Damm, Anna Piil. 2009. “Ethnic Enclaves and Immigrant Labor Market Outcomes: Quasi‐Experimental Evidence.” Journal of Labor Economics 27 (2): 281-314
Foged, M. and Peri, G., 2016. Immigrants' effect on native workers: New analysis on longitudinal data. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 8(2), pp.1-34.
7.9 Årsager og effekter af indkomstulighed
Der har i de seneste årtier været stigende ulighed i indkomsten i mange lande hvilket har øget interessen omkring årsagerne bag denne udvikling og dens betydning for økonomisk vækst.
Et bachelorprojekt kunne indeholde en af følgende analyser:
• Beskrive en eller flere teorier for øget ulighed og forsøge at teste deres validitet med en empirisk analyse
• Beskrive en eller flere teorier for øget ulighed og forsøge at teste deres validitet med simulationer af en teoretisk model
• Analysere sammenhænge mellem indkomstulighed og økonomisk vækst på tværs af forskellige landegrupper og over forskellige tidsperioder med en empirisk analyse
• Analysere sammenhænge mellem indkomstulighed og ulighed i sundhed på tværs af forskellige landegrupper og over forskellige tidsperioder med en empirisk analyse
• Beskrive forskellige mål for ulighed og analysere deres styrker og svagheder
Litteratur:
Alvaredo, F., Chancel, L., Piketty, T., Saez, E., & Zucman, G. (Eds.). (2018). World inequality report 2018. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Barro, R. J. (2000). Inequality and Growth in a Panel of Countries. Journal of economic growth, 5(1), 5-32.
Bivens, J., & Mishel, L. (2013). The pay of corporate executives and financial professionals as evidence of rents in top 1 percent incomes. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 27(3), 57-78.
Corak, M. (2013). Income inequality, equality of opportunity, and intergenerational mobility. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 27(3), 79-102.
De Maio, F. G. (2007). Income inequality measures. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 61(10), 849-852.
Deaton, A. (2014). Inevitable inequality? Science 23, 344( 6186), pp. 783
Forbes, K. J. (2000). A reassessment of the relationship between inequality and growth. American economic review, 90(4), 869-887.
Galor, O., & Moav, O. (2004). From physical to human capital accumulation: Inequality and the process of development. The Review of Economic Studies, 71(4), 1001-1026.
Goldin, C., & Katz, L. F. (2007). The race between education and technology: the evolution of US educational wage differentials, 1890 to 2005 (No. w12984). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Jones, C. I. (2015).Pareto and Piketty: The Macroeconomics of Top Income and Wealth Inequality. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 29 (1): 29-46.
Ostry, M. J. D., Berg, M. A., & Tsangarides, M. C. G. (2014). Redistribution, inequality, and growth. International Monetary Fund.
Peltzman, S. (2009) Mortality Inequality." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 23 (4): 175-90.
Piketty, T., & Saez, E. (2014). Inequality in the long run. Science, 344(6186), 838-843.
Piketty, T., & Zucman, G. (2014). Capital is back: Wealth-income ratios in rich countries 1700–2010. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 129(3), 1255-1310.
7.10 Epidemier og deres økonomiske effekter
Som følge af Covid-19 epidemien er der opstået fornyet interesse i hvordan økonomien påvirkes af pandemier. En opgave om epidemier kan fokusere på deres kortsigtede effekter på økonomisk aktivitet og dermed arbejdsløshed eller deres mere langsigtede konsekvenser.
Lige nu er vi som samfund optaget af hvor lang tid epidemien vil vare og en opgave som ser på dette kunne tage udgangspunkt i den spanske syge (1918-1920) eller en anden historisk epidemi. En anden mulighed vil være at studere hvordan den nuværende epidemi har påvirket den kortsigtede økonomiske udvikling på tværs af lande. En tredje mulighed vil være at undersøge om der er mere langsigtede konsekvenser af epidemier for uddannelse og produktivitet.
