Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #EconHist
Most recents (24)
@adam_tooze @LusManuelCalvo1 @AnjaCzer @_nflry @CasparShaller @christa_wirth @HansSuter @ch_esch @mullansp Perhaps some #econhist #bizhis context, also on Tobias Straumann's @eth_en insightful interview @NZZ on why & how #CreditSuisse turned towards investment banking in the 1970s/1980s: In contrast to Germany's #DeutscheBank, (1/24)
@adam_tooze @LusManuelCalvo1 @AnjaCzer @_nflry @CasparShaller @christa_wirth @HansSuter @ch_esch @mullansp @ETH_en @NZZ Credit Suisse decided in the 1970s to build strategic partnerships with US investment banks including cross-shareholdings to ensure mutual commitment in Zurich, London, and New York. Before the 1970s, Credit Suisse was in many respects similar to Deutsche. (2/24)
@adam_tooze @LusManuelCalvo1 @AnjaCzer @_nflry @CasparShaller @christa_wirth @HansSuter @ch_esch @mullansp @ETH_en @NZZ It shied away from setting up foreign branches because it feared losing control over non-domestic entities. In addition, the domestic business was deemed far more important. Yet by the late 1960s, internationalisation and an overseas presence looked inevitable, (3/24)
Thread: New paper available at Social Science Quarterly (cc. @SSQ_Online) with @casey_joe on the myth of wartime prosperity. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ss… #econhist #econtwitter 
We take inspiration from Robert Higgs' 1992 "Myth of Wartime Prosperity" in the Journal of Economic History but shift from the USA to Canada.
Higgs had found that all claims of rising living standards were ill-founded. Most of this was the result of bad statistics, bad understanding of economics and wartime distortions to the meaningfulness of prices to convert quantities into "GDP" as a measure of wellbeing
Our Long Walk to Economic Freedom is now available from @CambridgeUP.
What is it about? In 35 short chapters, I tell the story of humanity’s progress, from our migration out of Africa to Covid-19. I do so from an African perspective.
Want to know more? An #econhist🧵...
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What is it about? In 35 short chapters, I tell the story of humanity’s progress, from our migration out of Africa to Covid-19. I do so from an African perspective.
Want to know more? An #econhist🧵...
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I begin by comparing economic history to Monopoly and Settlers of Catan.
Which one best mimics our positive sum world? The evidence of the last two centuries, like that from Our World in Data, suggests a clear favourite.
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bit.ly/3pas7P3
Which one best mimics our positive sum world? The evidence of the last two centuries, like that from Our World in Data, suggests a clear favourite.
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bit.ly/3pas7P3
Chapter 1: We want to believe in the existence of @theblackpanther’s Wakanda because it is so different from the reality of many African countries.
This book is about understanding why what we wish for and what we have is so different.
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This book is about understanding why what we wish for and what we have is so different.
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Thread: This is for a working paper of mine. Its testing whether the Conquest of Quebec by the British in 1760 was marked by a change in market integration. This graph shows the coefficient for Qc City prices on the lagged price in Qc City #econhist #econtwitter
The idea is that market integration should lead to prices in other regions at time t should become more relevant than in region i at time t-1. A falling coefficient on the lagged prices should be indicative of this.
The coefficients also gradually exclude French rule years to see what happens as "more British rule years" enter the estimation.
Thread: My paper on revisiting income inequality in the USA is now online at the Economic Journal @RoyalEconSoc. Let me explain why it matters here. But first, just look at this graph which summarizes it all
doi.org/10.1093/ej/uea… #econtwitter #econhist #inequality #Economics
doi.org/10.1093/ej/uea… #econtwitter #econhist #inequality #Economics
1) In the paper, we find that the estimates of income inequality in the US over the 20th century suffer from three massive flaws pre-1960.
2) First, because there are so few tax filers in the early years, some adjustments have to be made to get a steady share of the top fractiles. However, the adjustment used by Piketty and Saez was based on ratios of married to unmarried filers in 1942...
