Historical Economics
Historical economics applies economic theory and econometric methods to the study of economic history. The research area has expanded internationally in recent years, partly as a consequence of the rapidly increasing amount of digitized historical maps and archival records, but also in response to a stronger focus in economics on the deep roots of institutional and economic development.
Research in historical economics at the Department of Economics is primarily quantitative and includes topics on long-run cultural and institutional persistence, the economics of crime in a historical context, the impact of Christian missions on female gender norms in Africa, effects of historical infrastructure investments in roads and railways, the introduction of cadastral reforms and their association with economic growth, historical climate change and political stability, etc.
Research includes both micro- and macro-level analyses, often exploiting historical natural experiments.
Publications
Mayoral, L. and O. Olsson. (2025). “Floods, Droughts and Environmental Circumscription in Early State Development: The Case of Ancient Egypt”. Journal of Economic Growth 30: 271-305.
D’Arcy, M., M. Nistotskaya, O. Olsson. (2024). “Cadasters and Economic Growth: A Long-Run Cross-Country Panel”. Journal of Political Economy 132(11): 3785-3826.
Bindler, A. and R. Hjalmarsson. (2024). “The Impact of the First Professional Police Forces on Crime”. Journal of the European Economic Association. Also CEPR Discussion Paper DP14068.
Fors, H. C., Isaksson, A. S., & Lindskog, A. (2023). "Changing local customs: The long run impacts of Christian missions on female genital cutting in Africa". Journal of Development Economics, 103180.
Dalgaard, C.J., N. Kaarsen, O. Olsson and P. Selaya. (2022). “Roman Roads to Prosperity: Persistence and Non-Persistence of Public Infrastructure”. Journal of Comparative Economics 50(4), 896-916.
Bindler, A. and R. Hjalmarsson. (2020). “The Persistence of the Criminal Justice Gender Gap: Evidence from 200 Years of Judicial Decisions”. Journal of Law and Economics, 63(2): 297-339. Also CEPR Discussion Paper DP 14067.
Projects
- Land reform and industrial development in Sweden (Poignant).
- The Political Economy of Bread and Circuses: Weather Shocks and Maya Monument Construction (Rubio-Ramos, Olsson, Isendahl).
- Digitization of Historical Schooling Records in Sweden (Lindahl, Karlsson, Kjellson).
- Conditional Persistence: Historical Disease Exposure and Government Response to COVID-19 (Lindskog, Olsson) (R&R).
- Trade Networks and State Development: Evidence from Medieval Sweden (Kokkonen, Martinsson, Olsson, Åhlfeldt).
- Cadastral Reform and Social Conflict (Olsson, Valsecchi).
- Technological Foundations of Individualism and Collectivism (Alger, Olsson).