Historiography of Economic History

This page contains a list of works that provide an overview of economic history as a field. There are many journals, syllabi, and other resources available online on economic history, but it seems like there is not a one-stop shop dedicated to the development of economic history as a field. Here is my attempt. Works are limited to review-article or survey-article types that describe the state of the art at the time of publication.

Also check out a sister page on Historical Political Economy (HPE).

For a starter, here is a list of journals that regularly publish review articles:

EH.net does a great public service by maintaining a repository of course syllabi on economic history.

Field-wide

Books (newest first)

Koyama, Mark, and Jared Rubin. 2022. How the World Became Rich: The Historical Origins of Economic Growth. Polity.
Allen, Robert A. 2011. Global Economic History (A Very Short Introduction). Oxford University Press.

Edited Volumes (newest first)

Bisin, Alberto, and Giovanni Federico, eds. 2021. The Handbook of Historical Economics. Academic Press.
- includes
- Chapter 1: Margo, Robert A. “The Economic History of Economic History: The Evolution of a Field in Economics.”
- Chapter 2: Cioni, Martina, Giovanni Federico, and Michelangelo Vasta. “The Two Revolutions in Economic History.”
- Chapter 3: Nunn, Nathan. “History as Evolution.”
Aghion, Philippe, and Steven N. Durlauf, eds. 2014. The Handbook of Economic Growth, Vol. 2A. North Holland.
- Table of Content:
- Chapter 1: Doepke, Matthias, and Fabrizio Zilibotti. “Culture, Entrepreneurship, and Growth.”
- Chapter 2: Algan, Yann, and Pierre Cahuc. “Trust, Growth, and Well-Being: New Evidence and Policy Implications.”
- Chapter 3: Spolaore, Enrico, and Romain Wacziarg. “Long-Term Barriers to Economic Development.”
- Chapter 4: Alesina, Alberto, and Paola Giuliano. “Family Ties.”
- Chapter 5: Clark, Gregory. “The Industrial Revolution.”
- Chapter 6: Crafts, Nicholas, and Kevin Hjorsthøj O’Rourke. “Twentieth Century Growth.”
- Chapter 7: Nunn, Nathan. “Historical Development.”
- Chapter 8: Ogilvie, Sheilagh, and A.W. Carus. “Institutions and Economic Growth in Historical Perspective.”

Journal Articles (newest first)

Cioni, Martina, Giovanni Federico, and Michelangelo Vasta. 2023. “Is Economic History Changing Its Nature? Evidence from Top Journals.” Cliometrica 17(1): 23-48. (Open Access)
McCants, Anne E.C. 2020. “Economic History and the Historians.” Journal of Interdisciplinary History 50(4): 547-66. (Open Access)
Nunn, Nathan. 2020. “The Historical Roots of Economic Development.” Science 367(6485): eaaz9986.
Margo, Robert A. 2018. “Integration of Economic History into Economics.” Cliometrica 12(3): 377-406.
Nunn, Nathan. 2009. “The Importance of History for Economic Development” Annual Review of Economics 1: 65-92.

Institutions

Acemoglu, Daron, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson. 2005. “Institutions as a Fundamental Cause of Long-Run Growth.” Philippe Aghion and Steven N. Durlauf, eds. The Handbook of Economic Growth, Vol. 1A. North Holland.
Ogilvie, Sheilagh, and A.W. Carus. 2014. “Institutions and Economic Growth in Historical Perspective.” Philippe Aghion and Steven N. Durlauf, eds. The Handbook of Economic Growth, Vol. 2A. North Holland.

Technology

Mokyr, Joel. 2018. “The Past and the Future of Innovation: Some Lessons from Economic History.” Explorations in Economic History 69: 13-26.
Mokyr, Joel. 2005. “Long-Term Economic Growth and the History of Technology.” Philippe Aghion and Steven N. Durlauf, eds. The Handbook of Economic Growth, Vol. 1B. North Holland.

Industrial Revolution

Allen, Robert A. 2017. The Industrial Revolution (A Very Short Introduction). Oxford University Press.
Clark, Gregory. 2014. “The Industrial Revolution.” Philippe Aghion and Steven N. Durlauf, eds. The Handbook of Economic Growth, Vol. 2A. North Holland.
Kelly, Morgan, Joel Mokyr, and Cormac Ó Gráda. 2014. “Precocious Albion: A New Interpretation of the British Industrial Revolution.” Annual Review of Economics 6: 363-89.
Crafts, Nicholas. 2011. “Explaining the First Industrial Revolution: Two Views.” European Review of Economic History 15(1): 153-68.

Long-term persistence

Cirone, Alexandra, and Thomas B. Pepinsky. 2022. “Historical Persistence.” Annual Review of Political Science 25: 241-59.
Abad, Leticia Arroyo, and Noel Maurer. 2021. “History Never Really Says Goodbye: A Critical Review of the Persistence Literature.” Journal of Historical Political Economy 1(1): 31-68.
Voth, Hans-Joachim. 2021. “Persistence — Myth and Mystery.” Alberto Bisin and Giovanni Federico, eds. The Handbook of Historical Economics. Academic Press.
Spolaore, Enrico, and Romain Wacziarg. 2014. “Long-Term Barriers to Economic Development.” Philippe Aghion and Steven N. Durlauf, eds. The Handbook of Economic Growth, Vol. 2A. North Holland.

Culture

Doepke, Matthias, and Fabrizio Zilibotti. 2014. “Culture, Entrepreneurship, and Growth.” Philippe Aghion and Steven N. Durlauf, eds. The Handbook of Economic Growth, Vol. 2A. North Holland.
Nunn, Nathan. 2012. “Culture and the Historical Process.” Economic History of Developing Regions 27(S1): S108-26.

religion

Becker, Sacha O., Amma Panin, Steven Pfaff, and Jared Rubin. 2025. “Religion and Economic Development: Past Present, Future.” Benjamin Enke, Paola Giuliano, Nathan Nunn, and Leonard Wantchekon, eds. Handbook of Culture and Economic Behavior.
Becker, Sacha O., Jared Rubin, and Ludger Woessman. 2024. “Religion and Growth.” Journal of Economic Literature 62(3): 1094-142.
Rubin, Jared. 2024. “Religion and New Institutional Economics.” Claude Ménard and Mary M. Shirley, eds. Handbook of New Institutional Economics, 2nd ed. Springer. (Entire volume open access)

Protestant Reformation

Becker, Sacha O., Steven Pfaff, and Jared Rubin. 2016. “Causes and Consequences of the Protestant Reformation.” Explorations in Economic History 62: 1-25.

Black Death

Green, Monica H. 2014. “Taking Pandemic Seriously: Making the Black Death Global.” The Medieval Globe 1(1): 27-61.
Little, Lester K. 2011. “Plague Historians in Lab Coats.” Past and Present 213: 267-90.
Routt, David. 2008. “The Economic Impact of the Black Death.” EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples.
McCormick, Michael. 2003. “Rats, Communications, and Plague: Toward an Ecological History.” Journal of Interdisciplinary History 34(1): 1-25.