A summary thread and musings on Allen and Wrigley's theory of early pre-industrial urbanization in Britain. 1/ #econhist #EconTwitter #twitterstorians
Most pre-industrial societies were caught in a devastating low-level equilibrium trap: they had small cities (in absolute and relative terms) and unproductive agriculture (low crop yields and labor efficiency). 2/
To expand the cities and get more labor into industry, farms needed to become more productive—e.g. investment, land use optimization, crop experimentation, etc. for raising yields. 3/
THREAD+NEWSLETTER: Urban demand, NOT agrarian capitalism, drove city growth in early modern Britain. 1/
If you enjoy this, please share! I rely primarily on word of mouth for spreading the good word. daviskedrosky.substack.com/p/london-calli… #EconTwitter #econhist
If you enjoy this, please share! I rely primarily on word of mouth for spreading the good word. daviskedrosky.substack.com/p/london-calli… #EconTwitter #econhist
A classic view of British industrialization, dating back to Marx, holds that autonomous change in agriculture—enclosures, private property, large farms—increased worker productivity, supplying the growing cities with labor, food, and raw materials 2/
Crafts and Harley (2004), for example, find that French-style peasant farming would have had a significant "deindustrializing" effect by lowering urban employment.
The implication: capitalist farming permits city growth and explains British structural transformation. 3/
The implication: capitalist farming permits city growth and explains British structural transformation. 3/
Why cities drove change in pre-industrial British agriculture, A THREAD (and newsletter daviskedrosky.substack.com/p/london-calli…): #EconTwitter #econhist
I've recently been privileged to join in some fun discussions with @pseudoerasmus and @antonhowes on the path of British development. 1/7
I've recently been privileged to join in some fun discussions with @pseudoerasmus and @antonhowes on the path of British development. 1/7
Pseudo, following Robert Allen and E. A. Wrigley, has been strongly emphasizing his argument that autonomous development in British trade and manufacturing provoked productive responses by farmers, allowing for structural transformation. 2/7
Anton has made similar arguments in his blog, emphasizing the role of a growing London in promoting specialization by comparative advantage in the English countryside. 3/7 antonhowes.substack.com/p/age-of-inven…
The Industrial Revolution was NOT caused by institutional reforms. A THREAD (and a newsletter): #econhist #EconTwitter
Acemoglu and Robinson, in *Why Nations Fail*, argue that the Glorious Revolution created "inclusive institutions" that started British industrialization. 1/4
Acemoglu and Robinson, in *Why Nations Fail*, argue that the Glorious Revolution created "inclusive institutions" that started British industrialization. 1/4
Their claims are premised on the notion that Glorious Revolution made Parliament an open-access institution where wealth-holders could constrain the monarchy and protect their property rights.
They hold that this promoted investment and later enabled modern growth. 2/4
They hold that this promoted investment and later enabled modern growth. 2/4
But that doesn't fit the facts. Parliament remained elite-dominated, there was no discontinuous change in property rights (which had been secure since the Middle Ages), and the merchants in Parliament used the body to enrich themselves. 3/4
Tonight's evening seminar, given by Marie Stella Chiaruttini (@univienna) and entitled 'War, Debt and Constitution: Italy's Path to Nation-Building and Central Banking in the Nineteenth Century' is about to begin! #OxfordESH #Twitterstorians #EconHist
...and we are off!
Italian unification had critical north-south dimensions which continues to inform political debate. The Kingdom was born in the north
Econ Thread: My paper on the strange experiment of playing card money in 17th-18th centuries Canada (image below) with Bryan Cutsinger and Mathieu Bédard was accepted in the European Review of Economic History #econhist #econtwitter
This is a *very* strange monetary experiment in economic history. The governor of the colony printed money on the back of playing cards to finance expenditures when he ran out of coins. The "notes" were backed by incoming coin shipments.
Yet, and this might interest @JohnHCochrane because of the fiscal theory of the price level implications, there was no inflation in spite of massive overissues.
(1/4) We are out with our third episode!!
In this episode of @Growth_Chat, we talk with @JeanetBentzen about her paper “Pre-reformation roots of the protestant ethic” published in 2017 in @EJ_RES.
