nep-his New Economics Papers
on Business, Economic and Financial History
Issue of 2024–12–23
ten papers chosen by
Bernardo Bátiz-Lazo, Northumbria University


  1. Horses, Serfs, Slaves and Transitions By Lambert, Thomas
  2. Capital Flow Stability and Policy Challenges in Southeast Asia: Historical Perspectives from the 19th to the 21st Century By Christopher M. Meissner; Kensuke Molnar-Tanaka
  3. Agrifood systems policy research: historical evolution of agrifood systems in Haryana, India. Policy and institutional evolution By Narain, V.
  4. Elite Strategies for Big Shocks: The Case of the Fall of the Ming By Carol H. Shiue; Wolfgang Keller
  5. Emigration Dynamics and Transatlantic Voyage from Austria-Hungary to the U.S. between 1840 to 1910 By Uysal, Sezgin; Celebi, Ismail
  6. Population age structure as a determinant of long-run macroeconomic growth: demographic endogenous growth theory By Banda, Mutisunge Allan
  7. Why did the Thirteen Keys to the White House fail? An analysis of Government Structuralism and Political Anomalies By Panarello, Christian
  8. The ET Interview: Professor Joel L. Horowitz By Sokbae Lee
  9. Улогата на националните развојни банки во банкарскиот систем – осврт на Развојна банка на Северна Македонија АД Скопје By Kovachev, Goran
  10. Austrian Thought and Social Sciences: Evolution and Application of Methodological Individualism By Freire, Joseph Alexander