Litteratur:
Barro, Robert, Jose F. Ursua, and Joanna Weng, The Coronavirus and the Great Influenza Pandemic:
Lessons from the Spanish Flu for the Coronavirus Potential Effects on Mortality and Economic
Activity," Technical Report, National Bureau of Economic Research 2020.
COVID Economics
DET KORTE OG MELLEMLANGE SIGT
Den store depression (vejleder: Thomas Barnebeck Andersen)Den store depression i 1930’erne står som den vel nok mest centrale makroøkonomiske begivenhed i det 20 århundrede. Depression kan faktisk siges at have givet anledning til fremkomsten af makroøkonomi som en selvstændig disciplin. Desuden var læren fra depression helt afgørende for udformningen af krisepolitikker i forbindelse med krisen i 2008; direktøren for den amerikanske centralbank, Ben Bernanke, var netop også ekspert på depressionen. Det samme var formanden for præsident Obamas økonomiske rådgivere, Christina Romer. De store spørgsmål, som kan danne ramme for et BA-projekt, er følgende: Hvad forårsagede krisen? Hvorfor blev den så dyb og langvarig? Hvorfor spredte den sig globalt? Hvad afsluttede den?
Readings:
Romer, C 1990, ‘The Great Crash and the Onset of the Great Depression’, Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 105, no. 3, pp. 597-624.
Romer, C 1992, ‘What Ended the Great Depression’, Journal of Economic History, vol. 52, no. 4, pp. 757-784.
Romer, C. 1993, ‘The Nation in Depression’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 19-39.
Flydende versus faste valutakurser: En empirisk undersøgelse (vejleder: Thomas Barnebeck Andersen)
Vi ved fra empiriske studier, at lande med faste valutakurser har klaret sig dårligere gennem finanskrisen end lande med flydende valutakurser. Et forsigtigt skøn er, at de faste valutakurser har barberet omkring et procentpoint af væksten hvert år i perioden 2008-13. Ny forskning viser også, at recessioner typisk er efterfulgt af perioder med vedvarende lave BNP-niveauer og vækstrater. Forklaringen er, at recessioner kan forårsage kronisk skade på økonomien. Det vil derfor være interessant at opdatere et eksisterende økonometrisk studie af sammenhængen mellem valutakursregime og vækst efter krisen med de nyeste data for at undersøge, om forskellene i økonomiske vækst mellem 2008-13 stadigvæk kan ses i opdaterede data.
Readings:
Andersen, TB, Malchow-Møller, N & Nordvig, J 2015, ‘Inflation targeting and macroeconomic performance since the Great Recession’, Oxford Economic Papers, vol. 67, no. 3, pp. 598-613.
DET LANGE SIGT
Kolonitidens indflydelse på den tredje verdens fattigdom (vejleder: Thomas Barnebeck Andersen)
Mange af den vestlige verdens tidligere kolonier er i dag præget af stor fattigdom og manglende økonomisk udvikling. Ligger kimen til den tredje verdens manglende økonomiske formåen i kolonitiden? Skal vi se på den vestlige verdens hidtidige udnyttelse af koloniernes ressourcer eller introduktionen af vestlige institutioner i strid med traditionelle kulturelle samfundsnormer, som bagvedliggende (men fundamentale) årsager til den tredje verdens manglende udvikling i dag? Hvis verdens fattigdom i dag har stærke rødder i kolonitiden, hvilke implikationer har det så for formuleringen af den økonomiske politik i fattige lande?
Readings:
Acemoglu, D, Johnson, S & Robinson, J 2001, ‘The colonial original of comparative development: an empirical investigation’, American Economic Review, vol. 91, no 6, pp. 1369-1401.
Albouy, D 2012, ‘The colonial origins of comparative development: an empirical investigation: comment’, American Economic Review, vol. 102, no. 5, pp. 3059-3076.
Bertocchi, G & Canova, F 2002, ‘Did colonization matter for growth?: An empirical exploration into the historical causes of Africa's underdevelopment’, European Economic Review, vol. 46, no. 10, pp. 1851-1871.