#EconTwitter #economics #EconHist #economicgrowth
In this episode of @Growth_Chat, we talk with @JeanetBentzen about her paper “Pre-reformation roots of the protestant ethic” published in 2017 in @EJ_RES.
#EconTwitter #economics #EconHist #economicgrowth
(2/4) Did religious values influence productivity and economic performance in England and across Europe?
@JeanetBentzen with @BarnebeckThomas, @DalgaardCarl, and PaulSharp discussed this in their 2017 paper.
Now on @Growth_Chat!!
@JeanetBentzen with @BarnebeckThomas, @DalgaardCarl, and PaulSharp discussed this in their 2017 paper.
Now on @Growth_Chat!!
(3/4) @Growth_Chat is a (video) podcast on the social and cultural journey of humankind, hosted by @marco__lecci and @essobecker.
Available on @Spotify @applepodcast @YouTube
#EconTwitter #economics #economicgrowth
Available on @Spotify @applepodcast @YouTube
#EconTwitter #economics #economicgrowth
Our graduate seminar is soon to begin! This week we have our own @GGabbuti presenting on 'Income Inequality in Italy (1900-1950): New Yearly Estimates from Dynamic Social Tables' #Twitterstorians #Econhist #OxfordESH
Overview:
The picture which has developed in recent years isn't complete
This evening's seminar, given by @M_Giorcelli on 'Technology Transfer and Early Industrial Development: Evidence from the Sino-Soviet Alliance' is about to begin! #Twitterstorians #Econhist #OxfordESH
The background:
A little preview of the results:
1. [#CeJourLà] Le 19 février 1796, le Directoire organise la destruction du matériel permettant la fabrication d’#assignats. Réalisée en Allemagne, une gravure dépeint l'opération comme un « #brûlement » de billets. Cette transposition graphique vaut bien un thread d’#econhist 👇
2. À l’origine, les assignats sont créés en 1789 comme des titres d’emprunts gagés sur les ventes à venir des biens nationaux. Cependant, les émissions d’assignats dépassent rapidement la valeur des biens nationaux et les titres se transforment en papier-monnaie.
3. En quelques années, les assignats se déprécient tant qu’il est tentant de parler d’#hyperinflation. Or, pour nos esprits contemporains, la prolifération de billets dévalués s’accompagne souvent de leur destruction par le feu.
Our latest issue (No. 249) the final one of 2020 is out now: academic.oup.com/past/issue Check out all of the articles it contains below👇
#socialhistory #culturalhistory #twitterstorians @OUPHistory
#socialhistory #culturalhistory #twitterstorians @OUPHistory
1/ " Late Antiquity: The Age of Crowds?"
academic.oup.com/past/article/2… by @jcmo1977 @usponline
#antiquity #socialhistory #urbanhistory #medievaltwitter #Twitterstorians
academic.oup.com/past/article/2… by @jcmo1977 @usponline
#antiquity #socialhistory #urbanhistory #medievaltwitter #Twitterstorians
2/ "Military Mobility, Authority and Negotiation in Early Colonial India" academic.oup.com/past/article/2… by Christna Welsch @WoosterEdu
#imphist #globalhist #earlymodern #socialhistory #culturalhistory #Twitterstorians
#imphist #globalhist #earlymodern #socialhistory #culturalhistory #Twitterstorians
Thread: Now forthcoming in Public Choice: how rent-seeking explains asylum expansion in America between 1870 and 1910 (co-authored with Ray March). #econhist #econtwitter
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
Few people know that the asylums in American asylums expanded 10x in terms of absolute numbers and close to 4x in per capita terms between 1870 and 1910.
Most works in social history attribute this to broadly defined contemporary understandings of public interest (some of which are less savoury than others). Very few works have tried to see if there was a rent-seeking component. Ray and I argue there was one!
New working paper with @JustinTCallais where we study the allocation of lighthouses in antebellum America. #econhist #econtwitter
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
People have heavily debated whether markets/states can/need provide public goods. Essentially, people have debated whether public goods are market failures and (if they are) how frequently do these failure happen.