  1. By: Lambert, Thomas
    Abstract: This research note/paper examines several factors that have been mentioned and debated as determinants of how Britain moves from feudalism to mercantilism and then to capitalism by way of agricultural and industrial innovations and also how it arrives at the cusp of the industrial revolution. Of special interest are somewhat recent conjectures of macroeconomic data, investment estimates, and data on horses, serfs, and slaves of previous centuries that perhaps can better contribute to and add some clarification to the debates over the transition from feudalism to capitalism and the transition from an early form a capitalism or mercantilism to the industrial revolution. The estimates, empirical notes, and exploratory analyses in this paper partially support the Brenner thesis or concept of the transition from feudalism to capitalism and also support the notion that the proceeds of slave sales and slave production provide a substantive portion of British investment amounts leading up to the industrial revolution of the 18th Century. The mainstream economic notions of property rights, thrift, free markets, and free trade are only part of the picture of how Britain achieves economic prominence in the 19th Century. Exploitation of people and animals play a very significant role that has been ignored or minimized in many history and economic history accounts.
    Keywords: Baran ratio, economic surplus, investment, slave trade, slavery, serfs, horses, Great Britain
    JEL: B51 B52 N13 N33 N44
    Date: 2024–11–09
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:122644
  2. By: Christopher M. Meissner; Kensuke Molnar-Tanaka
    Abstract: Over the last 200 years, economies have accumulated significant experience in managing capital flows in the face of globalization. This study examines management of capital flows since the 1800s with an eye towards providing historical lessons for Southeast Asia today. We start with the global sterling/gold standard regime of the late 19th century globalization and then discuss the tumultuous inter-war period. We then examine policies in Southeast Asian countries since the 1950s. In the 1980s and 1990s, many economies faced increasing financial instability related to the resumption of global capital flows, most noticeably in Southeast Asia during the Asian Financial Crisis. The paper examines the historical importance of exchange rate policies for capital flow stability. Capital flow management in the 21st century faces various challenges such as enhanced state-intervention and digital currencies.
    JEL: F21 F33 F36 N20
    Date: 2024–11
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33145
  3. By: Narain, V.
    Keywords: Agrifood systems; Public policies; History; Institutional development; Land resources; Irrigation; Participatory management; Green revolution; Climate change
    Date: 2023
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwt:bosers:h052519
  4. By: Carol H. Shiue; Wolfgang Keller
    Abstract: This paper documents persistence in the power of elite families in Central China despite dynastic change. We study the impact of the fall of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) on couples and their descendants (treatment of people), and present evidence on the response of multigenerational family lines to a big shock. Local Ming elites suffered a decline in influence in the short run, but in the long-run their descendants recovered and tightened their grip on power in their role as the elites of the new Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In contrast to the recovery of family lines, the fall of Ming had a more persistently negative impact on the regions that historically were most strongly negatively affected by the shock (treatment of regions). The paper suggests that the elite reversal is due to trauma caused by Ming destruction that shifted norms towards the most socially respectable career paths based on the civil service exam; these norms were, to a greater degree, intergenerationally transmitted in family lines that suffered more from the destruction in the fall of the Ming dynasty.
    JEL: N35
    Date: 2024–11
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33121
  5. By: Uysal, Sezgin (Masaryk University); Celebi, Ismail
    Abstract: The study focuses on the temporal differences (30 years on average) between ethnic groups migrating from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the U.S. between 1850 and 1910. In our study, we argue that the main factor that led to differences in the timing of emigration was the differences in regional economic development of different ethnic groups living in different regions of the Empire. Migration costs: before the 1864 introduction of steam engine technology in transatlantic maritime transport, emigration costs were not affordable for Hungarians and Slovaks due to the sea and land voyage high ticket prices. Therefore, with more resources, Austrians and Czechs could afford to migrate earlier. However, after the introduction of steamship technology and the technological change in ship engines, travel became more affordable due to reduced ticket prices, faster voyages, and increased capacity. This allowed Hungarians and Slovaks from poorer regions to begin migrating in larger numbers as migration became economically feasible. In this study, we utilise a complete count of the U.S. Census records from 1900 and 1910 (Helgertz et al., 2023; Ruggles et al., 2021), which Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS). On the other hand, we utilise economic indicators, which are regional daily wage, GDP per capita income and living standard data for the Austria-Hungary Empire from Cvrcek (2013) and Schulze (2000).
    Date: 2024–11–17
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:7vfxn
  6. By: Banda, Mutisunge Allan
    Abstract: Just as human age is a key determinant of individual economic productivity, a population’s age structure is a significant causal factor of economic productivity and growth. This paper attempts to update the traditional theories of economic growth by incorporating demographic transition theory and intergenerational transfers into long run economic growth. Whereas contemporary theory interprets the demographic dividend as a transitory and uncertain exogenous stimulant to economic growth, this paper will attempt to demonstrate that age structure is instead a persistent and endogenous determinant of economic productivity. In addition, the paper will argue that a significant portion of modern and ancient economic divergence can be explained by variations in age structure. These findings will have important implications for policymakers and researchers interested economic development.
    Keywords: Demographic Economics; Economic Growth; Economic Theory; Macroeconomics; Quantitative Methods
    JEL: E0 J1 O47
    Date: 2024–11–18
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:122725
  7. By: Panarello, Christian
    Abstract: Lichtman's Thirteen Keys Model has, after ten elections of success, succumbed to its first failure in Donald Trump's first victory in both the popular vote and electoral college measures. For his protection of the Keys, he has cited mass misinformation (as he suggests is produced by Elon Musk's ownership of Twitter/X) and right-wing podcasters’ assumedly uncritical support of the presidential nominee. However, this hypothesis appears arbitrary, especially relative to recent elections where the Keys have been successful. This article instead postulates a Structuralist argument – functioning to describe innate administrative normativities (the structure of government as described by its electoral and legislative composition) – which hinges on the consistency that Lichtman interpreted (particularly in his introductory work with Keilis-Borok) in showing the Keys to be a consistent model; the Keys are further shown to be unswayed by projected collective social proclivities.
    Date: 2024–11–21
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:v2kxm
  8. By: Sokbae Lee
    Abstract: Joel L. Horowitz has made profound contributions to many areas in econometrics and statistics. These include bootstrap methods, semiparametric and nonparametric estimation, specification testing, nonparametric instrumental variables estimation, high-dimensional models, functional data analysis, and shape restrictions, among others. Originally trained as a physicist, Joel made a pivotal transition to econometrics, greatly benefiting our profession. Throughout his career, he has collaborated extensively with a diverse range of coauthors, including students, departmental colleagues, and scholars from around the globe. Joel was born in 1941 in Pasadena, California. He attended Stanford for his undergraduate studies and obtained his Ph.D. in physics from Cornell in 1967. He has been Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Economics at Northwestern University since 2001. Prior to that, he was a faculty member at the University of Iowa (1982-2001). He has served as a co-editor of Econometric Theory (1992-2000) and Econometrica (2000-2004). He is a Fellow of the Econometric Society and of the American Statistical Association, and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute. The majority of this interview took place in London during June 2022.
    Date: 2024–10
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2411.00886
  9. By: Kovachev, Goran
    Abstract: Unlike classic private commercial banks whose beginnings are in the late 15th century, the public development banks are a relatively new phenomenon. Namely, after the WW2 when large investments in infrastructure were needed, and especially in the 1960s, when the neo-Keynesianism took the scene, advocating direct state intervention in priority economic sectors, the public development banks as counter-cyclical financial institutions were largely introduced. The Development Bank of North Macedonia is a first and only state-owned development bank in the country, established in 1998 by a special Law. The Bank's role is to promote the development of Macedonian economy in accordance to North Macedonia's strategic economic priorities and objectives.
    Keywords: national development banks; Development Bank of North Macedonia; economic development; green finance
    JEL: G21
    Date: 2024–10–31
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:122582
  10. By: Freire, Joseph Alexander (Universidad Francisco Marroquin)
    Abstract: This article explores Methodological Individualism (MI) within the Austrian School of thought, analyzing its conceptual evolution and application in the social sciences. Throughout the text, it highlights the key contributions of Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, and Friedrich Hayek, who shaped and expanded the Austrian methodology towards a deep understanding of social phenomena from an individualistic perspective. The discussion addresses the epistemological and ontological foundations of MI and its role in studying complex social structures, arguing that social dynamics are best explained through the actions and beliefs of individuals. Finally, a critical analysis of contemporary interpretations of MI is presented, distinguishing its original approach from other schools of thought and underscoring its relevance to modern social theory.
    Date: 2024–11–10
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:78dtv

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