Easterly, W & Levine, R 2016, ‘The European Origins of Economic Development’, Journal of Economic Growth, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 225-257.
Demokrati og økonomisk vækst (vejleder: Thomas Barnebeck Andersen)
Et af de mest fascinerende temaer økonomer har undersøgt, er sammenhængen mellem demokrati økonomisk vækst. Der er en klar positiv sammenhæng mellem graden af demokrati og BNP per indbygger. Men skyldes dette den demokratiske styreform, eller skyldes det andre underliggende faktorer, som også forklarer graden af demokrati?
Readings:
Acemoglu, D, Naidu, S, Restrepo, P & Robinson JA 2019, ‘Democracy Does Cause Growth’, Journal of Political Economy, vol. 127, no. 1, pp. 47-100.
Sen, K, Pritchett, L, Kar, S & Raihan, R 2018, ‘Democracy Versus Dictatorship? The Political Determinants of Growth Episodes’, Journal of Development Perspectives, Vol. 2, No. 1-2 (2018), pp. 3-28
Inequality and demographic change (supervisor Nina Boberg-Fazlic)
Income inequality is increasing in most developed countries and has done so at least for decades. A large part of the story appears to be inherited wealth. What is the role of demography in this development? Is increasing inequality inevitable in an ageing society with low and often still decreasing fertility rates? Higher life expectancy also implies a longer timespan to accumulate wealth, which can be passed on to the next generation. And how can policy address these issues?
Literature:
European Commission (2013). Demography and inequality: How Europe’s changing population will impact on income inequality.
Mather, M. and B. Jarosz (2019). Demography of inequality. In: Handbook of Population, Poston, Jr., Dudley L. (Eds.). Springer.
Measures of wealth beyond GDP (supervisor Nina Boberg-Fazlic)
GDP is most often used as the single indicator of national wealth. It does, however, only describe market output. In recent years, discussions have evolved whether other measures should be included such as health, access to health care, inequality, leisure to name just a few. How can we measure wealth in a changing society? Progressing climate change makes this question ever more relevant. How do we include sustainability in our measure of wealth? How would we measure growth according to these measures?
Literature:
OECD (2018). Beyond GDP: Measuring what counts for economic and social performance, OECD Publishing.
Stiglitz, J. E., J.-P. Fitoussi, and M. Durand (2019). Measuring What Counts: The Global Movement for Well-Being. The New Press.
Economic Development by Decentralizing Government Employment (supervisor Timo Friedel Mitze)
Urbanization is a global trend in terms of economic development stressing agglomeration economics. This has fostered concerns of economic inequality across geographies. A suggested policy measure in that regard is the decentralization of government employment. This has been argued to result in possible crowding-out and multiplier effects for studies based in the UK. A series of review in the UK have resulted in decentralization of a large number of government employed particularly following the most recent Lyons Review. Most recently, the Danish government has suggested a decentralization of about 3900 government jobs proposing that this might be a first step to secure economic development across Danish regions (see e.g. http://politik.tv2.dk/2015-10-01-faa-det-fulde- overblik-her-er-de-statslige-job-der-skal-flyttes). This asks the question, to which extent the lessons from UK studies can be implied directly into a Danish context to assess the policy of the Danish Government reflecting on differences in housing markets, commuting propensities and labor market regulations. What can be expected from an ex ante perspective from such policies in a Danish context?
References:
Faggio, G., 2015. Relocation of Public Sector Workers: Evaluating a place-based policy. SERC Discussion Paper 155, http://www.spatialeconomics.ac.uk/textonly/SERC/publications/download/sercdp0155.pdf
Faggio, G., Overman, H., 2014. The Effect of Public Sector Employment on Local Labour Markets, Journal of Urban Economics 79, 91–107.