The most frequently used example is that of the lighthouse which has many characteristics that make it a public good (non-excludable and non-rivalrous).
Lessons from history, @EconObservatory has published a series of articles on what policy-makers & the public can learn from past pandemics, recessions & recoveries, #CoronavirusandtheEconomy ht @ProfJohnTurner @QUCEHBelfast, #econhist @EcHistSoc coronavirusandtheeconomy.com/topics/lessons…
Historical epidemics provide only a loose guide to the likely impact of coronavirus; what history does suggest is that when they occur in societies already under stress, they can provoke wide-ranging & long-term changes in attitudes, culture &institutions coronavirusandtheeconomy.com/question/what-…
The pandemic of 1918-19 – commonly known as the #SpanishFlu – infected perhaps a third of the world’s population; many researchers, including economists, are looking back to that experience for insights into the spread of #Covid19 & potential responses coronavirusandtheeconomy.com/question/does-…
Recently, I was thinking about Joel Mokyr's classic "Why Ireland Starved" which basically argued that overpopulation was not a thing in 19th c. Ireland. Loved that book. I decided to google some follow-ups and found this neat piece in "Land Economics" #econhist #econtwitter
The piece is elegantly simple and instructive. It does a simple econometric trick -- add a land quality index to see if overpopulation (proxied by land/pop ratio) was a thing. The author used pretty simple tools to make the adjustment. jstor.org/stable/3146668…
In the end, he found that there were signs of overpopulation.
People are making a fuss over the Cuba statements of @BernieSanders. Yes, Cuba is a dictatorship but there is good healthcare and good education. Can we sort the wheat from the chaff! The answer is "No" #econtwitter -- lets do the economics of dictatorships here
Dictators are utility-maximizers like you and I. What they maximize is the rents they extract from acquiring and holding on to power. They select the public goods to produce as a willful decision to continue rent extraction jstor.org/stable/4072669… #econtwitter
In essence, the public goods produced reflect the efforts to preserve the predatory features of the regime. academic.oup.com/jleo/article-a… #econtwitter
My paper with @PhilWMagness on income inequality 1917-1945 in Economic Inquiry has now been assigned an issue. In that paper, we show that (on average) the IRS data for the US overstates income inequality by a factor of 1.18. #econtwitter #econhist
doi.org/10.1111/ecin.1…
doi.org/10.1111/ecin.1…
We explain that weak enforcement and highly volatile tax rates reduce the economic quality of the tax data from the IRS used to measure inequality for the pre-1943 (pre-withholding). We compared with states that had strong enforcement (Delaware, Wisconsin) that had data.
We found this : lower levels of inequality throughout the period.
1. THREAD on the Panic of 1819.
I've written a review of Andrew Browning's book for the Economic Historian.
The full review is here: economic-historian.com/2020/01/the-pa…
This thread contains some of my thoughts + images.
I've written a review of Andrew Browning's book for the Economic Historian.
The full review is here: economic-historian.com/2020/01/the-pa…
This thread contains some of my thoughts + images.
2. Students of economic history in the early American republic often equate the Panic of 1819 with the name Murray Rothbard, the famous libertarian economist who wrote the definitive account of this subject as his 1962 doctoral dissertation.
3. After nearly six decades, we finally have an update in Andrew Browning’s The Panic of 1819: The First Great Depression, the publication of which fell on the 200th anniversary of this watershed event.
New paper forthcoming in Cliometrica with Peter Lindert. In the paper we show that between 1800-1914, inequality in cost of living fell offsetting sizable share of increase in nominal income inequality ssrn.com/abstract=33607… #econhist #econtwitter
This is important because rising wages meant rising costs of services which featured heavily in baskets of the rich. There is thus a leveling of "cost of living". #econhist #econwitter
Once adjustments are made to measure "real" income inequality rather than nominal income inequality, the increase in the "gilded age" was minimized and maybe did not occur (we are not certain on which of the two) #econhist #econtwitter
