Economic historians study how past economies have changed and the factors that influence economic development. We focus on practical questions about real economies. For instance, why are some countries rich and others poor, what forces shape inequality and what does historical experience reveal about current global economic developments and crises? Economic historians use concepts and theories from across the social sciences to study the historical development of economies and understand them in their social, political and cultural contexts.

The Department of Economic History is a world-leading centre of economic history research and teaching and is one of only a few departments dedicated to the study of economic history. This allows us to offer specialist courses on the history of economic development in most regions of the world from China to Latin America and Africa to North America. We also offer thematic courses covering important issues in economic history such as financial and monetary history, the history of technology and innovation, slavery and historical economic geography.

In addition to traditional coursework, the programme includes a series of research projects based on primary historical sources. These culminate with a year-long dissertation in the third year where you will undertake an original piece of research on a topic of your choice. These projects will help you develop a range of research skills which are highly valued by employers across a variety of careers. These include the ability to evaluate, analyse and visualise data and to present your findings persuasively in written and oral form.