Mest Begunstigelsesprincippet (Most Favored Nation Principle) i GATT/WTO- systemet (vejleder Timo Friedel Mitze)
Et bærende princip for handelsliberalisering i WTO er ’mest begunstigelses princippet’, der forpligtet medlemslande til at udstrække bilaterale toldnedsættelser til alle medlemslade af WTO. Derved undgås diskriminerende handelsliberalisering. Princippet kan gøres til genstand for flere interessante økonomiske analyser f. eks af princippets velfærdsteoretiske aspekter, ’free rider’ problemet for de lande, der uden modydelser kan eksportere til lavere toldsatser. På det administrative plan kan analyseres landes muligheder for manipulation med princippet gennem eksempelvis afgrænsningen af varebegrebet eller henvisning til national sikkerhed. Emnet relatere sig til en stadig ændring i toldsatser mellem lande – eksempelvis USA’s forhøjelser overfor Kina og EU i 2018-2019, hvorvidt disse følger MFN princippet og de forventede velfærdskonsekvenser. Desuden relaterer emnet sig til relationen mellem ’mest begunstigelses princippet’ i forhold til institutioner til regional handelsintegration som NAFTA, EU og CPTPP. Disse forhold kan empirisk undersøges via ’gravitations ligningen’ og lignende.
References:
Horn H., og P.C Mavroidis (2001), ‘Economic and Legal Aspects of the Most Favored Nation Clause’, European Journal of Political Economy, 17, pp. 233-279.
Schwartz W.F. og A.O. Sykes, (1996), ‘Towards a Positive Theory of the Most Favored Nation Obligation and its Exceptions in the WTO/GATT system’, International Review of Law and Economics, 16, pp. 27-51.
Det vil være en fordel at have fulgt faget ”International Økonomi”.
MAKRORELATEDE EMNER
CREATIVITY - What determines it and how can we support it? (supervisor Karol Jan Borowiecki)
Creativity is “driving the economy, reshaping entire industries and stimulating inclusive growth” (OECD, 2014). Creative and cultural sectors are seen as “the key ingredient for job creation, innovation and trade” (UNCTAD, 2010) and are believed to constitute opportunities for developing countries to leapfrog into emerging high-growth areas of the world economy. The presence of creative people is conducive to economic development (e.g., Florida, 2002) and is correlated with city growth (Gergaud, 2016). The role of creativity is recognized by Danish authorities, who have the ambition to create Europe’s best environment for stimulating the growth of creative sectors and believe that this may benefit not only the economy but also the environment (Erhvervsstyrelsen, 2013).
Despite the remarkable importance of creativity, social science research has largely refrained from studying it. Student’s theses could investigate the long-term development, geographic coverage, and individual motivations to engage in creative activity, as well as how human interplay relates to these dynamics.
References:
Erhvervsstyrelsen, Erhvervs- og Vækstministeriet. Vækstplan for kreative erhverv og design, 2013.
Florida, Richard, The rise of the creative class: And how it's transforming work, leisure, community, and everyday life, New York: Basic Books, 2002.
Gergaud, Olivier, Morgane Laouenan and Etienne Wasmer, “A Brief History of Human Time: Exploring a database of notable people,” Sciences Po Economics Discussion Papers No 2016-03, 2016.
OECD, Resilient Economies for Inclusive Societies, Paris: OECD, 2014.
UNCTAD, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Creative Economy Report 2010. Creative Economy: A Feasible Development Option. Geneva: United Nations, 2010.
Geography of artistic activity: Searching for determinants (supervisor Karol Jan Borowiecki)
Artistic activity has seen remarkable geographic clustering throughout history. Little is however known on the determinants of these clustering patterns. Why was, for example, Paris so important for classical composers in the 19th century, whereas Amsterdam, an equally wealthy, large city, played hardly a role within the field of music. For a sample of European cities, student’s research should explore the extent and variety of:
1. relevant cultural infrastructure (e.g. concert halls),
2. related supply industries (e.g. sheet music producers),
3. educational facilitates (e.g. music conservatories), etc.
References
Birth Location, Migration and Clustering of Important Composers: Historical Patterns, joint with John O'Hagan,
Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, 2010, 43(2): 81-91.
