Specialist economic historians in the US today behave, and are rewarded, in similar ways to other economists. Mainstream economists also publish articles on economic history. This column argues that this is the culmination of a process of integration of history and econometrics that started with the cliometrics revolution in the 1950s. If this continues however, there is a risk that the demand for economic historians with the skills to ‘get the history right’ might dry up.
John Wallis, 27 November 2015
Douglass C. North was among the most important and influential economic historians and economists of the late 20th century. This column highlights four of his major contributions: his pioneering work in quantitative economic history, or ‘cliometrics’; his similarly fundamental work using neoclassical economics to understand institutions; his critique of theory for explaining long-term economic and institutional change; and the distinction he drew between institutions and organisations.
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