Historical Patterns Based on Automatically Extracted Data: the Case of Classical Composers, joint with John O'Hagan (TCD), Historical Social Research (Section 'Cliometrics'), 2012, 37(2): 298-314.
Nina Boberg-Fazlic
Emigration and development
While lots is written about immigration and the media are filled with heated discussions about the topic, not so much is written about the effects of emigration, i.e. the effects on the sending country. What does it mean for a country when a (large) part of the population leaves? One could look at this by historical examples. During the late 19th and early 20th century, over 300,000 Danes chose to leave Denmark in search for a better life overseas, mainly in the U.S. What role did this play in Danish development? Did it lead to labour shortages? If yes, what was the impact on wages and possibly the adoption of labour-saving technologies? One could also take more recent examples of emigration, for example, in the light of a “brain drain” in many Eastern European countries.
Literature:
Hatton, T. J. and J. G. Williamson (1998). The Age of Mass Migration: Causes and Economic Impact. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dinkelman, T. and M. Mariotti (2016). The long-run effects of labor migration on human capital formation in communities of origin. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 8 (4), 1-35.
Karadja, M. and E. Prawitz (2019). Exit, voice, and political change: Evidence from Swedish mass migration to the United States. Journal of Political Economy 127 (4), 1864-1925.
Technological change and female labour market participation
Historically, women were mainly involved in home production. With industrialization and production moving to the factories, women were pushed out of the labour market. In the beginning of the 20th century, technological innovations in the household might have had the opposite effect. Reducing the burden of housework, might have increased female labour market participation. Can parallels be drawn from these developments to today’s developments of digitalization? Will more flexibility and remote work again impact female labour market participation? Projects could draw on theories of technological change or on empirical evidence. Possibly, Instead of focusing on labour market participation, one could also look at the effects on fertility.
Literature:
Juhász, R., M. P. Squicciarini and N. Voigtländer (2021). Away from home and back: Coordinating (remote) workers in 1800 and 2020. CAGE working paper no. 535.
Coen-Pirania, D., A. León, and S. Lugauer (2010). The effect of household appliances on female labor force participation: Evidence from microdata. Labour Economics, Vol. 17, Issue 3, pp. 503-513.
OECD (2017). Going Digital: The Future of Work for Women. Policy Brief on the Future of Work.
Volha (Olga) Lazuka
Early-Life Factors and Their Effects throughout the Life Cycle
How we live today is determined not only by what is happening today but also by events or living conditions in childhood and adolescence. At least 50% of our earnings is determined by circumstances before the age of 18 (Huggett et al. 2011). These circumstances are called cohort factors in economic history when they relate to a group of people born in a particular period, for instance, a disease outbreak, such as Spanish flu in 1918, or an episode of hunger, such as the blockade of St. Petersburg during the WWII. These negative events have been found to be related to health and performance in adulthood in many countries, including developed and developing ones. Not only epidemics and famines matter starting from early life, but also family conditions, such as a number of siblings or the presence of a father, or a social class of a family to which you were born. To perform the analysis of early-life factors, it is usually important to have an individual-level data, but it is easy to access the one for almost any country. Dependent on the type of the early-life circumstances, you can use either controlling for observables or quasi-experimental methods (difference-in-differences). The student can choose any country and any early-life circumstance to work with.
Literature:
Huggett, M, G Ventura, and A Yaron (2011). Sources of Lifetime Inequality. Am Econ Rev. 101 (7):2923–54
Almond, Douglas, Janet Currie, and Valentina Duque. 2018. “Childhood Circumstances and Adult Outcomes: Act II.” Journal of Economic Literature 56 (4): 1360–1446.
Anthony Wray
Longitudinal and Multigenerational Studies using Linked Census Data
Recent advances in automated linking and supervised machine learning methods have allowed researchers to link historical records such that individuals can be observed across the life cycle or connected to multiple generations. Linkage crosswalk files can easily be merged with public-use census data to study a wide array of questions in the U.S. context. Topics may include the influence